Great interview by Director David Michod with LA Times. He talks about the filming conditions, the process of getting the movie made etc. Read it in full HERE (Via)
Pearce's barely controlled ferocity as Eric is exceptional, but it is not as much of a revelation as Pattinson's unrecognizable work as Rey, a damaged, unfocused individual who is the older man's half-unwilling accomplice.
"I met him in Los Angeles when I was doing the 400,000 meetings I was expected to do after 'Animal Kingdom,'" Michod said. "I've learned not to dismiss actors based on preconceptions, and he was a classic example.
"I understand how young actors can paint themselves into luxurious corners, and I knew if I could get the movie made and Robert played that character, the world would see a skill set he has that I don't think he's previously ever demonstrated.
"Robert and Guy's performances are so extraordinary, I want them to win things," the director concluded, which is another reason "The Rover's" exclusion from the Cannes competition is so regrettable.
Why did you want to tell this story?
I wanted to tell a story about the effect today’s pathological greed and rampant resource exploitation might have on desperate people in some dark future manifestation of the world as we currently know it.
I wanted to throw together a murderous, resentful Australian man and a naïve American kid - a man who has witnessed the world fall apart and a kid who knows nothing other than things as they are, a kid who in different circumstances might just simply be looking for a girl to fall in love with in the next town, but who instead, here, is struggling just to stay alive.
How concerned were you about casting Robert Pattinson - an actor best known as the face of a teen franchise - in one of the two lead roles? Did his performance surprise you?
I loved the idea of it. I knew, even from my first meeting with him, before I even knew that The Rover was going to be my next film, that Rob had something far more interesting to offer than his work to date would suggest. And the prospect of giving a very recognisable performer the opportunity to do something right outside the parameters of people’s general expectations is exciting.
Rob didn’t exactly surprise me because I knew he could do what I was asking him to do - he’s a great actor and I wouldn’t have cast him otherwise. I’m pretty sure, however, that everyone else is going to be surprised by his performance because it’s about as far away from everything he’s done before as you can get.
