The Wolf and The Lion: Meet Molly Kunz, Director Gilles de Maistre

In this interview, we chat with actress, Molly coons and director gio de mestre about their new film the Wolf and the Lion in theaters now. We’re very sorry for your loss grandpa loves all I had left he didn’t do things like other people. I made a new friend recently a she-wolf, she goes around the house a lot what are you doing? It’s okay, you’ve got a I heard there was a plane crash. It’s pretty terrible the plane was carrying a Lion cub up by a circus we haven’t found it yet Joe you have to come and see this there’s a Wolf pup a Lion cub and what the hell is that it’s one of grandpa’s girlfriends what they’re inseparable the she-wolf didn’t come back.

I’ll have to take care of them myself. You have no, right to them give me back my Lion. I’ll never let anything happen to you are you gonna look after them when they’re older. I have to protect them. They love each other get my Lion back one way or another. I’ll find the way home find the way home. Wow. I gotta say the Wolf and the Lion. I had a chance to check it out at the time we’re recording this interview? It, literally just dropped in theaters what an amazing story about 20-year-old alma she loses pretty much every family member close to her comes back to this island that is gorgeous, but very remote very deserted and she runs into not one but two cubs a Wolf and a Lion and well, the rest is history.

I gotta ask you first Molly, how did you get involved in this film. I auditioned I sent my tape to casting and they forwarded it on to jeal and prune and then jill liked my tape and took me up to Canada she loved it. He loved it and then took me up to Canada to meet some wolves and see how we got along and we did okay. And I got the part and he mentioned recorded. So I know with a lot of actors during the pandemic they’ve been doing a lot of self tapes, which is really just kind of recording yourself in your apartment your home wherever rather than doing the audition in person.

So, I’m assuming a majority of this if not all this was filmed during the pandemic, right about about half of it was filmed during the pandemic. I actually auditioned for this back in 2018. And then we shot in 2019 and 2020. Okay. So, I’d imagine there’s definitely a lot of challenges between the pandemic keeping everybody safe, but also as you mentioned working with these animals for those that don’t know you don’t use any cgi here these were all real trained animals that were seen throughout the film. So, how did that all work out for you had this idea come about and when did you decide to say, you know what forget these the cgi stuff.

We’re going to work with the real animals because with that you can do a different movie. I mean in the states you are the number one to use cgi to make beautiful movies with that 200 million dollars movies. And so you have a result, which is impressive Disney family. I don’t know. All those beautiful companies who are doing incredible movies, but me what I like is to have the real relationship and the emotion it gives and that you cannot do with cgi. It’s impossible to have a Wolf and a Lion interacting with a young girl and to see together playing hugging kissing. That’s not possible in cgi because it’s too complicated and too.

It’s impossible maybe in 20 years. It wouldn’t be possible, but today no. So I like the emotion it gives the proofs it gives on this movie. So, I try to find stories and after under that have messages around the our world our planet and that we have to protect this beautiful. Nature and those incredible and majestic animals who are endangered. And so I try to find stories to just to move the audience and to ask them to maybe help those animals. It’s kind of funny. You said, it’s a it’s complicated. It’s impossible to have a Wolf in the line interacting with each other through cgi.

So he decided to do in person which with real animals, and obviously that’s not easy as well. So what were the challenges that you ran into as a director kind of coordinating everything make sure these animals are trained and you know, obviously making sure Molly as lead actress is safe when interacting with these. Well, it’s a kind of nightmare. But no, it’s a process. I mean, we don’t try animals our trick is really love and bond and so it’s not really a trick. I mean, it’s relationship and the time patience are the ingredients to do those kind of movies. So we spent two years to do that Molly spent a lot of time with the animals, began interacting with the Wolf on the Lion when they were like five weeks six weeks old.

And they were always together and they begin big began became became Brothers. Because it’s not a problem of a Wolf of a Lion it’s a problem of two cups together and they play together. They sleep together. They learn from each other and after we get to the set and we have them here. We are very quiet we’re a small crew Molly is really adapted to them and we try to we have a script, but we change the script with the character of the animals with the way. They go. We try to adapt the camera to that. And so we did a 16 version of the script because we changed a lot of things because we saw the animal?

Well, different, but with what we imagined. So it’s a complicated process. It’s a live process? It’s really not you we don’t use often that in movies, but I like to do movies like that. That’s pretty incredible. And obviously you have to adapt in mali for you? I mean, I’m sure you’re used to working with various co-stars, you’re not used to working with live animals. So what were some of the challenges that you ran into and how did you evolve as a performer over the course of filming this film. It was so different as a performer to work with animals because they’re like you said they’re entirely unlike any other co-star I’d ever had before it’s not only improv, but you don’t.

You know, there is no planning there is no rehearsal. You just have to see what they want to do and what they where they go with the scene. And then you follow their lead and I think the beautiful thing is that I really did know them so well. And so, I was able to see how they were feeling and play off of their energy. But of course, they’re they were my first priority. And if I don’t have bond with them. I don’t have anything so including maybe my limbs. So I wanted to I think as a performer normally you would adjust your voice and adjust your body language to the character into the scene.

And in this instance it was so much more important for me to adjust my body language to make sure. They felt safe and make sure. They felt good. And my voice too. So a lot of the elements of performance that I would normally do were adjusted for them. They started out as cubs these these animals that we see the Wolf and the Lion are the same ones when they were little and grown throughout the film, right? Did they say they spent all this time together. So I would imagine that this was filmed over the last couple of years and they practically grew up together and grew bond with you, right?

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that’s the process. It’s the same animal they grow together and that’s because it’s safe. If you put different animals. I’m sure if you put a Wolf on the Lion together. They don’t know each other the Lion is going to kill the Wolf in one second that’s incredible. Did it surprise either of you at all that they grew. So close. I mean, it’s one thing to film it and have the magic of post-production, but for them to actually be best friends in real life, I would imagine to this day. I mean, that’d somewhat surprise you. Yeah me. I didn’t think it would go so far that they were they would be so close and that’s fantastic because what’s funny?

They learn from each other and we always tell the funny story of the Lion digging walls and a Lion never dig holes because Wolf had digging horse and he learned from the Wolf and the Wolf acting like a cat he was playing with ranches and leaves like a cat is playing and the Wolf never do that. And so it’s like and often when we shoot with only with the Wolf or only with a Lion we had to bring the other one. Yeah, the they couldn’t do and they had a scene they were playing and go to see the Lion and come back on the set.

And so it’s incredible to see that, but I mean, it’s also one of the message of the movies. If you learn to know a person any anyone even is so different from you even is coming from the other part of the earth even it’s not the same religion the same. Well, I don’t know color whatever if you know, each other you can become brother and you can love and so that’s also the message a family is love. So mozar and dreamer they’re still best friends in real life. They’re based in Canada now are they just kind of roman wild where are they at these days they are at andrew simpson, which is the animal called milan.

He kept them together because they were inseparable because at the beginning. We were supposed to send the Lion back to Africa, but there they are there was they were born in Canada. So they are Canada and Canadian alliance, but we wanted to give them a retreat in Africa, but at one point when we saw the such a relationship. We didn’t want to separate them and we thought it was more important the bomb they had than going to Africa where they don’t know Africa those times. That’s so cool and Molly for you do they miss you at all. Do you ever get the urge to visit them now that you’re done filming this?

I do? Yeah, I hope they miss me. I hope they’re roaming around thinking about me every day. I doubt it, but I miss them and I’m planning to go up and visit the border was closed during COVID. So, it was difficult I couldn’t go see them, but hopefully sometime this year. I’ll be able to make it up? Well, we definitely look forward to checking out the Wolf and the Lion currently in theaters right now strongly recommend everybody check it out in addition to the Wolf and the Lion. Do you two have any other upcoming projects you’d like to talk about I’m shooting at now in Mexico and a new movie a comedy about the Amazon forest, but it was a kid and there is a jaguar and it’s very funny funny adventure one more thing in one line or less for each of you, why should people watch the Wolf on the line.

It’s heartwarming it’s a feel-good movie and I think people need that right now agree more than one sentence agreed and jill we tried to do a movie to share in family families the parents and the kids can share the movie discuss about it after take a lot of pleasure to see it and after be happy to just to share something something good for the heart. I think fantastic. Well, I thank you too so much for the time. It was a pleasure to review the film to check it out. I strongly recommend everybody watch it the Wolf and the Lion in theaters right now. Congratulations on all the success and hope to talk to you guys again, soon.