The Downtown Devil’s Vincent Burnton had the opportunity to take part in a telephone conference with stars Zach Galifianakis and Keir Gilchrist and directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck from the new film “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” on Sept. 16. Below are some of the highlights from that conversation.
Q: Were there any elements of Craig’s character from the book that you felt you wanted to interpret differently for the screen?
Keir: I never read the book before doing the movie, and it was definitely a choice I made, realizing that Ryan and Anna had already adapted into the script, and every piece of character they wanted into the film they’d taken, so I didn’t want to get caught up in that character from the book.
Q: This is the first time we’ve seen you in a dramatic role. What drew you to the film at first?
Zach: I think initially it was the directors, because I’d seen the other movies that they’d done. I had a lot of confidence in them and I don’t have so much confidence in myself when it comes to certain kind of acting so I like the location of the story, I think that a mental hospital is a very specific place where good stories can evolve because of people being together.
Q: What about the role Bobby most appealed to you?
Zach: I like characters that are fragile and a little bit on the edge, and I feel like Bobby certainly was both of those even though he’s kind of a sage to Craig’s character. He still has a couple of weaknesses, I think he has the capacity to be angry, so it wasn’t really much of a departure for me or from my real life.
Q: Did you research or draw on any life experiences to prepare yourself for the role of Bobby?
Zach: I went to a couple of mental facilities in New Mexico, and kind of observed and took some notes and asked some questions, and I noticed a couple of people in these facilities who it seems could function on the outside, and I think Bobby could function but with the possibility of snapping. It was with those notes and observations and certainly discussing it with Anna and Ryan we drew up the character.
Q: Do you think something is missing from modern teen movies?
Ryan: We’re not teen film enthusiasts, but it does seem like there’s an element of cynicism and sarcasm present in a lot of movies these days dealing with teenagers, and the book dealt with these issues not through the adult cynical edge of ‘Oh what was it like to be a teenager’ but felt very in the moment, and treated the issues with respect and didn’t talk down to the characters, and that’s what we appreciated about the book and tried to maintain in the movie.
Q: How have you dealt in the past year with becoming so famous so quickly?
Zach: If I were younger, I’d be too young for it or maybe buy into the hype, but I’m older, and it’s a little strange sometimes. I’m surprising myself that I’m handling it okay. I get a really good table at Sbarro, other than that nothing really has changed.
Q: Do you have any advice for college kids?
Zach: What’s really good is to go donate your plasma and then down a six pack to really calm your nerves down. The pressure of the college student is ridiculous, it’s crazy and hard, and when I was in school there was more pressure than any time in my life, which is probably why I never liked school. There’s this mentality that the real world is going to be this and that, but I think college puts too much pressure on people and, reflecting on this movie, I think society is putting too much pressure on young people. Its good for people who work on ulcers, its good for ulcer doctors–chill out young ones. Chill out, and those that are chilling out too much, go clean your room and study some.
Q: What was the most challenging scene to film and what was your favorite?
Ryan: The basketball scene between Keir and Zach. It’s a really long scene, and we had a limited amount of time with the sun in the big windows in the gym messing things up and making things difficult for us, and we had to go quickly. The actors had a lot of range in the scene, starting playful and silly but by the end being very serious and dramatic, and I think the actors did a wonderful job, but it was challenging with everything going on around us and it’s held up as one of my favorite scenes in the movie.
Zach: You get pressed for time sometimes in the movie business when you have to depend on the sun, and by the sun I mean the lord Jesus Christ. It came out well, it was a lot of fun to shoot as well.
Contact the reporter at vburnton@asu.edu
