Yesterday we heard from the director Director Juan Antonio Bayona for his movie The Impossible and today we get to hear from real-life survivor Maria Belon as well as the woman who plays her so brilliantly in the movie, Naomi Watts.
Seeing the two ladies together in the same room was a real treat as you could tell that Naomi had a huge respect for Maria and what she and her family had been through back on Boxing Day 2004 when the huge tsunami hit the Indian Ocean tragically killing nearly 300 000 people. The Impossible does its best tell just one small part of what happened that day through the eyes Ewan McGregor (Henry) and Naomi Watts (Maria).
Usually in these junket interviews you know exactly what you’re getting before you arrive at the hotel but having Maria and Naomi paired was a last minute change but it such a wonderful pairing. As I said above, seeing the mutual respect that the two ladies had for one another was simply wonderful. Maria was obviously so honoured and proud to have had Naomi play her in the movie and this had been a project very close to both their hearts for such a long time.
The five month shoot was gruelling for both parties with the physical elements needed into the film to re-enact the tsunami hitting the Thai coastline but also for Maria as they shot the movie in exactly the place where the wave hit and Maria was on-set for much of the shoot to make sure that specific details were as accurate as possible. We touch on all these subjects in the interview below which is probably up there as one of my favourite interviews ever.As they were leaving I thanked them both for the last minute change and Maria said “I wish all our interviews could be together” to which Naomi agreed showing just how strong this bond between then was.
I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed conducting it and once again I realise what a privileged position I’m in being able to do the things I do for HeyUGuys. Thanks to Naomi and Maria for taking the time to conduct this interview with me and for that last minute change which made it all possible!
The Impossible is out in the UK 1st January and I highly recommend you go and watch it. You can read our 5* review of it here.
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