Director David Nutter talks about Game of Thrones' "Safety on the Board"



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Winter is coming to an end.

The fallout of Game of Thrones is multiplying like resurrected warriors, but the OG show closes after six episodes of season 8 next year. And that means that actors, directors and animators embark on different projects.

For director David Nutter, who has directed half of the last six episodes of the series – including the first game of the season -, the life outside of "GoT" begins with "Rising," an initiative of the US. Love Has No Labels initiative, an Emmy laureate, and the very first Ad Council Short Academy Award-nominated short film. The film, written by Lena Waithe, an award-winning Emmy writer, asks, "Why is there a disaster to get together?

Nutter, who is in his 50s, told us about the movie, about his return to the "Game of Thrones" shoot, and why the security on the set looked like the "Gestapo".

After missing Season 6 and 7, how was he to come back for the last season of "Game Of Thrones"?

After 2015, after the fifth season, I had several back surgeries and I missed seasons 6 and 7. And that broke my heart. You follow a physical therapy and all the things you undergo for back surgery. Sometimes I participate in excruciating physical therapy sessions and wonder if I will ever have the chance to lead again – much less run "Game of Thrones". Fortunately, I came back. I have all been repaired. They welcomed me with open arms, and not only with open arms, but again with me to involve and direct three of the six episodes. [of Season 8].

It has happened a lot since your departure. Now it is revealed that Jon and Dany are related. Regarding the opening of season 8 and half of the episodes in general, what does it take you to assume this relationship?

I am so honored to be involved in this document because it is written in a wonderful way. It's so wonderful. It's so terribly executed. Being part of this world is a dream come true … [Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] are wonderful to work with. They are excellent collaborators, as well as teachers and mentors. In many ways, I have the chance to participate in what they do.

We have heard a lot about fake scenes this year. As a director, do you even know when you shoot a fake scene?

Oh yes. Oh yes, of course.

All this in order to keep things secret. So how was safety this season for you? Liam Cunningham told me that he could not even access his scripts on secure iPads.

Well, there were sometimes paparazzi in incredible places – on construction cranes and in all kinds of crazy places, to try to get a point of view on things. They were everywhere, everywhere, trying to understand what was happening. But it was really a situation where there was no paper on the board, [that] type of thing. [The production team] wanted to make sure nobody knew what was going on, and they went to the notdegree, as they do on the show in general. Basically, they take it to the point of resembling the Gestapo. It's hard to get answers.

Obviously, everyone has theories about how this ends. Knowing how it ends, how about these fans?

All I know is that David and Dan have spent a lot of time telling the story appropriately, and the audience will be completely satisfied. Not everyone will be satisfied, but I think the audience will be pleased with the direction the series is taking. He is up to the building in which he is heading, I promise you.

How did you prepare for the opening of season 8? Have you watched old episodes?

There is certainly some of it. For me, it was to honor Jeremy Podeswa (a director of the GOT). He has made some excellent openers of the season, especially season 7. He is a great friend and an excellent director … I was hoping to be at the height of his job.

You've been part of the series since season 2. What's it like to see where it is now?

It's interesting to be able to work with all the actors. Sophie, when she first met the hound and she was in Westeros, has now become a formidable queen to her. Arya, who is part of this little girl who wanted to be noticed and perceived as formidable. The growth of these family members has been very fun and having the chance to work with exciting new actors and fun people has also been a real pleasure. Things like the Daznak Pit, and of course the Walk of Shame and the Red Wedding, were highlights of my career. It's something I will never forget.

You did an interview Ask Me Anything on Reddit "Game of Thrones" for your new movie "Rising". What did this experience look like?

It was very funny. It was interesting. I have never done this before. These are pretty much direct questions and so on. I used to work on "The X-Files" in the first two seasons … we actually had chat rooms with fans.

How did you end up directing it?

They had another director in mind to do the project but something did not work out and he could not do it. I had worked with the production company before and they contacted me. I said, "My God, I'd love to do it." Nothing would make me more enthusiastic than doing something of value and something that, hopefully, contains a message that people could really understand.

For someone who looks at him – no matter who he is, no matter his affiliation or his feelings about anything – the hope would be that someone who looks at him gets the point of view of his neighbor next door, people on the other side of the street, of himself, because prejudices are caused by blindness. I think it's a situation in which I really wanted people to look at it and react to it personally, because for me – because of the length of the project … something that is a bit longer than a commercial – we wanted to give the public a chance to invest emotionally.

Why do disasters bring people together?

It seems that we live in a society of confrontation, fear and misunderstanding. We do not listen enough. We believe that the key to life is to continue to grow, to listen and to learn.

You have a character here, a mechanic, who seems to be a stereotypical proponent of Donald Trump. Where does this character come from? What was the thought behind him?

It's interesting, this character could be trained like anything you want. He is a man working on his car, listening to music. This kid is coming out. He turns around, looks at the kid, turns off his music … it really depends on who you are and where you come from, for your specific point of view. What is fascinating [is that] everyone who watches it will have their own shot, so there was never an opportunity or a situation where I wanted to stereotype anyone. We are not stereotypes of people … I wanted it to be as real as possible.

If the president ends up seeing this film, what would you like him to get out of it?

For him, take a break, and that's about all you would have ever had, and also to watch him alone in a room so you do not have to answer in front of everyone, because it's a very personal. I think it's a situation where we are all the same. We are all equal, we must all respect each other and I think we need each other to survive. I think it's a situation in which, if it could happen, if he could pause for a moment and send a tweet less … then we did something positive.

This interview has been slightly modified for clarity.

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