STACK NZ Aug #65

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with NIKI CARO .

they go to school and they run. It’s amazing.

of them, I was so impressed. Even more so by the effect the boys had on him because what they bring out in him is real humanity and humility. This has made his performance in this movie very, very special. What was it like for you to work with such an iconic Hollywood star? It was great working with Kevin. Obviously, he’s incredibly skilled. He’s very smart and very experienced but also extremely collaborative and respectful. We had a great working relationship. I would do it a thousand times over. I’m very instinctive and so is Kevin. We had very similar ideas about the way to approach Jim and pretty much everything Kevin was doing was by instinct, which I was very much on board with. In the rare event that we weren’t in concert, we discussed it. Let’s talk about the casting process in general; how did it advance? The way I work is to bring a great deal

What was it like for JimWhite to come to McFarland? It’s both a fish out of water story and an underdog story. JimWhite is both, certainly, when he arrives in the town of McFarland. It’s fairly ironic that his name is White because they’re the only white family there. The culture shock is immense but the community is very generous to the White family and takes them in. In many ways it’s about the transformation of this man and his family in this place. We see JimWhite become a better coach, a better father and a better human being over the course of the story. What’s the catalyst that makes Jim White want to put this team together? The catalyst for Jim is his need to find a role for himself because he gets fired in the first week from his assistant football coaching job, which is pretty

much the final straw in a string of firings. Recognizing that the boys are fast, he creates a position for himself as their coach. Why was it important for you to have Kevin Costner a part of this film? Kevin Costner’s obviously a sports guy and has made some of the most iconic sports movies ever. But then when I met him and I saw the gentle, tender way he dealt with these kids, how he was extremely fatherly to them, and protective

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