I guess I have sort of dreamed of making a film for a long time, Dano admits.
I actually was probably frustrated with myself that it took so long to find something to go make.
Im not the kind of person whos going to read something and go right away and do it.
IFC Films
Im sort of a slow-cook person.
And that is when I sort of said, Okay, I can do it.
Reaching that point was the easy part, though, compared to the challenges that awaited the first-time filmmaker.
Thats kind of the nice thing about being truly inspired by something its not really a choice.
It just became something I had to do.
The novel itself presented Dano with his first hurdle.
Its all internal life.
(He co-wrote the script with his partner, Zoe Kazan.)
How can we just make it spare and simple, and through that get the complexity of the relationships?
Because I actually think using voice-over would be reductive.
Like, how do we make it as complicated as all this stuff really feels in life?
That challenge was compounded, too, by the source of that interiority being a teenager.
The movie relies on this face, and this kid, Dano says.
His tape was the first time that we saw the scenes the way they were written, essentially.
Not meaning they got the lines right; I mean the space in between the lines, the subtext.
You could see on camera that he was thinking thoughts.
I dont know how I would have made the film without him, him in particular.
The period kept the first-time director on his toes as well.
Everywhere you point the camera has to be controlled.
Its not, like, a found object, he says.
You want a slight sense of, you know, stepping into something.
There were a lot of hiccups, but there was a lot of great stuff.
The movie could be good.
Wildlifehits theaters Oct. 19.
