From horror to hope: Flanagan and King’s optimistic take in The Life of Chuck

Actor Tom Hiddleston gets candid about working in The Life of Chuck a science fiction drama film written and directed by Mike FlanaganIt is based on 2020 novella of the same name by Stephen King The film stars Tom Hiddleston Chiwetel Ejiofor Karen Gillan Jacob Tremblay and Mark HamillThe film which won the audience award at TIFF last year follows three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz played in part by Hiddleston whose death coincides with the end of the world according to The Hollywood ReporterIve never danced quite like this before and I had some steps to dance some miles to go before I felt skilled enough and practised enough to pull off some of the techniques and styles that Chuck pulls off said Hiddleston at the films Los Angeles premiere I have a great affection for movie musicals I was thinking about them a lot in making this thinking about Swing Time and Singin in the Rain and Cover GirlHe continued Ive always loved dance in movies and its not actually just those if you think about Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing or Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz in The Mask or Joseph GordonLevitt in 500 Days of Summer or Little Miss Sunshine dance is a part of the DNA of movies And as for if hed ever star in a musical himself Hiddleston said No ones knocking on the door yet but Im always openCostar Karen Gillan teased she had seen Hiddleston dance before so she knew he had moves but seeing him in the movie was a whole other level I was blown away by what he did in this film His dancing even played a part in him getting the job as director Mike Flanagan revealed he saw Hiddleston grooving on a latenight show and it wasnt the dancing that made me say Thats him it was the joy on his face Its that regardless of if he was nailing the steps he was feeling and channeling this incredible happiness I said That is exactly what this movie needs and hes perfect in it according to The Hollywood ReporterThe film is a stark change from what King is known for and the same can be said for Flanagan who has mostly worked in the horror genre But the filmmaker said I think Steve kind of at his heart hes an optimistic humanist Even in the darker stories thats always there for himThis feels more Stephen King to me than a departure this is who he is Flanagan added This was a special thing to work on together Im so grateful he trusted me with it and if it makes people a fraction as happy as his short story made me when I read it then were onto somethingAfter reading the novella during the pandemic shutdown Flanagan also commented on releasing this film in this current climate It gave me an enormous amount of hope and comfort at that time I feel like I need that now maybe more than I did then and I think unfortunately for us were all going to need it were all going to need reminders of that he explained So I hope as dark as things may be people feel some of the love and optimism and the comfort that this story has in it according to The Hollywood ReporterThe Life of Chuck won the Peoples Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival The movie is set to hit theatres on June 6 via NeonThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever