Matthew Lillard Talks About Mike Flanagan's THE LIFE OF CHUCK Saying It's the Movie the World Needs Right Now
Matthew Lillard plays a role in Mike Flanagan’s upcoming film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Life of Chuck, and when talking about it he says that it’s the film that the world needs right now.
During an interview with GamesRadar+, Lillard talks about his character saying: "I play the most rudimentary man ever named Gus. And he's beautiful. I think he's funny.
“I think that the movie opened at Toronto International Film Festival. I had never seen it with a big audience. I'd seen it in a small screening room. We were, I think, all surprised that people were laughing a lot.
"And along comes my character, and the thing I love about my character is that he packs a whole fistful of humanity in a little 5-minute scene and it’s work that I'm really proud of.
“But on top of it, I think it really shifts the movie into in an emotional place. And so I'm excited for people to get to see Gus and live through that movie because I think the movie is sort of what the world needs in a lot of ways right now."
The Life of Chuck is said to be “one of the all-time great Stephen King adaptations.”
The movie stars Tom Hiddleston and it tell “three separate stories linked to tell the biography of Charles Krantz in reverse, beginning with his death from a brain tumor at 39 and ending with his childhood in a supposedly haunted house.”
The film is described as an apocalyptic version of It’s a Wonderful Life, and King, who has seen the film, says that it’s “a happiness machine.”
Hiddleston previously talked about the film, saying: “Well, he’s written something very tender and very wise. I think there is a great wisdom in the soul of the story, which is that it takes courage to hold on to what is good in a world that feels like it’s falling apart.”
When talking about the disaster aspect of the story, Flanagan explains why this one is different: “A disaster movie has people meeting the end while running from tidal waves, and this story has people sitting quietly holding hands looking at the stars.”
Hiddleston went on to say: “The life of every human being is a constellation, as expressed in this film. There are certain moments which will burn most brightly as individual stars.
“Sometimes it feels like the world is going to hell in a handcart, and it’s full of pain and suffering, and it is—but there are moments of deep joy and deep connection.”
The film also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) as a school teacher trying to apply logic to the planet’s troubles; Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy) is his ex, a hospital worker determined to save everyone she can; Matthew Lillard (Scream) is a construction worker neighbor who finds zen amid the chaos; and Carl Lumbly (Alias), plays a funeral director who has dedicated his life to easing people through death.
The cast also includes Mark Hamill, David Dastmalchian, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange), and Jacob Tremblay (Doctor Sleep), as well as Mia Sara, Trinity Bliss, Harvey Guillen, Rahul Kohli, and Heather Langenkamp.