Director Edward Zwick Talks ‘Pawn Sacrifice’, ‘Jack Reacher 2’, and 'Glory'

• published: 09 Sep 2015
• views: 262

Opening next week in theaters is writer Steven Knight and director Ed Zwick‘s great new movie Pawn Sacrifice. Tobey Maguire stars as the gifted, yet troubled chess- prodigy Bobby Fischer who takes part in “The Match of the Century,” the 1972 World Chess Championship match between Fisher and the USSR champ, Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber). While it’s hard to believe it now, the ’72 match was the biggest story of the year and it was watched by millions of people and it captured the imagination of the world. Pawn Sacrifice also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg, Lily Rabe, and Robin Weigert. For more watch the featurette or trailer. At the Los Angeles press day I sat down with director Edward Zwick for an extended video interview. He talked about why he wanted to make the film, his first cut compared to the finished film, Maguire’s involvement in post-production, his one or two projects that are “the ones that got away”, an alternate cut of Glory (which removed the first two reels of the film), Jack Reacher 2, and so much more. Here’s what he had to say: Edward Zwick Time Index: • :13 – How did he get involved with the project? • 1:15 – On how huge the real-life chess match was. • 2:10 – How long was his first cut compared to the final cut? • 2:45 – Talks about an alternate cut of Glory which, after watching the assembly cut, he decided to cut the first two reels of backstory for the character. • 4:46 – What did he learn from friends and family screenings that informed the final cut of Pawn Sacrifice? • 6:13 – Talks about Maguire’s involvement in post-production. • 6:50 – What are one or two projects that are “the ones that got away?” Talks about almost doing In the Heart of the Sea and turning down Forrest Gump. • 8:00 – Deleted scenes in previous movies. Says his director’s cuts are all the theatrical cuts. • 9:04 – His thoughts on storyboarding versus improvisation. • 10:21 – Jack Reacher 2 talk. • 11:20 – How did the Jack Reacher sequel come to be? Talks about the film’s success in ancillary areas. • 12:40 – Tom Cruise’s stunts in the sequel. • 13:45 – Why are they shooting in New Orleans? • 14:52 – Talks about shooting Jack Reacher 2 in film. For More Collider: http://collider.com/ https://www.facebook.com/colliderdotcom