Steven Spielberg thinks Green Book is ‘best buddy comedy’ since Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Peter Farrelly says the director loved the film so much he watched it 'five times in two weeks'
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Your support makes all the difference.The director of Green Book has revealed that the film wouldn’t have been released were it not for Steven Spielberg.
Peter Farrelly explained to Deadline that it wasn’t until the Jurassic Park director saw the comedy drama, which stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, that Farrelly began to believe that it could even be an awards contender.
Focus Features was originally set to produce the film, but ultimately decided to pass on the project. Farrelly then told his CAA agent Richard Lovett to get the film in front of Spielberg, telling him: “I think he’s going to flip if he sees this.’”
Farrelly said that Spielberg loved the film so much that “he watched it five times over two weeks”.
“[He] watched it at 8am and called me at 10am. He flipped and said it was his favourite buddy movie since Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Farrelly said.
Spielberg ended up taking Green Book to DreamWorks and the studio put in a deal with Universal who placed the film at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Weeks later, it won the coveted Grosch People’s Choice Award and has since become an awards frontrunner, winning the Golden Globe for Best Film – Musical/Comedy.
The five-time Oscar-nominee will compete for Best Picture at this year's ceremony, which is due to take place on 24 February.
Green Book tells the story of African-American jazz musician Dr Don Shirley’s concert tour through the segregated Deep South in the 1960s and depicts a blossoming friendship between the musician and his Italian-American driver Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen).
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