Five Favorite Films with Moonrise Kingdom's Jared Gilman
Plus, the young star of Wes Anderson's new film talks about working with the director, getting into acting, and his favorite moment with Bill Murray.
It's been quite the few weeks for Jared Gilman. Just 13 years old, the star of Wes Anderson's latest Moonrise Kingdom has recently returned from Cannes, where the movie opened the festival to great acclaim, and now finds himself on a press tour as the film is breaking limited release box-office records and drawing some of the best reviews of the director's career.
The praise for Moonrise Kingdom is in no small part due to the performances -- both screen debuts -- of Gilman and his co-star Kara Hayward, who play Sam and Suzy, two smitten and rebellious 12-year-olds who make a break from their families and set out on an adventure both magical and bittersweet. Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton and Bruce Willis also star, alongside Anderson's signature style, of course, which has never been used to more precise emotional effect.
We sat down with Gilman recently for a chat about the film and working with Wes Anderson -- which sounds great and all, but what was even more impressive was that he learned how to tie his first tie from Bill Murray. Read on for more on that, but first, here are his five favorite films.
Moon
(Duncan Jones, 2009; 89% Tomatometer)
I just really loved Sam Rockwell's performance. I really liked the twist, and the overall story -- I didn't really get bored with it, concerning the plot. I really liked that.
Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011; 94% Tomatometer)
I really liked Drive because of the cinematography, and Ryan Gosling's performance. He was very quiet, and yet you kind of had an idea of what was going on through his head. That was all really great.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966; 97% Tomatometer)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly -- again, the tension that was built in some of the scenes was really great, how you didn't really need a lot of dialogue and stuff. I never really got bored of the movie, considering its length.
Have you seen For a Few Dollars More? That's my favorite of them.
I have not.
There's this great shootout choreographed to the chimes of a music box, it's fantastic.
Oh, I'll have to see that.
The Matrix
(Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, 1999; 87% Tomatometer)
The Matrix, 'cause it's just like a real -- it's a great action movie.
Kick-Ass
(Matthew Vaughn, 2010; 76% Tomatometer)
Kick-Ass, again, just a great movie that I had a lot of fun with when I watched it.
Were you allowed to watch Kick-Ass? That came out like three years ago.
[Laughs.] I didn't watch it when it immediately came out; I had to wait.
Next, we chat with Gilman about his debut performance in Moonrise Kingdom, working with Wes Anderson, and getting some essential life training from Bill Murray.
David Tanny
Holy shit. This kid is awesome.
Jun 1 - 08:05 PM
David Tanny
Any 12 year old with Moon and Drive on their list is a winner in my book.
Jun 1 - 08:06 PM
Leanne Boje
Completely agree! Moon is one of my favorites as well.
Jun 1 - 08:23 PM
Ben Albers
we could be movie buddies, me and this kid :D
Jun 3 - 03:06 PM