Karlovy Vary [Czech Republic], July 5 : Actor-director Jesse Eisenberg said he has no plans to leave the United States despite recently becoming a Polish citizen, calling it "silly" to move away because of political differences under President Donald Trump's administration, according to Variety.
Speaking at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where he received the festival's President's Award, Eisenberg said he instead feels a responsibility to remain in New York and support people facing difficult circumstances.
"I am a very lucky American," Eisenberg said. "I have a nice life. My wife is a teacher, and she teaches a lot of students who are not as lucky as we are. I think we feel, if anything, a responsibility to stay in New York and help those who are struggling through a tougher period in American history. No, I'm not going to leave because I don't like the politics of America. That seems a little silly, because my life is very good," according to Variety.
The actor is gearing up for the release of his next directorial venture, 'The Debut', a musical comedy starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti. The film is scheduled to release in the US on December 3 through A24.
His comments come days after A24 announced an AI research partnership with Google's DeepMind division to develop AI-powered filmmaking technologies, a move that drew criticism from many independent film fans online, according to Variety.
"The movie takes place in the 1990s, with two stars who have been working forever and who are just brilliant in the movie. We shot on film, which is very rare, so the movie felt like a movie from the 90s, which was my era growing up and starting to watch independent movies. Our movie could not have been more analog." Eisenberg said A24 supported every creative request he made, from casting Moore and Giamatti to shooting on film and setting the story in the 1990s.
"Our movie is the opposite of AI," he said. "It really doesn't affect our movie at all. A24 is a really smart studio. All I could say is that my interactions with them over the last five years have been the most artist-friendly. I've never worked with a studio so closely, where every decision they make is about what would make the thing better. I'm sure they're worried about economics, but never to me. It feels like winning the lottery to work at a company like that, where the only thing they seem to care about, and the only thing they ask from you, is to make the best possible version of your movie," according to Variety.
Reflecting on his growth as a filmmaker, Eisenberg said he felt much more confident directing The Debut after the success of A Real Pain, which followed the mixed response to his directorial debut, When You Finished Saving the World.
"I didn't feel like there was any opposition," he said. "With my second movie, 'A Real Pain,' I did feel a little bit like I had to prove myself even further. I noticed this thing that when actors are making their first films, there's this feeling that this person might be a genius. If that movie doesn't work, you're starting way below genius because now you're an actor who can't direct. When I was doing 'A Real Pain,' I was like: Now I'm an actor who lost money for a studio. That was worse than starting out. The last movie I did feel a little more comfortable."
He also highlighted the advantage of writing his own films.
"Because I write scripts, it allows me to be the first person to get the job as a director. I feel if I write a good enough script, I can always direct it. For directors who don't write, it's tougher. If their movie doesn't work, they're not going to be the screenwriter's first choice."
Beyond filmmaking, Eisenberg revealed that he and his family are preparing to travel to Ukraine for charitable work through The Campfire Project.
"My wife teaches in New York City public schools. She teaches art and she's really wonderful with kids. We found a program called The Campfire Project through Jessica Hecht, a wonderful American actress, and she offered us the opportunity to go work with kids in a camp. My wife is going to teach, my kid is going to play with the kids, and I'm going to be the videographer on my phone."
"Our lives are so lucky," he added. "If we ever find an opportunity to help, of course we take it. We're not saving any lives, but it's nice to be able to go and help."
During a separate in-conversation session at the festival, Eisenberg also addressed reports that he would not return as Mark Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin's upcoming sequel to The Social Network, titled The Social Reckoning.
"At the time, the movie seemed like such a strange thing to me because no one really knew who he was," Eisenberg said. "He was interviewed on '60 Minutes,' which is our big news show, but otherwise he wasn't in the public a lot. I thought of it like an interesting character. And then he became famous and now I don't want to do the movie. I don't want to be associated with him anymore because I don't really like the comparison," according to Variety.