ReportWire

Tag: Garrett Wareing

  • ‘The Long Walk’ Star Garrett Wareing on His Character’s Big Surprise

    [ad_1]

    Now that The Long Walk is in theaters, members of its ensemble cast are free to talk spoilers. The movie, based on Stephen King’s story, revolves around a literal death march, so it’s not surprising that not all of the stars make it to the finish line. The brutal twists come with what order they go down—and at least one other surprising nuggets shared along the way.

    In a new interview with Deadline, Garrett Wareing, who plays Billy Stebbins, talked about his experiences on the film as well as what happens to his character.

    Eventually, it’s revealed to the audience and Billy’s fellow walkers that he is actually the illegitimate son of the Major (Mark Hamill), the cruel overseer of the titular march. He puts up a tough front, but it becomes clear Billy has got a different level of investment in the competition than the other boys.

    “His dream, his goal, is to meet his father and for [his father] to be this hero that he idolized his whole life,” Wareing told Deadline. “I think that he goes into the walk thinking that this is a necessary thing, this is a good thing. And throughout the course, he begins to see the brutality that exists along something like this. And maybe he begins to see it for what it is, not necessarily [as] what it’s pitched to [be to] these young boys in the nation.”

    In the book, Stebbins comes in second place. In the movie, he’s third, a twist that allows for The Long Walk‘s poignant final moments between Ray (Cooper Hoffman) and Peter (David Jonsson)—and Peter getting his wish-fulfillment part of the prize, which is killing the Major.

    There’s no happy ending for Stebbins and his father, but Wareing did tell Deadline how much he enjoyed working with Hamill. And yes, Star Wars came up.

    “One of the first times I interacted with Mark in the makeup trailer, he made the brilliant connection to Star Wars by saying, ‘you know, here on page 96 (or whatever page it was), there’s a bit of an “I am your father” moment when your character reveals that the Major is his father.’ And we both laughed. It was quite fitting that Luke had now become the father and in turn, I had now become Luke speaking to Vader.”

    The Long Walk is now in theaters.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

    [ad_2]

    Cheryl Eddy

    Source link

  • Reviews For The Easily Distracted: The Long Walk

    [ad_1]

    Title: The Long Walk

    Describe This Movie In One Gong Show Creator Quote:

    CHUCK BARRIS: The ultimate game show would be one where the losing contestant was killed.

    Brief Plot Synopsis: It’s a walk. And it’s long.

    Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: 2.5 Scarfaces out of 5.

    click to enlarge

    Tagline: “How far could you go?”

    Better Tagline: “This new Klondike Bar campaign sucks.”

    Not So Brief Plot Synopsis: Every year, a young man from each of the 50 states embarks on the Long Walk. The boys assembled this year include Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman), Pete DeVries (David Jonsson), and Art Baker (Tut Nyuot), who form a friendship of sorts, which complicates the fact that there’s only one winner. Any Walker who drops below three miles an hour gets three warnings before their “ticket” is punched. The winner is basically granted a wish, and Garraty has plans for his.
    “Critical” Analysis: Does dystopian fiction still work if we’re already living in a dystopia?

    The alternative timeline The Long Walk is set in is no picnic. Perceived enemies of the state are taken from their homes and given a choice: service in the “Squads” or a bullet to the head. The postwar economy is in shambles, and the resident dictator (The Major, played un-memorably by Mark Hamill) promises to make the country number one again.

    I trust none of this is disturbingly familiar.

    Stephen King’s original novella was itself a barely veiled metaphor for Vietnam, written in reaction to the televised draft lottery, but the movie — while evidently set in the mirror universe1970s — reflects current events in other ways. Well-meaning people might say, “Society would never tolerate an event like this where young people are needlessly gunned down.” Some of those same people would still vote against regulating firearms even after kids were shot in a school or church.

    Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, several of the Hunger Games…es) and screenwriter JT Mollner had to make some choices in adapting Stephen King’s story. They’ve truncated the number of kids from 100 to 50, for one, and removed many of the (meager) references to the wider world (shout out to Orange Julius).

    As with most of King’s work, a fair bit gets lost in the translation from page to screen. Much of the novella takes place in Garraty’s head; thoughts of his girlfriend and mom, and loss, and patterns of life and death. It’s not very easy to shoehorn into a movie (or a miniseries, if the latest calamitous attempt to adapt The Stand is any indication).

    And in going with fewer Walkers, certain characters are excluded, others merged (“lean Buddha” Stebbins gets Scramm’s pneumonia, for example). What hasn’t changed is DeVries’ role as Garraty’s garrulous companion, though Lawrence clearly didn’t have time for the character’s amateur theology). Jonsson is the high point here, as DeVries modulates the often hysterical Garraty and is given the most compelling backstory.

    Hoffman, so disarming in Licorice Pizza, is fine here. But he isn’t a great fit for Garraty, even with the additional motivation Lawrence and Mollner give the character. However, they do delve into what we’ve probably all considered (at least I know I have): being the subjects of our own story. Bad things — tickets getting punched, etc. — happen to other people. The idea of being the principal protagonist has gotten more traction in the age of FPS games and online anonymity, but The Long Walk attempts to bring that unreality a little more immediacy.

    The conundrum of how to consistently adapt Stephen King for the screen continues. Lawrence and company have condensed a meditation on mortality and the hopelessness of adolescence into a quest for vengeance.

    The Long Walk is in theaters today.

    [ad_2]

    Pete Vonder Haar

    Source link