CraveOnline: J.K. Rowling is writing this one, right?
David Heyman: Mm-hmm.
What’s that like? You said she was very hands off because it was a different process before. Is the process different now that she’s writing the script?
No. I mean yeah, she’s… no, not really. Just as on Potter films you go to Jo [for] “What’s the seventh use of dragon’s blood?” Or “What’s the third?” or “What are the names for this and that? You’ve only got ten, we need a hundred.” She’d have it. So too on this. Whatever you read is just the beginning of her knowledge of it. She has so much greater knowledge than you could imagine.
So it’s the early days so I don’t know how that’s going to continue through the process, but her role in this – she’s a producer, but she was on the last Potters – is as a writer, and a creator. She knows that David Yates is going to be directing the film and she’s respectful of that, and supportive of him and myself and the producing team. It’s early though.
I’m not fishing, I’m just interested.
Yeah, no, I’m interested too!
“Whatever you read is just the beginning of [J.K. Rowling’s] knowledge of it.”
Because I guess in the books you would adapt things, but now that it’s in the script can you change it? After all, J.K. Rowling wrote that…
But even within the books there were more changes. Steve Kloves adapted those much more than people realized…
He adapted the hell of out them.
And I don’t know if he gets nearly enough credit for the job that he did, because it’s Jo Rowling, so it’s almost as though he’s a cipher. But he’s so much more. To capture the spirit, one. Two, make the changes so there’s a cohesion, a cinematic cohesion within a two and a half hour story. When you’re taking material that is so beloved, and that people have issues and agendas about every single piece of it, to actually be as decisive and create something as complete as he did… I mean, he is… We were very lucky.
Let’s go back to Paddington.
Go on.
Please.
[Laughs.]
I don’t know his origin in the books. We see the origin of Paddington, the foundation of Paddington, I know there was a first Paddington book…
So the Peru bit was invented. We know he came from Peru but it was never really written about. We knew there was an Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo but that narrative – the earthquake, the house – was something we invented. Paul invented it. Coming to London, all that, meeting him at the train station, that’s as in the books though I’m not sure that Jonathan is there at that point. I’m not sure.
A scene we’d cut was the scene in the tea room. That wasn’t in the script but Michael [Bond] read this and that was one of his favorite things, he felt it was important. So Paul wrote it and it’s one of my favorite scenes, the scene with Hugh [Bonneville] and Paddington speaking bear…
That was really cute.
That’s there. Mr. Gruber, Mr. Curry, those are characters from the books. Nicole [Kidman] is not, nor is the cab driver nor is the thief or anything like that. Nor flying behind the bus, that’s not.
CraveOnline: One of the things that struck me the most about it is the attitude towards bears.
David Heyman: That nobody comments that there’s a bear.
That a bear is, at worst, a frowned upon social class. “There’s a bear there, he probably wants money…”
How we thought of it was, you know those… I know you have them, not here so much, you have them in England and I know you have them in New York, but the Peruvian musicians who sit in the subway.
Oh yeah.
That’s what it’s like. That’s how we view Paddington. Paddington is a bear, but he’s really an immigrant. He’s somebody coming from another country who may have the odd bit of jewelry that you go, “Oh, that’s a bit weird,” or maybe there’s colorful hats. It’s not like us but it’s not like he’s a… [thinks] bear.
“People from other countries come here. We should be respectful and kind and helpful to them.”
It’s not like, “Run! Bear!” It’s like, “Oh, another bear.”
Again, it’s a metaphor really for 1950s England but it’s relevant today. The whole mess is, I think in these times, in this country and in the U.K. and France, particularly today, the world over, that message of kindness to strangers. Of “don’t be scared of the other,” is… It’s funny. Somebody asked me a question today. We were talking about books, and he asked me, because Paddington is a traveler and the Brown family takes him in, they asked, “What’s the kindest thing anyone’s done for you on your travels?”
Aw…!
And it got me thinking. Part of my image of a country is really the people you meet, and so too in this country and in England, we represent our country. People from other countries come here. We should be respectful and kind and helpful to them. That’s what the Brown family are. And it’s not just foreigners. It’s people who are other. We all are other. You’re an outsider, I’m an outsider, however “in” we may be or not. We all feel alone and outside at some point.
Most of the time.
Most of the time. We do! You’re not unique. I’m not unique. We all feel that. To me, that’s why Paddington has a place. He is us, and in some way he’s looking to belong. Actually, one of the things I love about the film is it’s a celebration. One of the lessons he learns is to be himself. “I’m a bear. I’m a bear called Paddington.” So he’s got a home, and he’s not trying to fit in by… He’s trying fit in but he discovers actually…
It’s not a Pinocchio thing.
“I’ve got to be me.”
It’s really sweet.
That’s ultimately the journey that I think is relevant and timeless.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
