Interview with “The Ballad of Wallis Island” Director, James Griffiths

Full transcript of Interview with “The Ballad of Wallis Island” Director, James Griffiths.

0:04KT: Old tensions resurface when former bandmates who are former lovers reunite for a private show at the island home of an eccentric millionaire. The Ballad of Wallis Island will be available in Australian cinemas from the 28th of August. James Griffiths, thank you so much for your time and welcome to the For Your Reference Podcast.

0:28James: Oh, thank you so much for having me. I love the way you say lovers. That was brilliant.

0:33KT: It's, it's, we're all friends and lovers at the end of

0:35James: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It's

0:37KT: in every timeline, in every remote island.

0:40James: Yeah. Yes, exactly.

0:42KT: At least that's what I hope. So I'm wearing a sweater because I'm all cozy. I was watching your press tour, um, as well. So I'm, maybe I'm a lover on the island. We might find out. Who knows?

0:51James: Who knows? Who knows?

0:54KT: Um, there's so much to get into in regards to the feature film, but I guess I would love to give the short. A little bit of a moment. 18 years ago it had a cute festival run. There was an Edinburgh win as well as a BAFTA nomination. Um, and you know, even throughout the years you guys talked about potentially trying to figure out how to get this feature made and all three of you, and also Carey Mulligan as well, but you have also had quite a great illustrious career. In the meantime, how does it feel reflecting on now? Being able to make The Ballad of Wallis Island all the way 18 years ago in 2007 with the short film, you know, short, cute question for this little chat.

1:39James: No, I mean, look, it's a great question. Uh, I mean, look, firstly, I'm really grateful that we actually got to make the film because it was becoming quite painful. Um, the distance between making the short and thinking about whether we'd ever get to make it actually and get back together. Um, uh, much like Herb, I guess we were sort of a little bit sort of stuck in feeling like looking back at that experience and it being the kind of best, one of the best experiences we'd had in our careers. All of us, we would get together and it would be the thing. Actually separately as well talk about the thing that we were most proud of was the short still, even though we'd all made lovely work in between, um, it was then, so it was, it was about trying to get back to that space, I guess. Uh, and so making the film, we just felt very grateful we got to do it. And then to have the response it's had has been even like, has blown our minds, I think, uh, certainly blown mine. Um. Because we, we made it for, for ourselves, I think, uh, partly, and, and which I think is often a good place to start when you're making something and to not think about the, the, the outside. Um, and then an audience has really responded to it. So it's been quite a journey. But we, we didn't work on it solely for 18 years. We did other stuff, but we, we always thought about it though. Um, and actually we can thank COVID for the rebirth of it because we, we kind of thought, well, what can we make on an island? Or what can we make that's sort of, you know, a very small cast and we can potentially bubble up for a bit in our, in our own COVID bubble and make it, make a film together. So that's where it became the sort of second version of it from the short, uh, is where McGwyer or, or Carey was, was, um, sorry. Um, Mortimer was added. To the film and that's the kind of film expanded to where it is now.

3:30KT: And I think that's like even my notes when I was watching it was he feels stuck in time, like Herb feels stuck in time. And I think it was a, during the Sundance run, you talked about how you just gotta look forward. You can't be stuck in that. And I think a lot of us can relate. To Herb, um, in a lot of cases, and I guess because the short was a two-hander, we are opening the world up in this feature and we're introducing complexity. We're introducing I guess a lot of regret and, and motivations of Herb's character, um, as well. I guess, how was it being able to translate that into. The, the space sort of afforded in a feature film to really dig deep. And as you mentioned, like when you get from experiences, that's when it feels real, and that's when the audience feels it too.

4:18James: I mean, I think Herb's journey reflects, is very close to my own, I guess. Um, and, and so it was really important to kind of, well, a, get that right and make sure it felt, you know, authentic and feels real. But as a creative person. There's moments you look back and go, how did I get here? You know? Um, how do I get back to that sort of pure feeling of making something? And, and, and then also just my, our own lived experiences and mine personally, where you look back at relationships too and think how did they go wrong? And, and, and, and do you romanticize about those relationships in the past? And, and does that ever allow you to move on? Uh,

4:57KT: Oh, oh, James, we are connecting. I feel like you're looking at my notes right now. I don't, I don't necessarily wanna spoil the beautiful dialogue that, uh, Carey Mulligan as Nell says in the film, but there's a sentiment that she talks about of being in love with a moment in time as opposed to being in love with a person. And I guess what you were able to offer that person at that time? 'cause you weren't ready. You weren't ready baby. Like Herb was not ready to give up the spice. Like he was just not ready in that time. Mm-hmm.

5:28James: Yeah. So it is about that island is supposed to be a sort of transformative space for, for, for Herb, um, that he arrives and then, you know, sheds all that stuff and kind of discovers himself again, finds himself again. And he only does that because he can move on and he only does that because of the strange interactions with this character who's also on a journey of moving on. Um, so it's, yeah, it's about, it really is about kind of moving forward with your life and, and not looking back and sort of. Uh, yeah, just, uh, I'm getting unstuck. Getting unstuck, but there's, but there's creatively like that as well. It is, it is, it is twofold 'cause they're connected to me, you know, uh, your relationships and then your creative journey or your, or your job, um, how you find yourself in the position you're in. Um, that, that's all plays out in the film. And then I, I, I think musically as well, it's, it's doing the same thing because music. Can trap us in the past. I, I like that feeling of, of, of the catharsis, of getting into a feeling or getting into a memory by listening to a song from your past or something ignites an emotion in you. But it's so, so it is a film about that connection with music too, you

6:43KT: interesting. I guess in this case we're talking about musicians, but it's so interesting that musicians can really tap into your heart, but looking into your eyes is too vulnerable. Like, and I think Herb kind of mixed that sort of balance 'cause it's like we're really getting, and he's like, I don't wanna perform that song, because obviously that was their past relationship and there's such a nice sort of balance of like. Artist versus making a living. And I guess one of a more light sort of question. Um, you know, I, I, I feel like Nell as well as Michael, very succinctly called it pop. Um, but Herb was kind of dancing around the nuance of a commercial genre. I think you're referring to it as because if it makes him feel better, um, uh, but I guess. Were there, is there anything on the cutting room floor or were there any sort of plans for a Work the Body music video? Because I would love to have even just the possibility in my memory banks, because we love Tom. We, we, we knew he was musical because of Plebs as Waterboy as Aurelius. So I would love to know that there was a Work the Body music video potentially in the cutting

7:54James: know what, KT, I, I pitched it so many times. I come from music videos. Like I, I, I, that's how I started. My, my journey into film was music out of art college, then into music videos at the time when music videos were, you know, Spike Jonze, Gondry

8:10KT: Hype Williams. Yeah.

8:12James: Yeah. All hype. Yeah, exactly. And, and just the, the best. And, and I, I came up under those, those those guys. And, um. I, I have a love for that. So I was desperate to, I pitched it to Tom numerous times that wouldn't it be funny at the end of the trailer if we had. A work. We saw the work body, but we, we, we were, there was one point, I think we, we all, we all ended up feeling like that would, that would mess with the purity of it. So I didn't get it made, but I was with you KT. I, I would've loved to have made that music video. Um, I think there's still a possibility. I sort of felt like there was also a chance of seeing, we talked about having Charles. Playing tennis with Roger Federer on the island, like getting another hero to come to the island. That was, that was also in the pitch for the end end credits.

9:00KT: I think we have a Wallis Island cinematic universe, like, and if you wanna do like a press tour for the music video, I would love to like tap into the nuances of selling your soul to a Work the Body Feet feature with your teeth whitening on the album cover. I'm absolutely there if you'll have me, but I, I wanna. Yes. But I, I wanna thank you so much for your time and wrap up with our final question. Um, unless you wanna bring me on the music video press tour. Um, we finish off our reviews with a recommendation. So what would you pair with the Ballad of Wallis Island as a double feature? It can be a TV show, it can be a film, it can be a documentary, it can be whatever you like. Is it like a double feature pairing?

9:43James: Oh, that is a great question. I'd probably go, um, I'd probably go one of the Alexander Payne greats like, uh, Descendants.

9:53KT: Beautiful.

9:54James: Yeah,

9:56KT: Wow. Okay. Well, U usually, usually filmmakers need more time, but I think, I think we've got it.

10:02James: Yeah, fantastic. I mean, there's so many, obviously there'd be so many that would be a good, a good pairing with, I mean, we, A lot of influence came out of Nuts in, Nuts in May. Uh, the Mike Leigh movie, uh, Bill Forsyth's, um, uh, film, uh, yeah, there's, there's a couple of, yeah, a couple of really good references in there. But, um, yeah, that one, that one's good.

10:25KT: And it's always so interesting to hear the answers 'cause you know a lot of, there are a lot of influencers of films or, you know, even just filmmakers will find things quite interesting to pair together. But I've had such a great time, um, like, like a 15 second, um, hot pop song. I need to Love Yam. Leave Ya. And disappear into the background. But I wanna thank you so much for your time.

10:46James: Thanks KT.