Ben Stiller, the director and actor of The Secret life of Walter Mitty talks about how this movie was the most challenging and meaningful film of his career. Excerpts
What is Walter Mitty’s story all aboutIJ
Walter is in charge of categorising negatives for the life magazine. He takes care of photographs which was sent by freelance photographers. He’s meticulous. He cares about his work. He is entrusted with a valuable negative from Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn), who is the magazine’s most famous photographer. Walter finds out that the magazine is going out of business and he needs to find this negative. It is important because Sean thinks it should be the cover of the last issue of the magazine. At the same time, he falls for a girl at work, Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), but he doesn’t quite know how to talk to her. From here, his journey begins.
Why did you want Kristen Wiig to play CherylIJ
Kristen has a brilliant comic timing. I knew that when I first saw her on Saturday Night live. She was the perfect choice for this role. I thought she should be the girl that Walter wants to connect with, because an audience could really invest in her. They like her and she is a good person inside, but she also has a lot of layers and depth to her. She is so naturally funny and I wanted to see her doing something a little different. I thought the audience could root for her and Walter to be together. .
There are many cultural references that punctuate the film, are they all particularly meaningful to youIJ
Yes, they’re all personal. We wanted the wall that Walter runs by, with all the magazine covers, to be telling a story that connects with him as he is taking this big chance. There is a rocket taking off and a giant wave, there’s Charlton Heston holding the Ten Commandments. They are grand moments and there are personal heroes for me like Martin luther King Jr and John lennon, people who were brave enough to do their thing.
One of the themes of the film concerns living in the present, appreciating the moment. Is that something that you relate toIJ
I do and it’s one of life’s biggest challenges. First of all it’s challenging to become aware of it. I think most of us go through our lives not even aware that we’re not in the moment. Buddhism is very much about that. I think one of the reasons people love listening to music or going to a concert is to have that experience, because music puts you in the present. If you go to a concert you feel something, you’re right there, and you enjoy it.
Do you think the same thing applies to filmsIJ
That is true with films too, though watching a film is weird because you’re sort of projecting yourself into something else that’s happening. It is such an interesting process because by watching someone else’s story we can open up. That is my experience.
I find myself getting emotional or connecting with something on screen and it’s really all about connecting with something inside of me that I’m allowing myself to feel through someone’s story. I think that’s why people love going to movies.