Conviction
The press conference for Conviction was attended by Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver and Betty-Anne Waters. Betty-Anne commented that she was pleased with the movie, and that she thought her late brother Kenny would also be happy with it. She remarked: “It was my brother Kenny who wanted the film more than anything”.
When asked what stood out about the script for the actors, Hilary responded; “For me it was such a beautiful love story between a brother and a sister, one that was so compelling. I don’t actually remember seeing a love story this beautiful in I can’t even remember when. For me, the idea that someone can be so selfless – Betty-Anne is my hero, she’s my real-life hero”.
Betty-Anne praised Sam’s performance in the film, stating; “Sam was my brother on that screen, he really got the different dimensions of Kenny”. Sam lamented on the great crew and supporting actors, nevertheless he affirmed; “Hilary really had to carry this movie, and it takes a special woman to do that. Hilary is a fierce actress, and there’s not a lot of people who can do that”.
Read the I Heart The Talkies review of Conviction
Never Let Me Go
The Never Let Me Go conference was attended by actors Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Isobel Meikle-Small and Ella Purnell, writer Kazuo Ishiguro, director Mark Romanek and screenwriter Alex Garland. Carey remarked that she was a big fan of Ishiguro’s novel before she was approached for the film. The cast and Mark often referred back to the book during the filming process. Carey relayed: “We had a brilliant script, but especially for me I had the whole book narrated by my character – it would have been remiss of me not to refer to it. And also, it’s great to go back to it for ideas… I was with the book most of the time”.
Andrew suggested Kazuo may have got sick of how reverent the cast were to the source material, joking; “We’d bow as he entered a room and he’d get very uncomfortable – and it’s fun to watch”. Mark commented that he had the same “emotional reaction” to the script as he did to the book. He decided to immerse himself in Japanese cinema and ideas of aesthetics, having read in an interview that Kazuo felt influenced by this.
Keira was fascinated by her character Ruth, explaining; “I didn’t like her, and it’s tricky playing people you don’t like”. When writing the story, Kazuo was “interested in something that paralleled the human lifespan”. He stated: “And the question is, what’s most important to human beings when they realise time is running out”.
I Heart The Talkies 