something incredible happened to me tonight at the Sundance London… I was gifted the opportunity to see Safety Not Guaranteed
There is still time at Sundance London, fight for a ticket!
This is going to be a simple blog, because I am zonked after a mega week of c-u-l-t-u-r-e.
Why I have no questions about this movie:
- the music was spot on, blended into each scene so effortlessly that I only ever noticed it when I wasn’t noticing it
- I never tried to finish a sentence or a scene – nothing was predictable and nothing was set up to happen – ipso facto everything must have been real
- Each character’s story was laid out before you like a where’s wally – mixed into everything else and when it was uncovered, you felt you knew it had been there all along
- It was romantic without romanticising. The storytelling was as fresh as if told for the first time by a child with no grown up’s jaded cynicism
- Screenplay was fluid, honest, beautiful and generous
- No scene was superfluous or gratuitious, everything in there needed to be there – even the young Karan Soni, who seemed surplus to requirement, turned out to be the instrument through which we saw Jake Johnson with love in our eyes
- the characters were exactly who they were from start to finish, none of the personalities were sacrificed for the story
- I laughed and cried in equal measure almost throughout the entirety of it
In the post-screening Q&A, some pretty good questions were thrown at Director, Colin Trevorrow. Spoilers abound, apologies.
I tried to scribble down the notes from the Q&A and here I attempt to transcribe. If you were there (Friday 27th 9pm screening) and disagree with any of my notes/hazy memories, please feel free to correct me.
What was the inspiration?
This film is actually based on a real classifieds ad that did the online rounds a few years ago. Derek (Connolly, screenwriter and genius) and I felt there could be a beautiful story behind it. The man who posted the original ad appears in the movie as the first man at the PO Box.
What did you shoot it on?
It was shot on a Sony F3, though it looks a lot less saturated on this here gigantic screen made for 3D. We used older film lenses from the 70s/80s which gives it a slightly unique look, added to that Washington’s distinctive natural light.
How difficult was it to get funding?
It could have been easier had we chosen a less challenging way of framing the concept.
Was that always going to be the ending of the film?
Actually, the ending changed two weeks before filming started and we went to Sundance with a different ending to what we started off with too. We debated the ending for a long time and it got quite emotional. We felt we didn’t want to give people a punch in the gut, so we hope we achieved that in the end …
How much comedy did the actors bring, and how much was scripted?
Derek is a very funny man, so the comedy was built into the script (editor’s note – this is abundantly clear in the film, it’s very tight), and there wasn’t a lot of improv. However a couple of scenes do stand out for me, where the actors brought something new. Kenneth and Darius in the car talking about why he wants to time travel, which was also Mark’s last scene to shoot. Also Jeff’s pep talk and re-styling of Arnau was enhanced by some improv.
What was the brief for the time machine?
It was described as an airboat in the script and we assigned a chap (Ben) to designing it – he was the closest to Kenneth’s character that we had on set! In design, it turned a bit into an episode of Pimp My Boat and the blueprints for the timemachine were actually used in the film. We shot the scene in one day.
What’s next for you?
I want to direct more films (editor’s note – YES please do!) and I want to keep the movies honest and good.
lifeofpia: 