The story of paranoid-schizophrenic John du Pont is so bizarre that it might be humorous if it wasn’t so tragic, said “Foxcatcher” director Bennett Miller (“Moneyball”) at the TheWrap Screening Series presentation at the Landmark Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday.
“My first impression was almost a humored curiosity, meaning there was something funny about it,” Miller said of the story that is, as of Thursday morning, a Golden Globe Best Motion Picture – Drama contender.
“One of the wealthiest men in America, and he’s got wrestlers living on his estate. It just seemed like it’s a setup for a comedy. And my first impression of it was, ‘Is this some kind of a ‘Boogie Nights’ meets ‘Silence of the Lambs’ kind of thing?'”
Then it became less funny, he said: “The more I steeped in it and began to develop the script, the more grounded it got, and all the sensational aspects of it began to wane in interest.”
Combine the best picture nomination with Carell and costar Mark Ruffalo‘s nominations in the best actor and best supporting actor categories, the two actors’ SAG Award nominations — not to mention a best director award won by Miller at Cannes Film Festival, as well as other award and festival-circuit recognition — and Team “Foxcatcher” has a bona fide winning streak on its hands.
That said, it’s not for everyone, which even Miller admits: “It’s an odd movie. Purposefully, it’s the kind of film, as you’re watching it, you might ask yourself, ‘What is this? Where is it going?’ … To actually stick with the approach of the film, which is to look and keep looking at something that may be difficult for a number of reasons and to be unflinching about it, to observe the things that the characters are not really seeing and admitting, and then to see the banality.”
Millionaire du Pont lured Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz (played by Channing Tatum) into his life with the promise of financial and emotional support that Schultz desperately needed in his quest to become world champion and to pursue another gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. As an heir to the famous industrialist family fortune, du Pont was able to invest his money in building a wrestling facility on his Pennsylvania estate. The eccentric invited both Mark and his brother Dave to live, work and train at Foxcatcher Farm. The consequences proved disastrous.
And the full story is even stranger, Miller said; in fact, he noted, the movie “dials it back” in scenes that showcased du Pont in full freak mode, firing guns on his estate and otherwise behaving erratically.
As Carell told the screening audience, “I thought it was an intriguing character because he’s a very sad person. I think he had a very complicated life, and it would be easy to depict him as a villain, and I didn’t see him that way … I think in many ways his wealth isolated him. He obviously did some terrible things, but I think at the same time, you can have empathy for someone like that.”
Moderating the event, TheWrap’s film reporter Jeff Sneider then asked about the involvement of Megan Ellison, film producer and founder of Annapurna Pictures, whose credits include Oscar-nominated films “American Hustle,” “Her” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”
“She read it and very quickly said, ‘I want to do that,'” Miller revealed. “She’s very wealthy. Her father [billionaire Oracle Corporation Chairman Larry Ellison] is very wealthy. She’s like, ‘This thing makes me very uneasy — you know, like, am I John du Pont? … This really unnerves me, this whole story, this whole thing, what it unearths. If I don’t make this film, I’m full of shit.'”
Sneider also asked about the artistry behind Carell’s dramatic transformation into his characterization of du Pont, to which Carell jokingly replied, “There was no hair and makeup.”
“The weirdest thing about it was not necessarily watching it happen and then looking in the mirror and saying, ‘Ooooh, I’m a different guy,’ but it was how other people reacted to me once I was in all of that stuff,” Carell said, recounting how his driver was disturbed by him in the du Pont makeup. “He would tell me on the drive back to the hotel, ‘Man, I just don’t like being around that other guy.’
“Du Pont had a very specific manner about him and a very specific physicality, and those things, I think, conspired to push other people away from him. He was off-putting, and it had the same effect with me naturally on set — I generally ate lunch by myself — but I think it ultimately was a good thing to have that kind of separation from the other actors.”
Sony Pictures Classics’ “Foxcatcher” saw limited release on Nov. 14 and will expand through January 2015.
Golden Globes 2015: The Nominees (Photos)
Best Motion Picture -- Drama: "Boyhood" (pictured), "Foxcatcher," "The Imitation Game," "Selma," "The Theory of Everything"
Best Director -- Motion Picture: Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; Eva DuVernay, "Selma"; David Fincher, "Gone Girl"; Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, "Birdman"; Richard Linklater (pictured), "Boyhood"
Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture: Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; Gillian Flynn (pictured), "Gone Girl"; Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone,Alexander Dinelaris & Armando Bo, "Birdman"; Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"; Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"
Best Performances by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Drama: Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"; Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"; Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler"; David Oyelowo (pictured), "Selma"; Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama: Jennifer Aniston (pictured), "Cake"; Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"; Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"; Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"; Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"; Jessica Chastain (pictured), "A Most Violent Year"; Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"; Emma Stone, "Birdman"; Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Robert Duvall, "The Judge"; Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"; Edward Norton, "Birdman"; Mark Ruffalo (pictured), "Foxcatcher"; J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"
Best Motion Picture -- Comedy or Musical: "Birdman" (pictured), "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Into the Woods," "Pride," "St. Vincent"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: Ray Fiennes, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; Michael Keaton, "Birdman"; Bill Murray (pictured), "St. Vincent"; Joaquin Phoenix, "Inherent Vice"; Christoph Waltz, "Big Eyes"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Comedy or Musical: Amy Adams (pictured), "Big Eyes"; Emily Blunt, "Into the Woods"; Helen Mirren, "The Hundred-Foot Journey"; Julianne Moore, "Maps to the Stars"; Quvenzhané Wallis, "Annie"
Best Animated Feature: “Big Hero 6," "Book of Life," "Boxtrolls," "How to Train Your Dragon 2," "The Lego Movie" (pictured)
Best Foreign Language Film: "Force Majeure Turist" (Sweden), "Gett: The Trival of Viviane" (Israel), "Ida" (Poland/Denmark), "Leviathan" (Russia, pictured), "Tangerines" (Estonia)
Best Original Song – Motion Picture: “Big Eyes” – “Big Eyes”; “Glory” – “Selma”; “Mercy Is” – “Noah”; “Opportunity” – “Annie”; “Yellow Flicker Beat” – “The Hunger Games, Mockingjay – Part 1” (pictured)
Best Original Score – Motion Picture: Alexander Desplat, “The Imitation Game”; Yohan Yohanson, “The Theory of Everything”; Trent Reznor (pictured), “Gone Girl”; Anthoy Sanchez, “Birdman”; Hans Zimmer, “Interstellar”
Best Television Series -- Drama: "The Affair," "Downton Abbey," "Game of Thrones," "The Good Wife," House of Cards" (pictured)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series -- Drama: Claire Danes, "Homeland"; Viola Davis (pictured), "How to Get Away with Murder"; Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"; Ruth Wilson, "The Affair"; Robin Wright, "House of Cards"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series -- Drama: Clive Owen, "The Knick"; Liev Schreider, "Ray Donovan"; Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards"; James Spader, "The Blacklist"; Dominic West (pictured), "The Affair"
Best Television Series -- Comedy or Musical: "Girls," "Transparent" (pictured) "Jane the Virgin," "Orange Is the New Black," "Silicon Valley"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series -- Comedy or Musical: Lena Dunham, "Girls"; Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"; Gina Rodriguez (pictured), "Jane the Virgin"; Taylor Schilling, "Orange Is the New Black"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series -- Comedy or Musical: Louis C.K., "Louie"; Don Cheadle (pictured), "House of Lies"; Ricky Gervais, "Derek"; William H. Macy, "Shameless"; Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent"
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: "Fargo," "The Missing," "The Normal Heart," "True Detective" (pictured), "Olive Kitteridge"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Maggie Gyllenhaal (pictured), "The Honorable Woman"; Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story: Freak Show," Frances McDormand, "Olive Kitteridge"; Frances O'Connor, "The Missing"; Allison Tolman, "Fargo"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Martin Freeman (pictured), "Fargo"; Woody Harrelson, "True Detective"; Matthew McConaughey, "True Detective"; Mark Ruffalo, "The Normal Heart"; Billy Bob Thornton, "Fargo"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Uzo Aduba (pictured), "Orange Is the New Black"; Kathy Bates, "American Horror Story: Freak Show"; Joanne Froggatt, "Downton Abbey"; Allison Janney, "Mom"; Michelle Monaghan, "True Detective"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Matt Bomer (pictured), "The Normal Heart"; Alan Cumming, "The Good Wife"; Colin Hanks, "Fargo"; Bill Murray, "Olive Kitteridge"; Jon Voight, "Ray Donovan"
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Take a look at the stars who might be accepting a Golden Globe when the annual ceremony thrown by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association airs on Jan. 11
Best Motion Picture -- Drama: "Boyhood" (pictured), "Foxcatcher," "The Imitation Game," "Selma," "The Theory of Everything"
“The weirdest thing about it was not necessarily watching it happen and then looking in the mirror and saying, ‘Ooooh, I’m a different guy,’ but it was how other people reacted to me once I was in all of that stuff,” Carell said, recounting how his driver was disturbed by him in the du Pont makeup. “He would tell me on the drive back to the hotel, ‘Man, I just don’t like being around that other guy.’
