Paul Rudd, as we well know, is one of the leads in the new film by Tom McCarthy, the director who earned an Oscar some years ago with Spotlight. Titled The Statement, itAdaptation of Nathaniel Rich’s “Losing Earth” and chronicles a climate crisis conference, the first of its kind in the United States, bringing together about 20 experts. The action takes place in Florida in 1980, and the all-star cast also includes John Turturro, Tatiana Maslany, Amy Ryan and Paul Giamatti. Rudd has been entrusted with the role of moderator for the debate. The actor found the on-set experience particularly enjoyable and forged a friendship with his colleagues thanks to the director’s ban on bringing cell phones onto the set. He himself shared this with Variety during the New York Film Festival premiere of The Statement.
I don’t go to sets with my phone. It’s something I’ve been doing for a while now. I believe it’s important to put them away whenever there’s an opportunity. They are awful objects. I’m as dependent on them as everyone else. They’re facilitating our destruction.
The actor explained that for McCarthy it was crucial that smartphones stayed in the trailers. In their absence, communication was encouraged and the actors did not come across as spoiled film divas but as a theatre company.
Since cell phones exist, the world has changed. We no longer look at each other or speak the way we used to. (Thanks to Tom’s ban), we were forced to spend time together and talk with one another. Working on a film set set in the year 1980, we were dressed in a certain way and I found myself thinking: I remember it. I remember what it was like to sit down and talk with other people.
Also Amy Ryan, who in the film addresses the audience with a powerful speech urging awareness of the urgency of the climate issue, commented on the absence of smartphones during the shoot of The Statement.
If there’s a five-minute pause and people are put in a position to communicate, you’ll hear them say: ‘How are you? How’s your morning going? What do you think of this scene?’ I think it’s a bit like quitting sugar. In three days it’s out of your system. You don’t miss it and, if you’re lucky, it becomes a toy you’ll soon tire of.
The next film in which we’ll see Paul Rudd will be Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for release on December 16. The actor will reprise the role of Scott Lang / Ant-Man.
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