Two peas in a pod
Besides a savvy technical talent, J. A. Bayona shares another cinematic trait with Steven Spielberg. He works well with kids.
The unique talent wasn’t the only reason the 41- yearold landed the prestigious Jurassic World 2 directorial assignment. But it was one of Bayona’s abilities admired by Jurassic World Executive Producer Spielberg.
Maybe it’s because they share the same filmmaker philosophy.
“I treat children very respectfully on set like they are actors and part of the ensemble,” says Bayona at a Manhattan hotel suite. “When they feel how special they are, they can connect easier to their emotions.”
The Spanish filmmaker continues to showcase his child- actor aptitude in the dark fable, A Monster Calls.
In the fantasy, a boy (newcomer Lewis MacDougall) tries to cope with his mom’s ( Felicity Jones) terminal illness by conversing with a conjured up giant humanoid yew tree (voiced by Liam Neeson).
Luckily MacDougall, in his first lead film role, had an experienced cast to back him and an empathetic director to guide him.
“With Lewis, it was about patience because you have to explain the process clearly, and not just the character process, but the whole process of making a film,” Bayona says.
It helped that the first thing the director filmed were the performance capture scenes between Neeson defining the imposing tree and MacDougall portraying the lost boy.
Sigourney Weaver’s small supporting role as the strict grandmother was equally pivotal “because Sigourney had a vulnerability and humanity even though she’s really playing the witch in the fable.”
Certainly, the movie tends to be as uncompromising as the Patrick Ness book based on an idea by Siobhan Dowd who suffered from a terminal illness and died before she could complete the yarn.
To honour Dowd, Ness held out to write the screenplay and then to collaborate with Bayona on its transition to the big screen.
One of the key adjustments “was the world of art connecting all the major characters”. Says the director, “I needed to find some light through what we learn from this dark story.”
All things considered, it’s quite a Bayona next step with the budget predicted to be more than $ 200 million US after the Jurassic World reboot earned a whopping $ 1.67 billion at the 2015 box office world-wide.
Before, during and after the shoot, he can always get advice from his mentor.
“For me, the fact that I am working with people I really respect like Steven Spielberg makes me super excited,” Bayona says. “He’s the reason I wanted to do the movie in the first place.”