The confluence of two exceptional storytellers – one a filmmaking giant, the other a literary genius – could only produce magic. Steven Spielberg has brought Roald Dahl’s timeless The BFG to the big screen – the story of a little orphan girl who befriends the big, friendly giant of the title who takes her on an adventure in Giant Country.

The year that Spielberg celebrated the success of his classic ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, 1982, was the same year that The BFG was first published. Dahl, who died in 1990, remains one of the world’s foremost children’s authors producing stories chockfull of intricate but accessible narratives and engaging, colourful and scary characters.

Of Dahl, Spielberg says: “It was very brave of him to introduce that combination of darkness and light which was so much Walt Disney’s original signature in a lot of his earlier works. Being able to be scary and redemptive at the same time, and teach a lesson, an enduring lesson, to everyone – it was a wonderful thing for Dahl to have done, and it was one of the things that attracted me to want to direct this Dahl book.”

When the author passed away, the filmmakers forged a relationship with his widow and had many conversations about making a movie. They also discussed whether it would have worked better as animation or live action, given, at the time, none of the technology they envisaged using even existed.

There are some twists and turns that made Dahl’s original story much more dramatic, in a way that gives you more of a chance to see the friendship develop

Eventually, The BFG would end up being a blend of live-action and performance-capture filmmaking. But first, the producers needed to adapt the book into a screenplay and Spielberg turned to his friend, screenwriter Melissa Mathison, who wrote the script to ET. Mathison, who sadly passed away a few months after filming was completed, was determined to remain faithful to Dahl’s voice and vision, exploring the writer’s life and works in detail to ensure she captured the spirit of his writings.

The scriptwriter placed much of the focus on the bond between Sophie and the BFG. “It is a very sweet relationship.” she said, “But, they actually start off a little combative and are suspicious of one another and even have their own little power struggles. From the moment they have a plan and move forward as partners, there’s just so much love between them. It’s a wonderful, little love story.”

Integral to the central relationship was, of course, its casting. It was on the first day of filming Bridge of Spies, Spielberg’s Cold War drama, that he realised he had found his BFG. Renowned British stage actor Mark Rylance, whose career the director had been following for a while, was playing convicted Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.

“Mark would go into complete character transformation when the camera was rolling,” says Spielberg, “And, while he is one of the greatest stage actors ever, it was the Mark in between takes that really touched my heart. It was then that I knew he could do anything.”

And so, Rylance found himself in his second collaboration with the director.

The actor claims to have been immediately inspired by the script. “Melissa added some twists and turns and made Dahl’s original story much more dramatic, in a way that gives you more of a chance to see the friendship develop.

“The BFG and Sophie are both isolated beings,” he adds. “They find a friend who understands them, maybe better than they do, and those are the best kind of friends. That’s part of the great love and friendship they have for each other.”

Taking on the equally important role of little Sophie is newcomer Ruby Barnhill, cast after a six-month audition process in which the filmmakers saw thousands of girls. As Spielberg describes it, Barnhill’s audition stopped him dead in his tracks. “There was just something about her,” he says. “She is fascinating and incredibly talented, and just perfect for this role.”

On Barnhill’s first meeting with Rylance, it was immediately evident that there was amazing chemistry between the two. “Ruby is a very imaginative young woman and just a complete natural actress,” says Rylance. “I learned from her really, as you do from all the young people. Her ability to take very complicated technical notes from Steven and make them natural is just miraculous, just remarkable.”

And the feeling was mutual. “Working with Mark was really lovely. He’s always got a smile on his face and he’s kind to me all the time,” Barnhill says. “And, I think we have quite a good relationship, almost like Sophie and the BFG.”

The BFG also stars Penelope Wilton as The Queen, Rebecca Hall as Mary, the Queen’s handmaiden, Rafe Spall as Mr Tibbs, the butler and Jemaine Clement and Bill Hader as Fleshlumpeater and Bloodbottler, two of the BFG’s evil giant brothers.

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