Premiering at this year's Toronto International Film Festival was the latest from director Tom McCarthy, The Cobbler. In the modern-day fairy tale, Adam Sandler plays a lonely cobbler in New York City who feels like his life is going nowhere until he discovers a family heirloom that literally gives him the ability to “walk in another man’s shoes,” and see the world differently. The fantastical aspect is a bit of a departure for McCarthy after helming films like The Station Agent, The Visitor, and Win Win, but he still keeps the film focused on the characters. The Cobbler also stars Dustin Hoffman, Steve Buscemi, Ellen Barkin,Melonie Diaz, Method Man, and Dan Stevens.
Earlier today I landed an exclusive video interview with Adam Sandler and Thomas McCarthy. They talked about how the project came together, changes during production, the way they like to prepare for a role/project, editing, extended cuts, and more. In addition, we talked about Sandler's next film, Pixels, McCarthy's role, the video games involved, Peter Dinklage's character, McCarthy's next film, Spotlight, and how he's going to be able to film at The Boston Globe and Fenway Park. For those who don’t know, Spotlight focuses on the Globe journalists who uncovered the Catholic Church’s extensive cover-up of child molestation in Massachusetts. Hit the jump for what Sandler and McCarthy had to say.
Adam Sandler and Thomas McCarthy:
- Was it a tough project to get made?
- How long had they been talking about The Cobbler?
- How Judd Apatow connected the dots to have them work together.
- How much changed during production?
- How do they like to prepare for a role/directing job and has it changed through their careers?
- How long was the first cut of the film?
- How involved is Sandler in the editing process of his films?
- Is McCarthy a fan of extended cuts?
- 7:00 - Pixels talk. Sandler reveals it was a 69 day shoot and that Peter Dinklage's character is very good at playing Pac-Man.
- 8:10 - How Asteroids is in the movie.
- 8:30 - How much has the short film influenced the story of the movie?
- 9:00 - How McCarthy is in Pixels playing Michael the Robot. Which had him wearing a bald cap and doing hours of makeup.
- 10:15 - Prepping for the role by playing tons of video games.
- 11:15 - McCarthy talks about his next project, Spotlight, and how he got involved with it.
- 12:15 - Confirms he will be able to film at The Boston Globe and that the reporters and the newspaper have been extremely supportive of the movie.
- 12:30 - Reveals they're going to be filming a bit at Fenway Park.
- 13:00 - Will Dunkin Donuts make an appearance in the film?
