One of the many films to premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival is writer/director Richard Ayoade’s The Double.  Based on the novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the film stars Jesse Eisenberg as a government clerk whose life is destroyed after what he believes to be an exact copy of himself begins working in his office and attempts to ruin his life.  As you can see in the just released trailer, The Double takes place in its own world and Ayoade has created something cool that hopefully you’ll be able to see in the near future.  The film also stars Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Rade Serbedzija, James Fox, and Yasmin Paige.

Shortly after the premiere I got to sit down with Ayoade for an extended video interview.  He talked about being at TIFF, what The Double is about, the process of adapting the Dostoevsky novel for the screen, the casting of Jesse Eisenberg, the length of his first cut, deleted scenes and keeping a lengthy credit roll in order to keep the credits song, his preference for writing and directing versus acting, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

And click here if you missed my video interview with Jesse Eisenberg.

Richard Ayoade Interview SUBMARINE slice

Richard Ayoade Time Index:

  • 0:30 – Comments on the group effort behind The Double in bringing the film’s unique look to the screen.
  • 1:30 – Talks about the process or securing financing for The Double.
  • 3:00 – Goes into the adaptation process from the Dostoevsky novel to the screen.
  • 4:00 – Comments on the casting of Jesse Eisenberg for the role.
  • 5:00 – Talks about the length of his first cut, deleted scenes and keeping a lengthy credit roll in order to keep the credits song.
  • 6:30 – Comments on his works in progress and ideas he’d like to see realized.
  • 8:20 – Talks about his experiences at the Toronto International Film Festival and why it’s a good showcase for The Double.
  • 12:30 – While he doesn’t collect anything, he talks about some of his peculiar obsessions.
  • 13:40 – Talks about his preference for writing and directing versus acting.
  • 15:30 – Comments on what he’s up to next.

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