On Finding the Perfect Location to Shoot "Thumbsucker:" “The only tough part was I really wanted it to be of a piece and kind of organically related. I found the house first and then I tried to work by finding the closest high school, the closest dentist’s office, so that in a way I was making the least decisions and that the real nature of the place was going to speak through. So that was kind of hard. But finding locations for anything is kind of as hard as finding your actors, you know? And, to me at least, they play equally important roles as far as like the human being and the context that they’re in are what I’m documenting. But it wasn’t any harder than usual.”
Working with Keanu Reeves, Tilda Swinton, Vince Vaughn and Vincent D’Onofrio: Being a first time feature film director and working with an ensemble cast of big name stars can be a little intimidating. But Mills says any intimidating he might have felt quickly disappeared. “They were all so nice to me and open and easy-going. We created such a happy, easy-going playful set that very quickly it was just working. It wasn’t intimidating.”
Of the Characters in “Thumbsucker,” Who Does Mills Identify the Most?: “Definitely Justin [played by Lou Pucci] and that’s a large part of why I wanted to do the whole project. It was sort of an opportunity to kind of say things and talk back and feel things. It was very cathartic for me."
Asked why he relates so well to Justin, Mills said, “The way that he worries so much about everything. The way that at 17 years old he’s trying to be an adult and kind of trying to be a peer to his mom and sort of save his family. His combination of doubt and total ambition, you know? And an aloneness.”
Mike Mills on Why He Cast Keanu Reeves as an Orthodontist: “One of my favorite films is ‘My Own Private Idaho’ or ‘River’s Edge’ so to me I see Keanu… I watch those movies a lot so I’m used to seeing Keanu in this type of film. I watch those [‘Matrix’ films] but I don’t study them the way I studied ‘My Own Private Idaho,’ which is a real huge influence on me. So Keanu’s like in my brain already. And then I think from what I knew about him before, just kind of like what we all know, is that I had this impression that he was a real seeker person. That he was really searching for something. And I also just had this feeling watching a bunch of his films that he had some sort of sincerity and almost like a boyish sincerity.
I really wanted to have some kindness to that character. Even though he’s doing strange things, I really wanted him to be earnest and kind, especially at the end. I didn’t want to have a cynical jerk in there. I felt like Keanu’s life had enough overlap with that that it would be energized.”
Mike Mills on Adapting Walter Kirn’s Novel: “I think I stuck to the major feeling of the novel. I think Walter would agree with me. But a lot of the subplots, a lot of the details, had to go. But the core feeling, the core situation, the core plot is all there.”
On Hal Ashby's Influence: “Yeah, he’s my big hero. I think that ‘Harold and Maude’ is the biggest influence on this film with the themes of self-acceptance and a lot of the techniques of filmmaking. And then in general, the way that Hal Ashby had all of his characters in all of his movies all super flawed but they’re all loved by him. They’re all seen with compassion and that’s the main lesson I learned from him. His movies are all about broken people but it’s not like it’s a failure, it’s just part of life. So that kind of heart was what I got out of it.”
