The Life of Chuck Interview: Mike Flanagan, Tom Hiddleston, Karen Gillan & Chiwetel Ejiofor

[Music] what's up everyone welcome back to the collider interview Studio at Tiff 2024 at the cinema center brought to you by Range Rover Sports I'm so excited I don't mean to play favorites but I can't help it life of Chuck is my most anticipated interview of the film festival my most anticipated movie of the festival I'm so excited oh thank you wow that's amazing yeah you can't tell if it's amazing or I just put way too much press I have one question that's going to put so much pressure on you but it's based on something you said in our press note so you kind of teed me up for it damn it I'm going to start semi easy I want to talk to you a little bit Mike about Stephen King adaptations because you've obviously done quite a few over the years first with life of Chuck I am curious why now for this particular Stephen King adaptation is there anything about you know the point in your career that you're at the state of the world anything at all that made you say we need a life of Chuck movie now well when I first read the short story it was uh in early 2020 it was just after the lockdown it was just as kind of Co took over the world and when you experience the story at the very beginning there's a sense that all of the wheels are coming off that Society itself is falling apart and as I was reading the story it resonated with me so powerfully um that I questioned whether or not I'd be able to finish it because it felt so bleakly timely um but by the time I got to the end of the story I was crying and it was out of joy and hope and it felt like a movie it this this people say this but this is actually true it felt like a movie that I felt like I had to make um and a movie that we we talked about this when we first spoke about it that a movie I wanted to exist in the world for my children and um so yeah this one's a this one's a very special one to me I adore that short story so so much so very much understand all of that so my other adaptation question for you is a big two-parter because again you've done quite a few can you tell me something about your process of adap ing stepen King material that has stayed the same from film to film to film but then also something about life of Chuck that called for something different well I always do it the same way to begin with which is I get a a copy of the book that is just for me to use as a tool to adapt and I respect the material too much to write inside of the book um so what happens is I write on poits and stick them inside and that makes the book ridiculous it turns it into this insane prop um but I always as a king fan I see so many adaptations I've lived and died with them and shaken my fist at the screen and and then had those sha Shanker Stand By Me moments where it's like oh my God so I always try to imagine what would upset me the most as a fan and try very hard not to do that I have to follow up what would upset you most with an adaptation of Life of Chuck that you knew you couldn't do yourself changing the structure I like that that's really not an option otherwise not option but I can see why people might decide to do that okay I'm glad I'm glad you stuck to that chel I'm going to come your way now this is a little bit of a big question about a very specific detail but Marty is kind of the first one who who sees Chuck so it's a very important establishing point for the story so what was it like figuring out I guess what that needed to feel like for him and look like for the audience well I think the the handy thing is when you're reading the material you know you're going through that kind of process anyway you're like what is this what is happening you know you're kind of like where is this where is this taking me and and why and it's all quite mysterious and um you know that just sort of there's a kind of thrilling element to it so I think that I kind of wanted to sort of think about think about that you know that it is it's kind of out of the blue it's sort of as it becomes more repeated in in maris's experience it becomes stranger and stranger we end up having a kind of conversation about it and realizing that there's something that is um that is ubiquitous about this uh about this man and um um and I just think I just sat in that really I found it so intriguing as a kind of way into the story so sort of brilliant all right so Karen looping your character in now too I'll toss this to to both of you how much are you two thinking about your characters being a product of Chuck interesting question you know I didn't think of it that way at all because I think we just sort of needed to play the truth of the situation and not be like I mean I also don't want to give away any spoilers how do I answer this but no I wasn't thinking about that I was thinking about just you know the reality of this this situation which is so crazy and outlandish but you know dealing with the end of the world like or maybe it's not so crazy and outlandish oh that's quite sad sorry having an ADHD moment where my thoughts are shooting all over the place but no I I just tried to play the truth of the situation and didn't try to kind of sit outside of it and be like is this a a figment of anybody's imagination same for you uh yeah I think I think I maybe it sort of the context of it played a little more for me uh I think in the sense that there's something that's so interesting about having about knowing that there's maybe something more going on just as I think just as a character you know so sort of trying to play absolutely the truth of it but with that sense I think maybe like behind the eyes that this can't be the limit of this experience you know there's something else happening within the context of this which is actually follows the story a little bit as well you know it's a kind of it's an investigation that's happening at the same time to dig into the relationship between your characters now Karen I feel like you know this about me I love making actors give each other flowers so can you each tell me something about the other as a scene partner that you appreciated and helped you happen to something in your own character that you might not have been able to reach without them I'll go first um oh he is an incredible actor I just sort of found myself not needing to do anything in terms of my own acting because all I had to do was just listen to him and be observant and it was like I'm getting everything that I need here and more and you you reduced me to tears um and I really didn't have to try um so thank you for making everything very easy for me um I thank you I can only say you know exactly the same thing you know you're phenomenal actress and I and I was you know cuz the first thing that we had to do was quite complex it was quite a tricky you know a lot of dialogue and it's like you know and just having a scene partner that's able to um kind of walk you through it you know and uh connect uh I think it was our first day I I feel like it was the first day that we did anything with the phone call yeah and it was like a and all of that history all of that all of the Dynamics all of the sort of the hopes the crush dream the problems you know all of that stuff and having somebody who's just you know on the other end of the phone and you were upstairs I think were sh in a little bedroom just all communicated through the voice all communicated you know all of the the sort of history and story and I just thought it was absolutely wonderful so I really thank you for for that it was that I can't wait to see this all leap to life on screen later they are amazing together my bet they are amazing together I have very high hopes literally every single person in this ensemble ising amazing so Tom I'm going to throw a somewhat similar question your way because life of Chuck also has like a bit of an anthology feel so you essentially get to work with a whole new set of actors so can you highlight someone who gave you just what you needed and maybe helped you exceed your own expectations for your work in the film well I I probably just immediately pick two people if I'm if I may which is anaise basso and Taylor Gordon and I feel like we come as a three um uh there is whatever I contribute to this film is is is comes in tandem with with them we are a trio in a way and um yeah it's uh it's just because there's a moment in the film obviously it's called the life of Chuck and I'm playing Chuck and there's a specific moment in the middle of the film which is very spontaneous and very surprising for himself and for everyone else and uh it expresses a a a part of him that perhaps doesn't get expressed very often and uh that moment is really crystallized by the three of us somehow um so Taylor Gordon is is playing the drums she's playing the drums on the street and Chuck CR is on his way to a conference and he stops and puts his briefcase down and starts moving to the beat of those drums and then as he starts moving he spots a face in the crowd who seems to be enjoying it as much as he is and that's Janice played by Analise and the three of us kind of do this we are a a triangular constellation of uh of music and dance and joy so I couldn't have done it without them it's a beautiful beat in the story and I have a feeling it's going to be the same on screen here I'll toss this question to both of you about that it's one of the most iconic scenes in the entire short story so what was it like adapting it because I I guess Stephen King is very specific with his movements in terms of how that dance operates so is it about sticking as close to the text as possible or is there any additional choreography oh no in this particular case it was about finding what what created the most joy and what was fascinating to watch from my perspective was that Tom and anelise and Taylor and our incredible choreographer Mandy Moore went off together to not only create the dance but to create the music and it all happened it was a collaboration from the drums to the choreography um and so I got to step back and just watch what you guys built and when they finally came to set with this worked out having let it evolve and grow and react to their instincts and uh and what brought joy out for them I remember how much my face hurt from smiling the first time I watched them perform it and I knew that it was going to work because of that I love that I didn't real you probably just saw me recognize the fact that you worked with Mandy on that yeah what Wasing a perfect she was amazing and the best and Taylor also like in this in the story and and certainly in this in the short story in your screenplay there's this sense of the of the drummer um being like incredibly expert and uh classically trained but has someone who has has dispatched that classical training to find her own the soul of her own Rhythm uh but so inside her skill is this capacity to play and what she does and what and what we worked out together with Mandy is she's playing the beat of different entirely different steps she's she starts off with like uh kind of jazz and um a chaa and then it goes into um swing and something closer to Fred and ginger and then into bosanova and then into paa and these are radically different rhythms but she's just playing with the form and Chuck and Janice are responding in kind but she's conducting us from from behind the set um and and and enjoying those because what we learn and I don't want to give too many spoilers is that something in the soul of the film is that we all contain multitudes and that the our internal worlds contain greater depth and range than the external world would like to give us and Chuck looks like an accountant but he was a dancer as a boy and he he was taught by his grandparents his grandmother particularly um and uh and then at high school and that he rediscovers that dancer in himself so I we were trying to understand what the influences might be that he would have gone through all of this training he' have done he pker and Bost Anova and swing he would have Stephen King is very specific about moonwalking so we had a whole moonwalk day um and we thinking about asking you if you can moonwalk but I feel like you can wait till you see the movie I feel like I've seen videos of you dance you can definitely moonwalk I am enthusiastic in my expression uh I willary judgment to others the dance has to come from a place of joy and that's all you need I do love it and I and it was as Mike said it was about what creates the most Joy but also what expresses the most joy and it's really interesting I think there I can't I've never met a single person on this planet who doesn't love dancing maybe they need a little encouragement maybe they need a to to to lose a self-consciousness or an inhibition but ultimately everyone wants to dance it's it's like the freest expression of it's interesting because even babies dance so it's almost like it's it's a totally Primal Instinct um I'm always like why do babies dance you know I think about that a lot it is true though it's baked into all of us to a degree all right my I'm coming back your way for some story structure questions there was something in particular I'd read in our press notes that kind of caught my eye you mentioned there were other opportunities within that structure to play even more and to make Visual and thematic connections between these three chapters that you can't in a book can you give me some specific examples of things you did in the movie that you can't in the book well it's one it's one of the great privileges of visual storytelling you know uh calling back cues that will create and how do I do this without spoiling yeah you know it's really challenging um but yeah how sometimes uh the most fleeting glance at something can see itself into our memory and into our imagination and it can plant something in us that we will revisit when the Tumblers connect in just the right way decades later and it can transport us it can take us back there was a chance to to do more of that than King was already doing in the story um in this and uh and it turned into an incredible opportunity for uh myself and Ean Bolter our Director of Photography um to really create more of a tapestry um and I can't really talk about it more than that I think without getting into danger zone but I maybe because I can say I think I'm not the only actor who plays Chuck yeah in the film and but I our piece the piece with with me and anise was the first week of shooting and there were things that happened happened the magic of the accident um when we were when we were shooting that then Mike and Mandy took on with some of the other Chucks which was really I found really joyful um to have that sort of even physical things that happened and you know Mandy could go I'm going to tell another Chuck that that might be a signature move I can't wait to see the movie I'm like I'm losing my mind with the anticipation right now Mike a question about making this film independently because I feel like from an outsider perspective like I look at you as a filmmaker and I'm like if the he wants to make uh life of chuck with a studio someone's going to come run in give him a budget and let him make it with all the the tools and resources in the world you decided to produce this film independently and you're here at the film festival selling it why did that feel like it would best serve the version of the story you wanted to tell well one of the things that I recognized very early was that the story is very usual and uh sometimes it can be more of a challenge to lead people to water on a story that isn't as easily comparable to something that is immediate you know immediately in their past I have so much to say about that yeah it's it's it's it's a it's a reality of our business um and fortunately you know my my producer Trevor Macy recognized the same thing and said you know we can try to take this around town and sell it and we can try to talk to people about what it will be knowing it'll likely have to change um or we could make it and show them what it is and hope that that connects with people in a way uh that lets the movie remain what it wants to be um that makes it more challenging because you have less resources you have less support though in our case we were able to make the movie at a time when otherwise we would not havec specifically because of that because we were completely independent um so yeah I it's my first time doing an independent movie in many years and I forgot how much I love the intense camaraderie and invention and the forced creativity that kind of comes from that walking on the set and looking around and realizing everybody's there for the same reason and it's a it's a beautiful thing when you build a film making family like you and everyone has I feel like it's got to be the best feeling in the world to make it that way I teased a really big question for you based on something you said in the notes here it is now you said that after you read the Nolla you emailed Stephen King that day and you said if I could have a crack at this story it might be the best movie I'll ever make now having finished it do you feel that way yeah I do um and uh I felt that way while we were shooting it too um I I felt that way the end of the first week we spent four days filming the the dance was first uh which is a which is a a confident way to start an independent film um but for all the reasons you don't control that's how it lands um then we watched this happen for four straight days and um I've watched a lot of things happen for many days on a movie it takes forever to make a movie but it's the first time in my life that I loved what was on the monitor just as much in fact more on the last take that we did four days in uh and I knew that there was something magical happening and when that little movie ended uh we got to make two more that made me feel exactly the same way and when chal and Karen came on set and we were suddenly making a story that on the surface might not feel connected to the experience we had that first week I had the same feeling um and it stayed with me all the way to the end watching uh Benjamin payack and and Mark Hamill and Mia Sarah um and so yeah I really like to hope they're going to let me keep making movies uh after this but if this was it that would be okay with me so yeah I appreciate how beautiful that sentiment is but never stop never stop in the film format and the series structure either I need more of your stories in my life seriously I have a big group question that I wanted to wrap up at least the like of Life of Chuck portion of our conversation on so you brought this up a little bit the idea of um expressing Joy through dancing and there's like a big old quote I'll just read it for people very quickly um you said I hope the movie helps viewers look at our world today and encourages them to sometimes put down the briefcase and let yourself dance whatever that means to you whatever kind of expression Joy dancing represents painting being with family writing being athletic all these different ways that we can let our hearts out feels important to emphasize this can you each tell me a way that you let your heart out Beyond just making movies wow um I mean d dancing is definitely one of them like I have always loved I don't know I just it's like who doesn't love dancing so whenever I get the chance um but I think probably the first thing I thought of when you said it was like and it's a a kind of nerdy thing to say I love running I I love to run for me in um I find the release of running uh incredibly cathartic and therapeutic I just it's just me and running outside running in the world uh it's just my own body and my own head and um away from because we're so Tethered to technology we're so attached to information and our phones and our computers and stuff and I just it's just my own feet and my own heart and my own imagination and I'm just running in space again I think it's a thing babies love running um um why a big question that yeah and haven't I hope I haven't lost that so yeah that's how I let my heart out going to make me appreciate my next run even more now anyone else have an example um the um I think that thing that you're saying about the that disconnect from technology is like so important and it's a great moment actually in this story you know when uh when um because there's so many sort of the tech sort of Technology it's like the machine stops in a way you know the technology kind of starts to sort of stop working and um and people have to dis connect from from that side of their lives and I feel like that's where the magic can happen I think for us in the sort of modern world you know when you disconnect from technology and uh and obviously the joy that you have of being with those you love and family and that's you know where you can really sort of sing I think um I always hesitate to answer these questions because I um don't have any hobbies other than than than making films and stuff like that like it's not a hobby that's I suppose it does count part of the reason why I really wanted to ask this question too is because like my whole life is watching and talking about movies and sometimes I have to force myself like no think about some of the else which isn't very much admittedly I like have this natural tendency to zone out a lot in my life um and I quite like doing that so I let my imagination just sort of like go wherever it wants to go but where it goes is like trying to think of ideas for films so I I I come back to it but there's something I think it's my version of meditation or something um and it feels like energy preservation at the same time as maybe being creative I get it literally anytime someone's like do you watch movies for fun I'm like yes I do but then if I like it enough I'll turn it into work so I guess I don't but I do because it's baked into me to watch it for fun I don't know I would add do would you agree with this watching um Elite athletes is like a deep pleasure like watching a great soccer team football team or watching tennis players or watching the Olympics I that for me I could spend I do spend uh it's just a confession I spend a lot of time watching great tennis players play tennis and watching great football players play football I should specify football by football I mean soccer I don't mean it's the start of the NFL season I know but it's also the start of the Premiership let's not go there um but yeah I I find there's like a like a kind of majesty in elite athletic performance when you watch a great soccer player or a great tennis player or a great athlete it's just like watching poetry in motion how do you feel watching running see does it combine all those yeah yeah like the the the the big track meets at the big track races at the Olympics 100 meters 200 meters 400 800 1500 I will cry I just sit and watch and cry at the magnificence of of um these people do being the best at what they do yeah makes all the sense in the world got anything to take us home on this question yeah it's it's unfortunate uh because coming after Tom the one that I was going to say was walking so basically what he does only much lazier uh but for the same reasons but I'm like right oh doing that quickly that sounds that sounds different and better for your body um but no I I think besides I I I door walking and it's become a major a major part of my life and self um but I think beyond that I would say piano and I have a I didn't know you played the piano yeah I don't I don't play wonderfully but love it yeah um and so when I when I see people playing piano magnificently it always I have that feeling like when you're watching Runners where I'm just like ah I I love what they're doing and I love where they are and what they're finding and and I feel a pull to that yeah beautiful answer I do that too I do have one hobby I just want you to know I had a Hobie what is do you play piano I play the piano no very well but it's a hobby which is the main thing I was trying to get acoss I'll take that eventually I'll I'll think my new hobby is hummingbirds well looking at them like I got a feeder and then I got a little hand feeder and I stand outside and it sits on my finger and it sips out of the feeder in my hand it's the most magical thing in the that's my new hobby I have to ask one more question that is unrelated I'm really curious to see the reaction to this I have to ask a Marvel question mhm yes I was just curious to see who who got most nervous Tom it's coming to you because I could literally ask any of you a Marvel question our team is very very excited about Loki they want more I know you don't know if there's a season three and I know even if you did know you couldn't tell me so I'm going to ask you a two-part question if it ends with season two what is it about the season 2 storyline that you think will give you closure but then if it gets to continue what is something you've only scratched the surface of with that character in season 2 you'd most look forward to doing in season 3 Mora great question the first part um I mean when we conceived of Loki as a show we we knew we were going to do something different and something separate from everything else I had done before that um and that was very exciting but also with great respect for those things that had come before the three Thor movies and the Avengers movies that I was in um and we were creating world of the TVA an institution that claims to govern the order of time and um we knew I think we wanted to confront uh this anti-hero with himself and it was the whole uh 12 episodes or two seasons our theme was going to be identity and self-discovery and and taking that uh kind of iconic line from Avengers I'm Loki of Asgard I'm burdened with glorious purpose and in investigating that what is purpose and how is it possible to redefine reinvestigate ReDiscover or reinvent his sense of purpose and where we ended at the end of season 2 of Loki I really feel like the confrontation the spiritual confrontation was complete and he understood through the gift of his connections with Mobius and Sylvia and his friends at the TVA that sometimes purpose is more burden than glory and he gives himself for his friends and through that is there's a kind of closure and that the uh the broken soul that that he started with in the very first Thor movie is healed because he's always been a character who doesn't belong and finally he finds a place to belong and people to belong to so I feel very happy with the conclusion of that um um in terms of scratching the I mean it's a character who's been around for almost 3,000 years and um he represents unpredictability and Boundary Crossing and disruption and um the question mark so I feel like if I ever got a chance to play the character again there's a thousand things I haven't done um he's uh constantly changing Limitless that is true that is true I'm not changing I've been a big fan of Life of Chuck since the day I read that story I am not wavering from it being my most anticipated film of the festival I cannot wait to see it tonight thank you for sharing some of your experience us with us and huge congratulations on the movie thank you so much you thank you [Music]