Opening in theaters on September 10th is ‘The Uprising‘, which was directed by Paul Greengrass (‘Captain Phillips‘), and stars Andrew Garfield (‘The Social Network‘), Thomasin McKenzie (‘Last Night in Soho‘), Jamie Bell (‘Rocketman‘), Jonny Lee Miller (‘Trainspotting‘), and Katherine Waterston (‘Inherent Vice‘).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Andrew Garfield, Thomasin McKenzie, and director Paul Greengrass about their work on ‘The Uprising’, developing the screenplay, the themes, the characters, and shooting the battle sequences.
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Moviefone: To begin with, Paul, can you talk about the challenges of developing the screenplay and the themes that you wanted to explore as a filmmaker?
Paul Greengrass: I think it’s the story of a huge uprising that took place in England in 1381. When I sat down to write it, it just felt incredibly contemporary because it was a world divided between wealthy oligarchs who defended their privileges and the rest of the people who were enraged and locked out, and felt the system was rigged against them. That felt, to me, very like today, and very like tomorrow. So it was really a question of trying to make a film that was a big, huge, entertaining, epic, and a bit like ‘Gladiator‘ or ‘Braveheart‘. One of those kind of movies with spectacle and grand scale and battles and also intimate moments and a love story at the heart of it. I wanted to somehow create that and keep the contemporary feeling.
MF: Andrew, as an actor, how did you prepare for the massive battle sequences and what was it like collaborating with Paul on set to execute those scenes?
Andrew Garfield: Great fun. I loved doing those kinds of scenes. We had a really great stunt team from Budapest who were also fantastic, very inventive and creative, and it was rough and ready. It was chaotic by design so that was really fun too. There wasn’t a tremendous pressure to be expert or overtly precise and elegant. There was a kind of certain inelegance and spontaneity that the fight scenes had which was incredibly enjoyable. Then, there’s an evolution that happens throughout the story for the character that by the end he has a very different relationship to violence and to the use of violence. So, that was a really interesting thing to explore and create a physical language with as well and it was tiring. That was hard. The running was hard. I’m not a very good runner and I do a lot of sprinting to try and rescue people. Those were the days where I was most angry at Paul.
MF: Finally, Thomasin, can you talk about why your character decides to fight along side Andrew’s character, and what it was like working with Andrew on set?
Thomasin McKenzie: I think Alyce’s motivations were born out of absolute betrayal and rage and the need, I think, to get revenge, which I don’t know if that was a feeling that had motivated her for so long. So when it came to the end of the film and the uprising, the revolt was over, she was left in a bit of limbo. But the motivation was definitely a feeling of rage and deep hurt and grief and betrayal by those in power, by the church, and by the people who you’d hope would protect the land and the people.
What is the plot of ‘The Uprising’?
Andrew Garfield stars as the leader of a rebellion against the tyranny of Richard II of England. As war burns across England, he forms an army of the people to face the King’s might in a fight for justice and survival.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Uprising’?
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