Tom Cruise and Alejandro Iñárritu. These are two legendary names that embody the spirit of pure cinema. For over two decades, Iñárritu’s work has captivated audiences, becoming only the third filmmaker in history to win back to back Best Director Academy Awards for Birdman and The Revenant, while Cruise remains one of the most consistently beloved and popular movie stars on the planet. Until now, the two have never done a film together. However, all that is about to change this October, when their insane-looking satirical comedy, Digger, hits theaters!
Recently, The Nerds of Color had the honor of attending a very special event at the Warner Bros. lot, where the studio unveiled the full trailer for Iñárritu’s long awaited English follow-up to The Revenant. However, in addition to the premiere of the trailer, we, along with other members of the press, had the distinct pleasure of being introduced to Cruise, who took the time to discuss the film in detail. While Iñárritu was unable to attend in person (given his work currently editing the film), he did provide a special introduction for it.
Digger has been a film Iñárritu has been planning for 10 years. His last film, The Revenant, earned three Oscars, including a long awaited Best Actor trophy for star Leonardo DiCaprio. As such, following up an act like that could be incredibly intimidating for anyone. However, the world-renowned Mexican director approached the film, not with trepidation, but with the intent of creating the perfect character in Digger Rockwell, and finding the perfect actor for the role.
“It was just after The Revenant, when I had an idea, not script, not a film, just a relentless recurring obsession, that has endured through all these wild years,” Iñárritu began. “I knew who this character was. I knew how he spoke, how he survived, how he seduced reality into agreeing with him. But it took me 10 years to do this film, because I wasn’t looking for a story. I was looking for the right way of saying it. And it’s absurd, it’s dangerous, but certainly comedic, because the source of great comedy is tragedy.”
“People often ask me why I chose Tom to play Digger,” the director continued. “To me, that’s like asking somebody why you drink water when you are thirsty? Because it’s what you need. The film needed Tom. We wanted to work together since the beginning of the century. I admired him as an actor for years, and that wasn’t a surprise for me. The surprise was discovering that the human being behind the actor was just as extraordinary as the performances I will see throughout his career.”
Following Iñárritu’s captivating introduction, we were then shown the trailer for the epic disaster comedy, which you can view yourself here:
As you can see, Iñárritu is approaching this film with a biting wit and wink that evokes the best of Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. The movie appears to most definitely be a comedy of errors, poking fun at the crassness of American greed and selfishness, and the lack of accountability from those with wealth and power when egregious, catastrophic mistakes are made. Even more shocking, however, is Cruise’s transformation, both physically and theatrically. The impressive appearance and makeup of his decrepit octogenarian character is only rivaled by his spirited delivery and vocal transformation, truly serving as something we’ve never seen from him as an actor, even after such an iconic career spanning over 40 years.
Thus, it was with the deepest and most immense sense of excitement and awe that we listened to Cruise discuss how he became the character of Digger Rockwell, and his experience working with Iñárritu.
Cruise, a fan of Iñárritu’s since 2000’s Amores Perros, had wanted to work with the auteur for a long time. Unfortunately for both of them (but fortunately for Digger) their schedules just never aligned. “When I saw his film 25 years ago, Amores Perros — what a brilliant film — it was amazing! I was one of the first audiences, and I heard about it early on. So when I saw that film… I was like, ‘What the fuck? This guy!’… I’m seeing the details of this filmmaker, what he conquered very early on here, and I’m going, ‘how?’ The staging. Chivo [cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki], and what they’re doing with the camera, the performances, the design, the color in the movie. Every aspect of that film was very thought out, very detailed, and you could feel the powerful human voice of someone who was incredibly skilled at what they were doing. So I called all my friends… and I was like, ‘Call the studios. You got to see this movie. Who’s this guy, Alejandro?’ I’d never heard of him before. And he and I didn’t meet for many, many years. Then years later he came to me, and we talked… And he’s just a beautiful human being and a very gifted artist. Everything that he’s doing, it’s a discovery, and it’s surprising. He came to me with this project, Digger… seven years ago… as he was developing and working on it. And then we just worked on it together. I think when you see Digger, just the level of detail, the skill, the layers of making this film… He’s never made something like this before, nor have I.”
Clearly excited about the work he collaborated with Iñárritu on, Cruise went into further detail regarding the craftsmanship of the movie. Every word uttered was delivered with a genuine passion and respect for the craft of storytelling and filmmaking. “The layers of filmmaking that are going on in this movie, just from the design of the film, to the performance of the film, to the development of the character and all the cast; They’re exceptional. It is discovering what is in the frame, what is the set, what is the humor, and what’s igniting.”
He continued discussing how he came to begin learning more about film and where it got him today. “On Taps, I’m there with [Director of Photography] Owen Roizman and he’s talking about lenses. He’s got to be thinking, ‘Yeah, this kid’s just asking me gazillion questions.’ And he’s telling me all these technical things and I was just trying to absorb what he was saying… They understood the camera, they understood framing, they understood the stage and how to utilize that stage to create an effect. Later on I realized it wasn’t just Owen Roizman and the knowledge that he had at that particular moment, but everyone that he learned from previously when he was the young guy loading the cameras. Being there with the great masters and not so great masters. You learn from both… eventually, you absorb it and it just makes sense as time goes on. Chivo and Alejandro, knew each other since they made commercials together. I don’t know what the water was like when those guys were growing up… They’re remarkable! I’m so grateful. It’s kind of amazing to be here at this age. I think back to that kid on the set looking into different departments, and those people that were gracious enough to be able to share that knowledge, and I was like, ‘I know I don’t understand it now. One day I will understand it more,’ and I did. I feel fortunate. To be there off camera and see Paul Newman acting as Scorsese is directing him. I recognize how fortunate I was, just absorbing it.”
Cruise then discussed the comedy of Digger and what it meant to him as a satire akin to Dr. Strangelove. “There’s not one rhythm or comedy-fits-all, as we know. If you look at the difference between a Risky Business to a Jerry McGuire to a [Tropic Thunder], or Edge of Tomorrow, each has its own musicality. It has its own vision. If you start to feel the musicality of the character, it has a rhythm, and it’s not a rhythm like anything else. So the behavior of a character, the movement of a character, these are things that as we’re looking at the makeup side, as you’re developing, you got to go, ‘Is this our tone? Is it drama? Is it comedy? Is it too much?’ You’re dialing it in. Alejandro understands the music, and that’s the universal language that we’re all finding. I think further, ‘How do I prepare so that we have time to discover that rhythm?’ Everything that I’m doing in terms of training or language or dance, I’m going, ‘How do I prepare for these moments?’ So I’m thinking about having that ability to be able to play a character like this. Alejandro took several days during which he was just reading the script to me and I’m listening to everything that’s in his mind, so that I can understand that, then know how to contribute to it, and bring that collaboration together. And to be there with Alejandro, it was beautiful.”
One thing is for sure: Digger Rockwell is really like no other character Cruise has ever performed before. The character is almost a parody of the stereotypical corporate magnate who is quite the spirited, yet dubious and despicable comedic anti-hero. It was a character that Cruise felt took all of his experience as an actor to craft from scratch. “There’s nothing better than to physically and metaphorically stand on the edge of a cliff and go, ‘Let’s do this,’ stated Cruise. “And ‘I trust you and whatever we’re going to do, I know this is going to be a hell of an experience and let’s come together and let’s do it. Let’s all do it!’ I have never had something that could challenge me in this way and neither has Alejandro when we went in, ever. And when you see this film, it’s totally original. The director sets the frame and the lenses and the lighting… When we’re looking for characters, we’re looking for humor, drama, certain constructs. How do we communicate this? Whether it’s Les Grossman or Interview With the Vampire, Collateral or Risky Business, I’m always asking, ‘How do I communicate this?’ The physicality, the makeup, that is stuff that you find as you are learning how to communicate. But you really have to understand the tools. It’s not one size fits all. You have to find the communication, the lenses, the color of the makeup. The level of detail of making a film like this is… the color of the cowboy boots. What are my shorts like? The sets, the color of the sets. They’re beautiful on every single level, and it’s all very… You look at the taste of this man [Iñárritu ]. It’s very special.”
Digger, as with anything Iñárritu does, is a film that was tailor made for the theatrical experience. So much so that the director shot the film in VistaVision — a 35mm film format invented in the ’50s, in which a film captures images twice the standard size because it’s ran through the camera horizontally rather than vertically. Cruise, a film connoisseur by nature, admired the initiative to film Digger in VistaVision, and spoke about its power as a cinematic release. “Well, first of all, I’m the audience. I love movies,” he stated. “I love all kinds of movies. I love going to opening weekend. I like being there with an audience. I want people to be immersed in the movie. So, whatever it takes to tell that story — and it takes all of us. Making movies is a beautiful thing because it’s all of us together. Really, it is very special. Looking at VistaVision, it’s not just shooting on VistaVision. It’s the development of the handmade lenses that we were able to make. It was wild seeing the VistaVision, but also the lenses that they created to get this handcrafted look. You can see and feel the difference. Just loading a camera in VistaVision — the sound of that film going through — I was like, ‘Just everyone quiet for a second. Let’s just hear it going through.’ It’s a beautiful thing. I love it.”
And love it he truly does. Cruise concluded by reaffirming his love of the cinematic art form, as well as speaking on his gratitude to have contributed to it so significantly during the course of his career. “Everyone has a different point of view of life, their own experience, and it’s a lifelong journey of learning,” he began. “I’ve never felt like, ‘I’m there. I’m there.’ You’re never there. It’s always the next dream. The love of this art form and the passion, it’s all encompassing… Everyone has the things they like and their own taste, and what works and what doesn’t work. I tell people, learn these skills and go off and communicate your own stories. You don’t have to do it like I do. Do your thing.”
It was an important message for everyone in attendance to hear, if not for the simple fact that no one could possibly do it like Cruise does! If you need reaffirmation of this, try hanging off the side of an airplane, scaling The Burj Khalifa, or doing a HALO jump on film. The actor has earned every right to be considered legendary at this point in his career. However, one thing is absolutely certain; no matter what, nothing will ever slow Tom Cruise down!
Cruise and Iñárritu’s upcoming satire, Digger, opens everywhere October 2!
Stay tuned to The Nerds of Color for more coverage on Digger to come!
