Wednesday, February 08, 2017

SAG-AFTRA Foundation: My Conversation With Tim Roth

I have been thinking about Chronic since I saw it in Cannes in 2015. So I was thrilled to get to speak to its star, Tim Roth. Yes, we talked about the ending, so if you haven't seen Chronic, you may want to stop the video at that point. I have to say: The interpretation I'd had all this time turned out to be wrong. (I think I prefer my reading better, but I'll defer to Mr. Roth.)

This was a unique SAG-AFTRA conversation in two ways. For one, Roth didn't wait for me to bring him on stage. He just walked up and we started chatting. (I think he was excited about digging into the movie, which I was, too.) Secondly, he asked that we take questions from the audience. Normally for SAG-AFTRA, the audience writes their questions down before the screening. But in this case, Roth felt it made sense to let people engage directly after what they'd just seen. He knew they'd be affected by what happens in Chronic.

Anyway, this was a treat. Chronic has been unfairly overlooked. I hope it eventually finds its audience.