“The Odd Life Of Timothy Green” Roundtable: Joel Edgerton Talks Family, Great Dads, And “Thirty Dark Zero”

Yesterday Disney released The Odd Life Of Timothy Green, a family film that centered on the lives of Cindy and Jim Green when a mysterious boy is found in their home after they had buried a box full of paper with qualities of the child they could of had. We were recently invited to the press conference promoting the film. There was a lot to be said about this movie family, and what makes a great parent. Hit the jump to see what Joel Edgerton had to say.

How did you find the tone for the film to speak to both child and adult audiences?

Well to say a lot about the child, you need to say a lot about the parents in this film. And Peter (Hedges) was trying to make a movie for adults, and children, but primarily for adults. I loved the tone of the movie, I love that its warm and charming and it’s got a lot of soft edges to it, but it also got a very open heart. I think the risk of pushing the movie too far into broad comedy is something to get the heart out of it or expose the heart because there is too much gunk on it. Usually it’s a pie of some kind.

This film is about the influence parents has on their kids, can you tell us what kind of influence your parents had on you?

The greatest gift my parents gave me, and this relates to the film, was not get in my way. They guided me, if I was headed in the wrong direction they tapped me on the shoulder, but they weren’t going to clamp me down in any regard. I had a significant moment with my father where I found myself lying to him about what I wanted to do with my life, because he is such a guy who lead his life through finances, because he’s an attorney and now he’s a property developer. He’s a very creative man himself and he stifled his creative kind of realm out of the need of working hard. So when I was 17 and graduated from high school, I basically said I wanted to do something safe. And he knew I was lying. So he told me I should do what I want to do and if I do what I want to do and do it well, money would come to me. It freed me up completely from lying to him.

This film is introducing you to another audience, and you got something that could change the political landscape.

And Gatsby

(Laughs.) Can you talk about the three different films and the overview of what it means?

I love to say it was decisive and artfully created by myself, but it wasn’t. I mean a career as much as you like to think you are controlling it, you are riding it a block at a time. The only power you have is no to get on the horse they offer you. That is part of the excitement is trying to stay true to what I know works for me. So I try to stay true to the script and entertaining people and I look for a challenge which keeps me engage with what I am doing. It just so happens every eyar is a mixed bag of stuff, so I’ve always been active in doing something different every time.

What got you interested in the project.
I heard the idea from my agent and told me Jennifer (garner) was doing it. She told me she was enchanted by it and told me I might not be interested because it wasn’t my thing. But I was completely taken by the idea and it reminded me of the movies I loved. Movies like E.T. or visitors from another world or strangers that ride in from another town inevitably have to leave. They kind of said a lot about real life but through magic. The idea grabbed me and I loved Jennifer Garner lot. So if you’re making a movie about a movie who should be a mom and get Jennifer, you pretty much hit it out of the park, because she has a quality on screen that not many could be replicated by Jennifer.

Joel are you the guy who walks into Osama Bin Laden compound and kills him?

Am I the guy that walks in?

Yes?

I cannot tell you that.

Can you tell us anything?

I can tell you that we shot the movie and that I had a great time. It’s interesting to be a part of something like that. Let’s talk about Hollywood and its silence clauses or confidentiality agreements. Everyone is worried about things spreading around the Internet, but this more than anything is delicate subject matter and I think it’s kind of exciting for everybody because it saves us from any pressure for suppose or hypothesizing about the movie and we can judge it for what it is. Which I think movies should be a lot of the time. I’m in the movie.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green is out now in theaters. Check it out.