DUBAI: Stanley Tucci does not like to waste time. The acclaimed star of “The Witches,” who has been stealing scenes in films such as “The Devil Wears Prada”, “The Hunger Games” and “Spotlight” for decades, has reached a point in his career where he is universally beloved for his performances while simultaneously growing a bit weary of the whole process of putting them together.
“It doesn’t fulfil me as much as it used to,” Tucci told Arab News. “I get different things out of it. I think the hardest thing for me, which always was hard but it’s harder now, is waiting. Just waiting. Because if you think about it, people don’t really realize that you can be on set for 12-13 hours a day and you may actually only act, in a larger film, for a total of 20 minutes during those 12 hours. You’re just like, ‘There has got to be a better way of doing this!’”
When Tucci directs, as he has since the classic film “Big Night” was released in 1997, he holds steadfast to this belief, usually dismissing the whole crew by 5 or 6 p.m. so they can enjoy their evenings at home. Tucci, like many of his characters, loves life and wants to make all the time he can to live it.
“Big Night” (1997). Supplied
“I’m very impatient as a director. I just want to keep going and going. I like to shoot a lot in one day, and if you can do seven, eight pages a day, that’s great,” he said.
“I can’t bear the thought of like shooting one page or something. You’re just like, ‘Oh God,’ because you’re just waiting!”
Tucci, however, could not resist re-teaming with Anne Hathaway for “The Witches,” 14 years after their iconic pairing in “The Devil Wears Prada.”
He said: “I’ve run into her every now and again. We live in totally different places, but I’m always happy when I see her. Then when I heard that she was doing this, I was thrilled.”
He added: “Obviously here the status is completely different than in the first movie we did together. She was very low status in the first film and I was very high status. Here she’s incredibly high status and I’m very low status. That’s always great fun to play with. That’s part of the joy being an actor.”
“The Devil Wears Prada” (2006). Supplied
Enticing, as well, was the opportunity to work with Robert Zemeckis, one of the greatest living Hollywood directors and the man behind “Back to the Future”, “Forrest Gump”, “Cast Away” and “Flight.”
Tucci used every opportunity he had to observe Zemeckis and learn what he could from him so as to apply it to his own directing.
“Watching Bob direct was really, for me, very informative and very helpful, because I always like to learn from every director. I loved his clarity of vision and his staggering efficiency. He’s a heck of a lot better (than me), that’s all I can say,” said Tucci.
“The Witches” (2020). Supplied
“The Witches,” which began as a 1983 book by Roald Dahl, was previously made into a very scary children’s film by Nicolas Roeg in 1990, with Rowan Atkinson filling Tucci’s role of the hotel manager.
While Tucci loved that adaptation, even though he admits it gave him nightmares even as an adult, the film he has made with Zemeckis carefully balances terror with levity and fantasy, a balance the original missed.
In tone, the film feels much more like a dedicated parent reading the book aloud to their children, something Tucci particularly appreciated.
“I like the energy of it. I like that there’s a sweetness to it, and a sadness to it, and a darkness to it,” he said.
“It’s definitely scary, but then it sort of flips on you again. It’s funny and charming. And you know, that’s pure Roald Dahl.”
