Toronto Film Festival 2019: “We loved the characters we had established there, and we wanted to expand the world”
“The Climb,” written by and starring Michael Covino and Kyle Marvin and directed by Covino, centers on Kyle and Mike, best friends who share a close bond — until Mike sleeps with Kyle’s fiancée. From there the film follows their tumultuous but enduring relationship over decades of laughter, heartbreak and rage.
Real-life best friends Covino and Marvin dropped by TheWrap’s studios at the Toronto Film Festival to discuss the inspiration for their film, and explained that “The Climb” is definitely not based a true story — despite some jokes to the contrary from Covino. Watch the video above.
“It’s autobiographical. The movie’s pretty much just a true story,” the director joked before clarifying “no it’s not, at all. I have never slept with Kyle’s wife.”
“I bet he finally admitted it, I’ve been wondering,” Marvin added.
But no, the film was actually inspired by its fictional characters. Covino and Marvin made a short film that played Sundance 2018, about two friends on a bike ride during which one learns the other slept with his fiancee. The betrayed friend tries to chase after his betrayer, but can’t catch him because he’s out of shape.
That short ended up being adapted for the first scene of “The Climb.” “What we sort of ended up realizing is that we loved the characters we had established there, and we wanted to expand the world,” Covino explained. “So we… came up with this crazy idea for the feature that would follow these characters over like 12 or 13 years, as we sort of move forward in time and they keep doing these things to each other. I keep destroying his life and he keeps forgiving me.”
“The Climb” premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where it won the Jury’s “Coup de Coeur” Award and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics.
The project was developed, financed and produced on a fast track by Topic Studios after acquiring the original short film of the same name at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Directed by Covino and written by Covino and Marvin, the film stars Covino, Marvin, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt, and Judith Godrèche.
10 Busiest Movie Actors of 2018, From Tessa Thompson to Michael B Jordan (Photos)
TheWrap takes a look at the film actors who had four or more credits to their name this year.
-
Michael B. Jordan
The actor is in serious awards contention for his role in “Black Panther,” but also most recently starred in “Creed II,” “Fahrenheit 451” and “Kin.”
Getty Images
-
Josh Brolin
We all know Josh Brolin played the villain in both “Deadpool 2” and “Avengers: Infinity War” (which is a feat in itself), but he also starred in “Sicario 2: Day of the Soldado” and “The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter.”
Getty Images
-
Tessa Thompson
Thompson seems to have been in every movie this year, and that’s for good reason: She starred in “Annihilation” alongside Natalie Portman, as well as “Sorry to Bother You,” “Little Woods,” “Furlough” and “Creed II.”
Getty Images
-
Patrick Wilson
Wilson is now just making the rounds as King Orm in James Wan’s “Aquaman,” but the actor also starred in “Insidious: The Last Key,” “The Commuter,” “The Nun,” “Nightmare Cinema” and he is currently filming an untitled “Annabelle” sequel.
Getty Images
-
Margot Robbie
While filming Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” the actress was seen in movies like “Peter Rabbit,” “Terminal,” “Slaughterhouse Rulez” and “Mary Queen of Scots” this year. 2019 looks crazy for the actress as well, who has “Birds of Prey” and the untitled Roger Ailes film coming up in addition to Tarantino’s.
Getty Images
-
Tiffany Haddish
Haddish was on our list of busiest actors last year already, and this year was no different. Apart from starring in the TV series “The Last O.G.,” she also starred in “The Oath,” “Night School,” “Nobody’s Fool” and “Uncle Drew.”
Getty Images
-
Joe Alwyn
While Alwyn might not have had the biggest parts in his movies, he deserves to be on this list because he starred in three awards contenders: “The Favourite,” “Mary Queen of Scots” and “Boy Erased,” as well as “Operation Finale.”
Getty Images
-
Sterling K. Brown
Of course, we all known Brown is a series regular on NBC’s “This Is Us,” but apart from that, he also starred in “Black Panther,” “Hotel Artemis,” “The Predator” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”
Getty Images
-
Michael Shannon
Shannon is always busy, and this year was no exception. He can add “12 Strong,” “What They Had,” “State Like Sleep,” “Waco,” “Fahrenheit 451,” “Room 104,” “Our Cartoon President” and “The Little Drummer Girl” to his credits, as well as several shorts.
TheWrap
-
Brian Tyree Henry
Brian Tyree Henry had one busy year. He starred in films like “Irreplaceable You,” “Family,” “Hotel Artemis,” “White Boy Rick,” “Widows,” “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” as well as TV shows “Atlanta,” “BoJack Horseman” and “Drunk History.”
Photo by Steven Gerlich for TheWrap
Tiffany Haddish, Sterling K. Brown and Margot Robbie also top the list of Hollywood’s hardest workers
TheWrap takes a look at the film actors who had four or more credits to their name this year.
Source: Read Full Article