-

One of the many movies to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Downhill. Inspired by Ruben Östlund's Swedish film Force Majeure, Downhill is helmed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who also co-wrote the script with Jesse Armstrong (Succession). As you’ve probably seen in the trailers, Downhill is about a married couple (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell) that starts to question their relationship while on a family ski vacation in the Alps. Early in the film, they’re sitting outside with their kids, about to eat lunch, when an avalanche comes speeding towards them. Louis-Dreyfus' maternal instincts kicks in, and she immediately wraps her arms around around her two boys, while Ferrell’s character's instinct is to protect himself and his cell phone, which leads to some tough conversations with his wife. Downhill also stars Zach Woods, Zoe Chao, Miranda Otto, and Kristofer Hivju, the latter of whom co-starred in the original film.

Shortly after seeing Downhill, I sat down with Louis-Dreyfus, Ferrell, Woods, Chao, Otto, Hivju, Faxon and Rash for an extremely fun interview. When everyone wasn’t laughing, they talked about how the story unfolds realistically rather than being Hollywoodized, what drew the cast to the script, how Otto’s character provides a lot of levity, as well as the challenges of the editing process and a whole lot more.

Finally, we have to thank our presenting partner, the Kia Telluride SUV, which was recently named the 2020 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. Additional thanks to support sponsors Glenfiddich Scotch, Peroni Beer, Marbl Toronto, mou footwear, ic! Berlin sunglasses and clothing lines, Laundry by Sheli Segal and Orginal Penguin.

Check out what they had to say in the player above, and below is exactly what we talked about.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Will Ferrell, Zach Woods, Zoe Chao, Miranda Otto, Kristofer Hivju, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash:

• What is the film about?
• What drew the cast to the script and how the film is depicting a possible realistic situation.
• Miranda Otto talks about her character and how she provides a lot of levity with her dialogue.
• Woods and Chao talk about who they play and how much fun they had making the film.
• Hivju talks about his character.
• Faxon and Rash talk about the editing process and what they were hoping to achieve going in.