Nutcracker marks Ben Stiller’s return to the lead role. He plays Mike, who heads to the heart of Ohio to care for his four rambunctious nephews after the death of his sister and her husband in a tragic car accident. Although initially hesitant, Mike realizes they could be the family he’s always needed.
Director David Gordon Green was inspired by the real-life brothers – Homer Janson, Ulysses Janson, Arlo Janson and Atlas Janson – and filmed on the family farm. This is the first acting role for all four boys. Green is well known in the horror world for films such as Halloween kills (2021) and Halloween (2018), but he is also no stranger to comedy, as he directs and produces The fair gemstones.
TelaRant interviewed David Gordon Green about his new film, Nutcracker. He discussed how the Janson brothers inspired the film and why filming on the family farm helped them in their first acting roles. Green also detailed what makes Ben Stiller the perfect casting choice for Michael, and how the film really engaged him. He stated that there were no real challenges during filming, despite working with both children and animals.
David Gordon Green wanted to create the same feeling as his Nutcracker comfort films
“I revisit these films, and they make me feel good. But then I put my absurd, independent artistic spin on it, with an independent filmmaker mindset.”
Screen Rant: Can you talk about how these brothers were your inspiration for the film?
David Gordon Green: Yes, absolutely. I met the kids, right? I know the kids. I know their mother very well. When I sat down with the kids and thought seriously about this, I was stimulated by movies like Overboard, which was a big deal for me as a kid. Uncle Buck was a big problem for me. Bad news bears. And trying to find that balance of rawness in reality, but also putting it into a moving holiday film.
So that was the goal. I can find something that fits those 70s, 80s, and early 90s tropes that I love so much. I revisit these films and they make me feel good. But then I added my absurd and independent artistic touch, with an independent filmmaker mentality.
Screen Rant: The dynamic between the boys and Ben Stiller is perfect. Can you talk about bringing him in?
David Gordon Green: Yes, well, that’s what I needed. That perfect leaf. Ben has so much skill in drama and comedy that he could play both. Many of the scenes we filmed in both directions. Like, let’s do the funny version and the emotional version and then find the balance in the editing room. He’s very skilled at this because he interprets very real things. And he’s also a great listener.
So when you take these kids who have never been in front of a camera before, and we allow them to be themselves and say what they would say and give their own expressions and reactions, he’s great at responding to that. So it’s a matter of placing the camera in the right place so you don’t lose it. But he’s such a skilled artist and technician as an actor that it just brought a beautiful nuance where he could stay focused on the scene when the kids might have gotten lost and be able to embrace the naturalism and authenticity of who they were and what they were doing. they were trying to say.
Filming Nutcracker in the real house of real brothers brought authenticity to the film
“We’re going to shoot in 35 millimeters, which I think will give it a bit of that nostalgic texture to the films we’re talking about. And put a tripod in the mud and start shooting the film.”
Screen Rant: Do you think it was easier for you because they were brothers in real life?
David Gordon Green: I mean, for me it was great because I just knew them. We filmed at their house with their animals, so they were at home in a way that I think if I had gone to a state with a better tax incentive and built a house and invited a bunch of animals over, I think it would have been. I felt a little artificial. But making them feel so comfortable with each other.
They are brothers who don’t fight. They fight and run, but they’re just good, funny, adventurous kids. They love each other like brothers. So what a cool way you’re not dealing with the competitive nature of the cast, and you’re not dealing with the typical stage parents or the polished nature of kids memorizing their lines and achieving their goals. You’re just saying this is where you live. What do you do? Let’s go out.
I go back with their mother. She is an incredible artist in her own right. And really just the idea, as bold as it sounds, “Hey, Carrie, do you mind if we bring a camera crew to your farm and shoot a movie with your kids and your chickens and your pigs?” She started laughing and said, “Why not? What are you going to do? Put mud in the house? We do that every day.”
Screen Rant: No hesitation from her then.
David Gordon Green: Yes, it wasn’t. And it was great. She and her husband, Jeff, literally had open arms. Their grandfather was our animal keeper. It was a very small and fun production. A lot of the crew I took from the horror films I’d been making and said, let’s do something different, guys. Let’s mix it up a little. We’re going to shoot in 35 millimeters, which I think will give it a bit of that nostalgic texture to the films we’re talking about. And put a tripod in the mud and start rolling the film.
Screen Rant: Speaking of the horror films you’ve made, can you talk about genre hopping?
David Gordon Green: Two very different genres. I think for me, I’m always flexing new muscles, and I had the balance of doing a horror movie in the fall and then shooting The Righteous Gemstones in the spring and summer. So I would always have a balance between comedy and drama, but I wanted to eliminate the whole mechanism of expectation and the industry being so specific about what they want from the genre.
And the IP and I say, let’s make one for ourselves and we’ll shoot it in 25 days. No one is watching, it’s a modest investment. We can have a lot of fun, have a lot of freedom, and use it as a palate cleanser. So when I contacted Ben, he was on hiatus from Severance, the show he’s working on, and recognizes that it’s been several years since he’s been in front of the camera, and I really wanted to get him back. in front.
So it felt like the right time for the two of us to collaborate on this. I think by having the gravitas and the gifts that Ben brings, it makes a movie like this go from a weird indie art project with your friend’s kids to a movie that people can share and enjoy on vacation and talk about. about next year. I think if I’ve done my job right, this will be a film that people revisit and find the nuances of the comedy and some of the layers that we’ve buried in multiple viewings.
David Gordon Green Claims There Were No Challenges in the Nutcracker Set
“It’s just farm life, and they let it exist and let it flourish. So that wasn’t a challenge.”
Screen Rant: Everyone says, don’t work with animals and don’t work with children, and you work with both on this. What was the biggest challenge for you?
David Gordon Green: There was no challenge. The animals were great because the kids feel very comfortable with them because it is their responsibility. They are responsible for the subsistence of these animals. They know each of them by name. I never learned all the chickens’ names, but they know. And so they’re so comfortable with them.
One of the first times I went to their house, a pig just walked through the kitchen. Everyone feels comfortable this way and their animals are very loved and respected. It’s as if they were the same species. It’s just farm life, and they let it exist and let it flourish. So that wasn’t a challenge.
I don’t really know what a challenge it was. It was really very cold. We would be outside in 10 degrees filming and it was cold. We’re filming in December and January in Ohio and there would be some strong winds kicking us around, but that’s all part of the camaraderie of it. There were none of the typical burdens and headaches. We were in the middle of nowhere, just in this beautiful, isolated community where Hollywood doesn’t necessarily show up at your door. We’re in a place where when you show up in someone’s yard or on the street, they bring you cookies, and it’s an invitation to celebrate what we’re there to do, rather than trying to kick us out or use the lawnmower to make them they can earn an extra 50 dollars, which happens when you film in multiple locations.
Screen Rant: One of my favorite parts is the Christmas couch tradition. Do you have a fun holiday tradition?
David Gordon Green: Well, firstly, I can say the Christmas sofa, we couldn’t get the sofa out the door, so we just put it aside and decided to incorporate it into the art direction.
You know what, for me I’m the opposite of a lot of families who have their holiday rituals. I love exploring and going somewhere new and getting a feel for another family’s home and what their traditions are. I’m always curious to know how other people exist much more than on my own vacation. I grew up in a neighborhood where we had Christmas Eve lights and you had to open a present before Christmas Day and there were always those things.
With my kids, I’m always playing radically upside down and like, let’s travel to Ecuador. Let’s try to do something to learn a little about someone else’s traditions, instead of just focusing on our own.
More About Nutcracker (2024)
Nutcracker follows puritanical, work-obsessed Mike (Stiller) as he is suddenly forced to care for his orphaned and rambunctious nephews.
Check out our others Nutcracker interviews here:
Source: Screen Rant Plus