Jodie Foster is taking over the big screen again as her latest financial thriller, "Money Monster", hits theaters this weekend. Foster talked about how this film challenged her as a movie-maker while also sharing her experience working with George Clooney and co-star Julia Roberts.
“Money Monster” follows Lee Gates (Clooney) a financial TV show host who is taken hostage by a blue-collar man (Jack O’ Connell). Roberts’ character serves as the executive producer of Gates.
The timing of the movie could not have come at a better era where people are extensively involved with technology and this factor, according to Foster, can be heavily felt once moviegoers see the film.
While the premise sounds as if it is ripped from the headlines, Foster stresses that her take on the film is all fictitious. She notes that her approach on “Money Monster” comes from her thinking that people are now living at a time where entertainment get mixed up with the financial industry.
"That our life savings have suddenly become like a funny Italian TV show is really absurd," Foster told Freep. "But it's also America. That's who we are."
As a director, Foster said that the movie was an “experiment” to figure out how to utilize the crime and financial setting as a backdrop while also incorporating strong character dynamics and powerful dialogues. Once she passed the experimental phase, the screenplay which followed the conversations among three people challenged her further, she said.
"That's the world of technology," Foster told the publication. "You see the big and the small at the same time. Everything gets communicated".
Apart from the screenplay, the filming and postproduction were also a hurdle for Foster’s team since the movie demands a visual reality of a TV show being broadcasted live. The 53-year-old actress/director admitted that this film marked as the “most difficult movie” she’s ever made including her 1997 scifi film, “Contact."
Fosters said that the movie’s lead characters worked separately for the majority of the film. She said that Roberts and Clooney never shared a scene together except for the opening and closing moments of the movie.
The duo shot the film at different times where all scenes Roberts reacted to was either towards a green screen or to something they had already filmed days before which made the process even harder.
In other news, Fosters received her Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 4, Wednesday, E! News reported. Kristen Stewart, who played Foster’s daughter in “Panic Room”, was also at the ceremony to present the achievement award.
“Money Monster” hits theatres on May 13, Friday. Watch the official trailer below: