InNickel Boys, filmmaker and artistRaMell Rosshas created one of the most surprisingawards-season movies for some years.
His radical approach to form and content is unlike anything usually campaigned for and championed in the mainstream.
However, the film is precisely the punch in of work weve come to expect fromDede GardnerandJeremy KleinersPlan BEntertainment.
Dede Gardner and Jeremy KleinerRobin L Marshall/FilmMagic
The company, co-run byBrad Pitt, has been here before.
The result is a wildly original experience that moves beyond mere adaptation and tables fresh questions about cinemas ontology.
We were counting on that, Gardner tells me from a hotel room in London.
And we were ready to make the bet and give it a go.
The film is one of Plan Bs first buzzy awards titles since it was acquired byMediawanin late 2022.
DEADLINE:Is it true Colson Whitehead handed you guysThe Nickel Boysnovel first before it was published?
JEREMY KLEINER:Yes.
There had been a good vibe with theUnderground Railroad, so we got a pre-publication copy.
I will never forget the feeling I had when the twist in the novel hit me.
I knew it would be unbelievable if we could somehow get that across in a movie.
I never imagined it would be the way RaMell did it.
But we wanted to take it on.
We had already gravitated to RaMells other work.
We were just intrigued by his initial thinking about what his films should be doing.
Was it at the screenplay stage?
DEDE GARDNER:No, it was before the screenplay.
RaMell wrote us a long letter that set out his intentions.
Everything was there, the archival material,The Defiant Ones.
Even the last sequence that happens over the Mulatu Astatke song Tezeta.
He always knew he was going to do it to that song.
He had the idea in his mind.
We love that song so much and knew it before he mentioned it.
It was a signal of the environment in which he was going to lay all of these ideas out.
GARDNER:I remember reading the very first draft of the script.
I felt completely altered by RaMells idea of removing inciting incidents from pivotal scenes.
For instance, the scene where Elwood gets pulled over.
Its no longer about the inciting incident its about system, condition, and environment.
I remember reading that and feeling my whole body seize up.
I truly thought it could be revolutionary.
DEADLINE:I agree.
Ive been discussing the film a lot with friends and colleagues.
Weve been describing it as a real intervention…
KLEINER:We agree.
It expands our idea of whats possible.
Also, Alana Mayo and her production team at Orion.
Adriene Bowles and Gerry Rich.
The physical production team.
But hes also a person that makes you believe in what hes talking about.
He just creates that confidence, and all those people deserve credit.
GARDNER:No, not really.
We were ready to make the bet and give it a go because you never know.
Its a complete toss-up.
We worked a little on the edit, helping to find the balance.
But these are all things we love to do.
We were just doing it on a different canvas.
DEADLINE:You talk about making a bet.
And thats something that probably best describes the work you guys have done at Plan B.
Everything from12 Years to Moonlightand Adam McKays work.
These are subversive, challenging films.
No one else is daring to make them.
I remember vividly at the end of that year, Brad said he couldnt be prouder.
I was so confused.
You get trained to think your opening weekend and box office matters.
Youre given this particular metric system.
We found them in our basements and bedrooms, in museums and second-run theaters.
And really, nobody went to see that movie.
Im really proud that this year we were involved withBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceandBob Marley: One Love.
We do a lot of different things.
The common desire is that the work doesnt become disposable or dated.
What constitutes consequential can be different.Eat Pray Love, which Dede produced, is consequential in a different way.
And theres a lot to be said for that.
But the fact that people feel that way about our work is extremely gratifying.
Its not an easy climate these days.
GARDNER:I can tell you a story.
We had12 Years A SlaveandWorld War Zcome out in the same year.
So when we got to that year, Brad said thats what we do.
We do those two movies in one year.
He calls us a garage band.
DEADLINE:What was your reaction when you first sawNickel Boys?
KLEINER:We saw it for the first time in the MGM screening room.
And as soon as you see it, you just see theres something undeniable about this vision.
This movie makes you watch it according to its rules.
This movie is in charge.
It teaches you how you ought to watch it.
In other words, theres no alternate version of the movie that you could sculpt or mold it into.
When a filmmaker is working with that kind of power, its incredible.
DEADLINE:Yeah its really something.
I was reading this writer Doreen St. Felixs piece on the film
GARDNER:TheNew Yorkerwriter?
And to his credit he has.
WithNickel Boyshes doubled down on his previous work.
GARDNER:Yeah, he doubles down.
DEADLINE:Im intrigued to see what he does next.
GARDNER:Yeah, me too.
But were gonna need some more gamblers.
DEADLINE:What else have you guys enjoyed this year?
GARDNER:I likedThe Girl with the Needle.
KLEINER:Yeah, that is a wicked film.
India Donaldson also made calledGood One, thats lovely.
DEADLINE:Is it true you guys are adapting the first Whitehead bookThe Intuitionistwith Barry Jenkins?
KLEINER:No, were not involved in that.
I dont know whats happening there.
Barry loves that book.
There were certain inspirations from that book that had little manifestations in theUnderground Railroad.
I remember reading that 20 years ago or something.
DEADLINE:And F1.
What can we expect from that film?
Will it be making a splash in Cannes?
Its big and mighty.
