Nine Days Cast and Director Edson Oda on Making an Original Science Fiction Movie

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‘Nine Days’ Cast and Director Edson Oda on Making an Original Science Fiction Movie

By Steven Weintraub

Published Feb 10, 2020

Plus Zazie Beetz, Winston Duke, Bill Skarsgard, Tony Hale, Benedict Wong, David Rysdahl, Arianna Ortiz and Edson Oda share some great stories from the making of the film.

One of my favorite movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Nine Days. Written and directed by Edson Oda, Nine Days is a completely original film that hit me like a ton of bricks. Without giving too much away, the film takes place in a reality between life and death where Winston Duke’s (who gives a career best performance) character is responsible for deciding who will replace a person on Earth after they have died. Once the dying soul has passed, five people emerge in this in-between reality, and Duke’s character has nine days to test each of the candidates. The winning soul gets to be born -- all the rest will cease to exist having only experienced a few days of life. The film is a powerful reminder of how lucky we are to be alive, and I cannot believe what Edson Oda accomplished with his debut film. While I’m not sure when Nine Days will be available for you to see, I strongly recommend this film.

Shortly before the world premiere and before I had seen the film, cast members Zazie Beetz, Winston Duke, Bill Skarsgard, Tony Hale, Benedict Wong, David Rysdahl, Arianna Ortiz and Edson Oda stopped by the Collider studio at Sundance. They talked about what they film is about, how Oda put together the incredible cast, memorable moments from filming, how they filmed in order, why each of the actors wanted to be part of the project, what surprised Oda when he got in the editing room, and a 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.

Zazie Beetz, Winston Duke, Bill Skarsgard, Tony Hale, Benedict Wong, David Rysdahl, Arianna Ortiz and Edson Oda:

How did Oda put together the incredible cast?
How would Oda describe the film to people?
The actors talk about why they wanted to be part of this movie.
What surprised Oda when he got in the editing room that he might not have been expecting?
What did Oda learn from early screenings that may have impacted the finished film?
Each of them talks about memorable moments from filming.

nine-days-winston-duke-zazie-beetz — Image via Sundance