I Wanted Them to Be Weird: Director John McPhail on Mixing Genres and Encouraging Actors in ‘Grow’ | Interviews

“Grow,” which debuts Oct. 17, is a charming story about a girl named Charlie (newcomer Priya-Rose Brookwell) with a gift for communicating with plants. She was abandoned at an orphanage by her irresponsible mother, but when the staff locates her aunt Dinah (Golda Rosheuvel). Charlie joins her on her struggling farm, in a small community where the most important event of the year is the annual pumpkin contest.

In an interview, Glasgow director John McPhail spoke about the need to find the right cast and setting to make a film that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

The setting you found for the film really invites us into the world of the story. It’s so charming.

It’s a made-up town, but we filmed it in a place called Culross. It’s a beautiful little town. There’s a lot of history in there. It’s like a British city, and it almost has this little touch of Scandinavian architecture, which I thought would build on the fantasy element. There’s a big orange building from when they were tanning, and I thought, “Ah, like pumpkins.” And it’s also right on the coast, so I thought it would just make a really lovely little setting.

You said you wanted to make it a family film rather than a children’s film. What does this mean?

I wanted to create this shared experience, where children laugh and adults laugh. It’s about finding that happy balance. I make films for the public. I’m here to tell stories.

The editing was so quick that it taught us not to take it all too seriously because it’s fun and not too tense.

My editor is amazing. David Arthur is also a filmmaker. He’s not a yes guy. He gives you his opinions and also fights for each image. This relationship starts before we even start filming. Dave is cutting while I’m filming, so I get a phone call from him saying, “Oh, that’s great” or “Can you take a photo?” And he’s a father. SO,

having him by my side through all of this was awesome.

You have an exceptional cast, although it took me a minute to get used to seeing Queen Charlotte on a farm! Tell me about the casting process, starting with Priya in her first on-screen role.

Priya was nine years old. She’s in practically every frame of the film, and she knocks it out of the park all the time. She never cried. She was never offended. She never stopped. It’s like she comes in every day as a ball of energy and a joy to work with. And I would talk to him the same way I would talk to Nick and Golda. I can’t praise her enough, an incredible child. She loves to play.

The magic trick you accomplished in this film is combining a lot of different tones and genres while remaining very organic..

Balancing the overall tone is something I think about all the time. It’s a British film, with a British cast, but I want it to be international. When you have American financiers and British financiers, and the Americans want to make it bigger, and the UK is like, “Bring it back.” I need to make sure I cater to and serve both audiences. I would ask my actors to do other takes to be a little bigger, and then I would recompose them at other times. This meant that in editing I had to have fun playing with things. I can either really push it in or pull it out as well. And that allows for a little more fluidity. It just creates this nice little push and pull. This meant we could find that sweet spot.

I sit down with all my department heads, tell them what I’m looking for, and then they participate. But cinema is a true collaborative process. I work with incredible talent, and they build on everything I do. When we are collaborative and open like that, it creates a more harmonious whole. People feel like they can talk.

And I like to have fun. We do entertainment. This is my dream job. Why would I be grumpy? Why should I fight with people? I just want us all to finish the day and do something awesome, but I want us to have fun while we do it.

I’m very selective, especially with my department heads and my team, because I want people who are going to be like that. Not everyone will know me on the first day, but by the end of the film, everyone will know me, from security guards to executives, because I talk to everyone. It’s about appreciating each other.

And honestly, I had the best cast. None of them had egos. They just wanted to come in. They wanted to have a lot of fun. Golda and Nick [Frost] were never in their trailer. They were still on set. They just wanted to hang out with the crew. When you have a cast and crew who feel heard and appreciated, audiences can feel that kind of joy.

I always told him to follow his instincts. If you feel good in the moment, leave. So you get some of the best stuff. You might have some absolute nonsense, but here we go again.

Something What is unusual in a film, especially in a film aimed at young people, is to have two bad guys.

Even with the music, we loved writing that villain theme. I love a bad guy, and how I love a bad guy who turns around too. Jeremy Swift was so funny. And Jane Horrocks and Tim McInnerny are these classy weirdos. I didn’t want them to be posh idiots. I wanted them to be weird.