When did you first become aware of Robyn Davidson and her trek?

It was sort of everywhere.

It was sort of a cult book, especially amongst backpackers and travelers, youth hostels and stuff.

A lot of girls were reading it.

I always knew about it, but I hadnt read it.

So, she was kind of an iconic figure in Australia.

Ive heard stories that Julia Roberts tried to make it into a film during the 1990s.

I remember hearing rumors.

It had a number of different ideas and people tryingI never read any of the scripts.

Because sometimes its just producer bullshitting, you know?

But I assume that was real, but it didnt happen.

But I never thought about it myself, because I hadnt read it.

And I really couldnt tell you at the time why I needed to do it.

It wasnt like I was running from something dark; it was a desire to shake things up.

When did you first meet Robyn?

So, she flew up to Sydney, and we met and just discussed our hopes for the book.

I think she at that point liked our take on it.

I dont think she had much faith that it was going to go anywhere.

I think she had been through this before.

We hadnt tried to project our own love story onto the thing or an action-adventure heroine story.

I think she felt encouraged, because it reflected the essence of the thing.

Robyns sort of fiercely smart but very reserved.

She doesnt suffer fools gladly.

So, shes got a pretty sharp radar for bullshit, and not to a paranoid degree.

You sort of have to prove yourself to her.

For all she knew, I was just another director talking crap.

Until I delivered something like a script to her, it was all just chatter.

I dont think she really engaged seriously until she saw the work.

I think even though she took the journey without any agenda, subsequently the attention she got was international.

I think she quickly had to adapt to either ignoring this and running and hiding or capitalizing off it.

And I think she did the latter.

I think it encouraged her to write the article; I think it encouraged her to write the book.

And the book kind of defined her career.

She became a writer and she became a traveler, a professional kind of journeyman.

She learned to embrace that public side of it.

Both Rick and Robyn were a resource.

They offered themselves to the process whenever we needed them, but neither one of them wanted to impose.

Itd be kind of difficult to endure the process.

But I really loved both of them.

And Ill answer questions about details and things and help you out.

But they were kind of hands off, as much as possible.

They both came on the shoot for a couple of days apiece and that was it.

They felt somewhat respectful of the actors privacy.

They knew their presence would make the actors feel weird, because theyre playing them.

How as a storyteller do you approach a narrative with so much desolationand treat that with optimism?

Well, I think that was the challenge that really attracted me.

As Ive gotten older, its less and less.

I personally think thats incredibly therapeutic to just be alone in your own thoughts and not be freaking out.

Its amazing how often when you think youre alone that youre not alone.

Youre talking to 15 different people by texting them or emailing them or whatever.

To really be tuned out is really special.

It takes a few days to get yourself out of the rhythm of day-to-day life in communication.

I think thats a very positive thing.

That sort of interrupts the solitude in a way and enhances it.

What was the worst challenge you faced shooting in the desert?

Did you have to worry about feral camels like in the movie?

I think the wild animals were well and truly gone by the time we got out of our cars.

But the hardest part of the shoot was the distance.

It was an incredibly fast-paced shooting process where we were racing from moment to moment.

And very little rehearsal.

Wed kind of shoot the rehearsal and refine it in subsequent takes before moving on.

It took a while for the actors and all of us to get comfortable with that process.

How many takes were you averaging during shots in this process?

Once in a while for some emotional stuff, Id go 10, 12, 15 takes, tops.

But in general, its kind of like three to five shots.

Again, Im shooting on film.

If its digital film, you leave the camera running and do as many times as you want to.

Its a different kind of process.

But film has a different rhythm, and theres a preciousness to each take.

So, it demands a different discipline with the actors, but theyre good actors.

So, really a half-a-dozen takes is the average for the way I like to work anyway.

Speaking of acting, this is a very fearless performance for Mia.

How did the two of you prepare to create such an understated performance?

I think Mias a lot like Robyn.

When you meet her, your first impression is someone who is very quiet and reserved, and gentle.

Whether were challenging each other or working through different takes or what not.

She didnt need a lot of guidance.

This wasnt this process where I was giving a lot of notes.

If I was doing anything, it was helping her to get to a place emotionally.

That is what I considered my job.

So, the process was one where there wasnt a lot of rehearsal.

How much of the physicality of the performance was hers?

Was any of that her real sunburn or blisters?

No, its like smoking.

You cant ask the actors to damage themselves.

The sun is brutal in Australia.

Youd get skin cancer in like three hours if you didnt have sun block.

I dont think she even got a shade darker on that film!

[Laughs] There was always sun block or an umbrella or something.

That was just an amazing make-up job.

I really enjoyed the movie, and thank you for talking to me today.

Thank you, man.

Its been a pleasure.

Tracksis now playing in select cities now.

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