Director Ron Howard, along with actors Sydney Sweeney, Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby & Daniel Brühl discuss their upcoming film 'Eden.' Ron Howard also discusses feeling "surprised" and "concerned" by JD Vance's rhetoric after directing him in 'Hillbilly Elegy.'
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00Tonight, the Baroness is premiering at TIFF.
00:02I mean, she's up there.
00:04She's up there, looking down,
00:06laid down, out of the armor,
00:08looking down, going,
00:10I knew I'd make it.
00:12I finally start.
00:25Okay, Jude and Vanessa,
00:28you both wanted to live in your character's house,
00:30but Ron put his foot down because of safety.
00:33Why were you both willing to rough it like that?
00:39Curiosity.
00:41Right?
00:43I mean, a lot of this, so much of this story
00:46is about people
00:48out of their comfort zone
00:50and embracing the outdoors,
00:52the elements,
00:54testing themselves.
00:56And at that early stage,
00:58while we were prepping, I think there was a huge amount
01:00of excitement, right?
01:02Because we hadn't spent
01:04the four months outside.
01:06And it just felt like a very
01:08direct way to connect
01:10with this couple.
01:12And even just the time
01:14we did spend sort of nosing about
01:16and planting things
01:18and whittling
01:20was kind of
01:22connective and bonding to that experience.
01:24I think we just wanted to keep
01:26pushing the envelope. And quite rightly, Ron said,
01:28there are a lot of dangerous snakes
01:30and spiders out here. Let's not do that.
01:32We asked every day, though, didn't we?
01:34We asked every day.
01:36I think it's also because those two
01:38particularly were so isolated.
01:40It was just them. And so it's quite hard
01:42in today's world to imagine just being completely
01:44on your own for that long. And I think it was two years
01:46or something, three years before everyone else
01:48turned up. So it was almost
01:50more than anything trying to get the sensation
01:52of being completely
01:54alone and just with
01:56nature. And the interesting thing about all
01:58the characters is they were doing this voluntarily.
02:00They were going off the grid
02:02for their own separate reasons
02:04with their own lifestyles and
02:06agendas and so forth.
02:08But they were there because they wanted to be.
02:10So I appreciated that they were volunteering
02:12to rough it. But
02:14we were making a movie. And I did need them
02:16to show up the next day not poisoned by some
02:18critter.
02:20So did no one have a phone
02:22on set?
02:24Phones were allowed.
02:26But no signal.
02:30If you had to be stuck
02:32on an island with a group of actors and
02:34actresses, and I ask all of you this,
02:36who would you pick to be stuck with,
02:38current company excluded?
02:40Excluded?
02:42They have to be actors and actresses.
02:44Off that film?
02:46No.
02:48Who's left?
02:52Should we come back to that while we all think?
02:54Or you can pick somebody who's no longer alive.
02:56Just interesting people.
02:58Well, look, my buddy Hank
03:00has already done it, right? Castaway.
03:02He didn't know what to do. And he'd be funny.
03:04He'd be funny doing it.
03:06That's an easy pick for me. Stanley Tucci
03:08because he cooks good.
03:10And I need food.
03:12I guess.
03:14Maybe Jennifer Coolidge.
03:16That'd be really fun.
03:18These are great answers.
03:20I'm just seeing blank.
03:24Gosh.
03:26Daniel.
03:30I keep thinking of Marlon Brando.
03:32I love him.
03:34He went to an island
03:36on his own, right?
03:38Built a beautiful hotel.
03:40There you go. I'll stick with Brando.
03:42What's the one thing
03:44you would bring to a remote island
03:46that you couldn't live without?
03:52Music.
03:54A turntable.
03:56Oh, Daniel.
03:58No one can up that.
04:02It's too good.
04:04Have we got enough food already?
04:06Do we have water?
04:08Do we have supplies?
04:10We've been through that.
04:12Good food and water supplies.
04:14So it's in addition to that.
04:16I'll bring mosquito repellent.
04:18Good call.
04:20Not so much.
04:24You see everybody's very pragmatic.
04:26Complete works of Shakespeare.
04:30I think we did have them in our house, didn't we?
04:32Because you need something to light the fire with, right?
04:34That's a fact.
04:40Vigo Mortensen recently
04:42expressed disappointment about Amazon
04:44putting 13 lives on streaming.
04:46Were you similarly disappointed?
04:50Sure.
04:52Because the movie played really well on a big screen.
04:54We worked very hard on that movie.
04:56We were proud of it.
04:58It was built, designed to be experienced
05:00first and foremost that way.
05:02All that said,
05:04I really did understand
05:06the particulars of that moment
05:08that it did, the marketplace,
05:10and the challenges that the distribution,
05:12that Amazon faced with it.
05:14So I didn't push hard.
05:16I understood the rationale
05:18behind the decision.
05:20As an artist, as a filmmaker,
05:22always my preference for people to see it
05:24the way they're going to see
05:26Eden today here at TIFF.
05:30But I also understood
05:32those circumstances.
05:34And before Eden,
05:36you did a couple of films before Eden.
05:38You did, obviously, Hillbilly Elegy.
05:40What has been your reaction to
05:42J.D. Vance's political assent?
05:46Well,
05:48I have spoken about this
05:50quite a bit.
05:52I don't really have anything new to say on it.
05:54But I
05:56have been
05:58surprised
06:00and concerned
06:02by a lot of the rhetoric
06:04coming out of that campaign.
06:08There was no version
06:10of me voting
06:12for Donald Trump
06:14to be president again,
06:16whoever the vice president was.
06:20But given
06:22the experience that I had then,
06:24five, six years ago,
06:26I'd say that I've been
06:28surprised.
06:30And look,
06:32we've got to get out and vote
06:34for whomever.
06:36But be thoughtful.
06:38Listen to what the candidates are saying today.
06:40That's what's really relevant.
06:42It's who they are today.
06:44And make a decision, an informed one.
06:48Anna, this awards season
06:50and TIFF here as well,
06:52we're seeing a real return to the erotic movie
06:54and
06:56sex on screen.
06:58As someone who starred in an NC-17 movie
07:00and got a very deserved
07:02Best Actress nomination as well.
07:04What has been your reaction
07:06to this resurgence?
07:10Of more erotic movies?
07:12Yes.
07:14For many years
07:16you didn't see any
07:18because of many different reasons.
07:20But movies like that
07:22couldn't get into China.
07:24There just were many reasons
07:26why. And it seems like it's back.
07:28I love it. Why not?
07:30I haven't seen any lately
07:32that I know
07:34there's some buzz coming out
07:36of Venice with Nicole
07:38in one of the movies.
07:40But I haven't seen
07:42anything lately
07:44that is that erotic.
07:46Personally, whatever's coming out, I love it.
07:48Why not? I don't have a problem
07:50with those kind of films.
07:52I think if they're interesting
07:54and the story is
07:56good,
07:58I don't see a
08:00problem with that.
08:06Sydney, you've
08:08said that you've been working on concepts for
08:10Anyone But You sequel. What's the current
08:12status?
08:14I can't share anything about that
08:16right now.
08:22I'd love to talk about Eden.
08:24I would imagine
08:26you have so many offers
08:28pouring in right now. How do you
08:30plan your 2025?
08:32When Euphoria
08:34season 3, is it settled
08:36that it's going to start shooting in January?
08:38Everything
08:40is still just trying
08:42to juggle it all and
08:44figure out what's next.
08:46Honestly, I don't have
08:48an answer.
08:50So you plan your
08:522025 in
08:54December, maybe.
08:56Honestly,
08:58every day it's a moving target.
09:00You've all,
09:02I believe all, have played
09:04great villains in various...
09:06Vanessa, I think of you in
09:08Mission Impossible.
09:10Daniel, the Marvel Cinematic
09:12Universe. Is it more fun to
09:14play villains than heroes?
09:16Well,
09:18we all have
09:20something evil
09:22inside of us.
09:26I'm not supposed to show it,
09:28so we hide it.
09:30And to explore this
09:32monstrous part
09:34and the darkness that we all have within us
09:36is thrilling.
09:38It's interesting.
09:40Because we have to put it away.
09:42We have to hide it, mostly.
09:44So, yeah.
09:46And Eden,
09:48we have some
09:50villainous characters.
09:52Ron, are they more fun to
09:54direct the scenes?
09:56Well, this
09:58sort of equilibrium,
10:00what attracted me to this project,
10:02was sort of the
10:04different agendas, what was
10:06motivating them as individuals.
10:08And I honestly don't think of any of the characters
10:10as being evil. They make some
10:12decisions that I wouldn't support.
10:14But they do it under this
10:16pressure test that they've
10:18subjected themselves to.
10:20And they're, you know, emotionally,
10:22they're evolving. They're shifting.
10:24Their sensibilities are changing constantly.
10:26And that's why it was such an interesting acting challenge.
10:28And it's one of the
10:30reasons why the
10:32story has always stayed with me.
10:34So, I don't
10:36agree with all the choices all the
10:38characters made on some kind of moral level.
10:40But I understood why
10:42they were making the choices. And I found
10:44that interesting. And I hope audiences will
10:46as well.
10:48Final question. Ron, how did
10:50you assemble this particular
10:52cast, given all
10:54of the, you know, it must have been like a Rubik's Cube.
10:56Well,
10:58the story and the screenplay
11:00provided
11:02this
11:04attraction. And I was not going to go forward
11:06if I couldn't put together
11:08an ensemble of this
11:10because, frankly, it's complicated.
11:12All these characters are very,
11:14very challenging. Now,
11:16I like directing those kinds
11:18of scenes. And every day
11:20was pretty thrilling.
11:22It was tiring. It was hard. It's an indie
11:24movie. We were, you know, we didn't have
11:26a lot of time to analyze and think about
11:28things. And I think in some ways
11:30that energized what they
11:32were doing. But it was,
11:34I mean, I was just
11:36delighted. I was kind of in heaven.
11:38You guys were sort of miserable from time
11:40to time. But just watching
11:42these scenes come together,
11:44you know,
11:46through their talent and artistry and
11:48also just kind of creative
11:50endurance was, you know, everything
11:52I could have hoped for.
11:54But it was this story, right? And it was this set
11:56of characters. It's so unusual.
11:58People aren't really making movies like this
12:00so much. And
12:02here we had an opportunity to do that.
12:04And the fact
12:06they were real, as you were saying.
12:08The what? That they were real people.
12:10Yeah. Well, the fact
12:12that the story happened, you know, and there
12:14was actual research to be done.
12:16And you guys were all diving
12:18into that and then
12:20building on it. And it was exciting.
12:22It was creatively really exciting to be
12:24around. Was each character
12:26in the film also real
12:28or was any brought in?
12:30They were real. All real.
12:32Every one of them.
12:34You can find old newspaper clippings on them.
12:36It's really fascinating.
12:38Film. They were
12:40recorded at the time.
12:42And we had all of that. Remember we had
12:44in my office and in the production office,
12:46we had everything on the wall.
12:48We had a video monitor
12:50kind of running all the old footage
12:52constantly. But it feels incredibly
12:54modern, the film, and also
12:56the characters. They were way ahead of their time.
12:58I think the film will resonate
13:00with what is going on right now,
13:02especially post-pandemic, because who hasn't
13:04dreamt or thought about leaving
13:06everything behind and start anew
13:08and live a different life,
13:10you know, further away
13:12from civilization, you know, back to nature?
13:14I mean, I did in my life.
13:16So I moved away from a big city
13:18to the countryside.
13:20And so to try
13:22and create a new setup,
13:24a new way of life. And then
13:26the interesting thing about this tale
13:28is what happens with paradise
13:30once people come together?
13:32Is paradise
13:34lost or
13:36will
13:38it prevail?
13:40And the funny thing is that all these people
13:42made the same decision. So you would think
13:44when you get there,
13:46you're my kind
13:48of people. We should get along.
13:50Like, let's create this, you know,
13:52this group. And it's completely
13:54the opposite.
13:56It's like this divisive perception
13:58of how to live, which, again, is happening
14:00a lot around the world today.
14:02We need to go in this direction. No, no, no, this direction.
14:04Maybe this direction. We'll return to this.
14:06And that's where the drama
14:08got hot.
14:10Well, it's kind of this crazy
14:12collision of personalities.
14:14And it is.
14:16You know, they sort of put themselves
14:18into a pressure test circumstance.
14:20And there were changes.
14:22There were shifts.
14:24It evolved in an interesting way.
14:26And it does become a thriller.
14:28That's ultimately
14:30sort of starts off as this survival
14:32story. And it really
14:34does turn into a very intense
14:36thriller.
14:38But, again, all driven
14:40by character and all
14:42based on this circumstance
14:44that these people
14:46really went through.
14:48It's wild. Survival in the toughest
14:50of situations. That's what's so interesting.
14:52What you put into that extreme
14:54just felt so extreme
14:56to be inside of it.
14:58And these
15:00characters were, you know,
15:02very particular,
15:04you know, and a little eccentric.
15:06There's a lot of humor.
15:08A little bit.
15:10Well, that was my feeling as a director.
15:12You got that.
15:14I was reading about our family.
15:16It took eight months to just get to the island
15:18when they were leaving Cologne.
15:20It was a journey in itself.
15:22It wasn't just, oh, let's hop on a plane and we'll get there.
15:24It took them eight months to
15:26actually arrive to the destination.
15:28Without knowing what it looked like.
15:30Exactly. They had no idea what they were...
15:32They didn't know if there was water, food, anything.
15:34A further two months
15:36to take their belongings from the beach
15:38to a place where they could live
15:40by hand.
15:42And also with media back in the days,
15:44I mean, it already worked, you know,
15:46how these tales...
15:48How this couple wouldn't have,
15:50you know,
15:52tried to change the world
15:54and had written these articles.
15:56Maybe there was a little vanity involved.
15:58But if, you know,
16:00they would have been fine because nobody else
16:02would have arrived on that island, you know.
16:04But even back then, it worked.
16:06Out of a barrel, you know, these articles,
16:08these papers were sent to all these
16:10big newspapers and then
16:12people like this family,
16:14the Wittmers, were attracted
16:16by these, you know, exotic,
16:18adventurous, inspiring
16:20tales. And of course,
16:22they were thinking, wow,
16:24this is a way to get out.
16:26And then being willing to travel
16:28to the end of the world
16:30is still quite remarkable.
16:32But, you know, I understand the attraction, you know.
16:34After having lived
16:36through the horrors of the First World War
16:38and all the consequences, you know,
16:40they thought like, well, this is maybe
16:42a chance to create
16:44really like an Eden.
16:48So, yeah.
16:50And then I come proposing an amazing idea
16:52and they don't like it.
16:54I never knew why.
16:56Well, in another
16:58time, I think the Baroness
17:00with all of her entrepreneurial spirit
17:02would have been a darling.
17:04I think often about
17:06the Baroness. Tonight, the Baroness
17:08is premiering at TIFF.
17:10She's up there.
17:12She's up there looking down.
17:16Looking down, going,
17:18I knew I'd make it.
17:20I finally start.
17:22I thought about her.
17:24She got her page.
17:26She keeps reinventing herself.
17:28She got her moment.
17:30And Ritter's philosophies are being considered.
17:32Yes. The one thing
17:34people always say, so when can we read them?
17:36And there's
17:38nothing to read. That's a spoiler.
17:40But you know what I mean?
17:42I mean, they never got published.
17:48And the Witmers are still there and cooking
17:50for tourists.
17:52Doing my hotel.
17:54Living my life.
17:58Oh, and it's getting fired up.