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Your new movie Jacob
the Baker - in a few words, what is it about?
Jacob
the Baker tells the story of a young reporter who is assigned to interview
Noah benShea [Noah benShea
interview - click here], the author of the bestselling book series Jacob the
Baker. During her interview she discovers the incredible story of how Jacob, a
fictional character, is providing help to people around the world.
How did the project fall together in the first place, and
how did you get involved with it?
In May of 2020 I received a phone call from a dear friend of mine, Wendy
Kout, who is a very accomplished screenwriter and playwright. She had just
watched a project I directed for the United Nations, and told me that I
should speak to her friend Noah who is the author of a bestselling book
series, and is looking to turn his books into a film. After an initial
phone call Noah and I decided to meet. During our meeting, he told me that
after the books were published he began receiving letters from people from
around the world, who were inspired by Jacob and wanted to reach out to
him with their own struggles. Of course, they couldn’t write to a
fictional character, so they sent their letters to Noah, who replied to
them as Jacob, and has done so for many years since. I thought that story
was what needed to be made into a film.
You and Wendy Kout
wrote Jacob the
Baker together with the very subject of your movie, Noah benShea -
so what was the writing process actually like, and other than Noah and his
stories, what were your sources of inspiration when writing Jacob
the Baker? Just
a few months before I got involved, Noah had a stage performance as Jacob
the Baker that was filmed to potentially become a TV special. That 90
minute stage show was the foundation of our story, and it is in fact what
you see on the screen when Noah is on stage, for the most part. Other than
that, Noah had given us access to years of his wisdom through his books,
quotes, and unpublished writings. From there we created the international
storylines, inspired by letters that Noah had received. We decided to
create one main storyline that would involve a reporter who would be
taking the same journey as the audience, and will be guiding them through
the film. What can you tell us about your
directorial approach to your story at hand? From
the beginning it was pretty clear to me that this is not a traditional
film. The way we treated it was very different, and I knew that I’d need
to think of how to get this done in a way that won’t be in the way of
the story. I didn’t want to make a spectacle out of it, although it was
tempting to go in that route with the international scope of the film,
but I felt that this could take away from the story we’re trying to
tell. Then the focus became on trying to make something that could feel
real and authentic inside of a narrative world. This was the direction I
gave to all our department heads and teams, to think of this as something
that could feel somewhat of a documentary, and rather than try to perfect
every shot, let things unfold, and capture things as they happened in the
moment. The same was true to working with our cast, and giving them the
freedom to explore and sometimes just improv if the moment feels right.
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As Noah benShea plays himself in Jacob
the Baker, what was directing him like? As
he says in the film, Noah isn’t acting, he’s not reading his lines, he
lives in the moment and he is Jacob in many ways. On our first day on set
with Noah, it became clear that “another take” isn’t something that
Noah can do. He would always go off script (in the best way possible), and
that made it almost impossible to get two identical takes with him. So a
decision was made to always have at least two cameras on him so that
we’ll have multiple angles. More than it was a challenge for me to
direct him, it was a challenge for the actors who were on camera with him
to keep up with his improv, and be able to react differently in every
take. I think that working like that helped us make something that felt
honest and real, because in many ways it was. Dara Emery, who plays the
reporter, is a fantastic actress and was able to keep up with Noah as he
went off script. She really listened to him, and her reactions were
genuine. It’s not easy for actors to play opposite non-actors and be in
the moment, but I think both Dara and Kenny Johnston who plays the driver
really pulled it off. What can
you tell us about the rest of Jacob
the Baker's cast, and why exactly these people? We
knew from the beginning that we wanted a variety of people who represent
different cultures and are a true international cast. When we decided
where we’d shoot the different storylines, we began casting in those
countries, and found our actors. I think that each of them brought
something very unique to the film, and in their own way made Jacob
the Baker an international experience that lets the viewer take in the
different cultures, languages, and at the same time, feels very universal
and close to home. Do
talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere! Since
we shot most of the film in the beginning of 2021 at the height of the
pandemic, it was a very challenging shoot. For all the international
storylines we had local crews on the ground, and I directed remotely.
Summer Yang, our producer who worked alongside
Noah, was instrumental in making this work. Together with our
cinematographer Omer Lotan, I watched dailies, gave notes, and that’s
how we accomplished the international shoots. We had great teams that we
trusted with our vision, and through a lot of preparation we were able to
get what we needed. We decided to shoot the international stories first,
and only once we had these done, shoot the main storyline in LA. That way
if we needed to make any adjustments to the script to make the storylines
work, we were able to do so. For the main unit shoot in LA, we also had to
make adjustments to work around the pandemic guidelines and make sure we
keep everyone safe. So we had smaller crews, but in a way, it also felt
more intimate, and that I think contributed also to the overall dynamic on
set, and I think it shows in the film.
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Anything you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Jacob
the Baker? I
really didn’t know what to expect in that regard. In the initial
screenings we had, people were really emotional, but I had no idea if that
would translate to the general audience or the critics. It is a different
film in many ways, and with anything that’s different you can always
expect that some people will like it and some people won’t. But after
the film came out, I’ve seen overwhelming love and support for the film
from both the audience and critics, and that’s both unexpected and great! Any future projects you'd like to
share? I’m
currently developing a number of projects, all very different from Jacob
the Baker. To be honest, if you’d asked me years ago what my first
feature film would be like, I’d never say it would be anything like Jacob
the Baker. But as we all know that some of the best things in life
are the most unexpected things, and in that regard Jacob
the Baker was such a nice
surprise. My next project would probably be something much different, and
I’m excited to see which one it would be. What got you into filmmaking in the first place,
and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
I walked onto a film set when I was five or six years old, and that was it.
I came home and announced that I want to be a filmmaker. Of course, it
took a lot of work and years of getting there, but I never stopped since
that day. I got formal training in the high school I went to which was
focused on arts and sciences, and I had fantastic teachers along the way.
But the real training for me was working in the industry and being on set, learning as I go. I also had some great mentors along the way who helped
me so much, and supported me throughout the journey.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Jacob
the Baker? I
started my career in commercials, and after a while decided to get into
other things and learn as much as I could. So I expanded my world and did
everything from shorts to documentaries, music videos, and even virtual
reality for a while. Jacob
the Baker is my first narrative feature and in
so many ways a culmination of everything I had done so far. A lot of the
documentary experience I had came in handy, and the teams I had worked
with previously on other projects came on board and helped us on Jacob
the Baker.
How would you describe yourself as a
director? To
me, films are the best art form there is, and I use this medium to bring
my ideas and stories to life. I think that being a director requires
knowledge of all aspects of filmmaking, so I did almost every job to have
an understanding of what it takes to get something done. I see myself in
many ways as a conductor, who conducts the orchestra that is the team
I’m working with in front and behind the camera. I plan a lot, but I’m
always ready to go on set and change my plans because I find something
that works better. For me, once I know where I want the story to go,
I’ll find a way to get there, even if it’s not what I initially
planned for. Filmmakers who inspire you? Many,
and for different reasons, and they also change. But consistently I’ve
been really inspired by the films of Alfred Hitchcok, Steven Spielberg,
Christopher Nolan, and David Fincher. Your
favourite movies? Too many to count, and I have a few from each decade that I feel represent a
different era in cinema. I will say I’m very attracted to films that
make you think a lot, that in some way break the conventions, bring
something new. I also love films that use all the tools in the toolbox to
tell a story, and are examples of the art of filmmaking from great
cinematography to production design, editing, music. But of course they
all start with a great script. The ones that I feel that I go back to a
lot when thinking of my own work are: Inception, Fight Club, and
Vertigo. I know, very different from Jacob
the Baker. ... and of course, films you really
deplore?
I think all films have something to offer, I try not to hate movies. Also
because I know how much work it took to get them made, and that someone
really poured their heart into them. Your/your movie's website, social media,
whatever else?
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jacobthebaker.com,
gevmiron.com, @jacobthebaker1,
@gevmiron Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask? I
want to add that without our fantastic teams here in LA and around the
world none of this would’ve been possible. As a director, I always feel
that I have the responsibility to remind people how many people work very
hard to get a film made, and that especially with independent films, a lot
of them do it really because they love it, and they don’t get a big
paycheck. So I really want to thank all of them for making this film
possible, and especially Sharon Farber who I haven’t had a chance to
mention, but wrote the incredible score for our film and co-wrote the
theme song with Noah. I also know that some people who might be reading
this want to become filmmakers themselves, so I just want to say to them:
Just do it! Don’t give up, and don’t stop! It’s a hard and sometimes
long journey, but if this is really what you want to do, just do it! Thanks for the
interview!
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amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
