The film was fair to his musical achievement and gave him every opportunity to explain himself.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
We wanted to make sure that the film covered the main issues of his life. Musicianship, appearance.
It's a director's job to tell a story and he's very well versed in telling stories with a bit of comedy in them and keeping the pace of the movie right and that's exactly what he did. He was observant of a world he didn't understand but he told a wonderful story.
I thought his performance was absolutely wonderful and had said so, but he seemed, as actors quite often are when they first see something, to be disappointed. I think he expected more from the film and himself.
Going through this musical experience really helped us to understand the core of the film.
The music's job is to get the audience so involved that they forget how the movie turns out.
A good film demands its own score, and if you are a musician, your conscience will never allow you to do something mediocre for a good film.
What he's done is recognise the cinematic nature of the book. It's beautifully realised - it's a beat film.
I believe, for an actor, both the success of his film and awards are equally important.
Music is so crucial to every film, I think.
It's not a film-maker's job to explain his technique, but to tell his story the best way he can.