Summary
Things get very weird and wonderful inMr.
K. Fresh off theToronto International Film Festival 2024,Mr.
Whats supposed to be a one-night stay ends up becoming the experience of a lifetime.
Image by Photagonist at TIFF
When Mr. K finds himself unable to leave the hotel, madness ensues.
Inspired byFranz Kafkas tales of helpless characters stuck in absurd, Sisyphean situations,Mr.
K.promises rich world-building and even richer performances.
Image by Photagonist at TIFF
Colliders ownSteven Weintraubhad the opportunity to talk more in-depth aboutMr.
Believe it or not, Crispin Glover is the straight man in this effectively surreal drama.
COLLIDER: I really want to start with congratulations.
Image via LevelK
I’ve been a fan of your work for a long time.
It’s really, really cool that you’re here.
I’m going to ask the generic question up front because no one has seen the movie yet.
Image via LevelK
How have you been describing the film to people?
TALLULAH H. SCHWAB: It’s about a traveling magician who comes to a hotel.
He only plans to stay for one night, but things happen.
Image by Photagonist at TIFF
Then, Tallulah and I had a Zoom meeting, and it all worked out.
I was very surprised when I watched it.
The production design is fantastic.
Image via Photagonist
Can you talk a little bit about coming up with the design of the hotel?
Youre obviously working on a budget, but you needed to make it look like a big place.
SCHWAB: It had to be a real character in the story, of course.
So it was very important how it looked and how we did it.
Then you have the kitchen scenes with so many people.
How tough was it to get all these people for these scenes?
And what was it like collaborating with such a large group?
GLOVER: It was a bit claustrophobic.
The look of the claustrophobia in it with all the people was accurate.
[Laughs] That is how it felt.
Do you remember what Im talking about?
SCHWAB: No, I cant remember.
GLOVER: He, like, knocked on the door?
SCHWAB: Yes, I remember!
GLOVER: He was a little bit out of sync.
SCHWAB: He suddenly came in at a strange time and had a totally different story.
I thought it would be much more complicated, but it wasn’t.
We also had an excellent first AD who really did so well that it was smooth.
It just took a while.
It took a lot of effort and a lot of fighting to get it done.
SCHWAB: Yeah, it’s also about just hanging on.
If you believe in something, you just have to go for it.
And in the end, it’s here.
I’m so happy.
It’s even in Toronto, so it’s fantastic.
SCHWAB: I didn’t think that far, actually.
We were just trying to make the movie.
GLOVER: Personally, I assumed it would play at certain festivals.
For this particular role, what were you doing?
What were you thinking?
And how early on were you sort of examining how you wanted to play the character?
And so I had time to think about it.
I was particularly thinking about stuff at the end, and the scene changed a little bit.
But I mean, in a certain way it was big, in a certain way it wasn’t.
There were things that changed in the screenplay.
I think it had something to do with budgetary elements.
It was a slightly different situation.
As an audience member, I like that in films when I can think about things in various ways.
So that was always retained no matter what, but there were differentiations in the end.
I had different thoughts about it that evolved while we were shooting.
My favorite throw in of art is when everyone walks out and can say something different, you know.
GLOVER: Yeah, and think something individually in their own mind.
Im fascinated by the editing process because it’s where it all comes together.
So, you get into the editing room with the footage.
How did the film possibly change as a result of any friends and family screenings?
SCHWAB: It got tighter.
But essentially, it follows the script quite closely.
You just tighten it, and thats actually all that happened.
Was it always going to be calledMr.
How much did you debate the title?
SCHWAB: It was alwaysMr.
K. because I was inspired by Kafka.
For me,I love the characters in Kafkas books.
Whats the meaning of all this?
Does everyone know more than me, or is there something else going on?"
So, yeah,Mr.
Kwas always the title.
You have to make that choice of how much Mr. K. will react to the situations that hes in.
Will he be calmer?
Will he start getting more excited?
You know what I mean?
So how much did you guys talk about that level of frustration and when he reaches it?
How do I want to play this?
GLOVER: I would say with most of the scenes, it was pretty evident.
It depended, but I’d say 98% of the scenes were pretty evident.
SCHWAB: I agree with Crispin.
Most scenes just flowed from the context of the scene.
But now and then, we had a scene where we really had to discuss it.
SCHWAB: I think that’s always part of the process in making something.
GLOVER: Well, I was in almost every scene.
So, theres some kind of overall pacing you have to know.
You just kind of know youre going to be working all the time.
It was a lot of work.
Oh, it’s a marathon.
Was there a certain day of the shoot that you were looking forward to?
GLOVER: When I’m working, I’m always concerned.
It’s actually a difficult pressure.
I dont know if all actors feel that way, but that’s something Im genuinely always concerned about.
No matter who it is, I think it shows that you care about the work.
So, Im sure he has standards for himself and wants to do well.
Im always very relieved when I finish shooting a film.
No one thinks they have it all the time.
But I always feel concerned.
[Laughs]
GLOVER: Yeah.
So its good to have variation.
SCHWAB: I appreciated that with Crispin.
He would give a new performance every time, which also gives me a lot of choices.
GLOVER: I do that more now.
Im not sure if that is necessarily better or not.
But I find that directors like it better, and I can understand why.
Theres no right way to do it.
Its just the way you make art.
GLOVER: But Im sure youcanfeel like theres a right way at the moment.
That could be in different ways, maybe.
Talullah Schwab Worked on Mr. K. for 20 Years
For both of you, besidesMr.
SCHWAB: This one, because I’ve been working on this one for 20 years.
I definitely want them to see this one.
I very much recommendMr.
K.
GLOVER: There’s a new one about to come out that is my own film.
I’ve been working on it for many years, and I keep my fingers crossed.
People can find out about it on crispinglover.com.
I’ll start making announcements or Instagram or all of those things.
But I would like people to see it.
Does it have a title?
Ill correct things about all kinds of stuff.
They used to correct it, but they dont anymore.
But it will, when it’s ready to release, have a title.
And also Roxstar Entertainment, our event producing partner and Photagonist Canada for the photo and video services.
