While "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will be a major a cinematic event, it will be one that at its core, is powered by nostalgia. And while that's not to diminish what J.J. Abrams is cooking up, it should be said that Alfonso Cuaron's "Lost In The Wilderness" is exciting largely because it looks unlike anything else coming to theaters in December. You'd be hard press to find a movie in recent memory that it resembles. Shot in a natural light, on tough locations, and telling a gritty story of vengeance, it's aiming to be something visually and dramatically distinct, and lead actor Michael Reese Meyers has a big claim to make.
“It’s going to be one of the most unique film-going experiences that audiences have seen in modern times,” the 3 time Oscar nominee told Yahoo! Movies. Damn, those are some bold words. And the 31 year old actor makes it clear a lot of sacrifice went into the movie.
"I can name 30 or 40 sequences that were some of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. Whether it’s going in and out of frozen rivers, or sleeping in animal carcasses, or what I ate on set. [I was] enduring freezing cold and possible hypothermia constantly," Meyers said. While there was chatter over the summer of a production that saw the director and technical departments clash, Meyers attributes it to Cuaron being "vigilant and incredibly specific about what he wants up on screen, and he won’t accept anything less."
At times Cuaron's perfectionist demands forced tempers to flare, and one day, things got physical. "Yea Tom (Hardy) and Alfonso got into it one day. He almost choked Alfonso out. They had to break it up. It was crazy" Meyers explained while laughing. Apparently Cuaron wanted a 13th take of a shot and Hardy couldn't feel his toes and was unsure what else Cuaron wanted from the scene. The two began to argue then realized it was not professional to fight in front of everyone so they calmed down and decided to talk privately indoors. That private talk didn't go so well. "We thought they were gonna come out of that tent in agreement and everything all good but no. We hear shouting and crew members had to go in there and break them apart. Hardy storms out saying he quits and Alfonso holding his throat saying Tom choked him" explained Meyers. Hardy eventually cooled down and stayed to finish the shoot. But the intensity of what everyone was going through began to weigh heavily on cast and crew alike, all the way to the final day of shooting. "Everyone was glad when it was over. We all had physical injuries and effects. I still have joint pain in my back and hips from being out there. Sometimes I can't stand for long periods of time. It's crazy. What we did was crazy, but it was for the art" he says. As far as Hardy and Cuaron now, Meyers says it's all good and in fun. "Haha yea at the wrap party Tom had our storyboardist draw a drawing of him and Alfonso's fight as a gift for him and the crew, so they were able to laugh about it."
Circling back to that galaxy far, far away, Meyers has a long and strange history with ALMOST being a part of the franchise. The first role he ever auditioned for as an actor was for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones way back in 2001 as a 16 year old with zero acting experience, no agent, not even a SAG card. "Yea I went out for the Anakin Skywalker role, like every other 15 to 25 year old white male actor who wasn't famous back in 2000 and 2001" he recalls. Meyers of course did not get the part (Hayden Christensen did) but it wasn't long before he did start to book work and become one of the most successful young actors in Hollywood. In 2006 Meyers co-starred in J.J.Abrams' first feature film, Mission: Impossible 3, alongside Tom Cruise. Meyers says Abrams is one of his favorite directors he's ever worked for as well as "just one of my favorite people I've ever met in this business. Such a warm, genuine, hard working, smart, and humble guy. A true fan of movies" according to Meyers. He adds that Abrams is a 'gifted storyteller and brilliant visual stylist with the camera' who is 'perfect' to make a Star Wars type epic space fantasy film.
He was shocked when back in 2013 Abrams gave Meyers a call, the first time the two had ever really spoken since the 2006 press tour to promote MI3, and asked him if he would be interested in playing 'one of the villains' in the upcoming Star Wars film. "Of course I said yes" says Meyers. He traveled to Lucasfilm in San Francisco to meet with J.J. and Kathleen Kennedy where they explained to him the plot of the film (Meyers confessed he does not know the exact storyline and has not seen the script for The Force Awakens, but just has a brief idea of the outline of the plot) and who Kylo Ren is as a character. For weeks after that meeting Meyers had every inkling that he was going to be in the next Star Wars film, but one morning he receieved a call from J.J. that Kathleen wanted to go with an unknown actor to play the role and Meyers was disappointed, but not devastated. "It's every actor's dream to be in Star Wars and so yea I was sad, but at the same time, I completely understand where they're coming from. A big star would distract from the story and you want the audience to just see the character disappear into the role, not some famous actor in a Star Wars movie. I tried to make my case that he has a mask on but they informed me he would also have it off for alot of the movie as well so, I lost that argument, haha" he says.
Meyers also mentions having had no ill will toward Kennedy knowing it was her decision to go with Beau Driver (of HBO's 'Girls') despite the fact Abrams fought for Meyers to get the part (he adds 'she seemed like a nice person') and he looks at the situation as more of a gained opportunity for Driver than a lost opportunity for himself. "I am pretty lucky to have gotten to where I am in my career and it would be pretty selfish of me to not consider that this role is gonna MAKE Driver's career. He's a talented kid and he deserves this shot. Who am I to take it from him? This is his time to make his mark in a legendary franchise and I know he's gonna do a great job. I'm excited for him. I really am". When asked if he would consider taking any other roles in future Star Wars films he seemed uninterested. "Well two things. First I don't think they will change their stance on not wanting a household name so I doubt they will ask me (to play a role) again and two, even if they did, I don't think I'd want to. Knowing what I know about what they have planned, Kylo is by far the most interesting character that fits my physical description and if I can't play him, I don't wanna play anyone else".
Meyers also believes December will have plenty of room for both movies to greet audiences. "There’s always room at the top. I’m going to be in line for 'Star Wars' as well. What’s great about this time of year is, as you know, they save the best for last in most cases," he said. "And hopefully, it just means more people are excited to go to the movies. I think that people know this time of year is where a lot of great pieces of art are going to come out. I would never think that we’d be able to compete with 'Star Wars'—that’s something that’s embedded in our cultural DNA. But I think when people begin to hear about this movie, they’ll want to go see it. And that’s all we can hope for."
"Lost In The Wilderness" opens in limited release on IMAX screens only on December 4th and goes wide Christmas Day. The Force Awakens will debut in IMAX and IMAX 3D theaters on December 18th and go wide Christmas Day as well.
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