She also talked about why the first scene between MacKay and Depp is so important, and the challenges of dealing with it correctly.

With Wolf now showing in some theaters, I recently talked to screenwriter and director Nathalie Biancheri (Nocturnal) about making a movie that deals with species anxiety (some people think they are an animal trapped in a human body). If you are not familiar with wolves, the focus of this movie is Jacob (George McKay), who believes he is a wolf trapped in a human body. With the worry of his family, he was sent to a clinic to deal with this problem, and he was forced to endure extreme forms of "cure" therapy with other patients. However, when he meets the mysterious wild cat (Lily Rose Depp), as their friendship becomes richer, Jacob faces the challenge of whether to give up his true self for love. Wolfe also starred in Paddy Constance and Irene Walls, you can watch the trailer here.

In the interview, Biancheri shared some wonderful behind-the-scenes stories about filmmaking, including why it was a film and not a documentary, how she identified the actor, what it was like when everything was shut down before COVID, the filming started and how it worked The film got better, shooting the first scene between McKay and Depp and the importance of correct handling, why she cut some scenes in the editing room, etc.

Take a look at what Nathalie Biancheri said above and below the players is the complete list of results.

COLLIDER: I find it interesting that you initially wanted to make it a documentary rather than a narrative movie. I want to know as a doctor, how close are you to pulling the trigger?

NATHALIE BIANCHERI: No, not close at all, in fact, not close at all. It’s like my first thought, because I thought, “Oh, this situation actually exists and it’s a bit like growing up in adolescents. It’s such a fascinating thing.” But I also think that in reality, it’s just Like the topics I want to explore and the stories I want to tell, I don't really want to do that. In the real world, I might have to deal with species anxiety or make movies about species anxiety. So, this became clear to me very early on. I have a background in news and documentaries, so it is more like a light bulb, like a trigger and a jumping point, but then I quickly left and decided to just write my novel narrative.

One interesting thing is that every director I talked to talked about making any movie is a miracle. Just get funding to do anything. So, I am curious how difficult it is to actually get financing for this project? Because you are not telling a narrative story...it is a difficult subject if you will.

BIANCHERI: The weird thing is, I mean, everything, of course, I totally agree with every director that it is as difficult as making a movie, but the strange thing is that financing a movie is not the hardest part. I think people like the fact that it is a very primitive theme, but I think there is a lot of desire for weird and unusual stories. Screen Ireland, they are the main supporters. And then actually, I thought maybe it was actually like, I think the Irish screen basically already knew they would fund us. The Polish Film Academy was the first Irish Film Academy at the time. It's surprisingly seamless just like that. I mean, the budget is small, as if it is really small. It's like a budget of 2,000,000 US dollars, like a very, very ambitious movie, but for that 2,000,000 US dollars, I think the funding agencies are very committed and very understanding. Even if they don't fully know what this movie will be, I think they are confident and interested. I think it is easier to sell compared to other movies, which is strange.

How does it feel to walk into those rooms and try to sell them money? Have you practiced one of your liners and your pitch?

Biancheri: Oh, yes. I mean, because of Jessie, my business partner, we co-founded a company called Feline Films. We basically started this company when I processed 10 pages of Wolf. This is like our business, this is a project developed by the company. We have just signed every possible European market, and we are like throwing the ball non-stop, like meeting again and again, like... So the wolf is a movie about a boy who thinks he is a wolf, like, just Like, that is ruthless. But I think the advantage we might have is that you go to those markets, like three days. I don’t know. There are 25 meetings a day. People are boring. They think you can only see the producer. The funds are moved away, but they seem not interested, but at least I think this is a strange premise, like the fact that "No, they will crawl with all their strength", interested people. Also, of course some people hate it, some people really like it, but I would say that they are at least very careful.

Obviously, the casting of this movie is everything. You really need actors who can fully engage in these roles and performances. So talk about the casting process, when did you know that George and Lily were correct?

BIANCHERI: Actually the casting process is very staggered, because I have too many roles and it is very, very complicated. Therefore, it is different for each role. With Lily, I think she did it, she was actually sold to me by her agent, and then the first time I saw her, I was like, "Wow," it's like she really has a cat family The same as animals. I don’t plan to make every character look like an animal, but in fact, there are some things that are almost funny, like a character who doesn’t think he is that kind of animal looks a lot like a cat, and then we met, and we went Several auditions, we were a bit like working together in Paris, and then at some point, I thought, she really understood, she really worked hard just to get this role, and was brave in her audition.

For George, I think Jacob’s personality is slightly different, because at some point, I realize it’s very, very, very difficult, because a lot of work needs to be done to prepare the character and the physical fitness of the action and everything I need to do It's not just to find it on the tape. No actor will turn on and put on the camera and become a wolf. So, we changed our approach a bit and decided to only look at actors who I think are very good, solid and strong, and have confidence in them and their commitment to this role. With George, things passed like this. We had a very pleasant conversation and it was obvious that he completed the Ned Kelly game. He has very good physical fitness. He is really willing to accept the challenge. I think it feels very right. Then we had a week of preparatory work with a sports expert in Dublin, who just finished it. So, that's great. But the whole cast, I mean, for each of them, I mean, it lasted a long time.

Related: Lily-Rose Depp and George MacKay were inspired by challenges in "Wolf" and how Terry Notary helped them create their own characters

Well, the interesting thing is that you were preparing to shoot, and then suddenly, of course, COVID, and then you closed for a few months, but I have talked to a lot of filmmakers and they talked about how the extra time can really benefit the project. So, I’m curious, what did you actually do during the shutdown period that you think will help make the movie better?

BIANCHERI: So I mean, obviously, the first thing is heartbreak. We can shoot, can we shoot? what is this? It’s pretty tough, especially when you have enough energy to jump into a movie, and then it’s like, “No, this is a global pandemic.” But I’m lucky, all my actors, I’m again Think, I agree with most of the filmmakers you have interviewed. I think you have this very special situation. Almost everyone has fallen into a time warp. They are about to complete your project. So, they can't really audition for other things, otherwise nothing will happen. Therefore, they have a lot of time to think about their roles. With George, he did a lot of work in crawling around.

I mean, like my mobile phone at the time, like I look like a lunatic, I have videos of all these topless actors on all fours. We just keep chatting, we will have a Zoom chat once a week, he and she will send me their own videos, and then we continue to develop the character. I also continued to interrogate the script. I work with a cinematographer, like we are zooming, shooting every few days, just like browsing the scene. Yes. I mean, it just gives more time to really prepare. I think this is essential, especially because it is obvious that the COVID cost of every movie is very high, and there are many unforeseen costs, and only preparations can save the impact of every movie at that time.

The first scene where they are together is when they both become animal forms...there is no dialogue. Figure out how you want to stop and stage that scene and figure out the introduction between the two of them. How hard is it to introduce their relationship to the audience?

BIANCHERI: Yes, that’s really interesting because it’s one of the few things in the script. They walk around each other like animals. I always joke with them, if it’s shit, we just To go, they will know, because I just want to shoot a wide angle, like a very cinematic wide angle, there are two points on the roof, but there is really no need, because I do think this is the most powerful in the movie One of the scenes. Movie, I think we did it. So we have, as I mentioned, this sports coach Terry (notary), we like a lot of work in chemical construction, they dance together, and then go to fight, push and pull. Sometimes it's more about choreography, and then it's not, it's just rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal.

Strangely, what was interesting that day was that we tried some. I think it’s a mixture of the actual final product of the rehearsal stuff and the totally improvised stuff, but just approaching them and just saying, because they are so immersed in their animal selves, then I might be like, break, and then you will Getting these tiny, retreat or animal-like movements is like just living in that character and then breaking it with sound or directional notes. So, they can walk, walk, walk, B, B, B, B, and then break it. I think it created this very animal, instinctive and somewhat unpredictable moment, rehearsal establishment and provided them with tools. Then I think the man who broke this freshness during filming is really helpful.

I like to talk to the director about the editing process, because this is the combination of everything. So, what is it like to edit this, what made you nervous when you first started editing, and what were you very happy about?

BIANCHERI: So, I worked with an editor who made my first movie. In fact, I worked with DP and the editor in my first movie. So, the great thing is that we do have a shorthand, we can understand each other. I think the hardest, what kind of scare or the hardest thing is like the amount of material we have and the number of scenes I wrote, but it was not cut off in the end, because what I found in the editing is, I mean , I’m not saying that it’s always, of course, it’s called Wolf, it’s Jacob’s work, but I think it has a little ensemble feel. When I wrote this script, for me, there was an interesting tension between the fact that I never wanted to tell the audience how to respond to other characters, but in my opinion, there is a big problem, secondary Whether the characters will do that really think they are those animals.

I think that for many people, you can find that they may actually be traumatized. For example, German Shepherds and Wildcats clearly illustrate this point. But even so, if you look at the parrot and spit out her food and small things, if you pick them up, then it will make you question, "Okay, okay, why do they want to be in this clinic?" And "Do they want it? Are they looking for an identity? "Of course, I think when you contrast it with someone like Jacob, he actually tried so hard to suppress it, but in essence it feels like he is, for me, an interesting movie. I I realized in the editing that because Jacob’s role is so closed and incomprehensible, every time we get lost too much in the ensemble or other stories, it will take him away, which is a sacrifice.

This is the sacrifice I must make. I had to do it, I think, the rhythm and his character. If we don’t think of him with a very, very difficult character, I think, it’s that George’s performance is incredible, but he hardly said anything, so you’re just looking at this person, this person, this person, if both sides There are too many singing and dancing, but yes, it does make me a little sad, maybe some of the questions raised by other characters are reduced in the final version, I really hope people don’t just think of this movie as a kind of A one-dimensional metaphor about a person who thinks he is a wolf. Because I think that institution, that world, all the different roles are actually telling other topics, it's really other issues.

Related: "Wolf" review: Nathalie Biancheri created a haunting fable about humanity and identity

Actually had to pick up the phone to call some of the other performers in the movie and say, “Hey, listen, you are great. I know we shot for 30 minutes, but you will only become in the movie about five to five Ten?"

BIANCHERI: Yes, for an actor, I have to do this, it is not easy, especially because they are really great. I mean, I don’t want to blame myself too much. I think as a director, I am always so critical of your work, but I do think the cast is great. I like each of them very much. Every time you have to give up something, whether it’s a scene, a character, an idea, or even... it feels like a small failure, I think, and then it breaks your heart and you have to tie it up. Seat belts, thinking that this is filmmaking, this is learning. This is only my second movie.

Listen, every director I’ve contacted will always have deleted scenes. You will always make choices in the editing room, but that’s why I always talk to the director about it, because it’s everything Where to rewrite. This is the final final rewrite. Anyway, the one thing I think is interesting is the color choice you make, the color palette. Can you talk about these options? How early did you know the aesthetics of this movie?

Biancheri: Yes. In terms of aesthetics, there has been a photographer I like very much from a very early time, his name is Alexander [don’t know the last name]. He has this...I know the name of this tree, but I can't remember it now. The thin ones in the movie. Silver birch, silver birch, like God, after spending so many months with them, you will think, that silver birch and these, he is a Russian, he was shooting in the surrounding areas of Russia, there are these beautiful The very Soviet background. Especially there is a photo that is the cover of my mood board, like a silver birch forest, the leaves are orange, and the sky is a bit like Paisley gray and blue. There is also a building that you cannot place exactly on time, but there is a Soviet view.

I just like this photo as much as I like it. This really determines a lot, because since then, we have built a bit...Initially, I thought, "Oh, the indoor garden must be plastic, bah, bah," because conceptually, this is me Thoughts. But then I kept avoiding it because aesthetically speaking, it just didn't like it, it was too harsh. So, production designers like us really work around that image and the other images I choose. Again, the leaves and looking for silver birch trees are actually looking for things that don’t seem so malleable in the end, but because I just discovered that kind of mixed things...for example, in the treatment room, there are DPs who are Polish . So he took a picture of this building in Warsaw.

Once again knowing how much I like this photographer of this building in Warsaw, we printed it. Therefore, it is more like a metropolis than New York in the script. And now, let's stick to this strange atmosphere on my mood board. We use it instead, and the color is somewhat derived from it. Then there is clothing, I like a lot. So, it’s really similar. Together with the designer, we determined the color palette and solved all these problems. At first, there were more blues and greens, and then we started playing. It just feels too much, too claustrophobic. Another idea is that, somehow, it is a bit like an aquarium, not a paradoxical zoo, because the building has too much glass, so the kind of blues traps them in it. The photography is always static. , Except when we fall down as animals, they are quite stable.

So, all these things gradually disappeared. Then once we have the nails, redesign, every room, again, epidemic, is great, because the production designer just does the rendering, he never will, just like our budget. Like, I mean, there is time to advertise between the two, as if everything is measured, rendered, and colored. As we would watch, we would pass through them, and we would block caps on them. That's great. Then once we have all of these, we go to buy clothes, we tried, we tried, we tried, it took a long time, but I think it might all come from your first instincts, that kind Something appealing.

I just want to congratulate this movie, I really hope you can make something again soon. I hope you have, you must have some ideas on your desk.

Biancheri: Yes, yes, yes. writing. I have already rode away. I don't waste any time. you can not. Life is too short.

That, I agree with 1000%. On this point, thank you for giving me time.

"Wolf" will be released in theaters in December.

Steven Weintraub launched Collider in the summer of 2005. As editor-in-chief, he ran the site from a small bedroom to millions of readers around the world. If you want to follow Steven on Twitter or Instagram, you can expect tons of breaking news, exclusive interviews, and photos of cats doing stupid things.