Oscar Nominees Discuss Their Preparation
With the 2015 awards season in full swing, yesterday was a big day for creators and makers, both in front of and behind the camera. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominees for the 2015 Oscars – to be held on February 22nd.
It has been an amazing year in film, with some of the truly finest cinematic offerings ever. ‘Movies OnDemand’ sat down with a number of this year’s nominees to discuss how they got ready for their roles, what it was like to work on the ‘film of a lifetime,’ and thoughts on the characters and their meaning.
Enjoy these insights from a few of the amazingly talented nominees.
Contender Conversations – Awards Season Spotlight
And the Nominees Are…
Ethan Hawke, Best Actor, Boyhood
“A Seminal Experience”
“There is no doubt in my mind that this is a seminal experience in my life. Getting to be a part of a movie that breaks form, you know that doesn’t happen in many people’s lives…I won’t be looking to have this experience again. I know it won’t happen.”
Eddie Redmayne, Best Actor, The Theory of Everything
“Who is Stephen Hawking?”
“When I started reading Anthony’s [McCarten] script, everything was a revelation. I was even ignorant to not know what motor neuron disease was, and how he had been an incredibly healthy, funny, witty, sort of complicated, lazy young man…”
Felicity Jones, Best Actress, The Theory of Everything
“Who is Jane [Hawking]?”
“Jane is someone who has huge depths of love and capacity to give, and someone who, when she made a decision, really stuck with it. When Stephen was diagnosed…he said, ”I couldn’t believe that she wanted to take this on…”
J.K. Simmons, Best Supporting Actor, Whiplash
“Training (conducting)”
Damien Chazelle (writer/director on J.K. Simmons, with actor Miles Teller): “He went to music school when he was starting out, and you told me about the wonderful times you had as a singer in choral group and how that informed your character…”
J.K. Simmons: “ I did have to train Damien, as a film director…”
Edward Norton, Best Supporting Actor, Birdman
“What is Birdman?”
“What it is when you watch it is going to be informed a lot by who you are and what you’ve been through…it’s, to me, the best kind of thing…it leaves many, many, many questions open so that each viewer, I think, is going to absorb it and relate to aspects of it…and that, I think, is magic…”
