'Matilda', 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', and now the BFG. Roald Dahl's classic children's novel The BFG is coming to the silver screen, and it's being directed by none other than Steven Spielberg. At the premiere, he talks about his return to making films through the eyes of children, while British actors, including the film's lead Mark Rylance, shared his thoughts about the "Brexit" referendum. And from what we know now, they won't be too happy about it.
After its debut in Cannes, it was Los Angeles' turn to premiere "The BFG" - Steven Spielberg adaptation of the classic novel by British children's author, Roald Dahl.
The story follows a young girl named Sophie, played by Ruby Barnhill, who comes across a giant played by Mark Rylance. However, he turns out to be a Big Friendly Giant (BFG) and unlike his peers, doesn't eat children.
Dahl has written some of the world's most-loved classic children's books, including "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "The Witches" and "Matilda".
For actress Rebecca Hall, the combination of Dahl's work with the direction of Spielberg, who worked on such films as "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" and the "Indiana Jones" franchise - the BFG was a dream come true.
The BFG |
"Steven Spielberg can make these films that access all of our memories of childhood and our capacity to believe and imagine things because he is so close and has so much ability to access that side of himself, and he is able to speak to children and communicate with them and make films about children which really speak to us and bring out the child in all of us. And I think Roald Dahl did that in a different way, in that he never patronized children and treated them as adults. And there's something about the two of those imaginations that's so brilliant really," said actor Rebecca Hall.
Although many of Spielberg's films have been family friendly films, he's also directed historical and action movies such as "Amistad", "Saving Private Ryan" and "Lincoln".
"I haven't really swum in this wading pool in a long time, and it was really nice to be able to let my imagination roam free without being kind of fettered by the precepts of history and all the truths you need to tell when you do a historical subject. So all of us felt free and very happy to be returning to our childhoods to tell this story," said Steven Spielberg.
As the film is set in the UK, it features a strong British cast, including Penelope Wilton of "Downton Abbey", Rafe Spall from "The Big Short", and Academy Award-winning actor Mark Rylance, who plays the BFG.
The actors also weighed in on the upcoming referendum about whether the United Kingdom should leave the European Union - and the consensus was that they want Britain to stay.