Cinema Scholars interviews Bookworm star Elijah Wood and director Ant Timpson at Fantastic Fest 2024. The film also stars newcomer Nell Fisher. Photon Film and Vertical Entertainment is releasing Bookworm in theaters on October 18.
Introduction
There’s just something about children in peril films that work on so many levels. There are often some adventure elements, baddies you love to hate, and satisfying resolve. Not to mention these types of movies usually feature the most talented, precocious kids out of central casting. Seeing the most vulnerable among us persevering through harrowing adversity checks an extra box. Director Ant Timpson’s latest effort, Bookworm, succeeds in all of these aspects.
In Bookworm, a struggling illusionist (NOT a mere magician) named Strawn Wise meets his 11-year-old daughter for the first time under not-so-great circumstances. His baby momma has been hospitalized following a freak accident, and Wise is left in charge of his ambivalent offspring, Mildred. While the inexperienced father has the best of intentions, it is clear from the get-go that he has a long way before winning his bio kid over.
To persuade her to give him a chance, Wise agrees to a camping trip Mildred has long awaited. However, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill fishing and hiking exploration. The bookish tween is on a quest to prove the existence of a local legendary creature, The Canterbury Panther.
As the estranged pair traverse the gorgeous New Zealand countryside in search of the mysterious creature, the father-daughter duo gets way more adventurous bonding time than either of them anticipated.
Discussion
Bookworm is a heartwarming and hilarious tale of remorse and redemption. Timpson’s balance of heavy subject matter with a humorous take keeps the feel more whimsical than woeful. Even the perilous moments are cast with a level of levity that steers the film clear of any melodrama. Though the film isn’t without its poignancy as both characters face their mistakes and personal demons, sharp humorous dialogue and the quixotic nature of their journey is a delight.
As Strawn Wise, Elijah takes on the unwitting dad role with endearing eagerness. Your heart aches for him as he tries in vain to win over his distant daughter. As his character grows to understand the enormity of his current undertaking as well as his past missteps, Wood’s authenticity seals the deal on Straw’s motivation.
Scene-stealer Nell Fisher is outstanding as young Mildred. Though the trope of kids talking like adults is certainly well-worn, Fisher’s performance reminds us that she is more than a mini-adult. She is a girl trying to maintain her place in the world the best way she knows how. With her big brain and the smart-ass musings that, though hilarious, don’t always help her in her plight. Despite the grown-up posturing and serious sass, Fisher also brings on the feels in the more emotional sequences too.
Teaming Up Again
In their follow-up to their other paterfamilias tale, Come To Daddy, Wood, and Timpson’s Bookworm proves the pair capable of yet another terrifically entertaining, albeit much different, outing. Here’s hoping that they make it a trilogy with another father-centric tale.
Cinema Scholars’ Rebecca Elliott had the opportunity to sit down and chat with director Ant Timpson and star Elijah Wood ahead of the premiere of Bookworm at Fantastic Fest 2024. The pair discuss finding the right magician aesthetic, finding the young lead, and working out in the elements.
Rebecca Elliott:
Hey fellas! So great to see you this morning to talk about your film Bookworm. You play a magician. Pardon me an illusionist, in this film. The character is quick to differentiate there. And so my first question is, how did you guys decide on the look for this illusionist? Was there a specific inspiration?
Ant Timpson:
It’s always such a fun part of the process. It’s me scaring Elijah by sending him images of ideas. But we had a great wardrobe and hair and makeup team that we work with who are legends. And at one stage, we went through like, I want the eyebrows of this. The goatee of that. A bit of Criss Angel hair. A bit of Johnny Depp.
Elijah Wood:
Oh, right.
Finding The Right Look
Ant Timpson:
It was a mishmash of those and others. The whole idea was like, if Criss Angel had to start doing corporate gigs, how would it be? Maybe he had all the tats lasered off, and it’s like his star was diminishing, but he still retained. Held on to some of the old ways. But it just had to feel real but not too real. It’s that line between exaggeration and cartoon.
Elijah Wood:
Totally. Both of the times we’ve collaborated, the esthetic always starts at an extreme. And then it becomes a breaking down of a bad extreme to something that feels still quite unique within the context of the world. But also believable. And just finding that balance, which is so much fun. Our costuming for this was fantastic.
And the options were spot on really quickly. But it was a blast to put all that together because that’s really where, for me, that’s half of the job of the character is how he looks and how he presents. Then throughout the course of the film, he gets stripped down and more vulnerable.
Rebecca Elliott:
He lost that big, beautiful hat from the initial scene. I was like, “Oh, the hat.”
Ant Timpson:
There are a lot of parallels with Come to Daddy in that respect. The stripping down and also getting that giant hat straight off the bat.
Tricks Of The Trade
Rebecca Elliott:
That’s so funny. Did you learn any tricks or sleight of hands for this role?
Elijah Wood:
I didn’t. I did sit with a magician for about a month prior to flying to New Zealand. This guy, Mike Pisciotta, who’s amazing. He’s the only resident on staff at the Magic Castle of Los Angeles. Because it’s typically a revolving door of amazing magicians. But he’s one of the best close-up magicians that there is. I got the privilege of getting to sit with him for a couple of hours every week for a year and a half.
There aren’t any tricks in the film that are actually real. No specific tricks that we had to make look real and that I had to learn. The main concern I had was just dexterity. Card dexterity and looking like I knew what I was doing. Holding them, shuffling them. That’s really what we practiced. It’s quite simple. I didn’t actually really learn a trick. But just sitting with him and seeing how he handled cards was so incredible and also intimidating. It definitely gave me the foundation.
Rebecca Elliott:
Yeah, I saw that fan of the cards in your first scene. That was impressive.
Ant Timpson:
I kept sending him like crazy…
Elijah Wood:
Oh my God.
Ant Timpson:
Crazy Instagram stuff. “Hey, can you look at this one? See if you can do this.”
Elijah Wood:
For a few months prior, he was sending me these incredible intricate tricks. “You could learn these, right?” I was in the middle of production on something else, and I was like, “I don’t have time!”
Casting The Young Lead
Rebecca Elliott:
No way. Not enough hours in the day. I’m sure everybody wants to know, but where did you find the incredible young actress, Nell Fisher, who plays Mildred? Was she somebody you already had worked with, or did she come straight from central casting? Tell me about finding her. She’s so great.
Elijah Wood:
She was.
Ant Timpson:
Well, we auditioned 300 kids. The weird thing is I had actually seen her in another low-budget indie called Northspur. She was eight, seven, or eight when she was in that. And she was like someone that you clock. “She’s cool and interesting.” So it was a surprise when she came on the shortlist. Because I watched every audition and we were talking to our casting directors, and the agents as well. They were saying, “You should really check out now. She’s going to be a superstar.” I was like, “That’s what everyone says about every kid acting on their books.”
But then we checked Nell out, and she was phenomenal. Then we got down to the nitty-gritty and did a chemistry read. She just did Evil Dead Rise. So when we got down to the final selection, I talked to Lee Cronin, the director of Evil Dead Rise. Just because of the demands of the role is tough for any 11-year-old to be on screen every frame for the entire shoot.
Challenging Work At Any Age
Elijah Wood:
It’s so verbose. There are so many words. The actress has to lead the film, truly.
Ant Timpson:
The film lives and dies, really, with that performance. Lee just said, “She’s incredible. She’s not going to waver. She’ll have the endurance to do what she needs to do. She’s incredibly smart. She’s a bookworm.” Because I was telling him about the character. She’s all those things. It didn’t take long.
Then when she was doing some reads with Elijah, there were similarities as well. Just even in terms of they looked like maybe they were related. Which helped a lot. It was just really warm, and it just felt right. She turned out to be incredible. Then look where she’s gone now with Stranger Things.
Rebecca Elliott:
She’s taking off. I feel like the gals usually get the mom’s questions. So, I’m going to ask you guys a dad question. You are both dads. Does that affect your approach to the film? Especially you, Elijah, being a child actor yourself. Can you tell me about your dad’s dynamic working with a kid, but also in relation to your experience?
Dad Influence
Elijah Wood:
That’s so interesting. I never feel like the elder in that regard. I’ve worked with a few kids over the years. I don’t know. I see other actors, regardless of their ages, as just peers. I’m there as a support as just another cast member. Never offering advice or even really feeling paternal necessarily. I think my role is always just I’m a member of the team, and you’re a member of the team, too. And I want you to feel, whoever you are, as comfortable as possible. We’re in this together.
That’s where I really feel my sense of responsibility is. It’s the two of us. This is a two-hander. We’re a team doing this together, so whatever you need from me. But she also came to the table so unbelievably prepared and so professional. So aware of the process. And also just brought an energy of delightfulness to all of us that was infectious.
Ant Timpson:
She wasn’t intimidated at all. No. She was the only kid in the entire crew in the wilderness. I never once saw that she was nervous. She just dominated, really. She gave me script notes straight away, and she knew every line in the script. It’s like she’s entirely in the script inside and out. Yeah. She’s truly a unique, brilliant character.
Elijah Wood:
You factor in, so there’s just the work, right? So a fair amount of dialog for for her and for us. There’s that and the character that has to lead the storytelling. That’s the responsibility in and of itself. Then you put that on its legs outside in weather and conditions of being…90% of the movie was shot outside.
Working Out In The Elements
Rebecca Elliott:
That was going to be one of my questions, too.
Elijah Wood:
Some of the conditions were mostly…Look, we lucked out, we didn’t have a ton of rain. I think we only did wet weather cover once. It was ridiculous, but we were still out there and it was cold. To put her through that and for her to be so resilient and strong, was almost more impressive. She was extraordinary. We were tromping up massive hills to get to certain locations that were remote. She just always had this great big can-do attitude and smile on her face. It was amazing.
Ant Timpson:
Yeah, I felt like such a scumbag.
Rebecca Elliott:
I think I’m going to have time for one more quick question. Two daddy movies you guys have made together. Is this going to be a trilogy of dad movies?
Ant Timpson:
We always, yeah, we joke about that it’s part of a loose trilogy called The Tumbling Man. So, yeah, I mean, that would be ideal if there’s enough time left on my clock. I’d love to do another one. Yeah, It would be a blast.
Rebecca Elliott:
Well, thank you guys so much for taking the time to talk with me today.
Elijah Wood:
It’s been such a pleasure.
Ant Timpson:
Yes, thank you.
Photon Film and Vertical Entertainment is releasing Bookworm in theaters on October 18.
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