INTERVIEWS

Video Interview: 'The Rover' Director David Michôd on His Two Films

by Alex Billington
June 12, 2014

"It feels important to me that the specificity of the world be known." At the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, one of my most anticipated films was David Michôd's The Rover, his follow-up to the Sundance 2010 breakout Australian film Animal Kingdom, one of my favorites that year which lead me to first interview him back in 2010. He's back and it was time to talk about his second film and what lead him to this one, starring Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson. Excerpt: "I've always wanted to be a part of the big world of of it, it just felt so important to me the second [film], that I controlled it, that I consolidated something rather than making one movie, and people getting excited, and me just losing control of my career." Watch in full below.

My first interview with David Michôd was back in 2010 for his first film Animal Kingdom. It was an honor to catch up with him at Cannes 2014 again and chat about his work on The Rover, despite being a bit tired while recording. It's still a great interview and he really gets into his career throughout all of the discussion.

Here's my video interview with The Rover writer/director David Michôd, shot on Flipcam from Cannes:

Timeline of questions: 0:14 - What's the story behind the success of Animal Kingdom moving to The Rover next? 1:58 - It's always hard to follow up a fantastic first feature, to deliver something that's interesting… 4:50 - At what point did Guy Pearce get attached and did he help develop his character? 6:50 - Are his nuances written into the script? 8:44 - How much did you shoot, or was it put together in editing? 10:04 - Any inspiration from "Ozploitation" or Mad Max movies? 11:02 - Is the Australian connection important? 13:10 - Why choose Robert Pattinson; how did you get that performance? 15:50 - What will you make next?

From my review written at Cannes: "The power of The Rover is in its silence, and bleak imagery. Michod's choices and shots speak loudly without being loud… Michôd is one of those rare filmmakers that has a style that subverts the typical notions of straightforward cinema, and challenges audiences to look deeper, to search between the performances and the dialogue, to find a more meaningful depth beneath the surface."

David Michôd's The Rover opens in limited theaters starting June 13th and will expand wider throughout June. Read my review from Cannes 2014 and visit the film's official website for more info & theater listings.

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