Chatting With The Cast and Filmmakers of If I Stay!

IfIStay_Poster

Hey All!

I recently had the opportunity to attend the press conference for Gayle Forman’s best-selling novel and now a major motion picture for New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer called “If I Stay.” The drama stars Chloë Grace Moretz (“Carrie,” the “Kick-Ass” films), Mireille Enos (TV’s “The Killing,” “World War Z”), Joshua Leonard (“Higher Ground”), Jamie Blackley (“Snow White and the Huntsmen”) and Stacy Keach (“Nebraska”). I had the opportunity to Chat With The Cast and Filmmakers of “If I Stay.”

if i stay

The film follows a teen girl named Mia Hall (Moretz) who thought the hardest decision she would ever face would be whether to pursue her musical dreams at Juilliard or follow a different path to be with the love of her life, Adam (Blackley). But what should have been a carefree family drive changes everything in an instant, and now her own life hangs in the balance. Caught between life and death for one revealing day, Mia has only one decision left, which will not only decide her future but her ultimate fate.

cast of if I stay

In attendance at the press conference were Chloë Grace Moretz (Mia), Jamie Blackley (Adam), Josh Leonard (Dad), RJ Cutler (Director), Gayle Forman (Author), and Shauna Cross (Screenwriter).

Chloe Grace Moretz

It was was great to chat with them about the film. I’m actually a big fan of Chloë Grace Moretz as I think she’s one of the best young actresses out there today.

Chloe Grace Moretz:Jamie Blackley

I immediately had to know how did she pull off playing the Cello so believably in the film.

Chloë Grace Moretz:

We’ll I had 7 months of training before the film shot, which we called the “If I Stay” Cello, that traveled around the world with me to every location I went to. So that was like this looming thing following me around where ever I went. I trained with the Cello for 7 months, 2 hours a day, as much as I could. But honestly I’d be silly to say that in 7 months I learned how to play such an intricate instrument. What I really learned was the emotionality of it and the passion that goes into being a cellist. You have to put your heart and soul into the instrument as you play. The technicality of the shots and playing actually came more from the Frankenstein head cutting and putting my head on a professional cellist. That wait it matched the two performances.

That was shocking to hear as it was so believable and well done. Who knew they would pull off a Black Swan in this film. The Director RJ Cutler also chimed in about Chloë’s performance.

RJ Cutler:

One of the things Chloë did was study the performances of all the great Cellists. Which are available online. One of the great things about the moment we live in is you can research these things. And she studied them and learned about breathing and emotion. And the relationship between the Cello and her body. All of these things were such an important aspect of her performance.

The film makers and cast wanted to focus on that the fact that this story is not so much about the after life and religion, but more so about this one girls life and journey and the relationship she has with her music, family and her first love.

Josh Leonard

The parents in the film are essentially the dream parents any teen would love to have. After the press conference I chatted one on one with Joshua Leonard who plays Mia’s Dad in the film who unfortunately dies in the car crash. I asked him if he drew his character from any cool parents he’s known in his own life. He immediately said yes!

Joshua Leonard:

I was lucky to know a bunch of parents who are similar to my character. A lot of my friends actually chose to make the decision to have children when they were younger and they chose to make that beautiful sacrifice for this kids. They put their careers and lives on hold and dedicated it to their children. It a beautiful thing to see and have a relationship with.

It was great to hear all the great stories from making this film with the cast and filmmakers. Check out the trailer below:

Stay tuned for my review of the film!

“If I Stay” hits theaters August 22, 2014!

For more info on the film visit ifistaymovie.com.

Comments