The story behind the production
comes from life The
film's story comes from the life of self-director Mike Mills, when his father was 75 years old and had been married for 45 years. But at that time, his father suddenly wanted to live a life that he had never had before, and this desire was so strong that almost no one could stop it. Mills' father had previously led a stable family life, but it was clear that this was not what the old man needed. After making the change, Mills' father led a bewildering, at times harrowing, but fun and thought-provoking life. Even though his father died at the age of 80, his attitude and pursuit of life took root in Mills' heart.
Mills began writing the screenplay with the idea that "the more personal it is, the more it resonates." Mills said: "This is my own life. The humor, jokes, emotions in the film are my personal experience. I believe that those who have experienced similar experiences as me must feel similar emotions to me. ; Those who have not had this experience will also be moved. Sometimes, the more personal emotional experience, the more it can resonate with the collective. The whole film consists of two lines, the first is the church of Howl how Oliver fell in love with Anna; the other is Oliver and Anna's relationship, his love story shows that he never really understood his father. These two stories express two states of existence, Hal is an old man , represents an old image of a 1950s youth, conservative and afraid of same-sex memory cancer, which is an external, visible concept. And his son Oliver represents a 1960s child. They will hide His own ideas and views on love are open and bold, and he does not have too many concerns about society and public opinion. This is an internal concept. However, there is a turning point in the story. Hal is a homosexual, and he used a normal marriage to cover himself up But he finally took this important step himself. And Oliver, under Hal's teaching, gradually learned how to open the shackles on his body - these shackles are given by society and others. It was given by his family, but it was more of what he created for himself and taught him how to face love and life."
In Mills' design, this is a "little movie" -- a small pattern, a small story, but another design of his is that the film is about big emotions and big lives. Mills said: "I want to show the fun of life through movies, especially to tell others how interesting life can be at that critical moment in life. In fact, sometimes you do things, and you find out that there will be no consequences. In other words, making your own choices about your own life is just the beginning. What comes with it will really change your life. In the university of people-to-people relationships, virtually everyone is just the beginning Scholar." After deciding on the film's tone, Mills needed to find the right actors to play the father and son in the film -- the key to the success or failure of the indie film. He thought of Ewan McGregor and veteran actor Christopher Plummer. So he emailed the two actors and invited them to appear in the film.
big-name actors
In his invitations to Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer, Mills detailed the story and details of the film, as well as his understanding and perception of the two characters. These two letters were written with sincerity, and they moved the two actors at the time. Especially Christopher Plummer, he even felt that this was the character created for him, and Plummer was in his 80s at the time, and he had empathic love and identification with this character. He said: "I've never played a role like this on screen, it kind of blew me away, and I feel like a part of it was totally made for me. Who knew I'd be in my 80s? What to do?" In the beginning, Mills and his crew aimed to use his father's story to tell an old man's life choices. However, in the process of revision, the story was painted over and over again with Mills' personal color, until it finally became a kind of "self-report" of him - the father-son relationship in the film is completely the life of Mills. In the portrayal, he and his father lived like this. Mills once said that Plummer looks a lot like his father, and there is a kind of feeling when he sees him. Mills' father, an art history scholar, museum worker, and perhaps an artist, "pretends" to be a straight man and doesn't tell the secret until his death. Although he loved the story, Plummer was nervous because he was playing the director's father, and he was worried that his performance and the film would hurt Mills. Plummer said: "It's a story he created himself, and I can relate to it. My concern is that Mills will be hurt in the process of filming, after all, it's mostly personal emotions in the film. The film is pure, pure, it is A film that I really want to work on."
It was an early idea for Mills to have Ewan McGregor play his son Oliver, and he wanted Ewan to play the role before the script was finished. Mills felt that Ivan's temperament was similar to Mills, but his British accent would be a hindrance to the film, so Ivan asked Mills to read the script to him in order to learn an authentic American accent. Mills said: "Ivan did an amazing job with the accent, he asked me to read the script to him. But I hope he doesn't emulate my voice and tone, if he is limited by my style, It will be a disaster. Later I recorded the sound, he corrected his accent, and added some small habits of tone particles and pronunciation to the characters according to his understanding of the characters. It should be said that Ivan's ability to recite lines He is world-class, his voice is perfect, and he definitely has the finishing touch in the film."
In addition to the two leading actors, there is also a "character" that cannot be ignored in the film - a dog. The dog witnessed Hal's death and Oliver's love. Talking about the "acting" of the "director" dog, Mills said: "Actually, the director dog is the same as the director, you just need to treat it as a real actor. They have their own trainers, where are they? It's very quiet, and it shows the necessary eyes and movements and things like that. Sometimes you talk to it and it really seems to understand you."
The
film is adapted from director Mike Mills and his father's real life story. Mills' father was 75 the year the story told in the film took place, and his father died five years later.
The dog that appeared in the film is called Cosmo, and it is a star dog that has appeared in many movies.
·The film's two leading actors, Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer, have played Iago in different versions of "Othello".
·Director Mike Mills is a famous New York artist who has designed album jackets for famous bands such as Beastie Boys, Beck, Sonic Youth and Ol' Dirty Bastard. Air and others have cooperated and are quite successful. Mike Mills made his big-screen debut in 2005 with his directorial debut, The Thumb Sucker.
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