Finestkind
Director-screenwriter: Brian Helgeland
Logline: Says Helgeland, “The movie tells the story of a group of fishermen and their relationships with each other, two of their relationships with their fathers. It’s a very personal film. I grew up in that world. My father was a fisherman, I fished when I got out of college. It took a long time to tell this story, but I finally told it.” When the firshermen lose their boat, and their debts rack up, they get involved with a group of heroin smugglers.
Panelist: Brian Helgeland
Premiere date: November on Paramount+
Key Quote: When it came to casting the role of Mabel, who is a pivotal connection to get the fisherman involved in the drug trade, Helgeland had no idea what a sensation that Ortega would become from Wednesday, however, he could clearly spot her raw talent. “She is a total professional. She’s a child actress originally. My experiences — Emily Browning was a child actress and she’s a dead-on professional. No fooling around. Nails it. Jenna is the same way. A lot of work goes into that. She does a lot of prep and thinking about it on her own. When she (Jenna) was up (on camera), I’d say ‘Get the Navy SEAL in here. We need our Navy SEAL.’ She arrives, two takes and you’re done.”
