Oscar voting is about to close on an awards season has been one of the most volatile in years.
It was important that she really know her onions, not that we know them.
And John Mauceri, for those that are not familiar with him, has had a storied career.
Todd Field and Cate Blanchett attending the premiere ofTárin London.Getty Images
He was Leonard Bernsteins assistant for 19 years.
He taught at Yale.
Hes written several great books.
If you have any interest in the discipline of the conductor, I encourage you to read them.
So, that thats sort of where it started.
DEADLINE:As recently as that?
Id assumed that many more years of work went into it.
FIELD:No, it was very quick.
The studio gave no notes.
They said, Lets go make it, and we were off.
DEADLINE:Which came first, the world or the character?
FIELD:It was definitely the character first.
And thats the only reason that she became a conductor.
I had someplace to put her.
So yeah, it was definitely the character first.
DEADLINE:An incredibly timely character at that.
How aware were you were thatTarcould be seen as a story for our time?
FIELD:Well, the story is set in three weeks of 2022.
But as it happened, we got it out a month before November 2022.
I had no interest in pointing at the particulars of those things or the discussion around those things.
And was that right and was just?
Where did those inequities lie?
So, its a long overdue reckoning of that.
How can you have just one opportunity to lean into looking at that phenomenon?
What happens with anyone or any creature that holds power?
And are the old saws true?
Does power corrupt and does absolute power corrupt absolutely?
DEADLINE:Was Cate Blanchett always on your mind?
She agreed to do it, and we had a meeting in New York.
She looks at it as a filmmaker, so youre meeting more than youre equal.
DEADLINE:What kind of collaborator is she?
Is she very specific in her notes and details on what she wants to do?
FIELD:No, its a very alive conversation.
I think we think very similarly, in terms of process.
And this film was always about process, not about outcome.
I mean, [Lydia Tar] is a woman in transition.
She doesnt know whats on the other side, and shes afraid of whats on the other side.
Shes looking back over her shoulder at her legacy, which is a death for any artist.
So, its about process.
What is process and what is allowed in process?
What is encouragement and what is bullying?
What is abusive and what is allowed?
But for the most part it was Cate and I and a collective group of artists from Germany.
And the culture there can be extremely literal its very structured and they like their rules.
And Id say, Why?
And shed say, Because thats not in the script, or, The script says this.
And I would say, Yeah, well, some guy named Todd wrote that script, not God.
[Laughs] So Cate and I were holding onto each other as sort of dance partners that way.
And we tried to keep a sense of play in it, which is what process is about.
What else can we do with it?
And then we might totally turn the scene on its side or on its head.
DEADLINE:So, it was an almost entirely German crew?
FIELD:It was all German.
Yeah, entire German crew.
I was the only American on the film.
DEADLINE:How do you think that affected the way you worked?
But I had a huge, one huge advantage.
Ive had to make order out of chaos very quickly.
And one of the ways Ive done that is with my first AD.
And my first AD, Sebastian Fahr-Brix, and co-producer on this film is German and hes Berlin-based.
So that was everything.
I would never have been able to walk into that situation without having a trusted colleague in Sebastian.
So, it was very natural.
They were very, very passionate about it.
DEADLINE:In Europe, people were very impressed by the casting ofNina Hoss.
I wonder if you could talk a little bit about her and what inspired you to cast her.
FIELD:Well, shes one of my favorite actors.
I was just praying she would do it.
Its been a long season, so forgive me.
Ive told these stories before, but this one still makes me laugh.
She said, Theres just one little thing.
And I said, What is that, Nina?
And she said, Well, theres one thing here I think you might do a little differently.
And that still makes me laugh because thats completely reflective of Nina Hoss.
Its a very nice way of saying, I think you could do better.
And that started a very, very rich conversation.
They were on a film in Budapest.
So, they ran into each other at their hotel there and started talking.
And that was a kind of amazing thing.
It was in rehearsal with Cate and Nina where I really thought, OK, we have something here.
She does it exquisitely well.
Im not a plotter, Im a character person.
So, the rules for this film were very, very simple.
Youve got in late, and you get out early with her.
So thats the thing.
Its not the right way of storytelling, its just the way that Im conditioned to chase.
DEADLINE:I enjoyed the fact that you began with the end credits.
Did that prove to be more surprising than perhaps you thought?
FIELD:Well, it didnt surpriseme.
[Laughs] Id always planned on doing it.
You mean was I surprised by peoples reaction to it?
It was a big conversation.
And I said, Thats OK. Thats OK. And they didnt force me otherwise.
And it was a long conversation with the Directors Guild.
That was a real conversation with them.
But it was never going to be any other way.
Its there for three very practical reasons.
And what are the cornerstones and how is the apex of that supported?
That apex being whoevers sitting at the top of that power structure.
And that is about complicity and its about many other things that involves many people.
So, theres that.
Thirdly, theres much made about her biography in the first scene with Adam Gopnik.
Some of that is true, and some of that is bull, its a complete fabrication.
This was really the only opportunity to actually be able to hear that.
So, running the end credits at the beginning served many purposes.
DEADLINE:It screened very early at the Venice Film Festival, on the second day.
Were you at all nervous about it?
DEADLINE:I was terrified, like always.
I mean, you make something, and the old cliches are true.
Its out in the world.
So that was kind of horrifying.
Thats always a horrifying sort of experience and youre sort of relieved when people are kind.
Nottookind, but kind enough.
DEADLINE:It was a long time between this film and your last film.
Do you have anything lined up at the moment?
I have something else that Ill start writing once I have time.
Ill take a couple of days down next month and Ill start writing.
DEADLINE:Do you have an idea in mind?
FIELD:I know exactly what Im going to do.
Well, Im going toattemptto do it.
DEADLINE:One final question.
Lydia Tar has captured a lot of peoples imaginations.
What is the thing thats most impressed you about the audience ownership of this film?
That has been fascinating.
DEADLINE:Would you care to comment on the theory that the ending might just be a fantasy?
I would like to stay out of the way of any and all interpretations.
Thats sort of counterintuitive to why we made this thing in the first place.
Anybody that watches this film is the final filmmaker.
Its theirs, they own it.
Like I said, its not mine anymore.
I have no control over it.
