Taika Waititi on ‘Jojo Rabbit's Oscar Nomination, Michael Fassbender’s Comedy Potential and More

Filmmaker Taika Waititi says actor Michael Fassbender should stop doing dramas because he is so funny and so good at improvising. Waititi has earned two Oscar nominations this year -- Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture -- for his film Jojo Rabbit. He has completed production on his next feature "Next Goal Wins" and will soon start work on Thor: Love And Thunder. Golden Globes 2020 Full Winners List: 1917, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, Fleabag, Succession Win Big; The Irishman, Game of Thrones Go Empty-Handed at 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

"With the 'Thor' film, I can't share much, for obvious reasons. We're going to be writing all the way up until we shoot, and then throughout the shoot. But with 'Next Goal Wins', it's one of the happiest shoots I've ever been on. It's a 99 per cent Polynesian cast. Michael Fassbender is a comic revelation," Waititi told deadline.com. Golden Globes 2020: Game of Thrones Fans are Furious after Kit Harrington Bags the Only Nomination for the Show.

"I think he should just stop doing dramas from now on because he's so funny, and so good at improvising. To me, it was a real revelation," he added. For Waititi, getting six Oscar nods for "Jojo Rabbit" is like a full-circle moment. The director was first nominated back in 2005 for his short film "Two Cars, One Night". He lost that Oscar.

"Losing to Andrea Arnold, it took me probably 13 years just to get over that. Because what she did to me back then, it was disrespectful. Although 'Wasp' was an incredible short film, she didn't need to do that. And look at me now, Andrea," the director joked, adding: "I played the long game, man. I played the long game." Based on the novel "Caging Skies" by author Christine Leunens, "Jojo Rabbit" is about a lonely German boy named Jojo and how his world view changes when he finds out that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic.

The anti-hate satire brings forward the vivid imagination of Jojo, and his experiences through fantasy and his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler. Waititi will be seen playing the role of imaginary friend, Hitler. The Fox Searchlight film, which had its world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, will release in India on January 31. Waititi says getting Oscar nods is also a vindication of the creative risks he took with "Jojo Rabbit".

"I never wanted to make something that was very easy, because for me, if it's too easy, then what's the point?. Sometimes people say, ‘Oh, it's divisive,' but where I come from, ‘divisive' is not a swear word. It's a means to create discussion," he said. Along with Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture, "Jojo Rabbit" will also compete at the Oscars in the categories of Film Editing, Costume Design, Production Design and Supporting Actress.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 14, 2020 07:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).