Baltasar Kormákur returns to the director's chair this week with his new film Everest, which is based on the real-life disaster that happened on the mountain back in 1996.
Baltasar Kormákur
Everest has already screened at the Venice Film Festival, is being tipped as a possible Oscar contender, and is set to be one of the unmissable movies this September.
We caught up with the filmmaker to chat about the film, what drew him to the project, and the challenges of shooting on Everest itself.
- We are now just a week away from Everest hitting the big screen here in the UK, so can you tell me a bit about the film?
Everest is based on the 1996 tragedy that the whole world was wrapped in the moment that it happened. Since then, there have been many books and articles written about it, but this will be the first feature film created out of this story. It is about an ill-fated expedition on Everest at the commercialisation of the mountain. The film follows two different teams; Rob Hall's The Adventure Consultants and also Scott Fischer's Mountain Madness. It tells the story about those people, who things started to go wrong... I am going to stop there (laughs).
- Everest marks your return to the director's chair, so where did this project start for you? What was the appeal of William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy's script?
When I read the script, I remembered the story as I had just had a daughter when I heard this story and the story of Rob Hall being stuck on a mountain with his wife Jan - played by Keira Knightley - being pregnant at home. Of course, I started immersing myself into the story more and more. What I loved about it is the fact that it is a really dramatic story that doesn't need any Hollywood conventional dramatisation with a hero and a villain.
It is a very powerful human story that's not overly complicated; there's just a lot of people in it, a lot of elements and had a lot of details, which I was really driven by. To be able to do a real story like that, having the opportunity of shooting it on the biggest mountain in the world, and the challenge of how you get around that and give the audience a piece of that mountain was a real draw for me.
- The movie does shoot on the mountain how important was if for you as a director to take your actors to this location? And what kind of prep did you do for this part of the shoot?
First of all, all of the actors who could had to train for the movie; Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, and Martin Henderson went on expeditions. Some of them had less time because they were working on other movies and we had to train them when they had the time. We didn't put anyone on the mountain without some kind of training. Some of them trained for months, which was very important.
Part of what I wanted to do was to create the most authentic version that possibly could, therefore, it was mandatory that I take them to these places and as high as the insurance company would allow me. We started in Kathmandu and then we went up to Lukla, the most dangerous airport in the world, from there, we had to walk and so we had A-list movie stars having to carry their own luggage because no vehicles are allowed up there. Somethings could be dropped off with helicopters, but mostly, we had to walk with our equipment and our luggage for the next week and, at high altitude, that really does hit you in the back of your head.
We went up to 16,000ft and slept in unheated lodges - you wouldn't get out of bed in the middle of the night because it was too cold. When we got up to 16,000ft, people started getting really sick and that was the highest that any insurance company would allow us to go. We had to evacuate people out of there really fast with helicopters while we were trying to finish off the shoot.
- How was your experience of filming on the mountain? What kind of challenges did it pose for you as a filmmaker?
Everything was a challenge, let's put it that way. This is not the bread and butter of Hollywood, this is a big and expensive movie to make but it doesn't have the traditional villains and heroes; it just has real people and real drama. That makes it very complicated and the financing fell apart a couple of times. However, Tim Bevan from Working Title just wouldn't give up and, to his credit, he managed to pull it together.
After we filming at the base of Everest, we went to the Dolomite mountains to shoot in the elements and we were shooting in -30 degrees for six weeks and twelve hours a day; that took a lot out of the actors. To finish it off, we had to go the studio at Pinewood and that was also very complicated. Then we had the job of matching it all together. I wouldn't be able to say what was the hardest thing as it was... but hardship is not a problem if you have passion for what you are doing.
You never wake up and say, 'oh god, it's going to be so difficult,' you just think about the next challenge that is ahead of you. I suppose that it is like walking up a mountain or eating an elephant, you have to do it one step or one bite at a time and you will get there eventually (laughs).
- You have brought together a wonderful cast with the likes of Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, and Jake Gyllenhaal just some of the names on board . Can you talk a little about bringing this great ensemble together?
I think most of them were drawn to the same things that I was and they were drawn to how I wanted to make the film; I wanted to make it really authentic, take them to these places, and take them through it. Actors are constantly offered roles that don't have much to do with reality and so playing a real-life person in a real drama is exciting for them because it is touching the truth in a way.
They also deal with their own issues and their own fears through a story like that. Luckily, we managed to get all of these fantastic actors; some of them are appearing in very small roles. It is great the someone of great quality wants to be in a small part because there are no small parts, there are only small actors. I know that is a cliché, but it is true. Keira Knightley delivers a wonderful performance in the movie; it is not a huge role but it is really pivotal. You really do want the best people that you can get in any role.
- What impact do you think shooting on the mountain had on the actors?
I think, they were able to draw their performances from nature and from reality made them much more real. A happy actor isn't really an interesting actor but an actor who is really struggling and fighting becomes more real and interesting. That is what excites me, I don't expect actors to entertain me or be nice, I just want them to do a great job.
- David Breashead is also aboard the project how vital was he - not only he is an experienced climber, but he was also on the mountain the day of the disaster back in 1996.
It was great to be able to have support like that, both from technical skills to knowing the story. It was fantastic support. We also had Guy Cotter, who is played by Sam Worthington, who was also a technical advisor as well. We surrounded ourselves with the best people available because I am not a technical professional climber and so I needed that support.
- The film opened the Venice Film Festival last week and there's only a week to go until the movie opens here, how have you been finding the early response to the film?
It has been really exciting as a lot of people really understand the reality and the authenticity that I was trying to achieve with the film. Of course, there will be people who will want more explanations and epiphany. Most of it has been really really positive but there is always the other side (laughs).
- Finally, what's next for you going through the rest of this year?
I am going to take a couple of day off when I am done (laughs). Then there are some big projects that I have in the pipeline. I also run the biggest production company in Iceland and I have used by luck around the world to strengthen the Icelandic industry and produce the movie that just won the Tribeca Film Festival last year.
I have also got an Icelandic television series that will play on the BBC; it will be the first time that an Icelandic language television series has played there. I am trying to keep those two things in the air; trying to keep doing the bigger movies that have been offered but try and make them more interesting and also I support my own industry and be a vital player in that industry.
Everest is released 18th September.
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