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Jack Kerouac's 'Big Sur' gets the Hollywood treatment from Kate Bosworth and ...

“I really know Salinas and Monterey,” he says. “I felt those areas were just as much a character as Big Sur, because Kerouac was running around those areas too. All those things put together, I felt could make something pretty special and represent that area of California that I knew so well.”


But the writer and director found it initially challenging to transform the novel into a screenplay. “It was difficult in the way that you wanted to preserve his language,” Polish says. “I felt if we could stick with his prose and keep it intact, then you live and die by that. If you get it, you get it. If you don’t, you don’t. Jack Kerouac doesn’t need to be updated. It feels more like the audience needs to be updated.”


Polish notes that the recent Highway 1 road closure between Carmel and Big Sur made some people nervous before filming started. “The road opened up right before we sent in our trucks, so that was a blessing,” he says.


Karen Nordstrand of the Monterey County Film Commission says her organization helped scout the right locations to shoot, which included Bixby Canyon and Rocky Creek Canyon. Henry Miller Library Executive Director Magnus Toren also lent insight.


“I thought it was nice to mix it up, not [film] one spot,” Polish says. “It gives people a discovery of different places in Big Sur and it keeps them on their toes as to where everything was filmed.”


The director says the rugged region of Big Sur affected the actors on the project. 


“When you are up in those environments, especially Big Sur, you look at people trying to get their bearings and so they have to respect what’s going on and get right into it,” he says.


In addition, the chance to play famous Beat Generation figures drove the actors and actresses to new heights. 


“Everybody brought their ‘A’ game, which was important, because it was one of those shoots where people were portraying other [real] people so they wanted to do their homework,” Polish says.

Cécile de France interview: Hereafter, and working with Clint ...

?

Yes, usually I like to see the movie, because I don't have a problem with looking at myself. Also, because the film is very close to the script from Peter Morgan.

When I read the script the first time I was very- I liked it very much, because it's cleverly done, you know? Three characters converging towards each other. And when I saw the film, it was very close to the script. It was not a big surprise, of course. I wasn't there when Matt Damon and the twins were shooting in London, but because it's very close to the script it wasn't a big surprise, and because it's shot in a very simple way. And I was very, very impressed by the English parts. I don't remember, what's the name of the actress who played the mother?

The mother of the twins?

Lyndsey Marshal. Yeah, Lyndsey Marshal! She's a great actress. And also I was very touched by the loneliness of the three characters. You couldn't feel it in the script, and for me, in my very subjective opinion, I think that Clint Eastwood brought out the lonely part of the characters. Because it's talking about, of course, it's talking about death and life after death, but most of the story is about three characters, normal people with their weakness and defects.  And so the loneliness is very interesting, to feel what they feel in their lives.

Did you have discussions with Clint Eastwood about that? Because he has a very macho image. Did you talk with him about the emotional side of things?

Not at all, not at all. Because, with Clint Eastwood, he trusts everybody. He trusts all the members of his crew, he trusts all of the actors, he trusts everybody. So, for him, he knows that we know what our job is. And because the subject is very personal, whether you can believe or not. If you didn't have a personal experience in your life, you don't have an opinion. 

So, we never talk about the subject. We never talk about the emotion of the characters, because he trusts us so much. He just offers you the freedom and the responsibility to build your character as you want to do.

And because it's Clint Eastwood, everybody on the set is very prepared and we wanted to adapt ourselves to his direction. And the shooting is very quick. He only does one take and the day finishes earlier than it was supposed to, because he wants to capture the magic moment of the first shot. 

And so, I think, he doesn't like to talk about the emotional difference. He prefers to just let you do what you think, what you know about your job and what you feel. Because, I think, for him the casting is the most important part. And I think that once he had chosen us actors, he just let us do what we wanted to do.

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