The all new film THE GIVER, based on the young adult novel of the same name, hit theaters today. In celebration of the film WAMG sat down with Jeff Bridges, Katie Holmes, Brenton Thwaites, Odeya Rush, Cameron Monaghan, Phillip Noyce, Lois Lowry, Robert B. Weide, Michael Mitnick and Nikki Silver along with other members of the press at the LA press day. Check some of the highlights out below!
The haunting story of THE GIVER centers on Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), a young man who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Yet as he begins to spend time with The Giver (Jeff Bridges), who is the sole keeper of all the community’s memories, Jonas quickly begins to discover the dark and deadly truths of his community’s secret past. With this newfound power of knowledge, he realizes that the stakes are higher than imagined – a matter of life and death for himself and those he loves most. At extreme odds, Jonas knows that he must escape their world to protect them all – a challenge that no one has ever succeeded at before. THE GIVER is based on Lois Lowry’s beloved young adult novel of the same name, which was the winner the 1994 Newbery Medal and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
Jeff, is it true that you originally wanted to make this film with your father?
Jeff Bridges : I originally wanted to direct my father, Lloyd Bridges in the film and I wanted to make a movie that my kids could see. They were all young kids at the time. And I was looking at a catalogue of children’s books and came across this wonderful cover of this grizzled old guy. And I thought, “Oh this is great.” I read it and I was knocked out on kid book level but also as an adult. I thought, “Oh this is a movie I’d love to see.” It turns, out, that Lois took that photograph of the guy on the cover.
Who was the guy?
Lois Lowry : He was a Swedish painter named Carl Gustaf Nelson and at the time I was a photo journalist.
Jeff, how does it feel to have been working on this project long enough to play The Giver?
Jeff Bridges : I finally qualified as the grizzled guy. It was funny. It felt just wonderful. So much of the success of film depends on the cast – not only the cast of actors but who is going to be the director, who is going to be the cinematographer and all of those slots were just filled in such a beautiful way. The movie kind transcended my expectations for it.
For the actors, what attracted you to this role? And was it intimidating working with actors like Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep?
Brenton Thwaites : Jeff was great to work with. I had a dream of a time. When you get this gift, this opportunity, you kind of have to pinch yourself in the morning before you go to work and it was like that everyday. It was great. And to work with a fellow Aussie was pretty cool too!
Katie Holmes : I was very excited to be a part of this film. The book is so beloved and to be a part of this project with Jeff and Meryl Streep and all of these amazing actors was pure delight. And to work with Phillip was wonderful. It was interesting to play this character because this world – there is no emotion, there is no pain. And so for an actor, you’re always trying to emote but you can’t so it was interesting. And playing Brenton’s mom and having him have these experiences that were so foreign to my character, and also being the guardian of the rules of this world was really interesting and quite a challenge. But mostly it was just an honor to be a part of something that I think is a very valuable piece of work.
Odeya Rush : It’s such an honor to work with these great actors. Really when you meet them, they are very relaxed and warm and make you feel very comfortable because it can be really intimidating. And we had this kind of warm environment on set too. My character takes such a journey too. I’m not completely The Giver in Jonas; I’m not fully feeling things and I’m not getting memories. But still I start off really naive and happy and thinking that I’m in a good place and once I stop taking my injections, it’s kind of a state of confusion and I don’t really understand what I’m feeling. They are trying to explain it to me and towards the end it kind of goes to anger because I realize the cruelty behind this community. I think that arc was very interesting and it’s such a great story. So I’m really fortunate.
Cameron Monaghan : Well I mean when I got the audition for this movie, they said that this is a book that is taught in all these schools produced by the Weinstein Company with this great director and these fantastic actors. So kicking and screaming I was dragged over to go act in a Meryl Streep movie I guess. Obviously having the chance to work with Jeff, with Katie, and to be able to tell this really amazing story – I read the book when I was auditioning and it’s a very beautiful story about humanity and what it means to be human and loved and all these great things. It was just something I wanted to be a part of.
One of the ideas in the film is that people in positions of power can be wrong sometimes – including your parents. As a parent of a small child, how do you navigate that in terms of how much do you encourage children of that age to question authority?
Katie Holmes : Well, I think that one of the draws of doing this project was this book. And the reason why I think it’s so beloved by so many and why schools have it on their reading list is because of these powerful themes. Having children really decide for themselves what they think is important and that free choice. So I’m very happy to be a part of the film adaptation of this.
Katie, what was it like for you to play this tough mother – so into maintaining the law that it was kind of at the expense of your own child? You’re kind of like the fun killer of the family: “No you can’t take this baby home. You can’t have emotions!”
Katie Holmes : [Laughs]. I really enjoyed playing this character. You know I think that for me what I loved about this character is she is trying so hard to maintain this order. This is what she knows. Jonas is going through something that she doesn’t know and it’s very threatening and it fills her with a great deal of conflict. So I think it’s always interesting to play people that have a lot going on.
Brenton, what was were some of of your first experiences on the set? And how did you get the baby to cry?
Brenton Thwaites : I think as soon as the baby saw Phillip’s face it just started crying. So did I [Laughs]! The honest truth is, as the start of the film when I first met these two kids – James and Alex, they would put the babies in my arms and they would being crying instantly. So it began, put the baby in my arms if you want to get it to cry. But over the months, you develop a really strong bong with these kids. So in a way, it was hard to see them go. it was hard to let go.
First experiences on set? I guess every movie has it’s uniqueness. That’s the wonderful thing about being an actor; every job is kind of a different thing. Every movie is it’s own wild beast and you have to roll with it. I think that’s one of the things that I learned – especially with Jeff who I did most of my scenes with – was you just have to role with it and do the best you can. And try and enjoy it along the way.
Jeff, when young actors work with you, do they ask you for advice? And do you offer it?
Jeff Bridges : We just jam you know? It’s a musical expression but it also works for movies too. Brenton plays guitar. We did a lot of jamming. But having fun – my add Lloyd Bridges taught me all the basics of acting. The main thing I learned from my dad was really just in observing how he worked and the joy that he had in doing what he loved doing. I got to work with him twice as an adult and for both those movies, whenever my dad came on the set, that joyful vibe came with him. It’s contagious and it runs through the whole company. Everybody goes, “Yeah. This is kind of fun. This is kind of advanced pretend.” So we had little games we used to do and play.
Did you play ‘pass the pig’ on the set?
Jeff Bridges : We did. Brenton and I had a game that we used to play that was kind of fun. We had all those books and we would arbitrarily pick out a book and open it to a page and run our finger down the page, find a sentence, and that would be our call on for the day – whatever that said. It would often be pretty mystical and perceptive and would be our guide for the day. Real books.
Am I the only one that doesn’t know what ‘pass the pig’ is?
Jeff Bridges : It’s kind of like craps for kids. You roll these little plastic pigs. It’s a great game actually.
And apparently this has been a tradition of yours on all the movie sets…
Jeff Bridges : That’s right. The guys that make those pigs; they gave me a golden set of them.
Nikki Silver : We filmed in South Africa and it was a really magical set. Cameron, Brenton, they all play guitar. And Taylor came and Taylor played guitar and Odeya would sing and Michael (Mitnick. Screenwriter) would play piano. We were in a really interesting part of the world doing something really special so it was a pretty amazing time.
I heard that you actually shot a version of this film with your dad as The Giver?
Jeff Bridges : That’s true.
Any way that could be on the DVD?
Jeff Bridges : Beau’s son, Casey Bridges was our DP on that session at our parent’s house. We read the whole book. Bud Cort was the narrator. It was like 18 years ago. Bud read all the narration in the book. Dylan who now works for Universal as a publicist plays Jonas. Casey tells me he’s got it so hopefully it will be something on the DVD.
Jeff, do you want to keep up with the acting or would you eventually like to retire and go fish or something?
Jeff Bridges : Yeah those are two streams that you articulated exactly. I’m 64 now so I’m moving along pretty good. I’ve only got a few – there’s a limited time. I got a lot to do! I got a lot of ideas, a lot of things I want to realize. And that creates a certain amount of pressure. It’s like Walt Disney – Jiminy Cricket – you’ve got a good angel. I remember Goofy or Pluto – these are both actually angels. One guy is saying, “You got to get to work. You’ve got a lot of stuff to do.” And the other guy is saying to me, “Come on Jeff. Just relax. Do you want your whole life to be a giant homework assignment?” So it’s balancing those two things. It drives my wife crazy. But this is a one of a kind experience for me. I’ve never had that kind of passion or intention for a project – holding it for 18 years so It’s very gratifying to see it come to fruition.
Jeff, working with Taylor Swift, what kind of actress is she?
Jeff Bridges : Taylor gosh. She was so remarkable. She flew in. I think her first day of work was right on the heels of arriving in Cape Town and certainly exhausted. I had experienced that myself. But she was such a pro and so up for being involved and playing. I hope she continues the acting because I think she’s very talented in addition to being a great songwriter and performer. She was just wonderful. And I believe she was Harvey’s [Weinstein]’s idea. He said, “You’re being taught piano. Who would be really great for that part?” Taylor came to his mind and I’m so glad she stepped on board. She had read the book I believe and was a big fan of that. She’s terrific.
THE GIVER is in theaters now
