Movie Talk with Chiwetel Ejiofor
Description
Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor discusses his film Half of a Yellow Sun 2013 an adaptation of the book by the same name, it's a deeply personal story for Ejiofor, a book read by his mother and passed down to him. The movie is set in 1960's Nigeria before and during the civil war, it's a story that follows his character (a political activist) and his family. The film captures the rich culture and beautiful landscape of Nigeria. Dirty Pretty Things 2002 directed by Stephen Frears is discussed next, Ejiofor describes the film being a turning point for him, as from here his career started to take off. Frears was an extraordinary director who introduced him to the poetry of filmmaking. Ejiofor says that having originally trained as a theatre actor, he had to adapt to film acting by using a new set of skills. A clip is shown of Melinda and Melinda 2004 written and directed by Woody Allen in which Ejiofor plays a character wonderfully named Ellis Moonsong. The next project discussed is the musical film Kinky Boots 2005 Ejiofor was very touched by the script, it had many levels, he reflects upon his character the drag queen Lola as being, 'tragic but with a certain flare, a burst of energy'. Following this success, Ejiofor went to America and filmed several blockbuster films, all stemming from moving to New York after his film with Woody Allen. He talks of this particular time, really learning about cinema as being incredible and seminal. Moving on to American Gangster 2007 starring Denzel Washington, he talks about the extraordinary experience working with this iconic and influential actor. The 2009 film '2012' was a big budget action film about global catastrophes. Ejiofor talks about having to use his theatrical skills in order to project and imagine. The exciting, large scale movie was mostly special effects and he remembers having a fairly limited idea of what the finished film was going to actually look like. Dancing on the Edge 2013 a TV film written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff set in the 1930's, about a black jazz band, in which he plays Louis Lester, a film about music and ambition. The discussion moves on to 12 Years A Slave 2013 directed by Steve McQueen. Ejiofor was cast to portray the 'real life' character of Soloman Northup, he remembers feeling excited, yet intimated by this, with a weight of responsibility as it was a true story told through the eyes of a slave for the very first time. Ejiofor details how he found the 'character within' through reading Northrup's book, certain passages really resonated, he was struck by his 'psychology, his love of life, instinctive and reflective that was unbreakable.' Ejiofor had never shot in sequence before, the experience was rewarding on this project as it allowed him to bring all the elements needed to map the arc of the story from being a slave - to being a free man. Ejiofor discusses the films impact on his life so far and his Oscar nomination.