Mike Massie: What drew you to the project
of “Pride”?
Sunu Gonera: For me it’s a very personal story; something I related
to. I played sports, was a rugby player, and have had great mentors
in my life. My rugby coach in school, Lionel Reynolds was my Jim Ellis,
a guy that believed I could do anything and had a big impact on my life.
When I read the story it reminded me of my coach.
Joy Dominguez: How did you become the
director of “Pride”?
SG: I was sent the script by my agent. I had to go through the pitching
process against a whole lot of directors. I read it, loved it, and when
it was confirmed, my wife put the house on the market and sold everything
for us to come across for me to do this.
MM: Did you ever want to do acting and
directing?
SG: That’s where I come from, is in front of the camera. I did
a film called “In My Country” with Samuel L. Jackson and
Juliette Binoche a couple of years ago, and I’ve done tons of
TV commercials. Acting is my first love, so I’m going to go back
in front of the camera. At the moment I just love directing.
MM: Do you want to direct yourself?
SG: Yes, I think it would be interesting. I want to do both.
JD: Who are your role models and favorite
directors?
SG: My biggest role model is Steven Spielberg. I love his ability to
capture human emotion; his movies are always about the ordinary guy.
The sheriff in “Jaws”, Oscar Schindler, an ordinary German
businessman who now has to do this incredible thing, even Tom Cruise
in “War of the Worlds” is an ordinary father in difficult
circumstances, who must save his family. Clint Eastwood is also a huge
role model for me. Bono from U2 as well; Oprah Winfrey, an ordinary
girl who went on to do something big with her life and Nelson Mandela;
for me he’s symbolic of selflessness. And my mother; she believed
in me, and my dad always told me I could do anything.
MM: What can you tell us about your future
projects?
SG: I’m working on “Church Boy” which is Kirk Franklin’s
life story, another kid from an abused background, who has gone on to
become the world’s biggest gospel artist. I’m inspired and
drawn by true life stories. I’m producing an animation called
“Once Upon an Easter” which is an Easter story set in the
perspective of the animals, and one called “An African Tale”
which is about the jungle animals in Africa shown in a very humorous
way.
JD: How did you make the transition from
commercials to film?
SG: I’ve been doing TV commercials for awhile and then I did a
short film based on a full-length feature script I’d written.
For me, features are what I’ve always wanted to do. It was very
different and tough, but also felt totally natural and right. This is
what I was born to do. I watch a lot of movies, almost daily, read and
write every day and I’m always working on a screenplay, and I
read screenplays almost daily. Because I’ve immersed myself in
the world so much, it made it easier. I watched Spielberg and how he
does it, and how he covers scenes, and how he edits, and camera placement
and direction, and I’ve been in front of the camera. I’m
fortunate that I’ve been in the world of film for awhile. I’m
in my element when I’m on a film set.
MM: How much control did you have over
the casting for “Pride”?
SG: Terrence and I started speaking immediately when I got offered the
project, so he was the first choice. When the role of Elston was developed,
there was Bernie Mac and there was Bernie Mac. No one else could do
that role. He brings so much integrity, honesty and warmth; he’s
like the emotional anchor of the story. I was fortunate to have gotten
all my first choices. I think the whole world woke up to who Terence
Howard was when they saw “Crash”, and then I saw “Hustle
and Flow” and he had been looking for another big leading role
and this was perfect for him since it’s very different from those
other two roles.
JD: How well did you get to know Jim
Ellis?
SG: Extremely well. I spoke to Jim all the time. We’ve become
very good friends. Yesterday I spoke to him on the phone for an hour-and-a-half,
talking life and dreams. For me it was important that I got to know
him so that I could represent him accurately on the screen. I consulted
with him a lot when we were writing and shooting.
MM: How similar is your life to Jim’s?
SG: Jim and I are very similar men in a lot of ways. The area I think
we are most similar in is our philosophy of life, our passion to mentor
young people, and we both believe there are no shortcuts to success.
You’ve got to get out there and do the hard jobs yourself. We
both really believe in who we are and what we’ve got to offer.
There’s an incredible determination to succeed in whatever we
do, and resilience. For me, I could’ve given up long ago. I’ve
been told many times “you can’t go to Hollywood” and
here I am, and “you can’t get into a private school”
and I did it, and “you can’t become a professional sportsman”
and I did that too.
JD: Do you swim? Did you swim a lot growing
up?
SG: I did. I swam competitively also, so I was very familiar with the
world of swimming. Jim helped out Terrence Howard. He learned about
how Jim coached and got to swim with some of Jim’s kids.
MM: Was the villain, Gary Sturgis, based
on a real life character?
SG: The scene where they jump into the pool: that really happened. In
the real story, Jim and all the kids jump in the pool and drag them
into the water and half drown them because the kids knew they could
swim better than the gangsters could. What was really amazing is that
when we were shooting, Gary Sturgis couldn’t swim, so he really
was terrified; he really was drowning. He always talks about that scene
and says “that wasn’t acting. That was real.”
- Gone with the Twins
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