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GEORGE TILLMAN, JR: And here we are.

I'm George Tillman, Jr., the director of the film.

- OONA CHAPLIN: (LAUGHS) Hello, George. - Hello.

CHAPLIN: My name is Oona Chaplin.

I play Ruth in the film that you're about to watch.

- (LAUGHS) - TILLMAN: Yes. So, let me see.

I think the script came to me

around March of 2014.

Um...

It was a script that was written...

Craig Bolotin did a draft.

And by the time I came on, when I read the script,

Fox 2000, who I previously had done two other films with,

wanted me to read the script.

And they were excited about it

because it was a Nicholas Sparks script and I was...

I thought that was kind of funny.

I just thought, "Why would they recommend me

- (CHAPLIN LAUGHING) - for Nicholas Sparks material?

"You know, with Soul Food, Men of Honor and Notorious.

And, actually, when I sat down and thought about it,

I was pretty honored that they were able to see me outside of...

CHAPLIN: Of your box. That they could stretch you.

TILLMAN: That they can stretch, right?

So, I took the script home and I read it, and it felt pretty epic at the time,

but I felt like the script needed some work.

But Fox 2000 was very open to it

and I liked the idea of Temple Hill

with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey producing the film.

(CHAPLIN GIGGLING)

CHAPLIN: Cause Marty Bowen's a real cowboy in his spare time.

TILLMAN: So... I know, exactly, right?

So, I thought it would be something great,

something that we can make something great out of it.

But we had to start with the material, but...

- CHAPLIN: Had you read the book? - TILLMAN: I never read the book.

I haven't... I've only seen The Notebook.

- That was the only... - CHAPLIN: The only reference, Yeah, me too.

TILLMAN: Only reference that I'd seen of...

CHAPLIN: Pretty good reference, though.

TILLMAN: Really good reference.

I thought Ryan Gosling was awesome in that movie.

And I thought that's a pretty tough movie to beat,

cause a lot of fans hold that movie to a whole another level.

So, what I loved about it, working with Fox 2000,

Elizabeth Gabler was like, "You can make it your own.

"You can do something completely different.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: So, it all started with the cast,

and, "Who are we gonna find?

TILLMAN: And right Off the bat,

Britt Robertson was the first person that we saw in Mary Vernieu's office.

She came in and it felt completely different

from the typical women that have played in Nicholas Sparks films.

- CHAPLIN: Yeah, she's got spice. - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: She's got... She's a feisty little minx.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah.

- And it felt right for the character. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: Someone who just wanted to.

- CHAPLIN: There she is. - TILLMAN: There she is.

CHAPLIN: Hello, Britt.

(LAUGHING)

TILLMAN: So, it felt something completely right for the character,

for someone coming from New Jersey who wanted just to study art,

and really wasn't looking for love.

Britt is a very independent person.

- I remember the first time that I met her. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: After we had our first sit-down,

she offered to pay for a lunch that I put together.

CHAPLIN: Hmm.

TILLMAN: And I was like,

"Why do you feel like... The studio's taking care of this.

"Why do you feel like you wanna have to pay for this lunch?

She was very adamant, saying, "I don't like nobody taking care of me.

- I like to take care of myself, you know. - That's perfect.

TILLMAN: So, I started to feel this independence about her,

and she's a young child actor.

Um...

She has her...

I figured she's, like, 23? She owns her own house.

I didn't own my own house until I was 30. (LAUGHING)

CHAPLIN: I know, right? She's 23 and she owns her own...

TILLMAN: She's something like... Yeah, she's really very young,

but she has a very old soul.

- CHAPLIN: Yeah, she's definitely, I mean.. - Yeah.

CHAPLIN: She's got her both feet on the ground and her head screwed on.

And she's sort of... She knows a thing or two.

- She's really impressive. - Very impressive.

TILLMAN: So I said, "Okay, who's the leading guy?

Everybody agreed that Britt Robertson was the person to play Sophia.

So, who's gonna be Luke?

So, we saw a bunch of guys that came in, and then Scott Eastwood came in.

And I wasn't familiar with him as an actor.

I knew he existed, but when he came in the room, he looked...

- I've never... - CHAPLIN: Have you seen his abs though?

- Not then. - You haven't seen his abs?

- Not... Not right away. - That's really surprising.

TILLMAN: So, I think he came in with a button-up shirt,

- when he came in. - Oh, really? Did he take it off?

- He didn't take it off right away. - Damn, why not?

TILLMAN: That's not till after he got the role.

- But, okay! - CHAPLIN: Right, yeah.

- Then he felt more comfortable. - (BOTH LAUGHING)

TILLMAN: So, those two started...

We got them in a room immediately together,

and there was this odd chemistry.

The chemistry was that

these two people probably would never hang out...

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: He's from Southern California.

She's from South Carolina.

They're completely different.

- He's this surfer guy. - Yeah.

TILLMAN: And then, Britt, even though she's Southern,

she sometimes reads urban to me.

- Or metropolitan. - Yeah.

TILLMAN: But in the room, there was this

magnetic thing going on between them,

this opposite that we wanted for the two characters to have.

CHAPLIN: Oh, really?

They did have that really amazing dynamic.

They take the mickey out of each other a lot.

- TILLMAN: Yeah, that's what they... - They kind of insult each other,

and then make faces at each other, and then have a hug.

TILLMAN: Then they have a hug right after.

In this, I thought it really worked.

Their acting style is completely different.

And then, right away, we just felt like these two

were the two people to play the role. I felt like Luke...

CHAPLIN: Yeah, cause Luke and Sophia are really different.

TILLMAN: They're really different as people.

Him wanting to be the number one bull rider,

getting back after an accident, after a year.

- We felt like he needed to be... - CHAPLIN: Look at him.

TILLMAN: Yeah, definitely, He's focused.

He needed to be very goal-oriented.

CHAPLIN: Actually, you know what?

Alan Aida said something the other day that really struck me,

and that I looked out for when I saw the film the second time.

And every time that Luke gets on the bull,

he has a different kind of fear come across his face.

TILLMAN: Mmm-hmm.

CHAPLIN: Which is really extraordinary, actually,

cause he doesn't really appear to be doing much.

But every time he gets on that bull,

you see him throughout the course of the film,

- it's a different kind of fear. - Yeah.

CHAPLIN: And it's a fear that's perfect for that moment.

And that's really amazing, the way you guys did that.

It's so perfect for the journey that he goes on.

TILLMAN: Yeah, And it really worked out that he was very open

for the boot camp that we placed together.

Him working with Troy Brown,

a stunt coordinator in Hollywood who's working,

but also who's a professional individual

who works in the PBR bull riding circuit.

He's a guy who knows bulls, knows riders, and plus he's a stunt coordinator.

So he was very involved in creating this boot camp...

- CHAPLIN: Oh, that's great. - to get him prepared.

CHAPLIN: Yeah. I heard that Scott basically went over there and said...

With a case of beer and went, "Right. Guys, let's talk about bulls."

(BOTH LAUGHING)

- And the cowboys immediately loved him. - The cowboys...

- And that's the kind of guy he is. - Yeah.

-"He brings beer, He's one of us. - He brings beer. Exactly.

TILLMAN: So, he was really ready, you know, to get involved.

He had the physicality that we were looking for,

he had the looks that we needed for the romance,

and he had the chops and the chemistry between these two.

So, when it came down to who's going to play Ira and Ruth,

that was a lot more tougher, in terms of "Who are we gonna find?"

Because Ruth is really critical for the film.

She's the one that Ira adores,

she's the center of the whole story.

So, I was seeing a lot of different individuals that came in.

No one just didn't seem right.

Everybody had chops, and everybody had the skills,

there's a lot of people who had the looks, but who had the spirit?

CHAPLIN: Aw.

- TILLMAN: So... - I'm blushing.

TILLMAN: And you just came in. I think it was at the end of the day,

after we saw a bunch of people. You came in.

And I think I still have that audition somewhere.

CHAPLIN: (LAUGHS) Oh, gosh.

TILLMAN: You just came in and you just had this spirit,

and this nice, lovable thing.

It just reminded me of this Richard Lester film

- that I told you about, Petulia. - Yeah.

TILLMAN: That Julie Christie played in 1967 or '68.

CHAPLIN: Such a good film.

TILLMAN: And that spirit, that quirkiness, but also having a heart

that you would immediately fall in love with.

So, you came in, and I wanted you for this role right after you left.

But then you were on a plane going back to...

- CHAPLIN: Going back to Europe. - (BOTH LAUGHING)

CHAPLIN: It's been an interesting few months for that.

It's been a bit of backwards and forwards. I think I'm still dizzy from it.

TILLMAN: Yeah, You know...

CHAPLIN: I still haven't quite recovered from those trips.

TILLMAN: Yeah, You had a concern that...

A lot of people had a concern about,

"What's people's perception of the material?

Or maybe I was feeling the same way as...

Maybe, "How does this connect to me?

"I don't want this to feel corny or feel oversentimental.

I don't know if that's what you were feeling,

but I was feeling that way and I had to dig that within myself.

But I even had to explain that even to these guys, to Scott and Britt.

I find that with every person who's in the movie.

But you had reservations early on.

CHAPLIN: Yeah. There was a couple of things, I think, that were my prejudice,

particularly with women sacrificing anything for men,

and men not sacrificing anything for their women.

I mean, historically, that's been the case.

And as a woman, I find that a little bit hard to swallow.

But, really, what won me over was you explaining to me that

it's just all about love.

And when I heard that you've been together with your woman for so long,

and that just having a real sit-down

and actually thinking, "What's important in life?

That's what won me over to the script.

It was you telling me about love.

And I was like, If anybody can do this film that's about love,

"then it's gonna be George. So, that's what made me wanna do it.

TILLMAN: That is awesome, I just remember a...

I never actually made a phone call to Paris.

- That was my first phone call to Paris. - Oh, really? (LAUGHING)

I've been to Paris, but I never made a phone call there.

CHAPLIN: Never made a phone call to...

- Yeah. - I was staying at a really nice hotel as well.

TILLMAN: I think it was... Yeah, it's gotta be 12:00 my time,

which was really late, I think you're...

CHAPLIN: Yeah, we were, and I think I had a photo shoot, or I had something.

What was I doing?

I can't even remember what I was doing in Paris.

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - (BOTH LAUGHING)

So, I made a phone call, we talked for a while.

And then, I get off the phone and told Fox.

Fox loved you. And so, I'm glad it happened,

because that was the center point of...

It was great, because you and Britt,

as the two leading ladies, are completely different.

- CHAPLIN: Oh, we're polar opposites. - And...

CHAPLIN: But we have a lot in common, which is good.

- TILLMAN: Which is great, you know? - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: And so, it came down to "Who's going to play Ira?

And I remember Jack Huston 's name came up early.

For some reason, I heard that he passed early,

but then it turned out that he was actually doing a play in London.

And it was just that he just wasn't available.

But then he became available.

So, really, it was just a meeting, really.

- Yeah. - Between you two guys.

We didn't even have time to audition,

cause I think he was going out or doing something the next...

- Yeah, he was working. - He was working on something.

And so, we sat down at a restaurant, actually, in the lobby of my office.

- Yeah. - And it was really late one night.

- And you guys just... - He just charmed my pants off, really.

- Really? Right away, right? - It was like, "Look at this charming man.

- Yeah, you know... - How dare he be so charming?

TILLMAN: I know, right? It was just... It was great.

It was about 20 minutes. It wasn't even long.

- CHAPLIN: Yeah, it wasn't long at all. - It wasn't long.

CHAPLIN: And then you took a photo out in the hall,

and I was like, "He's gonna look so much better than me in this photo.

I just had a whole day of talking to people.

TILLMAN: And you know what I really love, too,

is that it had a sense of color in the story.

I like you guys complexion. You guys are darker...

CHAPLIN: Yeah, It's like Barbie and Ken,

and then versus Wonder Woman and Action Man.

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - (BOTH LAUGHING)

Cause, really, Scott Eastwood looks like a Ken doll.

- I mean, it's actually uncanny. - Yeah, you know?

CHAPLIN: They should make a Barbie and Ken film

and just cast Scott as Ken, cause it works.

TILLMAN: It works, right?

CHAPLIN: I believe it, I buy it.

TILLMAN: And I just love that it just had different perspectives

and that really honed in the visual style for me

in terms of the movie, is that,

really, these are two different stories with two different visual styles,

two different looks in terms of camera style,

in terms of camera lighting,

in terms of sets and, sometimes, even behavior.

How these guys' scenes are completely different

from what you guys are doing in the '40s through this,

all the way up to 2000.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, cause this part of the film that we're watching now

has this cleaner look, doesn't it?

It's more like, it is very... It's actually very modern.

It's very pristine and it's got that really lovely Southern feel as well.

- You can really tell you're in the South. - Yes.

Like everybody's colors...

It's all the nice pastels and nice green leaves and all the...

- Yeah. - It's lovely.

And then in our bit it's more like...

It's got that vintage feel to it.

It's more tungsten, ls that even a word?

- Yeah... - I don't know if that's the right term for it.

- You're close enough... - I'm trying to be technical.

TILLMAN: That's good, I like you being technical, That's good.

- Yeah, I'm with you, I'm with you. - I don't know about those things.

- But definitely... - More sepia.

- Yeah, there you go. There you go. - It's a little more sepia.

TILLMAN: And we're pretty much...

I mean, we really made sure that

these two stories look completely different.

But what really made it organically connect together was the relationship,

which, almost, I always counted as a third story,

- which is Sophia and the older Ira. - Yeah.

Which is almost... Their color tone is very neutral,

which allows us to go back and forth

between our de-saturated look in the 1940s to the saturated look...

- Yeah, he's a real good link. - in the modern look here, so...

- Look at this. - Yeah, that's great.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

TILLMAN: So, really, what's really working here in terms of story is the setup,

pretty much Luke meeting Sophia.

CHAPLIN: Luke is a dreamy cowboy.

TILLMAN: Yes, He has to go into campus.

CHAPLIN: And he's got all the sorority sisters sighing and squealing.

TILLMAN: So, here we are on our first date.

And I think it was a very important scene,

because in the setup of most romantic stories,

usually, the first date leads these guys in the right path.

But for these guys, it leads them the opposite way.

They decide to go in a different direction and not really pursue a relationship.

And I really like that idea, that that's really counter...

A little bit counter what you really expect in most romance...

- CHAPLIN: Cause also, it's a perfect date. - Yes.

- It couldn't go any better. - Yeah.

CHAPLIN: This is the thing, right?

This type of film should inspire people to make these kind of dates happen.

And not just for a first date.

Just, if you're married for 60 years,

take your woman out in your truck and take her to a nice lake.

- And look at what he's doing. - Yep.

Look at this lovely lake. Where was this? Where did we shoot this?

TILLMAN: This was... God, I think this was in Winston-Salem.

CHAPLIN: Winston-Salem, Look at this beautiful lake.

- I mean... - Yeah.

Hang on, it's coming, It's coming.

- There it is. - Yeah.

CHAPLIN: You can see it in her face.

It just takes your breath away, really.

- Wow. - Yeah.

Yes, I think people should be very inspired to do this kind of thing.

TILLMAN: Yeah, this location that you just mentioned,

it was actually in Winston-Salem, near the college Winston-Salem.

And this is a place called Dobson, North Carolina.

- Dobson. - This place was hidden away.

It was actually owned, all this land is owned by one family.

- Oh, we were there as well. - Yes.

CHAPLIN: That's where we shot Black Mountain, isn't it?

TILLMAN: Yes, This is where the Black Mountain was shot as well.

CHAPLIN: Yeah. It was beautiful around there.

- TILLMAN: Beautiful place and... - And such a nice family.

TILLMAN: Nice family. Nobody had ever shot here before,

so they allowed us to come in.

I kind of knew that tips from my dad's diner...

weren't really going to cut it.

I just...

I love art.

I love everything about it. I love studying it.

I love the culture that it brings...

and the whole human experience...

Here is...

Now this scene was always discussed, how we can get it right.

Scott was always concerned about this scene.

How can you make this a really great relationship,

a great first moment in just one night?

And, ultimately, we tried different scenes,

and ultimately, this scene was put together by a combination,

written by a combination of different individuals.

And we came up to the idea of, "It's a long night.

It's really a succession of three,

possibly four different scenes in one particular night.

Mark lsham's score's really working very minimally

in a very nice, subtle way.

But what we found that really made the scene really work was that

you're looking at two individuals

who are talking about their needs and their goals.

This was the center of what the story's about,

with the young Sophia/Luke story,

is that, even today, it's like a commentary on today's society,

- is that we're so goal-oriented. - Yeah, we are.

TILLMAN: He wants to be the number one bull rider, She wants to go to New York.

They're ignoring this emotional magnet between each other.

They're ignoring this little chemistry that they're having.

And even after a beautiful night,

they both choose to keep going and let it just go by the wayside.

And Sophia's really the one who's the first person,

she's the one who's more ready to let it go.

Yeah.

And I always liked that idea, was that,

she's the one who's making the choice, actually, not to pursue love.

- Yeah. - And he's the one who wants to continue.

CHAPLIN: Well, it's also like she's...

I mean, bull riders don't have a very long career.

Whereas, she is looking at a really lengthy,

and the-sky's-the-limit career opportunity.

- Yes. - Which is, I think, a lot harder to give up,

especially as she says...

Later on in the film, she mentions that

she comes from quite a humble background.

And she has this opportunity to break through that

and become a big, big fish in the art world.

And that's what she wants.

And so, I don't know.

She's kind of like, her whole thing is New York and it's so sad.

- Yeah, exactly. - Cause they...

'Cause, I mean, look at his eyes.

- Yeah. Yeah. - Look at his little eyes.

Oh, they almost kiss.

- Almost, and they... - But they didn't.

- Yeah. They used to at one point. - They used to.

- Really? Yeah, right. - Yeah.

TILLMAN: There was a cut before you saw.

CHAPLIN: Did someone eat some garlic or something?

TILLMAN: Yeah. No, what happened was, we decided to save it.

They did... We had a couple...

We had one early test screening

and the audience felt they kissed a little too soon.

So I took it out, and then we shot the bar scene

where they actually go out on their second date.

So we created a second date for these guys.

CHAPLIN: Oh.

TILLMAN: And I just felt like it worked stronger.

Again, it's that they want to, but they just can't.

They got other goals in mind.

And I really like this scene, too, 'cause it takes its time.

It's like a two minute, two-and-a-half minute scene on both fronts,

with them at the table and then here, them at the fire.

- Yeah. - It's allowing two people to talk.

It's allowing the audience to really get into their relationship and be with them.

And then you're gonna hear

the thunderstorm that's gonna come in the background.

That's one of the things that I discussed early on, is just...

CHAPLIN: How do you make a thunderstorm happen?

TILLMAN: Yeah, it was more like...

Mostly, I always remember in Nicholas Sparks films,

always it's raining with thunderstorm,

and they're kissing in the rain and everything.

(CHAPLIN LAUGHING)

So, I always felt like...

CHAPLIN: They're always kissing in the rain.

TILLMAN: Yeah, so I felt like here in our story,

all the thunderstorm and rain always happens

when the story shifts

or when something big plot-wise is going to happen.

So it's not necessarily complementing or exploring love.

It's just exploring story.

- Yeah. - Right now the story is, during this rain,

there's gonna be a life-altering change with these characters,

because they're about to meet the older Ira

in the car, on the side of the road here.

And this is the change in their story.

- CHAPLIN: Alan, Alan. - (CRYING PLAYFULLY)

- Alan, wake up. - (TILLMAN LAUGHS)

Alan, wake up. Grab the torch.

Just open the door, Scott. There you go. That's it. Pull him out.

- He's such a legend, Goodness. - Yeah. Awesome guy to work with.

CHAPLIN: Oh! Alan Aida, What an institution.

It's actually beautiful, this thing about the rain,

because the rain in North Carolina is astonishing.

TILLMAN: Mmm-hmm.

CHAPLIN: I mean, it starts pouring down and there's drops as big as your hand.

- Yeah. - And it just soaks you through.

And you don't understand where it came from.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah.

CHAPLIN: And it doesn't, also, ever seem to stop once it starts.

TILLMAN: One of the guys on the set was always saying...

He says, "Welcome to North Carolina.

"If you don't like the weather, just hold on 10 minutes and it'll change.

CHAPLIN: It will change, exactly.

(BOTH GIGGLING)

TILLMAN: And that's exactly what happened.

It would rain for about 10, 15 minutes,

and then it would be completely different later.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, And then it'll be sunshine and not a cloud in the sky,

- and mosquitos... - Yeah, It is a great thing.

- That was my first time in North Carolina. - Yeah, me too.

TILLMAN: And it was awesome because we shot in Wilmington,

we shot in Greensboro, we shot in Jacksonville.

We shot in Dobson.

These are all the cities that we were able to shoot most of the film in,

and I never knew that North Carolina was that huge.

- And that beautiful. - And beautiful.

CHAPLIN: It doesn't seem like it's...

It's not like a tourist destination

- for some reason. - No.

- But it is absolutely stunning. - Yeah.

- Like those Smoky Mountains? - Awesome.

- I mean, come on. - Yeah, beautiful. Beautiful.

- And you had good food as well, grits. - Oh, yeah, yeah.

- Hello, grits for lunch. - TILLMAN: Were you near...

You were living right next to a restaurant or something...

CHAPLIN: Yeah, we were living right next to number 9,

which is such a brilliant place 'cause they served us grits.

They just saw me coming

and they knew that they had to put some grits on the table.

And yeah, we were staying in this beautiful little cottage

called the French Cottage, or the French House.

And Jeremy Irons had

stayed there before.

And I was staying in this little annex with the lowest ceilings I've ever seen.

Everything looked miniature. And they were really low ceilings.

And every time I got into the shower, I hit my head on the ceiling.

TILLMAN: Oh, really?

CHAPLIN: And I started thinking about Jeremy Irons

every time I got in the shower, cause he's really tall.

- Mmm-hmm. - And if I was hitting my head,

I don't know how he would have been, like, managing this space.

I don't know what he did. (LAUGHS)

But it was a lovely house. It was so beautiful and the...

TILLMAN: You stayed there the whole time, right?

CHAPLIN: Yeah, the people were so nice.

And it's true, we were right in the center of the historical part of town.

- Yeah. - The historical district.

And just everyone's so nice,

and the food is just grits.

- I'm completely in love with grits. - Really? With grits.

TILLMAN: And here now, this is where we start shifting,

where we start getting into our second story...

- Here we go. - which is Ruth and Ira.

- Back in time. - Back in time.

So, just to talk about briefly,

we had about a week, maybe a week and a couple of days

to really start talking about the character,

'cause the script was shifting so much.

And a lot of that was, you know, just trying to really make the schedule,

make the budget, and to make the characters in the story improve.

But one of the great things is that

I had you and Jack for about six, seven days.

And really, just with wardrobe, and talking about makeup,

and then we were talking about the characters.

So, we had this nice, big conference room at this hotel

at the Hyatt, downtown Wilmington.

And we would just spend hours just talking about the character.

CHAPLIN : Talking it through, talking it through.

It was so great, actually, to be able to rehearse

and go, like, really get your teeth stuck in, It was so lovely.

- And Jack was really up for it as well. - Yeah.

And we were all just sitting there, analyzing everything that we could.

- Yeah. - Every doubt that came up,

we'd just battle it right until the end, just for the sake of it.

Just for the sake of really understanding these people

and what brings them together.

It was really totally stimulating and wonderful.

TILLMAN: Yeah, it was a great process.

It was completely different, too, with what Sophia and Luke's process was.

With those guys, I'd rehearse some of the scenes,

and we'd talk about the objectives, about the characters, what they want,

do some blocking and...

Or sometimes, we'd throw out some lines.

But we'll go through the scenes.

And that was just the style for that particular story.

- Yeah. - You guys' style was completely different.

Sometimes we'd show up,

and then you and Jack would just sometimes

- start talking for, like, 30, 40 minutes. - I know, you were so patient, George.

- Cause you guys... - You deserve a medal.

CHAPLIN: You deserve some kind of prize for having to put up with us.

TILLMAN: Cause you guys talk a lot,

and you guys have got this chemistry that's just amazing.

It's just... l don't know cause of the European thing or something.

Both of you guys spent a lot of time

over there.

And that's great, 'cause all that culture,

all those worldviews that you have is really what Ruth...

And I love that, 'cause I felt like talking is really rehearsing.

- Yeah, Understanding. - And that's part of the process.

TILLMAN: Understanding, And so, we spent...

Your story spent... Our rehearsals were different.

- Yeah. - Where it'll just be a lot of talking.

Sometimes we'd stand up on our feet.

- Yeah. - We'd do a little bit.

Jack was always concerned not getting too into the scenes early.

Yeah, 'cause he wanted to save the money.

- You have to be very delicate with Jack. - Yeah.

And the difference with Scott and Luke, with Scott and Sophia, or Scott and Britt,

- they just liked to do it over and over. - Yeah.

So, it was a different, delicate thing, and that's what you learn as a director,

- each actor has a different... - Yeah.

Different situations.

And I noticed that you and Jack spent a lot of time at night, or restaurants,

- or talking, or going over the material. - Yeah.

Or sometimes you guys would write some things,

or I'll write some things and we'll come together and throw it out.

So it had that leisurely, but in-depth, rehearsal time.

- Yeah, It was so wonderful. - Yeah.

CHAPLIN: I think every film should have at least a week rehearsal,

where everybody just gets to actually...

Cause our story

was really filled throughout.

Like, really filled out throughout that time.

We understood,

we went deeper than on the surface

just by analyzing the whys and the hows and the whats.

And we really managed to fill it out.

And, actually, when it came to doing it on set,

it was so much easier

than if you were trying things out on set that you weren't really sure about.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: It was a total privilege to have those days of just hanging out

- and going into the script. - Yeah.

And also, I think, 'cause Jack and I both have got that

slightly cynical aspect

(enemas)

to British heritage.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

We get raised with this love story.

- We're like, "Nah, come on. - Right. Right.

Cause the... I don't know.

There's an inherent cynicism in the UK that you don't really get here.

People are much happier expressing their feelings here.

So, it was good just to be able to actually talk about feelings,

and about really going for it.

And, actually, once we made the...

It was almost like we had to make a decision that

we were gonna be really romantic.

It was almost like we had to make some kind of,

"Okay, it's gonna be all right? Yeah? It's all right?

"It's all right if we... Okay, we're gonna do this, right?

- We're gonna? Okay, let's do it. - Right, right.

And it would... Then we went in full romance mode.

TILLMAN: Mmm-hmm.

So, I mean, interesting, with your character,

what was your... I know we spent time talking

and we talked a little bit about the book, more about the script.

What was your process of preparing for Ruth?

CHAPLIN: I think it was a lot to do with the accent.

And I think the accent and the period

were two things that really informed the character,

because it's so different to what I'm used to, evidently.

And they're boundaries that then you can find a lot of freedom within.

But really setting those boundaries and being confident.

I never thought in my life that I would be playing Austrian.

So, it's not one of the accents that I just have up my sleeve.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

So, working with a dialect coach, and really trying to get it sounding natural,

and right, and not too much, and not too little...

And I think that, sort of, was the main...

That was the main bulk of it.

And then, from then on, it was just working with Jack and you

to try and get the truth of the scenes.

Because I'm familiar with...

I'm quite familiar with World War ll history in Europe

because that's what I studied in school, in history class.

And I was always very interested in history.

So, that's something that I found...

I had a lot of references that came quite quickly

with the whole Jewish community.

I'd also just read this fantastic book

about Viennese nobility or aristocracy

that were very involved in the arts.

- So I think that helped as well. - Mmm-hmm.

Yeah, just trying to get the truth of the...

This was an interesting scene.

Because this scene, it's their first date, really.

TILLMAN: Yes.

CHAPLIN: And yet, here she is talking about the horrors of the Holocaust,

(LAUGHING)

which I really shouldn't be laughing about.

I'm laughing at the juxtaposition of those two things,

- rather than of the actual... - Yeah, Yeah.

The events.

But it was a really hard balance to get

because, obviously, what was happening in Europe at the time

was just so inhuman and confusing

and dark and just preposterous.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: And especially for these guys that had left and still had family there

and didn't know how to get in touch.

And you'd hear all these stories on the news

and in the papers and you wouldn't know what was true.

And you couldn't possibly believe some of the things that they were doing.

So it was really difficult to just tap that on the surface

and then go back to being all smiley and...

First date with this lovely guy and like...

There he is. Now he's gonna...

Yes, Jack. Go on, ask me out.

TILLMAN: And I love that look, too, that you gave him when he turned away,

like he cannot ask you out.

And that's just such a great thing. I just love when

you and Jack and Britt and Scott,

when you guys are completely in the moment,

completely being honest in the moment.

And as a director, you love that because you're surprised with...

I'm gonna be surprised by what you're gonna do.

And I love that, being surprised, not knowing.

How do you take what's on paper and really just take it to another level because...

Humanly or behaviorally, that is what you're gonna do.

And that's the reason why I love this scene,

is because it really showed the sense of where...

It shows the beginning

of happiness in what she finds, when you say on the beach,

"This is the first time I've been happy.

And then it goes later to when you leave him.

It's all connected to happiness. That's what we were saying.

"What is Ruth's drive? What is what you want?"

And we always came down to happiness or...

- Yeah, goodness. - Goodness was the word.

Yeah.

CHAPLIN: That's one of the things that I really loved about Ruth, actually,

more than anything else,

was the fact that she had come from this world

of tragic suffering of her people.

Which, if you...

You hear stories about the Holocaust and you think this couldn't have happened,

one human being could not have done this to another human being.

It's just insane that this happened.

Only a few decades ago. It's crazy.

And she comes from this place of darkness,

and all she wants to do is make love and life and light come out of it.

ANNOUNCER: Let's go to Luke Collins.

If he makes a qualified ride on Carolina Thunder...

he will crack the top 35 and punch his ticket to Vegas!

Let's go!

CHAPLIN: So here we are in the bull riding...

Which is the most exciting thing I've ever seen in my life, by the way.

TILLMAN: Well, this is one of the great things that I liked about the story,

is that I haven't... There's only really been one film that I remember

that dealt with bull riding,

I think it was a film called 8 Seconds, but it was done years ago.

And in exploring what bull riders go through in the process,

it really became very different for me when I went to Las Vegas for...

In 2014 to see the championship,

the final championship for the bull riders that year.

And watching it on television, I thought, "Okay, it's a cool sport. It's great."

But when they put me behind the chute,

when I actually saw the bulls and the force, how they come out of that chute

and how dangerous and how much force and how fast eight seconds really is,

it changed my perspective of how to shoot the bull.

And my perspective as a director was

really try to make the audience to feel what it's really like to be a bull rider.

And each scene, I felt should feel very different,

and it should be shot in a very different style.

And at the same time, I should really, really get the idea

of what Luke and his agenda is in every scene,

so it doesn't feel like the bull riding scenes had nothing to do with the story.

So, it's a combination of those things that really made us attack each sequence

and made it the best they could really be.

A lot of that was done with having six, seven cameras.

A lot of that was done bringing in the phantom camera,

where we would be able to shoot very, very slow speed,

where we can really capture the muscles, the speed, the energy,

what the bull riders go through,

and really, a combination of angles that I felt that

even the PBR circuit and the PBR

has not even shot themselves,

in terms of the angles, the styles and the placement.

So, a lot of that was done through prep with,

you know, first attacking through storyboards,

attacking what the scene is about,

also attacking what is the best way visually to shoot these scenes.

And you really can't really shoot your load early,

because you got the last sequence coming up in the very last act.

So everything had to be built towards that.

So, it took us about, um...

I think we shot all the bull riders at the end of the film

in nine days or something like that.

CHAPLIN: And that was in Jacksonville, wasn't it?

TILLMAN: That was all... Well, it was a combination

of Jacksonville and Winston-Salem.

And the Jacksonville was the first scene where Luke meets Sophia outside.

And the rest of the Winston-Salem was actually done

where all the other sequences were done at the same time.

So, with that, I mean, we had a lot of great help.

I mean, we had the real guys out there who...

These guys, you know, like Sean Willingham, Kasey Hayes,

Sammy Matthews, Brant Atwood, Billy Robinson, Cody...

CHAPLIN: I heard so many stories about those cats.

- These are the real guys. - They really left their mark on set.

TILLMAN: These guys are the real guys.

They did a lot of the bull riding in the movie.

These guys came out, did it multiple times,

cause sometimes you shoot a bull ride,

and sometimes they'd only be on there for two seconds.

Then you got to keep going until you can go back and do it again.

- So these guys were rolling... - They had a championship coming up.

They had a championship coming up too, so all those guys were doing double duty.

CHAPLIN: They didn't want to injure themselves

too badly whilst they were making the film,

because they wanted to go and compete.

But at the same time, they had to make the film look really good

and that's their passion, so they were doing it 100% anyway.

So, it was really high stakes for those guys sometimes.

TILLMAN: Very, very high stakes.

And these guys, the PBR, were awesome.

I mean, without them we would not have done...

Gotten everything we needed for the film.

CHAPLIN: You know who else I think really made the film

just so special, was Babs McDance.

- Yes. - Babs McDance,

who was, no kidding, our dance teacher.

This is the scene where we're going in to have a little boogie.

And we met this lovely woman who came to do the choreography with us

for hours and hours and hours,

until Jack got it 'cause... (LAUGHING)

I got it instantly, but Jack took a little longer.

But, yes, this woman was actually called Babs McDance,

and she was, I think, made of sunshine.

Her molecular composition is joy and unicorns.

This woman is the happiest pumpkin I've ever met.

TILLMAN: Wow.

And this was great too, because you guys were... I was...

This was in the middle of the shoot, so I was still shooting.

She would send me over tapes of what you guys were doing.

And it was interesting, seeing you guys on video.

I'm sorry. She was showing us tape of what you were trying to explain to her

that you wanted for the scene.

And watching George Tillman, Jr.

try and do a 1940s little step is hilarious,

'cause he just looks like a gangster trying to have...

I don't know what he was trying to do. It was beautiful.

- It was pure, pure joy. - Oh, man.

TILLMAN: And this was great. You guys were on time

all the way, every take.

CHAPLIN: And look at Jack. He really got it, man, he really got it.

He's actually a brilliant dancer. I'm just making fun of him.

TILLMAN: And all these guys around them are all from her school, I believe.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, they were all the North Carolina dancers.

- Mmm-hmm. - The Wilmington dancers.

But you know what? There is such a beauty to this kind of dance

that doesn't really exist anymore,

where you actually have to make physical contact with the other person

and you have to, sort of, read...

It's almost like you have to physically read what they're saying.

It's like you have to obey, particularly the guys that are... The guy's lead.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

- And... Oh! There's a smooch. - There it is, yeah.

The guy's lead and the girl has to listen to the slightest touch of the hand,

to go left or right or up or down.

And it's such a... There's such intrinsic beauty to this type of dancing

that I think is perfect for the film.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: It immediately makes you feel... Have butterflies in your belly.

- Yeah. - And so do these cars, as well.

These cars make me have butterflies.

TILLMAN: Yeah, it was very hot this day when we were shooting.

CHAPLIN: Oh, my goodness, it was boiling.

And getting into that car with no air conditioning

was just the sweatiest experience, I think, of the whole film.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

This was a fun day.

TILLMAN: Yeah, it was a fun day.

CHAPLIN: There are some great beaches in North Carolina.

TILLMAN: A lot of these guys contribute and really brought something to the script.

Craig Bolotin did the original draft.

Also, just with the actors, making the lines, making them work.

You guys tweaking, constantly tweaking on the set.

That's something you don't want to do.

You want to have a script ready to go, but we were on a fast deadline.

Everybody was... It was moving fast.

But when you really spend time in rehearsals

and spend time with the characters,

you know what feels right and what don't.

And that's what that rehearsal time really did.

But off the bat, everybody made a commitment

on both stories, the actors on both stories.

"How can we make this the best that we can make it?

"How can we stay away from clichés?

"How can we make sure the audience, when they're watching it,

"they don't quite know what's going to happen

"or what's not going to happen?"

So, once you make that commitment on all fronts with the department heads,

everybody on one accord, what's the theme, what's the story,

you really have a good chance to really tell a good story.

And I think it starts with us as creative people saying,

How can we make sure we're not repeating

"or make sure we're not making something

"that we all have seen and the audience is gonna be bored?"

CHAPLIN: This scene is a great example of what you're saying, actually, because it...

I mean, I've never watched a film where before the guy is about to propose,

the girl says, "Well, stop right there. I want loads of kids.

"So unless you're prepared to give me that, I'm not gonna say yes. So you should...

"I'll save you the embarrassment. These are my conditions first.

I mean, it's so unexpected, actually.

And that's something I really like about Ruth and about the script.

- It's kind of... - Yeah.

- It's sort of... - Yeah.

And this bit, we didn't... I mean, we...

I think it changed at one point and then we changed it back.

TILLMAN: We changed it back, yeah.

CHAPLIN: To the original of, "No, I want a family.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I think it's great.

TILLMAN: And I think we even threw this, we even...

The scene got longer and I cut it down.

Even to break up the rhythm of, "Okay, here's the proposal scene."

We even, when you're about...

Yeah, you interrupt him the first time because you say this is about the kids.

And then we even threw in the mom at one point...

CHAPLIN: Yeah, that's right.

TILLMAN: "Ruthie, the mom interrupted and threw him off again...

But we just, I felt like, "Okay, it worked really well."

CHAPLIN: Yeah, it's cleaner like this.

- It's lovely. - It's cleaner this way.

It's more to the point.

TILLMAN: So, here we have the story of Sophia

hearing all the stories

from Ira,

the older Ira.

Now it makes her realize about her relationship

and that's what this moment is about,

her, "How can I pursue? How can I make things better?

"How can I personalize my feelings, my emotions?

And it is connecting her to Luke a little bit more now

after hearing Ira and Ruth's story.

CHAPLIN: And a very fateful song comes on the radio.

- TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah. - (BOTH LAUGHING)

And then we just connect it right to Luke driving in the same fashion,

and thinking about her.

So again, it's trying to focus the story.

I have to say, I had a really great post-production team.

I had a great editor, Jason Ballantine, who really was in the...

He was in the fighting fields with me with this story.

It's hard, because you've got two different stories,

so when do you come out of one story, when do you begin another?

The biggest challenge was how can the B-story, Ruth and Ira,

really come in and help our A-story along?

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: If that connection doesn't happen, the movie doesn't work at all.

So then it came down to the point, "When are they making comments?

"When is that happening?

So, it was making sure that when they meet,

that's when we meet Ira and Ruth.

When they break up, that's when Ira and Ruth are gonna break up.

When they have their biggest situation and obstacle,

that's when Ruth and Ira will have their biggest obstacle.

And it really wasn't...

I was concerned at one point that it really wasn't on the nose,

but it's very subtle in how it works and how it crosses over.

CHAPLIN: But I think what it does is it proposes the universality of love.

But also retains the individual nature

and the particular nature of each relationship,

which is different.

Each relationship is faced with different challenges

and each life has different obstacles and things to overcome.

But ultimately, we all want the same thing.

- Yes. - And I think that's what it captures.

What you guys really, I think, captured beautifully.

TILLMAN: So there's a couple things I did to really make the connection more,

just with the photo booth there.

I shot Luke and Sophia in a photo booth as well to connect that.

What's so funny too is all filmmakers out there,

if any filmmaker is watching and listening to this, you know,

our makeup test just with wardrobe, I just shot you guys in a photo booth

just to see how you guys looked and we ended up using it.

CHAPLIN: Yes, that's right, I remember that.

TILLMAN: So I try to shoot things and try to get extra things in.

Luke and Sophia did the same thing, so...

CHAPLIN: This is just... This was the...

Actually, this whole section was a part of the lunch break, wasn't it?

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: You just cut and you just shot a little bit of the lunch break.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: That's what lunch looked like on set.

The people throwing the bombs are the...

TILLMAN: Yeah.

This was all done...

- Grips and the... - Yeah.

This was done all in six hours, this whole scene.

This is North Carolina in the summertime, you don't get night very long.

I think you get six hours.

CHAPLIN : Yeah, which is the perfect position

for the very limited shooting schedule.

TILLMAN: But everybody was great.

The stunt coordinators worked this out.

My AD, H. H. Cooper really did a great job,

really organizing what shots we need,

when the bombs drop, when we go right into the dialogue moments.

We actually came out...

We... the day... The weekend before,

we actually choreographed the whole scene,

so we'd be ready to rock and roll a few days later when we shot the scene.

So, all that really worked out right. But it really came down to,

"Okay, how do we... We don't want to just shoot a war scene.

"How's this working with the narrative?

And I looked at it like I did with the bull riding.

This whole sequence is all about, "Got to get back to Ruth.

You promised. I promised I was gonna come back.

So using "I promised" really informed what this scene needed to be.

And this is something too, was just straight in the narrative,

which is, I got to get back to Ruth.

So, that's what this scene really is all about,

is getting back to a love and a life

because the marriage didn't happen. It was interrupted by World War ll.

- It finally caught up with you guys. - Yeah, Yeah.

CHAPLIN: And here he is with a very bad fever.

TILLMAN: Yep.

I'm very sorry.

CHAPLIN: I think it's nice how you resolve this whole thing about

what actually happened to him,

to stop him from being able to have children.

I think it was a tough challenge, because how do you...

How do you say it without saying it?

How do you tell the story without...

Yeah.

Without going in...

I mean, without going into the ins and outs of

the specific medical condition?

And I think it becomes very clear, right now you don't really know what's up.

And it's very nice, 'cause it leaves a little bit of mystery.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: And then in the next scene,

the audience finds out at the same time as Ruth.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

And I think this house that we shot, your home,

was right down the street from where you were living, right?

CHAPLIN: Yeah. It was right around the corner.

That's pretty much where...

That's what where I was living looked like, which was just so delightful.

TILLMAN: Always liked the last moment of this scene,

when he finally looks up at you.

He refused to look at you in the face

because of his broken promise to come back,

which is physically coming back to see you,

but he chose to alienate you because of how he's feeling,

what he's not able to do, which is have kids.

And he's not 100% sure on that yet.

There's still a chance. Which we spent a lot of time talking about.

But it's this very moment when he finally does look at you,

I just love that...

CHAPLIN: He's very broken.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

But somehow in this moment when you sit down

and he finally looks at you,

it's like this moment, which only Ruth can give,

it's just full of love and I'm here for you.

It's one of my favorite moments that I always made sure

I preserved and didn't cut down and I just stayed with it.

It's just that look there, how you're just there for him.

I really love that moment.

CHAPLIN: That was really difficult for me to access.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

That was actually a really... 'Cause it is that thing of, you know,

"How do you treat someone who's just come back from

the most horrific experience of their life?

"How do you approach this person who's just come back from the war?

And there is a real balance to be found between

not pitying, no pity,

because pity is an alienating attitude.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: And no...

But at the same time, you can't be too hard on them.

So, it's like this really interesting balance.

And I think it was helpful to think about all the...

I've got a couple of friends that have been in the war,

like, in the Middle East now.

And it was helpful to think about what they would want.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: Which is just, "I'm here if you want to talk.

"If you don't want to talk, if you want to go out

"for a glass of wine, I'm here, too.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah.

And our... Here, so in this moment, it was interesting, in the script,

originally written, Ruth comes in and says,

"Ask me now.

And then Ruth here...

CHAPLIN: Ruth here says something totally different that I totally fucked up.

TILLMAN: Ruth says something totally different.

When he came in, you were like,

"I can't say these words. I don't think I feel right.

CHAPLIN: Well, it's just... The way that it was written was...

It came out as something that she was desperate for.

- And I was very reluctant to give in to that. - Mmm-hmm.

Because I felt like it was more she's calling his bluff

rather than if he doesn't marry her, she's gonna die.

- Yeah. - So, I really wanted it to be that,

and that it was clear that she was going,

"No, don't play these games with me.

"I know you want to marry me. I want to marry you.

- I know what I'm getting into, It's fine. - Yeah.

But then, as you know, as I often do, got a little carried away.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

CHAPLIN: Got a little carried away.

And it was one of the only times

that I think we didn't reach

a constructive compromise, in a way. (LAUGHING)

But, hey, it doesn't look too bad.

TILLMAN: It doesn't look too bad. Yeah, it worked out.

- It was all right. - Yeah.

- And I remember, too... - I think Jack really makes it, that one.

- Yeah. - Jack makes that scene.

TILLMAN: Cause I remember we were ready

to shoot this scene right here,

this love scene.

CHAPLIN: She's such a hussy in the '40s, having sex.

TILLMAN: In the '40s. And I remember

we're about to, it was about 20 minutes before shooting,

and someone came over to me,

cause I had this big idea of how to block the scene out.

And they came to me and Fox was like,

"They don't want you to shoot the scene the way you imagined.

CHAPLIN: The woman isn't on top, basically.

TILLMAN: Yeah, it was a scene where you sit Ira down on the chair.

- Yeah. - And then you get on top of him and...

- And do him a favor. - And do him a favor.

TILLMAN: I felt like, again, that's us really pushing the cliches,

which in the '40s stories, you don't really see that.

And we talked about it early on. Everybody was game.

Everybody was... You were game.

CHAPLIN: And everybody in the '40s was game, Let's not pretend.

TILLMAN: Yeah, And you were like,

in terms of what we show, and everybody, with Britt and Scott,

nobody had any issues.

We knew we couldn't show much.

But in terms of, "How do we make this the best love story and feeling real?

"Let's push the sexuality. Let's push what we have.

I think you told me, I've been nude in stuff before.

"I don't care. Or something, you know?

- I love sex scenes, They're hilarious. - Yeah.

CHAPLIN: 99% Of the time.

But, also, I think it's...

I mean, it's obviously important to do them with taste,

because you don't want to enter this world of cheap boobs and bum

and all this kind of stuff.

It has to be relevant. But in this film, it's particularly relevant,

because these couples are, as you said the other day,

they're so mismatched.

They're so unlikely

that the thing that's really tying them together is chemistry.

It's like this undeniable, unstoppable, magnetic force

bringing these people together.

And that is often expressed through sex.

And through that kind of intimacy.

So, I think it was really important in this film

to get the things that are bringing these couples together

as well as the things that are tearing them apart.

TILLMAN: Yeah. So we were about to shoot the scene,

- you were about to straddle him. - (CHAPLIN GIGGLES)

And they were like... Fox said,

"No, they don't want you to do that with the '40s story.

"Just calm that part down.

And I was like... I was a little mad for a moment.

And I told you guys about it and we just did the scene...

CHAPLIN: Anyway.

TILLMAN: in a more, no straddling, but in a tame way.

And ultimately, they were right, in terms of... I think you said it.

In the '40s, you just want that to be a little different in terms of...

CHAPLIN: I think it's important to acknowledge the fact that it was there,

but it is a different style of film, you made two films.

And you wouldn't have a sex scene in Gone with the Wind, for example.

That would be ridiculous.

A sex scene completely counters the style.

So, it was important, I think, to stay within the style that you were establishing,

which is good.

I think it works the way that you left it.

I think it was just enough but not too much.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah.

And here is that these guys are now on their second date,

and because of Ira's influence on Sophia

and also a little bit on Luke, who was there for the story...

- The World War H story. - Yeah.

These two's given a second chance and now opening themselves up.

And it goes with the line, with him saying,

"I like you because you're different,

"because you're not different. You're not like everybody else.

So, this shows these two guys moving in the right direction.

So, now you have B-story completely influencing A-story,

and, also, at this point, the audience don't quite know

how they're going to converge together.

Which is what I love, is that we're staying ahead of the audience.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: But then again, we got these little clues.

You see her just pulling Luke along.

It's the same thing with Ira.

It's just Ruth pulling Ira on the dance floor.

We'll see that again

as Sophia's pushing Luke to jump in the water.

The one thing I love is that the women in the film are really pulling the guys.

The guys are a step behind.

CHAPLIN: As it happens in real life, most of the time.

No offense, yeah. But that's pretty much the truth.

TILLMAN: Yeah, you guys are more...

Ruth and Sophia has more culture,

understand more art, has more worldviews.

Ira's the guy who's in the back store of a clothing store where he works.

He makes suits.

Luke is a professional bull rider.

Never even went to college.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, but they...

They have their own identity and their own culture.

Which is great.

I think they... It is just as profound and just as...

I think in that previous scene, in the date scene,

she captures it perfectly, where she's like,

"I wish I had roots, You have roots.

"You really know a lot about this one thing.

Whereas she would maybe know a little bit about a lot of things.

So, it's just a different kind of attitude to life,

which is so amazing to bring together, I think, in both instances.

TILLMAN: So, that's the connection with Sophia and Ruth,

that they're from two different places

but they have very much the same attitudes

in their respect for their man and how they lead their man

and what they do for the man in the story.

CHAPLIN: This is, I think, one of the funniest scenes in the film.

Wait, just, it's coming up. It's coming up soon.

I think it's one of my favorite Scott Eastwood moments.

Here it is. Look at this.

- Come on. - Look at the...

- Look at her, you could see... - Wow, I mean...

Nobody could get away with that except Mr. Eastwood.

You can see Sophia about to laugh over there.

(BOTH LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY)

CHAPLIN: It is just a priceless moment.

Did you ask him to do that or was that something that came naturally?

TILLMAN: That's something that came naturally there.

CHAPLIN: Of course it did. You can't ask someone to do that.

It would never occur to anybody to ask somebody to do that.

This genuinely cracked me up.

Because it's perfect timing, it happened so quickly.

- Yeah. - It happened so quickly.

She's just... And you know what's happened.

TILLMAN: So this is a really great set that we just fell in love with.

We just felt at the time

that Luke probably, even though he lives with his mom,

that he probably would have moved out of the house

and probably moved into the barn next door.

And we wanted to really show that he's a guy, too,

who's very artistic with his hands and you see all these little, small things

that he probably would have built.

That he's a person who got his...

The colors on the windows there, of the bathroom.

- He's a guy who's creative. - There's more to him than meets the eye.

Yeah. So then, what we imagined, just a regular cowboy.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: Again, we go into the sensuality, bringing up the heat...

CHAPLIN: And I love that she casually leaves the door a little bit open.

- Yes. - And then looks surprised

when he's looking. Come on, Britt.

There you go. Now you're being honest.

TILLMAN: Now you're... And it's just really hitting that moment.

It's just slowly slowing us down, slightly.

And just her looking deeply at him, it's finally this connection.

Audience has been waiting for it.

And this is her taking a step.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: I wanted her to be the one to make the decision

and even leading his hands.

Her hands come up for him.

CHAPLIN: I think he also gets a really good balance between

absolutely terrified, really turned on, and knowing what's at stake here.

TILLMAN: Yes, Yeah.

CHAPLIN: So, I think you got a really good performance out of both of them.

TILLMAN: And we have a great score here where Mark [sham did a great job.

And this is my third film working with him on.

David Tattersall did the...

CHAPLIN: David Tattersall's a genius.

TILLMAN: Did the lighting here, the cinematography for me.

We came up with this device, device using color, real time.

Again, we're looking at the PG-13 short version.

The MPAA really honed this down.

This scene was a lot longer.

(CHAPLIN LAUGHING)

TILLMAN: These guys gave it all.

And when I mean "all, it was all out there.

CHAPLIN: Oh, really?

TILLMAN: But at the end of the day, I think we have what we needed

to make what we wanted to get across.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: And we feel that these two have a sexual energy,

but more importantly, they are emotionally connected to one another.

CHAPLIN: This is brilliant, how..

The innuendo of the bull.

I mean, if I was a guy and I was trying to get some girl to fall in love with me,

I'd be like, "Yeah, come and sit on my bull for a second. On my bull.

"I'm gonna just rock this backwards and forwards casually,

- try and throw you off. - Right.

So how do you know which one you're gonna get?

You don't.

You pick from a bowl.

And the fan favorite from Walkertown, North Carolina...

Luke Collins!

Number four is the chip you selected...

TILLMAN: It was really Sophia entering into Luke Collins' world.

She's there to support. She's there for him.

And also, as they're getting closer in terms of their relationship,

we see how he travels

and how that whole bull riding circuit really works.

So, this sequence always stayed the same,

and I think it just gave me a really good idea

to really put energy into the bull riding style,

and also to educate the audience on how bull riding works.

Even though you got the sexuality and romance between them,

but you gotta hold your hands up, you can't touch the bull.

- And he describes the bull... - And she's terrified for him.

And she's terrified at the same time.

So, there's a lot of different things going on,

but the great thing is we got this great song,

and Mark lsham's score bridged everything all together here.

But yeah, there's the sexual...

CHAPLIN: But it's really good editing, actually, between the bull and the bull...

Her on the bull and him on the bull.

- I really like that, actually. - Yeah.

It's really subtle, and I hadn't picked up on it before,

but now I'm looking at it, and it's like, "Actually, this is the perfect montage.

Well done. I didn't even realize it was a montage.

- Great. That's great. - It's perfect.

And it's such a fascinating world.

The bulls are like...

They get treated... They're gods to those guys.

- These guys are rock stars, yeah. - They love the bulls, They either...

They call them athletes, which really confused me at first,

cause I didn't realize the vocabulary.

When we went to Vegas, the PBR, I didn't understand the vocabulary.

So when they were talking about athlete Bushwacker,

I was like, "Wow, who calls their son Bushwacker? This is terrible.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

But it turns out they were talking about a bull.

And, yeah, they really have an amazing relationship.

It's like a real...

It's a beautiful expression of the relationship between man and beast.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah.

CHAPLIN: And actually, these bulls have a better life

than a lot of American people,

I hear

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah.

- CHAPLIN: Was Bushwacker in the film? - His name was.

- His name was in the film. - Yeah.

- Only by name. - Only by name.

- Cause he had a run of 42 buckoffs. - Big run, big run.

TILLMAN: I think he just retired, They just retired him.

CHAPLIN: They just retired him.

That was the last run that we went to see in PBR.

TILLMAN: Yeah, they gave him a little... He ran around the ring

and they gave him a big retirement party.

CHAPLIN: And they did a...

They showed a little film of where he'd lived and things.

Bushwacker had a pimpin' lifestyle.

(LAUGHING)

I'm like, "This bull has a good life. What a bull."

No wonder he's so...

- No wonder he's so winning. - Right.

TILLMAN: Oh, yeah, that's right.

Marty Bowen, I think his wife is giving birth today.

- Really? - Yeah.

- Oh, my goodness. - Yep.

TILLMAN: But we had some really cool people working on this,

with Wyck and my business partner, Bob Teitel.

CHAPLIN: Mr. Teitel.

TILLMAN: Missy Imperato really did a great job,

- cause this is a big schedule. - Yeah, Missy was great.

And I remember this particular scene here, Black Mountain.

I remember when we found this location, it was just...

Which we talked about in Winston-Salem.

But Black Mountain, let me just tell you,

when I first started the movie, I didn't know anything about art.

- I was mostly like Luke in the story. - Yeah.

I just didn't know much about Black Mountain College

and when I started doing research, it was pretty amazing,

and I saw these pictures and I was like...

I wanted to create the same thing in these pictures like here.

Just seeing these individuals on the side painting right there.

This is a real painting.

This person right here in the suit here,

that's the real deal, what I saw in the actual photo.

I actually got these guys down to a T

with the wardrobes and what they're doing with the dancing.

- These are photographs on this pier here. - So amazing.

These are real pictures that we just emulated.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: So, I wanted to capture the spirit of Black Mountain,

cause I thought it really tapped into Ruth's spirit

and why she loved art

and why she loved life as much as she did.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, it's amazing when you see an art lover, actually.

My sister's an art historian, and when she takes me to a gallery,

I really get a little glimpse of what it means to love art.

It's a really profound and sensory experience for some people.

I mean, I love it, but I don't get it in that way.

- Yeah, yeah. - I don't get it in that...

A couple of times I've seen paintings, particularly in Italy,

but never with modern art, curiously.

And, actually, you're right.

Learning a lot about Black Mountain in this film was great.

Such an opportunity to learn something new.

TILLMAN: Yeah, we used a lot of guys like Franz Kline, de Kooning.

- Jacob Lawrence, we used a lot of his art. - Yeah, that's right.

Josef Albers. You saw Josef Albers in the opening...

- Yeah, he was giving the lecture. - The lecture there.

That was a real speech that he actually gave.

- Pat Passlof. - Yeah, to choose this painting.

- Yep. - Choose this painting.

CHAPLIN: And Mark Rothko, as well, went to Black Mountain.

Which is nuts, 'cause you know all these people,

but you don't really associate them with one school.

TILLMAN: And it was interesting, too.

I found out that Robert De Niro, Sr.,

you know Robert De Niro, his father went to Black Mountain.

- No way. - Yeah.

So, we actually called him up and got his name on the invitation

that Ira hands out to Luke and Sophia.

CHAPLIN: Wow, that's so great.

TILLMAN: So great that these guys were all here at one particular time

- and really making history. - Making history.

That was pretty amazing. And it was in North Carolina.

- Wow, it's pretty amazing. - Yeah.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, it's almost too easy for Nicholas Sparks.

He happens to want to make a film about art,

and he googles "Artists, North Carolina,"

- And... Boop! There it is. - There it is.

Black Mountain College. It exists, that's the story that he tells.

He was like, "I had no idea that Black Mountain College

was in North Carolina.

"And then I googled it, and then, there it was.

I was like, "That is just so unfair.

"You've already got all these stories

streaming through you.

"Now you've got all of the set coming together as well?

- Yeah, yeah. - It's perfect.

- So, this is a question I have for you. - Mmm-hmm.

- Are those actual photos of Scott? - Yes, they are.

- Yes? I knew it! - They are, Yep.

Of course he had a cowboy hat in the bathtub when he was little.

I think Scott Eastwood is actually Luke.

- What do you think? - I think so.

TILLMAN: And we jump in time, too.

We start in 1940 all the way up to 2014.

- That's a big chunk of history. - That's a big chunk of history.

We did a lot of makeup for you.

- Eventually, we decided to not dial back. - Yeah.

And not really spend...

Even with Alan playing in his 90s,

we just felt like, just play it as naturally as we can.

Do little subtle makeup changes here and there.

Starting, I wanted to be more radical and be more,

"No, she's gotta look like this in the '60s. In the '70s, she's gotta look like this.

But eventually, we felt like we didn't have all the time

to really do the makeup the way we wanted.

Two, it was very hot

- down there in North Carolina. - Oh, my goodness.

So, makeup was a problem.

CHAPLIN: Literally peeling off my face.

It was pretty scary, actually, at some points,

where you look at yourself in the mirror and you go,

"ls that leprosy? No, that's just my makeup.

It's fine, it's fine, guys, it's fine.

TILLMAN: So, really, we just relied a lot on slight, subtle makeup,

but mostly your hairstyles.

You had really... With wardrobe and hair.

CHAPLIN: Well, it's a film. You know it's not real.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: When you go to the theater, you are so willing to suspend your disbelief

when people are changing the set in front of you,

and you're still involved with the story.

So, I think it should be the same in film, in many aspects.

If somebody tells you that they're 45, they're 45.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

Are you sure that you wanna go to this gallery showing in Charlotte?

You want me to, right?

Of course.

TILLMAN: And here's the point where we're coming to the place of the story

of Luke and Sophia entering, "How do you make a relationship work?

Once you have that commitment and once you realize that

all that early honeymoon part of the relationship is over,

how do you complete it?

How do you make this work?

My way, I was able to connect to the story very early on,

and I was telling Elizabeth Gabler this, who's the president of Fox 2000.

In '91, I think I was a production assistant on a commercial in Chicago.

And my wife, we were just dating.

I was only maybe 22 at the time,

and I was working at nights in this production assistant job.

And then this 60-year-old lady comes out

and she says, you know what, I just had an argument

with my husband on the phone.

"I love him, but sometimes I can't stand him.

Sometimes I fall out of love with him.

Sometimes I love him more.

Sometimes I don't wanna have sex with him for a long time.

Sometimes I wanna just have sex with him right now.

You know what, that's a part of relationships.

It goes in and out, It's just a long ride.

This is what somebody told me in '92.

- It's a long ride? - It's a long ride.

So when this script comes across me, I was like, "The Longest Ride?

- That sounds familiar. - That's awesome.

- And I felt like, "Okay... - That's so crazy.

And I was like, I felt in the script there was something that was just missing

in terms of what "the longest ride" meant.

And Nicholas Sparks always had it in the book.

So, I was able to put that word back into the final voiceover

that Alan Aida has for us in the movie.

He says, "You know, the longest ride is this thing called life.

"It's really not about riding a bull. It's about life itself.

- Yeah, it's not eight seconds. - Yeah, it's not eight seconds.

And that's what I feel would really make relationships work.

As much as we may have heard it this many times before,

the true honest thing about making relationships work and love,

as Alan says, it's about adjustment.

CHAPLIN: Yeah. Being agile.

TILLMAN: There you go. Being compromised. Being open, you know?

- Flexible. - Flexible.

Those are the words. And here it's just...

- And paying attention. - There it is.

Paying attention is so important.

TILLMAN: And here's the moment where Luke is

not being any of those things right now.

CHAPLIN: No, he's not paying attention at all.

He's being a bit of a...

(IMITATING BEEP)

(BOTH LAUGHING)

TILLMAN: So, in his... Looking at the squiggly lines,

that's how many people may feel,

and sometimes my wife may have

thoughts and things that's important to her

and sometimes you'd be like...

CHAPLIN: I don't understand what you're talking about.

TILLMAN: And sometimes I gotta stop myself

and sometimes I lose it, I don't stop myself in saying,

"That's not important to me. So, why should it be important?

So, this is something that we all are to blame.

And that's what's going on with Luke,

is that for a guy who just knows bull riding

and lived in North Carolina his entire life,

this makes him a little bit...

It frightens him a little bit, this whole another world.

CHAPLIN: Well, it makes him feel like he's not in control.

- Yes. - And that's something that I think

this guy, in particular,

but I think people in general are very afraid to lose control.

And when you feel out of your depth, it's very easy to become defensive,

which is exactly what's happening now.

Actually, I spent two mornings with Alan Aida in New York.

I was doing the press junket.

And I think I learned more about love in those two days

than ever in my life before,

cause he's just so wise and 58 years married.

- A long time. - Which is twice my age.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

- Nuts. - That's nuts, right.

CHAPLIN: And there they are, still at it.

And he just has the most beautiful comments,

like, being agile and flexible.

I'm like, "Yes."

- It's like a sport. - It's like a sport.

- It's like gymnastics. - There you go.

TILLMAN: And seeing that these two are having issues in trying to move forward

and we'll see what the bull riding's setting up.

What bull riding's gonna do and how does that come between them.

Who she goes to, the only person she knows to talk to...

- Is Alan. - Is Alan.

And now we'll see how B-story is going to educate us,

the viewer and Sophia, in our A-story,

which just goes into the conflict of what's gonna happen between Ira and Ruth.

Which we get into the idea of, finally, it's catching up to Ira

that he's not able to have kids.

CHAPLIN: Well, that's the wonderful thing about this movie,

is that it takes you through the whole journey from beginning to end.

So, you get to see the bad months,

maybe even years, of just things aren't as good as they used to be.

And then you have to ride the wave a little bit.

TILLMAN: Yeah, I think this was the first day we ever shot this scene right here

- Yes. - First day, I thought...

- It was the first day. - Yep.

CHAPLIN: The first day, let's bring 200 kids in, That's a great idea.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

TILLMAN: And I always love this, I cut out right before you look back.

- Yeah. - You just felt him there.

And then later, we revisit that when you actually look back at him.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, that's true.

TILLMAN: But here with the kids is now Ruth wanting other things

after being settled in the job and in the house.

- Yeah, teachings not enough. - Teaching's not enough.

CHAPLIN: And she cares about these kids.

I think she's got quite a good relationship with them.

- I liked those kids. - Look how good they are, these kids there.

Yeah.

Mean.

If anyone teases him about this, they'll have me to deal with.

CHAPLIN: That's one scene where the Austrian accent really helped.

It does makes me sound stern and scary.

TILLMAN: Yeah, exactly.

(BOTH SNICKERING)

Good morning.

CHAPLIN: This was a hot...

I think this was the day that my face was peeling off.

TILLMAN: Yeah, your face was peeling off this day.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

CHAPLIN: This poor kid.

Daniel had to look at me and pretend to be really friendly with me,

and this boy Floyd who, by the way, was just so great on set.

He was looking at me, terrified,

cause he was like, "What's happening to this woman?

Her face is melting, She's all scaly. What's going on?

Oh, dear.

TILLMAN: I just love that I slowed this moment down,

because I just felt like just you taking in the joy

of what it means to you to at least have a kid around.

Yeah. Be able to nurture, cause that's what she wants.

- She wants to nurture. - Yeah.

CHAPLIN: She wants to nurture someone and help them grow.

Look at this kid. He has no idea what the hell is going on here.

- Where am I? - Right.

Why did l... What have I done to deserve this?

Yup, this was a particular...

This was a really, really good scene to be in.

Because George got really excited about this kid eating on set.

He was by the monitor, by the camera,

and he was telling Floyd, for that close-up, he was telling Floyd to eat.

And he was like, yeah, yeah, okay, now. Yeah, now eat that.

Okay, now eat that, No, no, no.

"Okay, just carry on eating, just carry on eating.

George, I think, was more invested in the eating than Floyd.

And Floyd was just there stuffing his face, but, okay.

And I was so impressed with how much this little boy ate.

TILLMAN: He ate, Every single time, he ate.

CHAPLIN: But I was particularly impressed

with how passionately you could feel about it.

TILLMAN: Oh, man.

CHAPLIN: LOOK at this.

The North Star, Polaris.

Now we just look at Star map on our phones.

We just download the app. We don't need one of those.

TILLMAN: Again, using hairstyles to jump periods a little bit.

Also, he was able to burp really nicely.

- Yeah, burp on cue, Floyd. - Right on cue.

He did it right on time, every time.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

I love Jack's face in this one, by the way.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

CHAPLIN: Happy little family.

Yeah, the hairstyles were amazing.

- Colleen was just incredible. - Yeah.

She had me ready in under 10 minutes every day.

And with my hair, it's always a bit of an issue

to get me ready in the mornings, because it was all wigs.

There we go. That's a state secret that you now know, those of you watching.

- All your hair was all under there? - Yeah, my hair was all under there.

TILLMAN: That was the first thing you said, Can't cut your hair.

CHAPLIN: I'm like, yeah, I'm not cutting my hair. Just put on wigs.

Cause in the North Carolina humidity,

my hair would not stay straight for five minutes.

Not curly, rather, It would just go straight.

So, it was amazing to have these wigs.

And she was so fast

and so good and so chippy.

And I absolutely love this woman.

And then there was Ken for makeup,

who somehow tried to make us look 17 and 45.

TILLMAN: Yep, yep.

I love this look that you give him right there.

Just that look of distance there.

- I hate him in this scene. - Yep.

So, then we set up the first clue that the picture's gone,

which is the picture that Luke brings back to Ira.

And the picture that's gonna come back years later,

- for the older Ira. - Yeah.

But this was... It's gotta be 100 degrees right now right here.

And this is the scene where your face is peeling.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, if you pause it right around here,

you can probably see some of my face peeling.

(LAUGHING)

But it's all makeup, I guarantee.

- It's not scabies or leprosy. - Yep.

TILLMAN: Yeah, thank God for visual effects now, We can clean that.

CHAPLIN: Oh, really? Did you clean it up? I couldn't notice at all, so I think...

- Yeah, we cleaned it up for you. - I was looking out for it.

- I was like, Let's see what they did there. - Yeah.

But I'm so impressed with Floyd in this scene,

because he actually was trying to hold on to me

- as opposed to trying to run away. - Yeah.

- No, he was really good. - Yeah.

And these guys were great as well. What were their names?

- These guys were awesome, these two. - Yeah, they were great.

TILLMAN: These guys were from North Carolina,

and that was your first time.

We didn't rehearse with those guys. Those guys just came in.

- That was your first time meeting them. - Yeah.

CHAPLIN: And they were local actors.

He was an acting teacher as well.

So, we had a really good actor-y lunch,

where we talked about acting and how to do things properly

and all these things, It was great.

And Romain...

- Romain was absolutely amazing. - Yeah.

- The props guy. - Yes.

TILLMAN: So, this is a scene that I kept taking in and out of the movie.

- First it wasn't here. - Really?

Yeah, I said, "I cannot leave this scene out.

Because it has to show you guys' downfall,

but it was this matter of am I in one story too long,

and is it time to shift over to another story?

So, that was always something, pacing-wise, that we were trying to find.

- Eventually, the motion... - Yeah, you had to leave it in.

Yeah, we had to leave it in to really show Jack feeling...

CHAPLIN: Yeah, But also that this whole situation

was actually having an impact on them,

- on the way they felt about each other. - About each other, yep.

That's the important bit about this story,

is that they manage to eventually overcome this.

TILLMAN: Yes, Yes.

CHAPLIN: He was so good in that scene.

And the food was good. Another shout-out to Romain Gateau.

Romain Gateau is his full name,

which makes me laugh, because it's "lettuce cake.

- And the food was good? - Yeah, the food was really good.

And they were all cooking in the back.

The food was great. The props were always there.

And this guy is out of this world.

I love him, I love this man.

He was the one that was there in the PBR finals in Vegas.

And he is so incredible, how he's got this much energy.

- He really knows his audience. - Yes.

- And he really makes people laugh. - Yep.

But he's also a really, really talented singer and dancer,

- which is crazy. - That's awesome.

TILLMAN: So, all these guys you see are the real guys that PBR use.

These are the real fighters

who are there to help the bull riders out in case they get in trouble,

make sure the bull gets out of the rider's way.

Look at that, These guys get really close in.

Like I said, the PBR was involved with this film all the way.

They made everything possible for us in terms of the advertising you see,

Cooper, all that stuff, and the colors, the scheme.

This is all real, These are their real bulls.

These are top bulls that they use.

CHAPLIN: That's really Scott Eastwood.

TILLMAN: That's Scott Eastwood there, laying down.

And these are the real fighters, and these guys were awesome.

Without them, this would have been very tough to pull off.

And it just feels very authentic. Jack Daniel's.

Look at all... These are advertisings that these guys brought to the table

and just making it feel real for us.

CHAPLIN: And this guy's great, Tiago, right?

- Yep, yep, yep. - That's his name?

- He's really good. - Yep.

He's only in it for a little bit, but I really like him.

He has a really strong on-screen presence, and he's got a beautiful face.

That's no lie.

- He's Brazilian, right? - Yes, he is.

There's a lot of Brazilians in the PBR, actually.

TILLMAN: The PBR bull riding, it's really big down there.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, it's huge. A lot of Brazilians...

- One of the Brazilians took the first prize. - Yes.

- Was it Da Silva or something like that? - Yep.

I think it was Da Silva, Here we go.

This is the moment of truth for Sophia.

CHAPLIN: When she's about to go to New York.

And she decides that, actually, she'd just much rather see if her man was all right.

TILLMAN: And I think this is the first time where

because of Ira 's story and her relationship with Ira

and because of the time spending with Luke,

she's able to now think emotionally and not think mentally,

which, in the beginning, which is art school, art student,

go into the world of galleries and let me keep to my goals.

Now she's being able to follow her heart.

And we're seeing the process of her character changing.

CHAPLIN: And it's funny because it all boils down to caring, right?

So, you can care about art and you can care about your career

and you can care about money and you can care about all of these things..

You do have an emotional attachment to certain aspects of your life.

But you will never be able to care about anything

as much as you're able to care about another person.

TILLMAN: Yes.

CHAPLIN: Because that actually, the fact that it's life for life...

It also happens with dogs, mind you, and cats and animals.

But there's something about caring about something that is living,

that is also alive, that there's a recognition there.

There's a real exchange of,

I don't know, cell molecular energy, like supersonic megaliths.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah.

CHAPLIN: I don't know what... Words, words, words, words, words.

But if you could put a word to it, then it probably wouldn't be as interesting.

TILLMAN: Right.

CHAPLIN: But, yeah, so she's got her priorities right now.

TILLMAN: Get her priorities right now.

ADRIENNE: And I do hope Luke is okay.

Yeah, me, too.

CHAPLIN: Although I still don't see why he shouldn't

start a PBR in New York, in Manhattan.

Just buy out a parking lot and turn it into a bullring.

TILLMAN: And turn it into a...

CHAPLIN: I think, sell the ranch. Move your mama to New York.

I don't know, get her to, I don't know, do something.

No, it's not really gonna happen, is it?

- He's too attached. - He's too attached.

He's too attached to his environment.

TILLMAN: Remember the line he says? "There's not many cowboys in Manhattan.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, "There's not many cowboys in Manhattan.

- That could change though, Lukey. - Yeah, exactly.

TILLMAN: And I like that moment, too, cause every time he's talking to her boss,

you can just see her cringing,

hoping he don't say the wrong thing.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, completely. You can really feel that tension.

TILLMAN: Again, here, as I was explaining, these are the real PBR guys.

That flip that happened was just by chance.

That happened while we were shooting,

and I was like, Let's use that to our advantage.

CHAPLIN: Wow, That actually really happened?

TILLMAN: That actually really happened, That is real footage.

And then I was able to shoot footage

- of Scott around... - CHAPLIN: Around it, of Scott?

- Oh, my gosh. - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: That is insane, that they...

- Was the guy all right? - Yes.

TILLMAN: I think he rode the next week or something.

CHAPLIN: It's amazing, This is the thing, right?

In the bull ring, when they were introducing the cowboys,

the presenter would be like, on the tannoy.

He'd be like, And next up, we have so-and-so from this place

and he is such a real cowboy that he is riding today

"with a broken collarbone, a twisted ankle,

severely sprained two wrists and five concussions.

Well done to this guy, right? Now he's gonna come out of the ring.

And you see him and he comes out, and he's actually staying on for

more seconds than I would be able to stay on for.

- TILLMAN: Exactly. - And it's nuts.

- These guys will break their bones. - They get right back in.

- And they get right back on the... - They get right back in.

- And that's what Scott was able to take in. - Incredible.

TILLMAN: From body behavior.

The limp that he does throughout the story, the hands, the way he moves.

- All that just from taking years of pounding. - Yeah.

Like you say, he's near the end of him as a bull rider.

He wants to get on top, He wants to...

The main important thing, his fear, is he don't know what else to do.

And we were able to see it, the majority in this scene when he refuses to quit.

Sophia...

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

Doctors don't know everything.

Are you crazy?

That's a really nice moment, actually, when he breaks his wristband off.

CHAPLIN: And it's a really good illustration, Very good.

Well done, Well done, George.

- (LAUGHING) - TILLMAN: It was great, too.

I know Scott was like, You know, I should wear my wrist, you know?

And I think he was ultimately right.

He would carry that, forget that it's on.

- And just tear if off. - Tear it off at the moment of that...

CHAPLIN: Like, him deciding that he's not gonna take care of himself,

and he's gonna go off and serve his ego.

You can't expect me to change mine.

Yeah, I thought it was our life, too.

This is what I do.

It's all I know.

It has been a blank.

There was no memory card.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

I can't watch you ruin it.

CHAPLIN: All right, Now she goes off in a huff,

cause she's like, That ain't good enough.

I love this woman.

What's her name? The one that plays the mom?

- TILLMAN: Lolita? - CHAPLIN: Lolita.

- TILLMAN: Yes. - This woman's amazing.

The next scene that she does,

she has such a mother-son relationship with Luke.

- You guys nailed that with casting. - Yeah, she's great.

Although I think she'd be a bit too young to be Luke's mom, but I don't know.

Maybe that's just 'cause she takes really good care of herself.

TILLMAN: She takes really good care of herself.

CHAPLIN: This is, I think, one of my favorite moments in the film

that just passed, actually, when Alan says,

(COUGHING)

How was New York?

And his little eyes, like, this smile.

This smile that's interrupted by this cough.

- Yeah. - That for me...

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: He just... He's such a genius.

TILLMAN: And then, this goes into her wanting to know more about Daniel.

Now she wants to know how can she fix this relationship?

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: So, Alan's here.

Ira is telling her the pivotal moment,

the pivotal obstacle that happened in their life.

We go into one of my favorite two scenes of the whole movie.

That, you know, Ruth leaving, leaving Ira.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: Which, I think, is really, really great, what you did in that scene.

I saw this scene in an assembly,

my first assembly cut, which the editor puts together,

my first viewing of this.

It never changed.

The scene was cut this way and it never changed.

I never touched this scene.

It just, some scenes just editorially...

- CHAPLIN: Just happen. - Just happens.

And that's what's happened.

You look beautiful there, The hair.

Love the black, Even the red lipstick.

The subtleness of it.

Just says that something's going on,

that you were preparing to go out or leave.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

I know it's not your fault.

He was so good in this scene.

TILLMAN: It's a shock, You can't believe what's...

CHAPLIN: He was so good in this scene,

in this whole sequence, this whole day that we shot.

He was so, so good.

I think that was the easiest scene that we shot, weirdly,

because it was the most challenging, to access that level of...

We're both... Neither of us has been together that long with...

As long as these two have been together with our respective partners.

And we're nowhere near that age.

So, how do you access that timeframe, basically?

- TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah. - That timeframe

and the depth of emotion that goes with it.

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - But weirdly,

it was just a really, really easy scene to be in.

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - I don't know.

- It's just as if magic happened that day. - Just magic happened that day.

TILLMAN: Then we went right inside to do this scene.

And I remember, Jack and...

You just spoke about it earlier.

This is the scene where I remember Jack came up to me.

He's like, You know what?

"I'm just gonna go for it, in terms of emotion.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: Why hold it' back?

That's the main thing I was thinking as a director.

"Okay, maybe I have it withheld, I withhold it.

I always felt like emotional scenes are always best when...

- CHAPLIN: You play against type. - When you play against it, right?

But this is one of those moments where we didn't quite play against it.

- CHAPLIN: No, It just...

But it happened naturally.

CHAPLIN: No, you play with it.

But I think also, it's perfect for Ira 's character

and his journey throughout the film.

He is such a solid... He's always...

He's always underplaying the situation.

Ira, not Jack.

Ira's always on the back foot a little bit, whereas this time he's really...

This is the moment of truth for him where he's actually...

This is the most courageous thing that he could have done,

- and he really steps up to the plate. - Yeah.

And he lets her go.

And it's so wonderful to see a man be that brave and that courageous.

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - And that...

That strong.

- TILLMAN: Yes. - Actually.

Even though he's crying.

- TILLMAN: Yes. - He's being really strong.

TILLMAN: And this is... That's what can happen in relationships,

by seeing these two people fall in love and decades being together,

that one thing can change everything.

And, um, I felt like

that's what chemistry and two people being together

or two people, two actors...

How do you make an audience feel that way?

And that's the most...

And that's what made it a very tough movie, to...

This film became tough to make.

Because you gotta make sure you'd be in the right tone,

cause you go one way, "I don't believe any of that.

You mean you don't believe any of those decades that they're together?

You don't believe they love each other any at all?

If you do feel they love each other at all, then you must feel that they...

When he walks away, you must feel the same thing.

- CHAPLIN: Yeah. - So,

all those things before it has to work

- for that moment to work. - CHAPLIN: Yeah, completely.

- Yeah. - CHAPLIN: They have to be

- a part of one story really, yeah. - One story, you know?

CHAPLIN: Oh, look at his hair.

Come here, babes. I'll do your hair, come here.

Come here, Let me coiffure you.

Yeah, it's so important that they came back together.

Cause they, couples now, they break up

for the silliest reasons, it seems.

I've got friends that have thrown relationships away

for the tiniest indiscretion or weird misunderstanding,

or a bad week where they just weren't connected.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah.

CHAPLIN: And they've thrown this entire relationship away.

And you think that...

I mean, what kind of world do we live in

where there's no sense of overcoming your obstacles,

where as soon as something gets hard, you quit?

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - And I think that's something that this...

Look, I'm...

This scene is just...

TILLMAN: I think when you were saying that

some scenes just came easily,

even though they seem on page to be the toughest?

This scene is a tough scene,

but talking to Alan, it was the easiest for him, he was saying.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: I think he was saying that all you have

to do is, you're married to someone,

and you just imagine that happening, and emotionally it's gonna come out.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, cause he's there and it's a fear that he has.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yes.

And the main thing is,

there's no music there till the very end of that sequence.

And this, it's all him.

It's great working with him, former...

Being a guy who does directing, he does theater.

He does television, he does film, he does every...

- CHAPLIN: Just so much skill. - TILLMAN: He does everything.

So, as a director, talking with him, he immediately grasps things very quickly

or you don't even have to say much,

cause he already knows what you're gonna do,

- cause he's done it before. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

He knows the language.

TILLMAN: He knows the language really well.

- So, our shorthand was very quick. - CHAPLIN: Hmm.

TILLMAN: And it was a very emotional relationship,

in the sense that the material made our relationship emotional,

in terms of what we wanted to get across.

CHAPLIN: Because he had to trust you so much.

- TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah. - CHAPLIN: He really had to trust you.

- Because, I mean, for him to go there. - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: He was saying that it was,

the whole thing with his Ruthie waking up or not waking up.

- TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah. - CHAPLIN: Rather...

I mean, that's such a... It's a huge...

Like, it's really... It's a big thing for...

if I imagined my parents going, it just makes me lose my mind.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: So, I mean, you have to really trust the people

that you're working with.

And you guys have a great relationship.

TILLMAN: Yeah, and it was awesome working with him and doing a voiceover.

We did a lot of voiceover, as far as finding the right tone.

And here's again the moment where the picture comes back into the story.

The picture being taken by Daniel

and showing up later in the box

on the floor of Luke's truck,

and then finding itself back.

So, we jump around time passages,

which is what I love, making the film complex.

But it's very linear, in the sense that at least it finally found itself back to lra.

And I always felt like this says something about love,

on the different aspects,

not just on relationships, but on human beings,

and how we see and how we view other people.

CHAPLIN: And how we impact each other, yeah.

TILLMAN: Each other, yeah.

CHAPLIN: That's the bit that always makes me cry.

That's the bit that really gets to me, 'cause...

TILLMAN: Why is that?

CHAPLIN: Um...

I think... I don't know.

I think it's something that we can all connect to as human beings,

is hoping..

Hoping that you have a positive effect on people.

And those moments where life turns around

and thanks you for the efforts that you've made.

It's like...

And the fact that you do, people do remember you

if you've made a good impact on them.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah.

CHAPLIN: And they're grateful even though they're not Facebooking you,

- or any of that nonsense, you know? - TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah.

CHAPLIN: They still think about you.

And there's something that is...

I think we all long to be remembered by the people that we love.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yep.

CHAPLIN: So, that's a really amazing moment, It's six years old.

This kid probably hardly remembered her face.

That's why he drew it.

TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

CHAPLIN: You can imagine that whole storyline.

It's like, that's a whole movie without being seen.

TILLMAN: Mmm-hmm, yeah.

- CHAPLIN: Yeah. And it really gets to me. - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: Of course, he had to die as well, though.

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - CHAPLIN: Everyone's dead.

This film should be called Everyone Dies in the End.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

TILLMAN: Well, here the line is, "It's only eight seconds, Luke.

- CHAPLIN: Listen. - TILLMAN: But this girl...

- CHAPLIN: Could be the rest of your life. - TILLMAN: Rest of your life.

CHAPLIN: It almost sounds like a prison sentence, I'm not gonna lie.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

CHAPLIN: Yeah. No, she's perfect as his mom.

She is such a sassy mom,

and she's got a lovely feminine quality to her.

TILLMAN: Mmm-hmm.

CHAPLIN: Yeah. That's Scott squeezing out a thought.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

CHAPLIN: Exams, Don't you miss those?

TILLMAN: Oh, man, I'm glad I'm never going back there again.

(CHAPLIN CHUCKLING)

- TILLMAN: Can you imagine that? - CHAPLIN: Oh!

TILLMAN: You probably were good at school.

CHAPLIN: I was good at school, but exams are horrible.

I think they're.. They should be banned.

Now this, she's really good here.

I felt like she really got the, um, feeling, like it must be...

She's just made the connection with this guy.

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - CHAPLIN: She's just made this connection.

It's funny how you meet people and they can become so important to you

- so quickly. - TILLMAN: So important, yeah.

I remember this moment, too,

cause this is the moment where, in this day,

I think a lot of people from Fox came down.

- And Britt was about to do the scene. - (CHAPLIN COUGHING)

TILLMAN: And I think it was a lot of distractions or something.

Something was going on, on the campus.

This was actually Wake Forest University.

So, something was going on and it was just hard to concentrate,

and we did about nine or 10 takes of this.

And she was concerned she wasn't getting it.

I was like, "Fox said you had it in take three.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: And it's really about emotionally...

She's able to very emotionally, quickly, get to where we need to get to.

- And... - CHAPLIN: Was that one shot?

TILLMAN: That was... No, it was a combination of two shots here.

CHAPLIN: All right, But two shots though, that's still really impressive.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

Here's all PBR.

- Look at this PBR guy. - CHAPLIN: This is stuff that

you've added since the cut that I saw,

and it's great, cause it really gets you into the world a bit.

TILLMAN: Yep.

- CHAPLIN: Look at those beautiful beasts. - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: Oh, my goodness.

Such power.

It's funny that, um...

It's funny that he goes, really.

I think it's important that he goes, because he's also making a...

He knows that she's gonna be there.

TILLMAN: He knows she's gonna be, yep.

CHAPLIN: He knows that she's gonna be there, so he's like...

TILLMAN: Yep.

Again, it's like one of the things, too.

The simplicity of the story, which is...

I think it's always true when they say, "Simplicity always wins.

- CHAPLIN: Yeah. - TILLMAN: It's just two people, right?

The story is two people who can't quite just...

CHAPLIN: Can't quite get rid of each other.

TILLMAN: Yeah, it's just very simple.

And also, I remember talking to Jack early in our rehearsals.

He's like, "I just love the simplicity of just me not having kids

and how one small thing... Which is a big, emotional thing for two adults.

But it's one small thing that can affect the whole.

- CHAPLIN: Yeah. - TILLMAN: And this...

And the small thing is what we have in our life and what we deal with.

And that's what makes things human.

How do two people, who cannot have children, want to have children,

how are they able to survive that ordeal?

Or how can two people who love each other

want to do two different things?

How would they overcome that?

Two simple things in life.

And just embracing those simplicities, you can really understand characters,

- and understand behavior through that. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: And I remember that was something

Jack was saying in our early rehearsals.

He just loved the simplicity of just Daniel.

CHAPLIN: Just this one obstacle that is... Just becomes massive.

- TILLMAN: It becomes massive. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: Because when you're watching your story for a while,

we see you guys falling in love,

we see you guys connecting and dancing.

We see you guys getting married, every...

It's a moment of feeling really great, and then it's just... yeah.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, and we see Ruth as well going,

I know what I'm doing, this is gonna be fine.

- This is the right choice to make. - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: And of course... Yeah, Alan Watts is one of my heroes

and he talks about marriage, like, early marriage.

And he says quite a few funny things about it.

But he's like, How can two people that don't know what to do with their lives at 19

stand in front of a priest and say 'I'm gonna love you forever?

They haven't figured out who they are themselves.

How can they sit there and honestly say, I'm gonna love you forever?

And then people expect them not to break this promise?

And I think that there is that innocence to what Ruth does.

It's like, I know what I'm doing. It's gonna be fine.

I love him more than anything else in the world.

- And that kind of thing catches up with you. - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: And when those moments catch up with you,

that's when you... That's when the real decision really gets made.

- TILLMAN: Yes, Yes. - CHAPLIN: I think.

When you're dealing with the consequences.

- TILLMAN: The consequences, exactly. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: Exactly.

So here, we're in the final bull ride.

We did shoot two other sequences before this where we see Luiz,

and then we see other bull riders actually riding while Luke is preparing.

But I wanted to keep the narrative going with Luke.

I just felt, "Let's get Luke going, and stay in his head at this point.

Because it becomes about... Sophia is in the back of his mind,

so, still, I wanted to keep her connected.

So, I decided to out those other sequences and go right back to Luke.

This sequence was interesting.

I knew we had to go all-out for this one.

This sequence was combined,

with a combination of six cameras... Seven cameras around.

- CHAPLIN: What? - TILLMAN: Yeah.

Seven cameras somewhere around the ring grabbing crowd reactions.

But really doing a lot of speed changes, fast and slowing it down.

And just going down to slow motion right there,

getting us into his world, rght there.

Profiles.

Again, we're using the Phantom here.

Really seeing Luke,

seeing the perspective of body against muscle against the bull,

going wide, where you see the crowd and the banner in the background,

seeing the guys behind him in the chute.

I think it was a very important close-up of Rango,

making sure Rango and Luke's story is still there.

Slowing things down again with the Phantom here,

just really seeing the muscles.

Underneath there's the bell there.

I really wanted to get very specific and detailed.

And then we go into the third section of the sequence

- where we go into the score. - CHAPLIN: That's amazing, that...

- Was that Scott's face? - TILLMAN: Yes, yes.

CHAPLIN: Is it... Did you do that, add it in post?

TILLMAN: Yeah.

- Yeah, that's in post, yep. - CHAPLIN: Amazing.

TILLMAN: Yep. Again, close-ups of the bull.

Just things like that, I think, will keep...

High angle, which we use sparingly.

Keeping Rango in the mix, seeing the twisting there,

letting the music start heightened.

I think this bull...

This sequence was combined with about maybe five different rides.

With five different rides, with six different cameras,

we were able to capture that.

But then you see the fighters in the foreground.

Look at that slow motion there, getting close.

And then we ramp back out.

These are...

It took a whole day just to get this, this sequence.

And I'm really proud of it.

CHAPLIN: Yes, it's beautiful.

TILLMAN: Everybody did a great job with it.

But then again, you gotta take away the bull.

It's not about the ride. It's about "What is the story?

- It's about Luke and... - CHAPLIN: And there he is looking for her.

TILLMAN: Looking for her and she's not there.

So...

it has to take discipline in making sure the external's not taking over the internal.

So, it was always trying to editorially find the right time

and when to stop this sequence.

I think at one point, I had it even two minutes longer.

I think Elizabeth Gabler at Fox was saying,

George, that's the longest eight seconds I have ever seen.

- So, I had to cut the sequence down. - (CHAPLIN LAUGHING)

- CHAPLIN: With all the slow-mo? - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: That's 16 minutes of eight seconds, George.

Amazing.

- There he is, passing the baton. - TILLMAN: Yep.

CHAPLIN: The baton.

Yeah. And here he realizes...

TILLMAN: I love this guy right here, to the left here.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: I think he... I should have kept in his line.

That man, he said, Did you see him?

He just walked right by me, like he didn't know who I was.

I cut that out. I should have kept it in.

CHAPLIN: Oh, my God. Why did you cut it out?

TILLMAN: I should have kept it in.

CHAPLIN: Put it back in for the DVD.

TILLMAN: There you go.

CHAPLIN: That's nuts.

TILLMAN: So, we pretty much set up this painting...

This auction, pretty much based off of an auction that we saw,

that was one of the highest buys in the United States.

- CHAPLIN: Oh, really? - TILLMAN: Yeah.

We pretty much set it up the same way,

in terms of the art being stationed on the side and...

CHAPLIN: It's a thrilling world, the auction world.

TILLMAN: Yeah.

- CHAPLIN: I've been to a few auctions. - TILLMAN: Yeah?

CHAPLIN: I've been to auctions, but nothing like this.

Like, auctions where people are getting rid of old crockery

and things like that.

Cause I just really like it.

This is like a whole world of that.

People get really into it. They're feisty as well.

- TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah. - CHAPLIN: They get fierce.

They have proper fights and stuff.

- I mean, probably not in one like this. - TILLMAN: Right.

CHAPLIN: Because this is very posh.

But in East London, I'll tell you.

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - CHAPLIN: They're at each other's throats.

This guy was great, though. He was great casting, this lawyer.

- TILLMAN: Yeah, Howie Sanders. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

He is great.

Cause he, you could see him really getting along with Alan.

- TILLMAN: Yeah, right? - CHAPLIN: With Ira.

You could see that there was a friendship

- and a trust there. - TILLMAN: Yeah.

And this we go back into hearing Ira's voice.

Then we see you finally turn around there.

And just putting all these pieces together as recapping,

this is something I always wanted to do,

'cause I wanted to emotionally bring the audience back in,

to Ira's words and you guys life, and remember it.

Even though there's a death with Ira that happened,

I wanted to bring joy, They still live.

- You guys still carry on. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: And that's why I wanted to end the sequence there.

And we had a line, "This thing called life right here.

So, this was brought together just to keep them alive.

And I always loved the ending here, just a kiss.

That's just something that you just did instinctively.

I think I yelled out, Kiss each other or something!

You guys, this was your first time really hanging out.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, this was the first time on set.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

- CHAPLIN: First time in costume. - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: Oh!

Yeah, there's something so beautiful about a man that loves a woman that much.

Maybe it's 'cause I'm a girl.

And it just gets me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Amazing.

I have that painting.

That 12-year-old boy actually did that, right?

TILLMAN: Yep. Yes, he did.

CHAPLIN: That painting was actually drawn.

- You guys did a contest or something? - TILLMAN: Yeah, I did a contest.

Unfortunately, I cut him. He had a scene in the movie, too.

I cut him out because we didn't really need the scene.

It's the scene where you...

It's actually gonna be in the Deleted Scenes,

- so he'll be able to see it then. - CHAPLIN: Good.

TILLMAN: It's you at the ice cream shop.

- CHAPLIN: Oh, right, yeah. - TILLMAN: And he shows up.

And the kid shows up. You're looking at kids.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

CHAPLIN: Did it make me look a little too much like a weirdo?

- TILLMAN: Yeah, a little bit. - CHAPLIN: Just looking at kids.

The kid chaser. Whoa!

Whole different movie there.

She'd end up in jail, not dead.

But, um... Yeah.

So, that painting, it was done by a kid?

TILLMAN: Yeah, a really great kid. He's 12 years old.

He did several for me, too,

cause I always wanna keep pushing the envelope.

Give me something better. Try this way.

- Try that way. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: He didn't even budge. He did it every time for me.

CHAPLIN: It's incredible.

So, when I showed my mom,

at first, though, she was like,

What? That's not you.

And then, about three days later, she's...

And my mom is very special.

She comes up to me and she goes,

Oona, that painting is you down to a T.

- Which is crazy. - TILLMAN: Wow.

- That's great. - CHAPLIN: It's nuts that this kid

- who's never met me before who got that. - TILLMAN: Never met you before.

CHAPLIN: And it's true. Like, I look at that painting, It's a little eerie.

I'm like, "That's...

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - CHAPLIN: You've got my essence!

"Give me back my essence!

TILLMAN: Yeah, he did a really, really awesome job.

Here's again, these moments where... Okay.

Always in these love stories,

you get these moments when they finally come back together.

And how do you play them differently?

It's hard, and trying not to be cliche.

But I just...

Really, just playing the internal objective is no longer...

No longer thinking about bull riding, no longer thinking about art world,

thinking about who I need to be with.

It's just playing the honesty of that.

But another key thing is, no one ever said "I love you" in the movie,

which is what... I feel you don't need to say it.

CHAPLIN: No, you don't need to say it. You show it.

- TILLMAN: You show it. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: And this is where... I think it was in the script,

in this scene somewhere.

"I love you.

CHAPLIN: But people say "I love you" all the time.

- TILLMAN: All the time. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: And I think that was things that just made it a little differently.

And staying away from.

Eventually, they had to kiss. They gotta get back together.

- There's no way around it. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: Mark Isham music. We really played it very subtle.

CHAPLIN: But I love this bit, where they're like, "Not now.

- TILLMAN: Yeah. - CHAPLIN: Not now, no, go away.

Yeah.

And he's about to get the news of his life.

TILLMAN: Yep.

CHAPLIN: And she's gonna be like, Yeah, okay, now he's got money.

- I can definitely do it. - TILLMAN: I can definitely do it now.

CHAPLIN: Now he's a multi-millionaire an owner.

Now I can really be with him.

in Ira Levinson's will I need to read to you.

Portrait of Ruth may not be the most valuable painting in my collection...

but it was the most precious to me...

This is amazing, though, that...

It's the stuff that dreams are made of, really.

This is what I like about this film, cause it makes it a fairy tale.

It actually just makes it a fairy tale.

It's like, every... Like magic.

There's the magic of life in love.

- TILLMAN: And how it comes together. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

(CHAPLIN LAUGHS)

And everyone...

- These guys are really good. - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: She's got great hair, that girl.

Look at it, Look at her hair.

She's got great hair.

That is a fantastic head of hair.

I'm gonna guess that your head is spinning right about now.

Yeah, That's a good guess.

See how Sophia's now suddenly all over him.

She's been so reluctant.

Now she's like, Right, okay, I got a winner.

TILLMAN: I got a winner now.

- And here we are with all of... - CHAPLIN: This is...

- Ira's art that was collected. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: That they were able to have and open up their own museum.

Luke got a new truck there.

CHAPLIN: He's got a fly new truck.

TILLMAN: That's all he cares about, the new truck.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

It's not very eco-friendly, but very useful.

For the countryside.

For the ranch.

Yeah.

It's amazing. You should have put some people in the gallery, though.

I'm like, Who's seeing these paintings, though?

You need some people to come and actually see them.

Yeah.

Look at that building. Where was that building?

TILLMAN: This was in Wilmington.

- CHAPLIN: That was in Wilmington? - TILLMAN: That was in Wilmington.

CHAPLIN: I never saw that bit.

How did I miss that? That's a pretty big building.

TILLMAN: Yep.

Hi.

- CHAPLIN: There we go. - TILLMAN: So again, this scene,

which we talked about, being compromised, right?

- Being open, flexible. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: How's the ranch?

How's the museum?

It was questioned, "Was it too much? Do they need to say it?

I just felt like, "Why not?

CHAPLIN: Yeah, it's nice, cause they said it a little tongue-in-cheek.

- TILLMAN: Yeah, yeah. - They say it a little tongue-in-cheek,

- which is good, Cause it means... - TILLMAN: Yeah.

CHAPLIN: You have those moments when you're a couple,

where you're like, "Life is perfect.

- Yep, it's perfect. - TILLMAN: Yep.

CHAPLIN: Yep, well, people hate us, So what?

- TILLMAN: People hate us, so what? - Cause we're so happy.

TILLMAN: Yep.

CHAPLIN: Everything is perfect.

And now we're gonna go and read some beautiful letters.

It's great that they kept that tradition up.

I wonder if they'll reopen Black Mountain after this film.

- I feel like they should. - TILLMAN: I think they should.

CHAPLIN: We should start some kind of petition.

- TILLMAN: I know, right? - CHAPLIN: To reopen Black Mountain.

- TILLMAN: It is so beautiful there. - CHAPLIN: And I think

Elizabeth Gabler should be president of the committee.

TILLMAN: She should be the president of the committee, definitely.

CHAPLIN: Doing the... I'm gonna talk to her about this.

- TILLMAN: You got to. - CHAPLIN: I got to.

TILLMAN: And then again, it's...

Here, it's just like I always say, it's the woman leading the guy,

always making a jump towards the unknown.

Trying different things.

This is what Sophia and what Ruth do to the men.

And that's what that line says,

When a North Carolina boy meets a girl from far away...

Sophia 's from far away. Ruth is from far away.

Her taking the move to jump in and...

Again, it's another ideal of two people,

again, trying to... How we can make the clichés.

If you go, they'll jump...

CHAPLIN: I love that he takes so long to get undressed.

TILLMAN: Yeah. And you jump in the water.

- We'll do it at the end of this film. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: Even in the ocean scene, we made sure we didn't get in the water.

- I didn't put that in. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

- We did do that. - CHAPLIN: We did do it.

TILLMAN: But it just felt like, Okay, we've seen that before.

CHAPLIN: Yeah.

TILLMAN: So... And this is the ending.

This is what the story for me is, the great journey,

because, again, outside the movies that I have done,

this is something completely different, but it's the same thematically.

It's about... It's a human story. It's about love.

It's about family, It's about relationships.

And that's the kind of movies I like to make.

And Nicholas Sparks and Theresa Park,

who are the producers, also created the material and being...

Allowing us to make the film that we wanted to make.

- CHAPLIN: Yeah. - And embracing the actor...

- CHAPLIN: Being flexible and agile. - Being flexible.

- Yes. - CHAPLIN: Like any relationship needs.

- Yes. - CHAPLIN: Very good.

TILLMAN: And Twentieth Century Fox, I think this is my..

Let me see, this is my fourth movie with them, um,

so it's always great making films with them.

And I wanna thank my entire cast.

These guys were awesome. You guys were awesome.

CHAPLIN: You were a treat to work with.

It was absolutely amazing.

I've never seen somebody so enthusiastic every day on the...

I thought I was high energy, but then I met George.

TILLMAN: And that's probably why I'm sick right now, right?

Yeah, right? We're both feeling a little worse for wear.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

But, hey, we need our downtime, too.

- TILLMAN: We need our downtime. - (CHUCKLES)

TILLMAN: We had a premiere a couple of days ago,

so we're still recovering from the premiere.

CHAPLIN: A couple of days ago, yeah.

TILLMAN: Um, our crew was great. We had a great crew.

- CHAPLIN: Oh, yes. - I think I mentioned everybody.

TILLMAN: If I missed anybody, I apologize.

Um, great production designer.

Great DP. Everybody was just awesome. And...

- CHAPLIN: Great sound, (CHUCKLES) - Great sound, Also...

TILLMAN: Ty Murray, That's the guy.

- Great bull rider. - CHAPLIN: Yeah?

TILLMAN: Awesome, a legend.

He was the first guy I talked to,

in terms of preparing myself, getting ready for, um, boot camp

and talking with bull riders, so I knew what I was talking about.

So, he was awesome.

And Sean of PBR, he's the guy that made it very possible for us.

And we had some really great...

Mary Claire, who did the wardrobe for you.

- You guys were awesome. - CHAPLIN: Yeah.

Mary Claire was amazing. All the outfits were so great.

And Mary Vernieu, who did the casting.

- Yep. Betty Mae, Mary Vernieu. - CHAPLIN: Such a legend. (LAUGHING)

TILLMAN: Legend.

Um, yeah. Mary Claire and her crew, Carrie and Bill.

They did an awesome job.

And then, just always...

With the dialect coach, he was working with you all the time.

CHAPLIN: Yeah, William Conacher and Diego Pardo

were just the two most important people for my preparation, I think,

in the weeks before I arrived in North Carolina.

TILLMAN: Yep. How long... You guys were working...

For how long were you guys...

CHAPLIN: Um, we did.. I did about..

I did a good two weeks, I think, before arriving on set.

And then it was every day on set.

It was every day.

TILLMAN: Wow, And Mark Garner.

You remember Mark Garner, he did the production design.

He was there. And so everybody did awesome.

I just wanna thank everybody for listening.

And I wanna thank you for coming in,

cause I love having someone doing this with me.

- CHAPLIN: Oh, it was my pleasure. - (CHUCKLES)

- Thank you. - CHAPLIN: It was my pleasure.

It's nice watching it without the sound, actually.

(BOTH LAUGHING)