Although this is Edgerton’s first feature as a director, he is by no means unseasoned. He’s got a couple of shorts under his belt (The List from 2008, and Monkeys from 2011) and has recently been taking a firmer hand in shepherding his writing onto the screen, taking a producing role on Felony.
Edgerton is part of the Blue-Tongue Films group, a highly collaborative crew of filmmakers that includes his brother Nash, as well as director David Michôd. Blue-Tongue has produced all of Edgerton’s feature scripts, as well as Michôd’s Animal Kingdom (2010) and The Rover (2014), on which Edgerton has a story credit.
In addition, as a moderately famous actor he’s had a front row seat to examine the processes of notable auteurs like Baz Luhrmann, who directed him as Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (2013), and Ridley Scott, who cast Edgerton (to some controversy) as the pharaoh Ramses in Exodus: Gods and Kings last year.
“Directors don’t usually get to watch other directors direct. They go to a set for maybe a few hours. But [as an actor] I’m there for the duration, and if you open your eyes and open your ears there’s so much you can learn, good and bad. Not just on a filmmaking level, but on a personable level: how they relate to their crew. I learned a lot from Baz Luhrmann. The interesting thing I realised was how far gratitude gets you. He has more gratitude than anybody I’ve ever met, and that makes him a great general.”
“In the last four years I feel like a part of me has been undercover as an actor,” Edgerton says, “just stealing the good qualities and understanding how directors make movies.”
Undercover no longer, and with an impressive group of features already behind him, it’s now clear that Edgerton is building one of the most crafty and consistent bodies of work in recent Australian cinema.
Read more at http://junkee.com/with-the-gift-joel-edgerton-becomes-one-of-australias-most-exciting-new-filmmakers/63978#YKQROQC6obIJWBgw.99