Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hi, friends. Welcome to the Cosmic Cafe, the companion podcast for the cosmic circus.com. I'm ala Ruby, and we have a really fun conversation for you today. I spoke with Director Mark Turtle Taub from the indie movie Jewels, and it was just such a pleasure. Uh, jewels is a science fiction comedy, and it has Sir Ben Kingsley. So without further ado, here's the interview I hope you'll enjoy. All right. So I'm
Speaker 2 00:00:35 So excited to chat with you. You know, I saw the, um, I saw the trailer for Jules, and I told our editor in chief that we have to cover this because it just looks incredible. So here we are.
Speaker 3 00:00:46 Oh, well, thank you for doing that.
Speaker 2 00:00:48 Um, so can you talk about the journey to getting this made? You know, how did you first come upon, uh, Gavin Steckler screenplay and, you know, why you, what connected with this for you? Um, what made you want to do this?
Speaker 3 00:01:00 Yeah. A I got it from two producers in Los Angeles, uh, Debbie Liebling and Andy Daley, who had been working on it with Gavin for two years. And they sent it to me to direct. I read it. I actually had another project I was thinking about doing, and then I got this one, and you just don't read two scripts like this, <laugh> mm-hmm. <affirmative>. There won't be another one like this in the next 10 years. It's so unique, uh, and it has three things that I look for. Uh, it, it is unique. I always look for something that's one of a kind. It's entertaining, which it has to be, otherwise people aren't gonna pay any attention to it. And then it's about something so that when you get done, uh, in the movie theater, you have something to talk about afterwards. And that combination is sort of the trifecta that I look for.
Speaker 2 00:01:49 One thing I really love about, um, this film, kind of playing off of that is the tone. There's this, like, this, this dignity in aging that carries across, even though, um, you know, it's this balance of funny and really profound and, you know, it's not sad like a lot of other movies about aging. Can you talk about that? Can you talk about, um, was the tone of choice, what influenced that? Um, and how did you translate that from the script to the screen?
Speaker 3 00:02:15 Yeah, yeah. That's spot on Ayla. I, I, I think that for me, that's, that's critical in this story. Usually when you read a, uh, see a screenplay or watch a movie, uh, you read a screenplay or watch a movie, uh, about, uh, dementia or losing one's faculties, it's, uh, it's melancholic and very sad. And this has real emotion in it, obviously. And, and people do cry when they see the movie, but they also laugh. Uh, and I think that combination is what I, you always look for. If you can laugh and cry in the movie, I mean, then you've really touched people's feelings and emotions. Uh, it so it deals with serious subjects in a, in a way in which, uh, we can feel good about it, if you will, and feel hopeful. Uh, but they're real. It's real. And the key to that, I saw that in the script.
Speaker 3 00:03:04 Uh, I didn't know if I could pull it off <laugh>. And that's the whole tone question. And it goes beyond just the, the fact that he's beginning early stages of dementia. It's goes way beyond that because there's all these other elements that you have to blend in. There's a bit of a science fiction element. Obviously there's a four foot, 11 inch alien <laugh>. There's, uh, there's, uh, there's, uh, real inventive, uh, creativity in the story. Uh, there's great humor, and then there's this emotion in pathos and all of that stuff has, and it's a buddy movie. You also have these three elderly people who become buddies later in life and all of that. Usually each one of those could be a movie in itself. I'll do a science fiction movie, I'll do a buddy movie, but to put 'em all in one package, which is brilliantly done by Gavin. Uh, that was the challenge. I wasn't sure I could do it. Uh, but I knew I had to try.
Speaker 2 00:04:03 Yeah. So it, it's got all these layers, which, you know, you mentioned, um, and you know, it's, it's on the scaffolding of being a sci-fi movie, and it's such like a cool vehicle for the, for the message of the film. Are you kind of a big sci-fi fan? Was that, you know, new to you? No,
Speaker 3 00:04:19 No. I mean, I don't dislike sci, I don't dislike sci-fi. Uh, but it wasn't, that's not what drew me to it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, what drew me to it was its uniqueness and the core was three people finding connection, uh, later in life and the importance of that. Uh, and that's what, that's the core to me. And it's all from a catalyst of this, uh, this alien that doesn't speak. So the, the, the character who doesn't speak allows the three humans to find their voice. And then they in turn not only find their voice, but they open up about all their innermost secrets, and then they can find a connection with each other as well. And so that's, that was the core for me. It wasn't, I didn't, I don't dislike the science fiction element. Uh, I, I, you know, I think it's interesting and fascinating way to, to, as you put it, scaffolded. But, uh, it wasn't the heart for me. The heart was those three characters.
Speaker 2 00:05:14 Was there anything that kind of you maybe watched in advance, um, or, you know, kind of read or just to get into the mindset of this? Or did you just kind of come at it fresh?
Speaker 3 00:05:23 I came at it fresh. The only thing I would say I looked at, and I did this with my production designer, Richard Hoover, uh, is I wanted to look at the classic science fiction from the fifties and sixties mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So the day the Earth stood still, and, uh, flash Gordon, uh, movies like that where you could see classic spaceships that looked like saucers. And you could see aliens that were gray, blue that looked like jewels. And I knew I wanted to make this very practical and not c g i driven. And so that was the, that was the one thing I did look at.
Speaker 2 00:05:58 I'm, I'm really glad you mentioned that, 'cause I have some questions about that. So there's this big, obviously hulking spaceship, um, flying saucer. And I think I read that this thing was like, in reality like 40 feet big, just this no bigger. No,
Speaker 3 00:06:12 That's right. I'm shaking my head because I'm remembering how hard it was to get it together.
Speaker 2 00:06:16 Can you talk about that? 'cause you know, you filmed in, um, Chatham, New Jersey and a couple of other places. What that seems massive <laugh>.
Speaker 3 00:06:23 Yeah, yeah. No, it was, and, and those poor people who let us get into their house and backyard, uh, I, I still won't talk to them. They won't talk to, no, I'm kidding. <laugh>. But, but they, they, uh, they were incredibly accommodating. Uh, yeah. Our production team, uh, headed up by Richard, I think it was eight pieces, slices of a, of a ship put together. And then, uh, we had to relocate it 'cause the ship relocates in the yard so that they had to disassemble it to move it over. And then we put it to, uh, brought it to a gravel, uh, pit about 40 miles away near for that scene near the end of the movie. And they had to take it all 40 miles away and then reassemble it. So it was a massive undertaking. And, uh, uh, you know, they did a beautiful job. I thought,
Speaker 2 00:07:11 I can only imagine the looks you got on the highway, as you know, you're, you're driving with this.
Speaker 3 00:07:15 I think even the neighbors, uh, inin boot New Jersey kept peeking in and we kept saying, don't tell anybody. Don't tell anybody. There's a ship here. And, and we had only one person that took a photo of it and, and, and sent it out. So people in the neighborhood of course, could see it 'cause it's so big. But even though it's a somewhat rural area, uh, and the family that was, uh, that owned the home was really accommodating because not only did we dig, did we, did we build the ship, but we dug this enormous trench in their backyard, <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:07:43 <laugh>. Um, so back to, back to the Alien, back to, um, you know, I read that there, not that I read, but you know, there's this amazingly talented actress, um, Jade Kwan playing her, and, you know, she's, she's in an alien suit. Right. Can you talk about that? Um, because that's not a, a choice that everyone makes these days Right. To go practical versus c g I, and I think that's really cool.
Speaker 3 00:08:06 Yeah. For me too. I think it's, I think it was, it was critical. As soon as I read the script, I said, I'm not gonna do c g I, uh, I, there is something that you gain enor, not something, an enormous amount you gain by having a real actor playing against other actors. And the first thing that Sir Ben Kingsley, after he said yes, and he said yes immediately to the screenplay <laugh>, he said, will I be acting against a stick and a ball
Speaker 2 00:08:34 <laugh>?
Speaker 3 00:08:35 He, as you know, the way they, they start with c g I, you talk to a stick with a ball on top of it. Uh, and I said, no, there's a real actress. And he said, oh, good. And Jade is, I think really part of the secret sauce of the movie because she's so present in every scene. And the actress said, I could get lost in her eyes. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And that allowed them to imagine what she was thinking, how she was feeling, because she doesn't say anything. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But she has, but you have to be able to read into her face. And I think that's part of the, the, the real s secret of the movie working is that she had that, uh, ability to do that.
Speaker 2 00:09:16 And she's got like this amazing stunt background. Um, otherwise too, like, she's very much, um, a phy a physical actress, it seems.
Speaker 3 00:09:24 It is. She is. But even so, she said, I've never done anything like this before because you're really focused so much on her head mm-hmm. <affirmative> on her eyes. Uh, and, uh, yeah, she was amazing. It took her four to five hours every day to get into the prosthetics. Wow.
Speaker 2 00:09:40 And,
Speaker 3 00:09:40 And then she had to go to work, right then she had to act. And I asked her at one point, I said, Jade, how do you do that? And she said, I just go to my quiet place. Oh. And I'm thinking, wow, you need to write a book about meditation or so <laugh> because who, you know, how many people could do that? Uh, and yet be present in every scene. So I think she's part of the, the real secret to the movie.
Speaker 2 00:10:05 That's incredible. I love that. Um, so now you mentioned, uh, sir Ben Kingsley. Can you talk about just casting overall? Because I think I read or maybe heard that, um, like everyone said Yes, right?
Speaker 3 00:10:16 Yeah. Right away
Speaker 2 00:10:17 After reading the script.
Speaker 3 00:10:18 Yeah. Right away, it's because they, I think they all saw the same thing I saw in Gavin's screenplay, which is, it's about something meaningful, uh, and, uh, and yet it's in the fresh way that we haven't seen. And so everyone said yes right away. Uh, and uh, and it was a, it was a pleasure Early on, very early on, uh, he said to me, uh, sir Ben, uh, we were in his trailer. He said, you know, mark, uh, you can let go of Milton. And I said, uh, what do you mean, sir Ben? He said, I've got him. Aw, you can let go of them <laugh>. And it was perfect because I don't like to rehearse. Yeah. And so, uh, it allows these great actors to bring in whatever they're gonna bring in without my mediating it beforehand. And I think that's part of the key to working with great actors is you get out of their way.
Speaker 2 00:11:13 No, I have to ask about Milton and, and the wake, because, you know, that's so obvious there. Can you talk about, like, was that anybody's choice? Was it like a production design choice? 'cause it's, it's, you know, you don't normally see him in, in a wig.
Speaker 3 00:11:27 Right. But you don't usually see him in a movie like this either. Exactly. Right. Most of the, you know, he's probably done a hundred movies and I, I can't think of maybe a couple that were comedy had comedic elements, and it has such strong comedy in it, and I'm sure that's part of what attracted him. Uh, I wanted him, and he said the same thing in interviews. He wanted to get lost in the role. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And that's part of what makes it so beautiful is it's not Ben Kingsley playing Milton. It's Milton. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, and you sense that when you, when you see him. And so part of that was the choice to put a wig on him and put glasses on him. You know, usually you just wanna see that iconic face of, of Ben Kingsley. But in this case, he lost himself totally. In Milton.
Speaker 2 00:12:13 So this is the, the, the third film you've directed, but you've been a producer EP on some amazing other films. Like, I, I can't even list them 'cause they're just so many cool ones. Um, can you talk about if, if at all, your philosophy or approach to directing, has it changed from the first one to this one?
Speaker 3 00:12:29 Yeah, I, it has. I think in the very first one, I was overly uh, overly concerned about, uh, sort of controlling everything. And as I've, uh, I think matured as a director, I've learned to relax and to allow really great talent, uh, to, uh, interpret in their own way. There's always an opportunity afterwards. Uh, aila, there's always an opportunity after a take or two to go in and say, Hey, can we try something different this time? Or What do you think about this? Uh, but I, I'd say the biggest change for me is not to be so determinative mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but to allow the actors, uh, a lot more freedom. And I think it, it helps the, helps the performance.
Speaker 2 00:13:18 Awesome. And I just got the time warning, so I've got one or two more. Um, so what do you want people to take away from this film? Or is there anything that you want people to, um, know that we haven't talked about?
Speaker 3 00:13:28 I want, yeah. I think really importantly, if you love the movie, uh, please tell people about it because these independent movies are so dependent on word of mouth, I think is one thing that I would say to anyone listening or reading what you're gonna write. Uh, the second thing I would say is, I, I'd like people to leave people free to bring in and interpret what they're gonna interpret from it. But there are a number of subjects that I think you could talk about when you get done watching the movie. Like how wonderful it is to have a perfect listener. Uh, and Jules is that perfect listener who allows these other characters to, uh, to find their voice. It's interesting, right? The, the Alien with No Voice allows all these characters to find their voice, their human character mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and then they can begin to open up and then they can begin to connect. So that's a subject I think that is worthy of conversation as well as the conversation around how important it is to live your life fully, all the way, and to find connection with other human beings, uh, no matter how old you are.
Speaker 2 00:14:30 Well, that's a wonderful message, and thank you so much for chatting with me, and I'm, I'm so excited about Jules.
Speaker 3 00:14:35 Oh, thank you. I'm so <laugh>. You like it. <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:14:38 Bye. Thank you. Thank you for listening. You can find the companion article for this podcast along with all the other news for those who like superheroes, science fiction and fantasy films, TV shows, and other
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