So near and yet so far

Jodie Foster explores the beauty and the difficulty of virtual connectivity in her latest film, Money Monster

May 10, 2016 05:59 pm | Updated May 13, 2016 12:45 pm IST - Bangalore

George Clooney, left, and Julia Roberts appear in a scene from "Money Monster."

George Clooney, left, and Julia Roberts appear in a scene from "Money Monster."

Jodie Foster is fascinated by the millennial concept of virtual intimacy — “where looking at somebody through a camera or talking to somebody on a monitor, feels more intimate than being with them in a room.” In Money Monster , coming out on May 13, Foster examines it as well as the concept of money. The fast-paced thriller starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts deals with a TV personality being held hostage by a viewer in search of answers. In Cancun, Mexico, the 53-year-old actor/director spoke of the joy of working with Clooney and Roberts, the role of money in her life and the directors who influenced her. Excerpts.

Could you tell us about the experience of working with George Clooney and Julia Roberts?

Ah, well, the two most loved movie stars in Hollywood! It just gets easier, when you work with people that have as much experience, and that are as talented as this. I think both George and Julia love to work, but they also love to laugh and like to keep it simple. George is also the producer on the movie, which is a godsend for me.

George is well known to be a prankster on set. Were there any sort of on-set shenanigans? How tight a ship do you run? And was it important to keep things light hearted in a movie as intense and fast paced as this one?

There weren’t that many pranks. I think the pranks are to come. George had a tough job on this. It was a tough movie for him — a lot of dialogue and action. He had a lot to think about. However, I feel it was really a light-hearted experience and that is how my movies always are. If you’re not having fun then you probably won’t be giving the best performance of your life. Movies are hard. They are supposed to be hard. So we might as well be happy when we are doing them.

What does the film say about media?

The media is a big part of virtual intimacy. It is such an interesting idea that we have come to a place in our culture where looking at somebody through a camera or talking to somebody on a monitor, feels more intimate than being with them in a room.

This film explores that a little bit, this virtual connection that we have — this connectivity, beauty and the difficulty of it as well. In the film, Julia Roberts’ character and George Clooney’s character are very close and they are literally in each others’ ear, except they are not in the same room for most of the film. There is something very interesting about that for me. About how close we are to somebody who we are not physically connected to, and that is something that has only happened, in the last 10 years, 20 years.

What about this project attracted you to it?

It is a thriller. It is exciting, fast-paced. I think it is the fastest-paced movie I’ve ever done. It brings together all of these different people in sort of a tapestry, all of their different motivations, all surrounding one idea — money — and how money in some ways is our meaning in life, it is how we rate ourselves.

The film seems to deal with the lone wolf taking people hostage and the financial crisis that many people faced when their investments went flat. Could you talk about combining those two issues?

I don’t think that the hostage-taking is the big issue, it is a part of what happens. A man is looking for an answer. He stands up with the only thing that he knows how to do. The rest of the film is this very fast paced, thrilling route to try to finally figure out how to give this guy an answer.

AfterThe Beaver, you worked onOrange is the New Black. How much has directing television informed you as a director?

I always made fast films. I always made them quickly because I never had enough money to do it. So television wasn’t such a big step for me. I like being clear about what I’m looking for and naming that in as few steps as possible. I like the clarity of the pace that television gives you. I think the nice thing about making features is that you are able to make sure that every single frame and every single item of filmmaking is meaningful.

Do you believe that movies provoke thinking?

I know in my life movies as an art form has influenced me more than any other art form. I cherish them along with painting and sculpture and music. They are how we say, “This is who I am.” and I don’t know any other way to express myself.

How is money the monster in this world? What is your personal relationship to money?

Money is a way for us to express value, and what we see as value. For many of us, we are confused about what our value is. And we look to some kind of tally. That is the confusing part about identity and about how we see ourselves. Money is just the tool that people use to measure value. This film isn’t a condemnation of the financial world at all. If anything, I think it examines human motivation. The financial world isn’t this sort of evil empire. It is something that we make, it is something made by humans.

Who are the directors that inspired you and this film?

This film lives in the Sidney Lumet tradition of Dog Day Afternoon or Network , two films that are also in real time that talk about a live public event that brings together various different story lines that all converge. Of the directors that have influenced me, I feel like I’ve learned so much from Martin Scorsese or David Fincher, the list goes on, Bob Zemeckis.

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