Director Luca Guadagnino “instantly” envisioned Hollywood star Timothée Chalamet in the title role while reading the script for the upcoming cannibalistic love story Bones and All.
He filmmaker, 51, previously directed Chalamet in the 2017 film Call Me By Your Name, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
In his latest film, Chalamet stars opposite Taylor Russell in the coming-of-age romance as a young cannibal named Lee, who plays Maran while traveling across America.
Arriving at the film’s premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on Saturday, Guadagnino told PA news agency: “It was a great script by David Cazganich, he sent me the script and I couldn’t stop reading it.
“It was great and of course the privilege of working with these amazing actors starting with Timothy I immediately saw in the character of Lee when I was reading this.
“When you do a film you always want to make sure that you do something that is unique and that is told through a texture that is unique and with Timothy, Taylor, Mark (Reliance) and the rest. Being able to do this fable was a privilege of the wonderful cast with David Kaganich’s text.”
Speaking about shooting the film in Ohio in the US, he said: “I have been going to America for the last 25 years, so I knew it very well but I didn’t know the Mid-West very well.
“To discover the beauty of people and places and their very specific way of being was quite a revelation to me.”
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Lead actor Timothée Chalamet and director Luca Guadagnino (Eui Moc/PA)
the countryside
Based on the novel by Camille DeAngelis, the film also stars Sir Mark Rylance.
Chalamet, wearing a white suit with matching white boots to the premiere, said: “I wanted to work with Luca again and do anything about on-road films like Badlands, Bonnie & Clyde, or films with a high moral purpose. Wasn’t necessary, but still like a TV show like Breaking Bad, you’ve got to have characters that were interesting to wrestle with.
“I also wanted to get back to the indie type of setting.”
Chalamet most recently starred in the Warner Bros. sci-fi Dune, which was adapted from Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name, with a star-studded cast including Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaacs.
Florence Pugh and Lee Seydoux are said to have joined the ensemble cast for Dune: Part Two, which will hit theaters in October 2023.
Speaking about the sequel, Chalamet said: “It’s going great. She (Florence) looked amazing here yesterday.
“I think she’s already wrapped… She’s done an incredible job and working with Zendaya and Florence, what a great one. It’s been incredible.”
Bones and All will be released in UK cinemas on 25 November.