Five times Oscar-winning Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu is set to present a political satire with the upcoming Tom Cruise -starrer Digger . he agrees it holds more truth in the current socio-political climate of the world While he conceptualised the idea almost a decade ago of how men in power are destroying the world out of their egos.
“When we started exploring this as an idea about 10 years ago, surprisingly, the world has become fastly, very loud, very fragmented and very weird since. We met in 2019 and he loved the concept I showed him through all the visual research I had at the time, and he was in. Just like actor Leonardo DiCaprio got his first long-awaited Oscar for Iñárritu’s film The Revenant (2015), will Cruise also get his first Oscar for Digger?
Because our work doesn’t depend on it, the filmmaker responds, “It’s something that we don’t have many big expectations or interest in,. We are in a constant reality show and everything is performative. It’s hard for every human being, having so many narratives in our phones and fragmented realities, to figure out how to tell ourselves the story of where we are now, how to really talk about the common reality. The filmmaker adds, “The representation of reality is framed in a way in the film that we can totally separate ourselves and see ourselves and laugh at ourselves to find a common ground about a very complicated thing. It has to do with how we tell the story of ourselves and have to approach something like that without fighting each other. Tom Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a wealthy oil tycoon, in the film presented by Warner Bros. Pictures. Usually known for his charming looks and action persona, the actor sports a balding head, a protruding tummy and ageing look. Iñárritu shares that Cruise never hesitated with his look in the film and stood by the project even when it was on the verge of collapse. “Tom got exactly the character he asked from me. But then the film collapsed and there were a lot of schedule and budget problems. But he was really interested in it. He was like a kid hearing me, trapped in the story. He never resisted and was always pushy to get further to get this character clearer, funnier and powerful,” the filmmaker shares. I think the work is done and if the people appreciate it, it is great, but it’s something that we cannot do anything about. Digger also has an Indian connection, with actor Riz Ahmed playing a scientist named Ganesh from Mumbai. “I love Riz Ahemd, he is a genius. I proposed to him to play a scientist who comes from an Indian family and he loved the role immediately. Working with him was a beautiful experience too and he played an incredibly funny, heartfelt scientist. Normally, people from India are so smart in science and I admire that. He’s very conflicted to what he has done and that duality of Ganesh is incredibly portrayed by Riz.
I found that it’s through humour and separation,” he says. I know he is not from India, but he understands very well, being from across the border,” Iñárritu says. In the film, here’s a country today that is trapped in all these fossil fuel problems, and Riz plays a character that is not pure.
