The Thing With Feathers - Flicks (2025)

I can't imagine how you must be feeling. Oh, >> you did. >> Do you want to talk? >> Where's the milk? Uh, >> stop it. >> Why is it first? >> Ah, there he is. Sad dad. >> The thing with feathers stars Benedict Cumberbatch. It's small film, only a $6 million budget. It's a story of a father and his sons experiencing grief and being invaded by a sort of metaphorical crow. But I wanted to talk to Benedict about how prolific his constant acting is. >> It's interesting. I seem to squeeze a lot more into a lot less time actually despite some of the output stacking up or coming out at the same time. And I just had a lovely bit of breathing space. And the thing that's obviously more important than that is family. I didn't even know they could make movies at this low of budget. You must adjust your uh remuneration in some way, shape, or form. >> Polite way of putting it, Patrick. Yeah, I definitely took a cut. Um I mean, yeah, it's it's Yeah, you do. For fair like this, which is small independent film, a challenging subject, something that was born out of love and an obsession with an extraordinary piece of literature. >> You, we were all there for the love. We were not there for paydays. who were there for the joy of trying to bring Max Porter's stunning novel to life. So, if I can support projects that I feel are worthwhile or filmmakers and subject matter that I feel is worthwhile and I have to take a pay cut, that's that's fine. >> Let me close out using Michael Canyon. Michael in acting and film. He talks about the power of not blinking. >> I know I'm quite crap at that. I my eyeballs dry up very very quickly. >> I mean, if Yeah, if you want to sort of sit there in a thought and have a tear form, fine. But even then after that I'm kind of going no it's I'm not I'm not emotionally plugged in. This is just my eyeball watering and it doesn't it doesn't sustain a moment of emotion if you just have one tear kind of you know I know what he means and you know hell gazes are incredibly powerful things in cinema. One of the most amazing ones I've ever been part of, well, the few in Power of the Dog, but what I witnessed in the end shot of an incredibly busy party scene where we're all singing the Russian national anthem and cheersing each other is this flashback to a party and Tinker Taylor, Soldier, Spy, and Mark Strong and Colin FTH looking across at each other across this room. >> And it's just the whole of their relationship is in this held moment. And it's it's spellbinding. It's so moving. It's so powerful. >> You're just you're just invited. You're invited in to understand their dynamic to to see in it what you will. It's extraordinarily daring bit of Thomas Alfredson's. >> This is why I love interviewing him. You you don't you not only do it, but you can explain why you're doing it. Benedict, um, thank you so much. >> Thanks, Patrick. Lovely to see you. >> Flicks with Patrick Stoner explores the craft and culture of film making that enhance our communities for television stations and websites around the country.