One of my favorite films at this year's Toronto International Film Festival was director James Marsh’s (Man on Wire) The Theory of Everything. The fantastic film is an adaptation of the Stephen Hawking memoir Travelling to Infinity, written by his wife Jane Hawking. Starring Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables) as Hawking, The Theory of Everything chronicles his budding relationship with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wide (Felicity Jones), heartbreaking motor neuron disease diagnosis at the age of 21, and groundbreaking scientific work in the field of time. Led by phenomenal performances by Redmayne and Jones, The Theory of Everything will definitely be a player in awards season and I strongly recommend seeing it for yourself when it opens November 7th. For more on the film, watch the trailer.
Shortly after the TIFF premiere I landed an exclusive video interview with Felicity Jones. She talked her process in preparing for a role, how on set she could tell they were making something special, the way she got involved in the project, how Marsh's background in documentaries helped everyone stay true to the real story, the May Ball and other U.K. idiosyncrasies, the competition for strong female roles and how TV is more progressive in some ways, what it was like to work with Jonah Hill in True Story, how she's about to start filming A Monster Calls, and more. Hit the jump to watch.
Felicity Jones:
- What it's like to bring a movie to TIFF.
- 1:30 – Jones responded to the strong female role in The Theory of Everything.
- 2:40 – Says Marsh's background in documentaries helped staying true to the real story.
- 4:10 – Describes her process in preparing for a role.
- 6:10 – The special quality of the movie became clear watching rushes.
- 7:20 – Explains the May Ball and other U.K. idiosyncracies.
- 8:50 – Talk about the competition for strong female roles and how TV is more progressive in some ways.
- 10:00 – How Jones got involved with the project.
- 11:25 – Talks about working on True Story and the talent of Jonah Hill.
- 12:45 – Jones is about to start filming A Monster Calls.
