[WATCH] Joe and Anthony Russo talk about ‘Cherry’ and their careers – Behind the lens – Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Joe Russo and Anthony Russo helped me launch the new season of my Deadline video series, Behind The Lens, as we give you the first look at their new epic film, cherry and cover the waterfront on a number of different topics, including the future of the films themselves.

Leaving a spectacular race in the Marvel Universe of captain America to Avengers, the end of the last Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest grossing film of all time, the Russo Brothers return to their indie roots with an impressive new epic drama. He deals in a very timely manner with opiate addiction, war, the power of love and much more centered on a title character played by Tom Holland on a wild journey through life as he battles his own demons in search of meaning and purpose. Holland, in a complex role unlike anything he has ever done before, is sensational and equated by Ciara Bravo as his true love in a complicated relationship that challenges both. The film is reminiscent of ambitious types of epic studio dramas common in the most adventurous cinema of the 70s and has become a personal mission to bring to the screen by the Russians who independently funded it and will now reveal it on February 26 in cinemas and streaming Apple. This is well on the threshold for Oscar eligibility this long season, and this film is bound to gain attention in many possible ways, including the performances of its two stars. It comes from Nico Walker’s novel, with some similarity to the author’s own life experiences, but it is still a work of fiction. It is set exclusively in six different chapters, from Cherry’s own love story, her time as a doctor in the Afghan war, to a period when she robbed banks, served time and, more significantly, became addicted to drugs, especially heroin. in scenes that are painfully authentic.

In this edition of Behind the Lens, the Russians talk about why they thought this would be an important and timely film to make now, particularly in a post 9/11 world. Having the cinema world at their fingertips after the success of their MCU films, they tell me why they wanted to go back to their indie roots with this, quoting mentor Steven Soderbergh’s cinema philosophy: “you make one for me and you do it one for them “. This is also deeply personal, as the story is based in Cleveland, where they grew up, and they know people close to them who died of addiction. They praise the work of their stars, including Holland, who has worked as Spider-Man in several Russian films, but is on a whole new stage with this film. They talk about an iconic romantic epic that served as inspiration for the love story between Holland and Bravo here, and the particular challenges of a film that is separated into six distinct chapters, each shot in a different style and feel of different times, proportions and it seems. They also discuss the variety of totally different projects they are attracted to, from box office hits to indies, from comedy to drama, from TV to movies to commercials and so on. Nothing is out of the question. They also have an opinion on the future of the theatrical exhibition and how the launch model cherry in theaters and at Apple is a clue to the future.

AppleTV + is developing the film tonight with a special virtual screening followed by a Q&A moderated by Robert Downey Jr. We opened this edition of Behind the Lens with the first look at a scene from the film itself followed by my conversation with the Russo brothers. To watch just click on the link above.