Alfonso Cuaron and Cate Blanchett reveal “Disclaimer” at Apple Show: Venice

Five-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón has finally made his debut in a big-budget streaming series. Disclaimer.

The psychological thriller, starring Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline, was presented to the press for the first time on Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival. The director and his celebrated cast then met with the media on the Lido on Thursday to discuss the creation and themes of the show.

The Apple Studios series, told in seven chapters, is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Renée Knight. The ensemble is rounded out by Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Lesley Manville, Louis Partridge, Leila George, Hoyeon and Indira Varma as narrator.

“I read the book and it immediately sparked a movie in my head, but at the time I didn't know how to make that movie,” said Cuarón, explaining why he decided to adapt Knight's book into a series. “Because the movie I saw was way too long. It wasn't until years later that I got the idea that maybe this could work in a longer form. It's a format that I admire because, I mean, incredible artists have played with that form – from Fassbender to David Lynch to Kieślowski. So that was the starting point.”

DisclaimerThe official synopsis reads: “Acclaimed journalist Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett) has built her reputation by exposing the misdeeds and wrongdoings of others. When she receives a novel from an unknown author, she is horrified to discover that she is now the main character in a story that will reveal her darkest secrets. As Catherine attempts to uncover the author's true identity, she is forced to confront her past before it destroys both her own life and her relationships with her husband Robert (Baron Cohen) and son Nicholas (Smit-McPhee).”

Cuarón said he had Blanchett in mind from the beginning for Disclaimer“When I wrote the script, Cate was already there. I was terribly afraid that [she] would say no because it was so on my mind and that's how I saw the whole thing,” he said.

“I play a woman who has buried things, traumatic things that she has buried,” Blanchett said. “And so I thought about what happens to repressed memories and things that we avoid rather than confront. And I found it fascinating and quite painful.”

The idea of ​​casting Kevin Kline, who plays a British character in the series, came from Blanchett.

“She spoke of A fish named Wanda [the 1988 hit which won Kline the Best Supporting Actor Oscar] and she said, “Kevin! And immediately it was, 'Yeah, why don't we think of Kevin?'” Cuarón said.

Kline said he felt he was “in incredibly good hands” with Cuarón as director and noted the Rome The helmer “explained in great detail how he saw each moment,” which makes it easier when you “perform with your whole heart.”

Cuarón said he took a cinematic approach to producing the series. “I don't know how to direct television. It's probably too late for me to learn how to do television at this stage in my life,” he admitted. “So there was never a conversation during the whole thing about us doing something different – with the cameraman or anything. We do everything as a film. We made it like a film.”

That didn't make it easy for the cast and crew, the director admitted, noting that his approach resulted in long, grueling hours and a shoot that lasted nearly a year. Cuarón said it was like making “seven movies.” [I] really empathize with the actors because they were trapped in their characters for far too long.”

The series will premiere on the red carpet in Venice on Thursday night – Blanchett joked that she had planned to attend the gala screening “naked” – and will be released worldwide on Apple TV+ on October 11, with the first two episodes following every Friday thereafter. Disclaimer is Cuarón's first show under his overall deal with Apple Studios.