Taiki Waititi Talks BoyBy Wilson Morales
March 1, 2012
Coming out this week is the blockbuster New Zealand film ’Boy,’ which was directed by Taika Waititi.
Set on the east coast of New Zealand in the year 1984, Boy, an 11-year-old kid and devout Michael Jackson fan gets a chance to know his father, who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years ago.
Co-produced by actor Cliff Curtis, the film did extremely in its native land, becoming highest the grossing New Zealand film of all time.
For Waititi, whose first film, the comedy ‘Eagle vs Shark’, was released in 2007, it’s been a long journey since the film went to Sundance back in 2010.
Blackfilm.com recently caught up with Waititi as he spoke about the right cast for the film and why it did so well at the box office back in homeland.
From working with child actors, setting the film in the 80s, or using the music of Michael Jackson, did of these issues present a challenge to you as a filmmaker?
Taika Waititi: No. The main challenge was finding the kids. The Michael Jackson part was fine and we actually a budget for his music, but was before he died when it was a lot cheaper. The main value of the film went into the casting. I knew where I wanted to shoot, which was my home town. I knew the locations because I had written them into the script. The casting process went about for a year and we found this amazing. This was eight months before we were ready to shoot. I kept track of him but as we got closer to start shooting the film, he had changed and got too old to play the role. We had to find someone else and James (Rolleston) happened to be an extra in the classroom scenes. He came in for a fitting about three days before shooting began and we gave him a look and he got the part. We gave the other kid another role in the film.
How much did you work with James to instill confidence in him to carry the film?
Taika Waititi: He was already a confident and he just knew he could do it. He was there everyday. He made it because he worked hard at it. He was very committed. Once I found James, he was very much like the main character. All I did was point the camera at him and he was great.
What it a challenge balancing the comedy with the drama?
Taika Waititi: All through the process; from writing the comedic lines for James to putting in lines for the father character. I wanted to create a character you could emphasize with, but was still a dick. Even in the editing stage, I was still figuring out. I didn’t want it to be funny in the beginning and then depressing in the end. There were too many pauses between humorous bits. It took a long time. We edited the film for about five months, off and on, trying to find the right balance. In the end, we achieved it.
The film has done tremendously well at the box office. Why do you think folks kept coming back?
Taika Waititi: I think in New Zealand, people wanted to see themselves on screen. Also, it’s an original film and people don’t have that many opportunities to see those. The great thing about New Zealand is that it’s a small place so word of mouth travels fast. When people really love something, they’ll tell other people. The film also had a broad appeal where old people would love it, and teenagers would come out as well. Even the little ones wanted to see because the older siblings kept talking about it. The film had something for everyone.
It took nearly a year after its appearance at Sundance to come to the U.S. Why so?
Taika Waititi: That’s because we created the deal ourselves. We’re self-funding it and we have a kick starter fund to raise money for more P & A in more towns. We’re doing it ourselves and it feels really good.
What’s next?
Taika Waititi: I have a couple of feature scripts that I will try to shoot by the end of the year. One of them is in New Zealand and the other is in Germany. I also have some TV stuff that I have been working on.
