Interview: Geoffrey Rush, Brian Percival, Sophie Nélisse of ‘The Book Thief’

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CHICAGO – Markus Zusak’s hit young adult novel “The Book Thief” is making the transition from book to screen this week when the film, which had its Windy City premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival, makes it theatrical debut. When the movie premiered here, director Brian Percival, a vet of “Downton Abbey,” Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush, and the incredibly talented future star Sophie Nélisse (who stole “Monsieur Lazhar”) sat down to talk to us about their work. Nélisse stars as Liesel, a young girl taken in by a kind couple (Rush & Emily Watson) in Germany just before World War II. When her new parents also take in a Jewish refugee as tensions grow in the small town, Liesel learns lessons about loyalty and courage.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: Who was familiar with the book?

BRIAN PERCIVAL: I don’t think any of us were familiar with the book actually when we got the screenplay.

GEOFFREY RUSH: Markus came over during the shooting and it was actually great to meet him because I thought, “What is the spirit behind this guy?” I thought the book was brilliant.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: So you went back and read it AFTER you got the screenplay?

RUSH: Yeah. It’s like somebody has given you a Bible that says “In these 580 pages you’ll find little moments that are act-able; that you can internalize.”

The Book Thief
The Book Thief
Photo credit: Fox

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: In 580 pages there must be a lot that has to be cut for the screen.

PERCIVAL: There has to be a lot cut. It has to be right for film. I think the spirit…the book touched us all so much that we wanted to be faithful to what Markus had written. We tried not to change anything, to use the book as a guide to his intention. We then condensed some of those 580 pages into subtext, back story for the characters. I hope that’s what we’ve done.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: Geoffrey, you wanted to know the spirit of Markus. What is that spirit?

RUSH: He was in his late twenties when he wrote it. The language of the book, which I think Brian and Florian Ballhaus have put into a film language — he plays with very interesting metaphors. He’ll use colors in a unique way like “The sky was the color of chocolate.” That’s kind of unusual but I know what he’s on about. The language crackled and popped. I think for a story about the rise of Naziism, you need fresh storytelling.

The Book Thief
The Book Thief
Photo credit: Fox

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: Reading is such a crucial part of this story. Sophie, are you an avid reader?

SOPHIELISSE: Not that much. Not as much as Liesel. But I do read a lot.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: Do you write?

LISSE: My favorite subject at school is French, which is English for you guy, and I like to write essays. I try to write my own little stories or poems.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: Being a parent, I try to encourage reading to my kids but it feels like it gets harder every year with more and more electronic distractions. Can we all talk a bit about the importance of reading and creative expression? Was it important to you growing up?

RUSH: Yes. I studied literature at University. I loved it in high school. I was in school plays. Now, primarily, I read more around my job. I read a lot of historical books or biographies — things that are going to help enrich the world that I’m about to go into. One great book [for this film], apart from Markus’ book, my wife got at a secondhand shop, and it was a day in the life of the Third Reich. It was fantastic. In and around the rise, there was information on what the people on the street were experiencing, which was invaluable to the story.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: Do you do similar period research to enhance the screenplay?

PERCIVAL: Very much. I’ve done a lot of period work. I love doing historical pieces. I tend to immerse myself in the subject matter. I love to try and find the social aspects of a particular time — races, classes groups, the people — I find that really interesting. It can take us out of our world and take us someplace else. I love it. I particularly love the social history — time, politics, different influences impacted different parts of society at different times.

RUSH: There was a very early reality show called “The 1900 House” and they had people live in a house under 1900 conditions. The breaking point for the younger members was that there was no air conditioner. It puts a lot of stuff in perspective.

PERCIVAL: There was NOTHING for the kids to do. They had to make their own entertainment. Now, they have so much access to entertainment that they get bored out of their minds very quickly.

The Book Thief
The Book Thief
Photo credit: Fox

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: How much allegiance do you feel to that realism as a filmmaker? Does every detail need to be period precise or do you allow yourself creative freedom?

PERCIVAL: You have to allow a little bit of creative freedom. We try to be as historically correct as possible, particularly in details. Everything I do, I have some renowned historian involved. It’s difficult sometime because there are one or two slight aberrations in the book as to when things actually happened and so you have to take a bit of artistic license but I think generally that you can keep true and it makes it feel more real. It makes it easier to believe in because it has a historical basis.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: I loved the relationship between the two of you. As a critic, I see a lot of films with parent-child relationships that don’t feel genuine but this one feels honest and heartfelt. How did you develop that relationship on camera? How do you find that magic?

RUSH: We met up ten days before filming. It was probably Brian’s careful choosing of what was going to be shot first but we shot everything in the kitchen, which was a set, first. We had an overview and a table read and costume fittings before that and I remember seeing on the van a layout of Sophie’s looks from ten to sixteen and I remember thinking, “Wow, I get to see this girl growing up into four years older than she really is.” In shooting those early scenes, there was a nice sense of discovery as to how we live in that kitchen. I kind of got to know Liesel and Sophie together at the same time — the real person and the character. I knew she could act because I had seen “Monsieur Lazhar” and thought wow. I thought she had a pretty phenomenal rapport with the lens. Emily and I decided that we were in a Grimm’s fairy tale and play a bit of how Liesel perceives us. There’s a warmth and empathy in him. His emotional intelligence picks up on this girl’s grief. How do I not bring that topic up but use it?

PERCIVAL: They’re both quite alike. They bonded. They clown around a lot.

RUSH: It’s like working with Lucille Ball.

PERCIVAL: I was hoping that the chemistry would be right. It’s completely important. Movies can live or die by it. It’s always something I’ve been very aware of. What we had here was something special. It feels like there’s a lot of truth in their relationship.

The Book Thief
The Book Thief
Photo credit: Fox

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: What was the most challenging aspect of this film for you, Sophie?

LISSE: To be in a period that I’ve never experienced before because I couldn’t..to prepare, I watched a lot of movies. My grandma was born in the second World War and her grandfather was in a concentration camp and so we talked about that. It was really being in a period that I hadn’t experienced. I don’t know what it’s like to live in misery without having anything but books. It was to be in something that was unusual. It’s new territory for Liesel and it was the same thing for me.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: When I say “challenge” related to this film, what’s the first thing you think of?

RUSH: I set my own challenge because of the nature of the role. You read the script and read what people say about this character. I liked how ordinary he appeared to be — a house painter, quiet, working-class guy, not overly articulate but he had the expression of the accordion. The times I get to play that were almost like monologues. I thought, there’s a lot going on here as to why he chooses to play “The Blue Danube” in the bomb shelter, for example. Really, it was a good exercise in “don’t act.” Don’t embroider this. Keep it very true, very real. I think any sentimentality, bombast, or melodrama in which you came aware of the style would kill it.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: I’ll throw it to you. What challenged you?

PERCIVAL: I’d dare say there wasn’t one. You know when you love something so much? You know, the biggest challenge might have been the cold. It was minus 19 Celsius. It was shot in a little town. That was really the biggest challenge. We never had any big disagreements. Everybody was on book about what we wanted to achieve. We wanted to do the best work that we could. It was a joy. A lot of cold nights but that was about it.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: Sophie mentioned watching films and it dawns on me that this is a period and time in history that we keep returning to over and over again. Why do we do that?

PERCIVAL: I was very conscious that this was never going to be a Holocaust movie. That has been done so well before. There have been brilliant films. I watched all the films. Sophie and Geoffrey watched them. It is a genre unto itself. But “The Book Thief” isn’t really about that. The important thing to me as that there are at least two generations now that don’t know a lot about what went on in Germany at that time. To make a film about Holocaust wasn’t going to reach a wider audience. In a way, it would preach to the converted. “The Book Thief” might attract a wider audience and they’ll become aware of what actually went on. One of the most interesting moments was after an early screening and a ten-year-old asked after why people were so nasty to the Jews? That’s a kid who doesn’ know anything about the Holocaust or Hitler. If it raises those kind of questions within younger age groups then they’re two clicks away. They’ll find out what went on. I’m hoping that it might bring what happened to a wider audience without ramming it down their throat.

HOLLYWOODCHICAGO.COM: Did it do that for you, Sophie? Was this your first experience with a lot of this history?

LISSE: I read “Hana’s Suitcase” in sixth grade but before reading that book I had no idea what had happened. I was a bit traumatized. How could we let this happen? So then when I got the part, I was really happy. I was so inspired by that book when I read it. When I watched Schindler’s List, The Reader, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas — How could they do that people? It’s such a big part of history and I want all of my friends and all of the kids my age to know about it.

“The Book Thief” is now playing in some markets and opens this Friday, November 15, 2013 in Chicago.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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