You have this amazing knack for choosing these gem characters that are beloved around the world, like Paddington and now Willy Wonka, and putting them in new adventures on the big screen. What was it that sparked your imagination about Willy?
PAUL KING: When I was a child, I loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was one of the first books I read to myself, and I read it again and again until the pages fell out of the cover. I remember loving the wild comedy, all the crazy characters, and the magic and mayhem of the chocolate factory. But when David [Heyman, producer] mentioned the idea of making a Wonka movie, I read it again and realized it also has an incredibly rich, almost Dickensian emotional core. Charlie is such a kind, decent little boy and his family’s poverty causes them such suffering. The fact he goes on to inherit the factory, a more wonderful gift than he could ever have dreamt, had me in floods of tears – and the prospect of trying to make a film which captured Dahl’s spirit was too exciting to turn down.
And you have a great writing partner in Simon Farnaby. You collaborated on Paddington 2. How did you work together to craft the WONKA screenplay from the story that you had drafted?
PAUL KING: I’ve worked with Simon for a long time and as well as being a fantastic writer he’s a wonderful performer. We act out the scenes between us a lot as we go along. My performance is wooden and awkward, of course, but his is marvelous and it means I start to believe in the lines and understand how they work best. he sets a very high bar for the real actors in my mind! He’s also prepared to tolerate sitting in a room with me for years on end without complaining about the smell, so he’s a gentleman too.
Without giving too much away, how do you introduce Willy in this film and what does the beginning of his journey look like?
PAUL KING: The Wonka in Charlie is a bit of a mystery. Grandpa Joe tells lots of stories about him, but they all concern the time after he became the world’s greatest chocolatier. I was interested in telling another, longer story of Willy Wonka’s earlier life as it was the sort of thing Roald Dahl does in the book, but I didn’t want to spoil all the mystery. So, the first shot of our film has Willy appearing out of the fog, a sort of story-book apparition. You do learn more about his background over the course of the film, but I didn’t want to explain everything as I felt it somehow make him more mundane and less magical.
And speaking of extraordinary, you have found the perfect actor to play Willy. What does Timothée Chalamet bring to this colorful role? Is this a different side of Timothée that we’ve never seen before?
PAUL KING: Timothée gives an absolutely extraordinary performance. Willy is strange and unnerving, funny and charming but with a glint of steel, and Timothée somehow keeps all these plates spinning at once. He needed to be able to sing and dance and deliver a very carefully choreographed performance, yet also dig deep into his emotions, and I was constantly amazed.
In this adventure, Willy has a very much-needed friend in Noodle. Can you tell us a little about her character and the wonderful actress that brings her to life?
PAUL KING: Willy Wonka is very enthusiastic. He wants to try things out and naively assumes it’ll all come out alright in the end. It’s an endearingly childlike sort of quality, whereas Noodle has an old head on young shoulders. She’s from the school of hard knocks in the great Dahl tradition of suffering children, and it’s brought to her a cynicism and a negativity which is very different from Willy’s attitude. She’s played by a brilliant young actress called Calah Lane. We really did scour the world to find somebody who could capture this spirit, and I think she’s magnificent.
Well, you have an embarrassment of riches of characters that surround these two adventurers. And I almost don’t know where to start, because I’m just in awe of who you’ve been able to cast… But let’s start with the amazing Olivia Colman. Who does she play and what does she bring?
PAUL KING: She plays a character called Mrs Scrubbit who runs a wash house called with her long-suffering partner-slash-underling Bleacher, played by Tom Davis. They’re very Dahl-esque villains and what’s great about Olivia is she’s not only very funny and a terrific actress, but she can also be absolutely terrifying.
And almost on the opposite end of that, the luminescent Sally Hawkins—
PAUL KING: Yeah, she’s definitely the opposite—
Willy’s mama. What does that character instill into the story, and what does Sally bring?
PAUL KING: This film is set before Willy became the more cynical soul we meet in the chocolate factory. Our Willy is – at the start of the movie, at least, very wide-eyed and optimistic. He believes that if you have talent and work hard then your dreams can come true. It’s a very uncomplicated view of the world, one he learned from his mother as a young boy, just before she passed away.
Willy’s mother was – to his childish mind – the greatest chocolate maker of all time, and he has spent the years of death striving to recapture that taste. He’s not driven by fame or success or financial gain, but rather to recapture the feeling he had eating his mamma’s chocolate as a little boy.
And then there’s this fresh-faced actor named Rowan Atkinson who has this lovely role. Who is he and what does that genius contribute?
PAUL KING: Rowan is one of my longtime comedy heroes and it was an honor and delight to work with him. He plays a priest at the city cathedral (it’s not his first time in clerical attire) and he has to answer a phone with the words “Hello, pulpit!” It’s the sort of line only Rowan could deliver!
And how did you marry the two ideas of Hugh Grant and an Oompa Loompa?
PAUL KING: I loved working with Hugh on Paddington 2, and would cheerfully work with him every day for the rest of my life. He’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met, and he certainly has a naughty side, so I think he sits very comfortably in Dahl’s universe.
The Oompa Loompas don’t have much dialogue in the books but they do have these long songs where they take an almost gleeful pleasure in the demise of al the ghastly children who tour the factory. They’re so funny and biting and scornful, and as I was reading them, Hugh’s voice kept coming into my head. From there, it wasn’t a huge step to go, “Wouldn’t it be funny to see him eighteen inches high with bright green hair and orange skin?” It was perfect.
Keegan-Michael Key has such amazing comedic chops in his character work. It’s a very interesting marriage between him and his character in this.
PAUL KING: I’m a huge fan of his, like all right-thinking people. If you don’t find him funny, we’re not going to be friends. I’m sorry, that’s just how it is. He’s not only a great performer but an amazing writer and his improvisation skills are second to none. The only challenge of working with his is not ruining takes by laughing.
And no stranger to creating imaginative worlds, producer David Heyman. How does your ongoing partnership work?
PAUL KING: It’s a true creative partnership. I love David’s ideas, his taste and sensibility. He’s my first audience and the only person as tough on the film as I am. We share the same aspirations, and the same pain when we feel we’ve fallen short. He’s a relentless perfectionist, and not only supports me every step of the way.
Now, just tell us, a little bit of a marketing hat on here, why is WONKA the perfect film for the holiday and what can moviegoers look forward to?
PAUL KING: WONKA is the perfect Christmas movie. It’s like a great chocolate. It’s got a fun, colorful exterior and a warm, sweet center which will leave you with a delicious aftertaste! And while it would be great fun to scoff the whole box down on your own, you’re better off sharing it with your family and friends.
Of all of the chocolate creations that you have come up with, what would be the one you would eat incessantly?
PAUL KING: Well, the Hoverchocs are delicious. Sadly, they don’t literally make you fly, but we had our very own chocolate maker on the team, Gabriella Cugno, who made the most exquisite creations. And I can personally vouch for the fact they are the most delicious chocolates I’ve ever had. You bite into them and there’s that perfect chocolatey snap, and as they melt in your mouth, you taste more and more delicate flavors. My favorite part of the whole process was tasting her chocolate (which I did far more often than was technically necessary). I think I gained about fifty pounds.
So, all of those wonderful confections that we see were created by your own chocolatier?
PAUL KING: Yes. And everything that is eaten in the movie is not only edible but delicious. I promise.
Oh my gosh, that’s amazing.
PAUL KING: It is amazing! When the characters eat flowers or leaves, they’re edible. They’re great. And there was an amazing thing on set one day… I was remembering the bit where Gene Wilder [as Willy Wonka] eats the teacup. We had a shot and I was like, “Oh, if only I’d thought of this, we could have a chocolate cup that Willy could make.” And our chocolatier went, “Oh, I can do that.” And I went, “We’ve got an hour before we film it.” “Don’t worry.” And she went away and made half a dozen, because obviously you need multiple takes. Blue, perfect little cup and saucer, made of different blue leaves all formed into the shape. And you just go, “I need you in my life.” Sadly, I can’t employ her full-time, but maybe if the movie does well, I can hire her 24/7.
Will she be credited?
PAUL KING: Yes, absolutely.
Oh, my. Wow. Now I really wish I could have been on your set and I’m sorry that I wasn’t. I just have to say thank you so much for a delightful morning.
PAUL KING: Thank you so much. Thank you.
