Director Gavin Hood talks Eye in the Sky and Alan Rickman

Automatically transcribed; may contain errors.

hi I'm Allison has lit with FlickDirect and i'm here with actor director and producer gavin hood talking about his new film I in the sky Gavin thanks for being with us this film was so intense I was angry I was sad i had a newfound sympathy for military what do you want people to take away from this film well i think what i loved about guy hibbett script when i read it was that it's some two things it's an incredible thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat and it also left me with a great deal to talk about and I when I finished reading the script I really wanted to just talk to somebody and of course I couldn't because i was reading a script but I thought if it's having this effect on me then hopefully audiences will be able to enjoy the thriller enjoy watching Helen Mirren Alan Rickman Aaron Paul we got a great cast and it also delves into this very modern world of drone warfare and the way we fight now and although i think many of us have heard of drones and we know something about drones if you want to know the behind-the-scenes way that the decisions are made and the way things move up and down what's called the kill chain and who makes the decisions and how tense it is in these operator in these operations and the way the politicians are trying to pass the buck and the film will answer a lot of your questions and hopefully be an exciting right at the same time that was a very interesting part of the film because to me was I was almost comical but not comical as they're making these life-and-death decisions yes I think you know the actors Helen and Alan Rickman in particular have a way of playing absolute emotional truth in the situation they find themselves which is very very tense this is not a comedy and it's lipstick since at all but real life can become so frustrating and farcical when people simply want to make a decision and you need a decision that you know an actor like Alan Rickman with just the slightest edge of cynicism and wit can make the audience laughs and I think the audience needs that release you know the film is so tense that every now and then to be able to laugh and then come back to the story helps the audience release some of the attention can we talk a little bit about Alan Rickman obviously there is such a loss for the community yeah I feel you know obviously very very sad that he's not able to be here because he he was such an intelligent man with such a wonderful sense of humor too and that it was in no that was in no way sort of broad slapstick um he just had an acerbic wit and a wonderful sense of humor and a great intelligence and he would have spoken so eloquently about this film and in that beautiful voice so it was a real shock to all of us but I'm so thrilled that he's in this film yeah and it's certainly a testament to his acting ability this being one of his you know final his final live-action film certainly Helen Mirren is phenomenal I love everything that she does I was really mad at her at the end of this film though a little bit well I think that's part of her amazing skill as an actor first of all you may not know but the part that she plays was originally written for a man which a lot of people find interesting and so to say why why did you do that and I think there are two reasons one as I was she plays the role of a military intelligence officer who who's running a drone operation out of a deep dark basement in in permanent joint headquarters in London and and talking to Aaron Paul who's who's 8,000 miles away as a drone pilot in Nevada and they're flying a drone of a Nairobi Kenya so the film takes place all over the world and and Helen's character is the key military intelligence offer in command of this operation and there are women in these roles and there are more and more women in the military and it seemed to me um that Helen would not only bring this incredibly steely intelligence and this she sees a force of nature as you see in the film which he goes up against the young lawyer who's a head and shoulders taller than her and intimidate him you know she's just wonderful at that but she doesn't in any way again move comment on the character she commits to this character who's been tracking a particular terrorist for six years and is determined to get that terrorist off her list and and at first we really i think go with her and then she starts to manipulate some of the young weapon ears to do what she wants and believes needs to be done and it's quite disconcerting isn't it because we love Helen Mirren and wait a minute do we love her now is she right maybe she still is right maybe this is what needs to be done so again I think we were very fortunate to have the cost that we have with Helen and allanon and and and you know who I really hope audiences enjoy his barkhad Abdi do you remember barkhad Abdi from Captain Phillips I am the captain now well this is the second movie I mean I wish he was working more and I hope this will show audiences another side of him because he's warm and he's the good guy in this movie so um it was fun working with those actors yeah have you had any feedback from the military about this film at all sure sure I talked to the military I spoke to a lot of people in the military had military advisers and we also spoke to people and who feel that drone warfare needs to be reined in and there are positions on both sides I think what the film does well thanks to God hits great script is that he allows you to see a particular situation involving a drone strike from multiple points of view from the point of view of a general played by alan rickman come on a leader of the operation played by Helen but also you see what it's like to be the people on the ground barkhad Abdi plays an agent on the ground in the in the kill zone and you also unusually see the point of view of the innocent bystander a young girl and her family who have nothing to do this operation who become unknown to them the subject of huge political discussions up and down the kill chain so I think what's what you will enjoy about this film is that you're not told what to think in any way I help um you go along and you tell me you saw the movie you're the jury and it's okay if you're still confused about what you think these are difficult situations and I don't want in anywhere to preach to the audience i hope this appeals to people in the military people out of the military and that people can have a good conversation when they've seen the film it is certainly a moral dilemma and it does make you think and does make you question a lot of what we're doing why we're doing it and if we are doing the right thing it's a phenomenal film and I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us today and I wish you the best of luck with it continued success thank you very much very nice to be here