The New York Film Festival kicked off this past weekend premiering tons of new films, documentaries and more. One film that graced viewers eyes was the new drama film Manchester by the Sea.
The film tells the story of a man named Lee Chandler who is suddenly the sole guardian of his brother’s teenage son Patrick. Lee then returns to his home, Manchester by the Sea a small fishing village, where he faces his ex-wife and the community that he grew up in.
We caught up with the cast and they talked about working with director Kenneth Lonergan, their roles, the filming location, awkward moments and more!
Congratulations on the film. Tell us a little bit about collaborating with Kenneth, and what that process was like.
Anna Baryshnikov: It was so wonderful. He’s one of those people that growing up doing theater I was like, “This is our Youth is my Bible.” It’s so amazing. Then to get to work with him as not only a writer but also a director was so special. He really takes care of his actors. It was an amazing first movie.
Tell me a little bit about your role.
CJ Wilson: I play George. I’m a friend of the family, really big heart, loves his family like crazy, loves his buddies like crazy, just a great, hell of a guy.
Speak about working with Kenneth and how that process was like.
CJ Wilson: Kenny was fantastic. I’ve worked with him before and the way he approaches since we both have theater backgrounds, we had a week long workshop where we sat at the table a talked through it, go through a little scene, go back and do it again. Even before, a few days before shooting, we had some more rehearsals. It was very helpful for me, someone who’s done mostly theater and I think it was great for the cast and ensemble as well.
Can you speak about watching Casey transform for this role because it’s a very powerful performance?
CJ Wilson: Yeah. That was one of the things that I feel very grateful to be a part of, to watch it from the ground floor to see him and Kenny work together to see him slowly. You see how he was last night, how he was just constantly simmering the grief. It was fantastic to be a part of that and work with him.
Lucas Hedges, who plays his son, he’s excellent. Can you speak about that?
CJ Wilson: Yeah. Lucas is great. This is going to be great for him. He’s fantastic, he’s sweet, he’s funny, he’s heartbreaking and he’s a great raw teenager. He’s done fantastic. He was awesome.
Obviously, the film is titled Manchester by the Sea and the location’s such an important character and beautifully shot. Can you speak about just being there shooting on location?
CJ Wilson: Yeah. My last day shooting, I got to be on a boat was fantastic. My first boat scene, we were rocking on the water a little bit and it was a beautiful, snowy, sleet-like day. As you see, it’s like another character and it’s just breathtaking. Yeah, it was gorgeous.
What else do you have in the works?
CJ Wilson: Just auditioning, reading, stuff like that. Hopefully, something around the corner.
So tell us a little bit about the role you play.
Heather Burns: I play Jill. Patrick, the boy in the story, he has a couple girlfriends and she’s one of the mothers and she kind of likes Casey’s character a little I think.
Your character had a lot of comedic moments. Can you speak about playing those out?
Heather Burns: Yeah, it was great. It was great fun and it’s a bit of an awkward situation so I think we just went with the awkwardness and kind of played it as real as we could. The script was so beautifully written, you just kind of had to say the words and it speaks for itself.
How was working with Casey?
Heather Burns: It was great. He’s wonderful and he’s so powerful in this film that it was just a gift to be able to work with him.
Obviously the location is such an important character as well. Can you speak about shooting on location and how that was?
Heather Burns: It was great. It was great. We rehearsed a lot so then we were back, I was back and forth a lot and so we had a lot of time to hang out in the area. I’ve also worked in Gloucester before. I’ve done a lot shoots up there, so I knew the area but yeah, there was a nice bar. We got to know a lot of the people that actually live in the area and kind of get the vibe of the place and so that was really, really nice.
I was also very impressed by Lucas. Can you speak a little bit about that?
Heather Burns: Oh, it’s incredible. He’s wonderful. It’s funny, I’ve known his father for years, so I remember when he was born and it’s mind blowing to see him and deliver this performance. He’s wonderful. He’s wonderful in it.
What’s next that you’d like to share?
Heather Burns: Well, I had a baby. I did a film last summer called Brave New Jersey about the War of the Worlds. It’s going to be at the Austin Film Festival. Then I just finished shooting a pilot with my husband which never works out but it did in Vancouver. It’s a Jonathan Ames pilot called World’s End.
Tell me why you decided to get involved as a producer?
Kimberly Steward: Well Kenny Lonergan is writing. It’s Casey Affleck because he’s such an amazing new talent and you just knew that he was going to be able to write and play this role and really wow people. To see that team come together on a movie that I felt could help people and heal people, it was just the right fit.
Speak about collaborating with Kenneth and how that process was like.
Kimberly Steward: Awesome. Kenny is a master at his own craft so I was really grateful to learn from somebody that people look up to and admire.
The ensemble is also very strong. Michelle Williams, powerful performance and everyone is just so impressive. Tell me about watching that come to life.
Kimberly Steward: Kenny has that magic about him. You know he draws actors, I think coming from the theater world. People have really have all the talent, between Michelle and them they were so excited to work with him. It was like a dream come true for them too so it was great.
Also the location is such an important character in the film. Can you speak about that. It’s obviously very stunning as well.
Kimberly Steward: It was really important for Kenny to capture Manchester in a certain way and really show a small fishing town but show the beauty of it. It kind of really adds an extra layer to the dichotomy between the sadness and the excitement and the laughter throughout the whole film.
What’s coming up next for you?
Kimberly Steward: We’ve got several projects coming that we’re working on.
Tell me a little bit about why you decided to form your own production company and what that process was like.
Kimberly Steward: It came from starting on the fashion side of the world. I used to be a set designer before then I worked at W Magazine and Women’s Wear daily so creating anything has always been a part of my world and then once things started changing from the still photography side to more moving images, I just got hooked. I worked on the fashion team at Women’s Wear Daily and at W Magazine I worked for the marketing team. Co-sponsor events for the magazine and designers.
Speak about collaborating with Kenneth and what you admire about him as a filmmaker.
Tate Donovan: Well, I’ve done a lot of theater with him and he’s just one of the greatest writers alive. I would do anything for the guy.
Speak about shooting on location.
Tate Donovan: Yeah. It was kind of dreary, but yeah it was beautiful. I was only up there for a couple of days and mostly in a hockey rink. It wasn’t really one of those films that you go for the location, for me, but it was a lot of fun.
