PART 2:

Why do you like directing?

Tim:  When I’m directing I can’t think about anything else.  I find it a relief to be completely occupied with one thing because then I can’t think about myself.  It’s fun.  It’s the most stimulating, challenging, exciting thing.  I’m so blessed that I get the opportunity to direct from time to time. 

How did working at the Disney studio influence your filmmaking? 

Tim:  I got a chance to work in the animation department as a young person, which had a big effect on me.  What you learn from that is how to tell stories without words.  It’s always better to tell a story without words if you possibly can.  It’s like writing without adjectives.  You have to really distill the story to its essence, always striving to create a scene where nobody sells anything. 

Getting back to the film for a moment.  It’s kind of a cliffhanger.  Are we going to get “ William” 2?

Tim:  Spoiler alert.  I have no comment.  (Laughs)That said, now that I’ve finished this film, I really want to make another one.  I’ve been re-infected.  (Laughs)

You chose to be an independent filmmaker.  Why no studios?

Tim:  I’m not saying I would never work with a studio, it just has never worked out that way.  Also, I’ve always pursued other businesses and so I never made a full-time profession out of moving making. Maybe I should have or maybe I never could have.  I don’t really know.  It’s just how it’s worked out.  It takes a couple of years to make a movie so you have to make sure it’s something you really feel strongly about.  The last seven or eight years I focused a huge amount of my time working on arts and arts education programs. It been very rewarding and I’ve met some wonderful people along the way.

The name Disney.  What’s the upside and what’s the downside?

Tim:  It’s such a global brand name.  It’s one of the most recognizable names on earth.  It would be like being name Tim Coca Cola.  I got to be exposed to amazing things and got to meet really interesting people and I’m grateful for all of that.  I guess the negative is not being anonymous.  I can’t use my credit card without someone asking me about what’s it like being a Disney.  That’s a little intrusive at times.  I respect that people are interested. Most of the feedback I get is positive.  People share their memories about movies they saw or trips to Disneyland. I do my best to honor that for them.  I would never say “quit bugging me. I don’t care about your happy memories.”  That would be rude.  My dad said to me one time that you have a name you can be proud of rather than to be ashamed of.

What was like growing up as a young Disney?

Tim:  Like any kid, you just live in the world that you were born into. It was normal to me.  The Disney family were mid-western people.  My grandfather Roy and his brother Walt were essentially covered wagon people.  Roy died when I was very young, but I have very early childhood but hazy memories of him.   My grandparents were big figures in our lives.  They were straightforward, direct, honest, loving, kind, decent, people.  I still run into people these many years later who knew them or interacted with them and speak so highly of my grandparents. That’s a beautiful legacy. 

How is the Disney brand different from the days when it was family-owned and run?

Tim:  Disney now is an enormous corporation.  Walt could never have imagined what it would become.  It is no longer a family company.  I have the name and I think that entitles me to a cranky opinion and nothing else.  In terms of shareholders, it’s widely held and is too big for any individual to have complete control.  I have immense respect for Bob Eiger and the job he’s done running the company.  He’s a good person and he understands the importance of maintaining the brand as a trusted name that stands for something real and trustworthy.

What about your personal life?  Do you have time to date or are you in a relationship?

Tim: I’m a single dad.  I have three kids – 23,18 and 7.  Two of them are boys and I know about boys.  And, I have a little girl.  They split their time between me and their fantastic mom.  My daughter has really changed my life.  Having a kid later in life is really a good thing.  Sometimes I see my contemporaries who are able to travel.  I can’t really do that.  What would I do if I had more time?  Surf the internet?  There isn’t anything I’d rather do with my time than to be with my daughter.  I’m old enough now to savor her more and I’m more patient than I used to be.  In the past, putting kids to bed was like being taken hostage.  My older one wouldn’t let me leave the bed until he was asleep and would feel me if I tried to get up.  Now, as long as it takes for her to fall asleep is all good.  When I was younger, I was in a hurry.  Not now.

It’s been delightful getting to know you.  The best of luck with your film and of course you role as dad.  

Tim: Thank you.

The post Up Close & Personal With Tim Disney on His Film – “William” and Family Matters appeared first on Traveling Archive.

It isn’t often in one’s career that you get to sit down with a Disney, but that opportunity presented itself with Tim Disney, son of Roy Edward Disney, grandson of Roy O. Disney and Edna Disney, and great nephew of Walt and Lillian. In the family tradition, he is involved in film making, producing numerous documentaries on the environment as well as directing and writing narrative films. The subject of the interview was his latest film William, which could be categorized as a sci-fi family drama about two scientists who decide to create a Neanderthal child by extracting DNA from a 35,000 year-old preserved specimen. The story covers the development of William from infancy through adulthood and stars Will Brittain in the key role. The cast includes, Maria Dizzia, Walled Zuaiter, Susan Park, Callum Airlie, Beth Grant, and Paul Guilfoyle. A review of the film will be forthcoming.

Your reporter interviewed Tim in an exclusive session to discuss his film and personal revelations. The following text has been edited for content and continuity for print purposes.

Part 1:  Making the Film

What drew you to this subject matter?

Tim: I got drawn to this idea by reading about the emergence of early man and their relationship with at least three other human species that co-existed with homo sapiens, the Neanderthals being the best known and who were their cultural equivalent.

How were they similar to other homo sapiens living at that time?

They did all the things that we think of as human. They created symbolic objects, had a complex language, and buried their dead – they were our equals. There was a lot of discussion about how our superior culture or language or creativity could be matched by Neanderthals, but they died out. You know history is written by the living and maybe pre-history too. I thought what if they died out because they were better than us? What if they were more virtuous than us? What if this special characteristic that we congratulate ourselves on is really a sinister quality. That was the essence of the idea. From that, I started crafting a personal story.

Would you characterize William as a cautionary tale?

Tim: Not primarily. I don’t think it’s principally about the science, or even the ethics of the science, although that’s certainly a theme within it. I think it’s a personal story. I think it’s a family story. I think it’s a story about otherness and the difficulty of being different in a hostile world.

A metaphor for social disorders?

Tim: I think so. But also beyond that it’s about emerging adults and the difficulty they have in individuating from their parents. I think it’s a universal story in that respect.

How did you go about casting William?

Tim: Well, it was hard. We had to have a great actor and that was the most important quality. We also needed someone who would have physical plausibility as a Neanderthal, who were shorter and stockier than us and had different proportions. Casting a tall, skinny person, no matter how great an actor he was, would be difficult.  We met a lot of really wonderful people but when Will came in the door, we knew he was the guy.

Just by his looks?

Tim: Yes. He’s formerly a personal trainer and football player so he was very fit. In preparation for the film, he spent months bulking up by working out every day, lifting weights and eating only 4,000 calories daily. I was very cautious about overplaying his physicality. I never wanted to get into farce and I didn’t want to make him superhuman. He couldn’t lift a car or anything like that. The day before filming began he took me aside and said, “I’ve been working out for three months. I’m taking my shirt off in the movie.”  (Laughs) So we wrote in some scenes that displayed his efforts.

Did he have an acting background?

Tim: He did a bunch of small parts but was not a big name. I had seen him in a movie called Everybody Wants Some!!, a Richard Linklaetter film, and he had a small part in King Kong.

How did you begin the process? 

Tim: I’m a collaborative person. These lower budget movies are more difficult to make than big budget films because you don’t get a lot of rehearsal time and there’s no room for errors or recovery. We started with a traditional table read followed by many conversations so that we were generally in sync with whom these characters were and how they would interact. So, we had a good understanding before we hit the set. That said, I also like to plan. I’m too nervous to wing it. Everything always changes and you have to be flexible, but I like to have a roadmap.

During the shoot, did the script go through any changes?

Tim: We started with what was on the page but in the moment you always adapt to what’s working or what’s not working. There were a lot of improvisations and changes that happened, but in general, the movie is structured as written.

What was most difficult about the shoot?

Tim: Working with the young kids was difficult. It was the first week and we had a lot of stuff to do with them.  We were getting up and running as a crew so having small children on set was really challenging. There was a lot of improvising going on. (Laughs) They don’t always do what you tell them to do. They get cranky, and hungry and tired. Dealing with the kids was challenging and nerve racking.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where Tim talks about being a Disney and his role as a single dad.

The post Up Close & Personal With Tim Disney on His Film – “William” and Other Topics appeared first on Traveling Archive.