“Wonka” is expected to be a sweet and sentimental origins story of the famed chocolatier. One of the biggest surprises comes from Timothee Chalamet’s scene-stealing co-star Calah Lane.
ThatsItLA was invited to participate in a roundtable interview with “Wonka” director Paul King – he also helmed the first two “Paddington” films – and Calah Lane, the young star making her big screen debut alongside a powerhouse cast which consists of Timothee Chalamet, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant.
“Wonka” is an origins story that follows the early days of Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet), a destitute chocolatier with a hatful of dreams to become the world’s most famous chocolate maker and crate sweet confections with the world for all to enjoy. However, the chocolate cartel, a trio of greedy businessmen who run the Galeries Gourmet, see Wonka as a threat and will do anything to run him out of town. However, our confident young hero refuses to be deterred, and with the help of a young and skeptical orphan named Noodle (Calah Lane), Wonka’s dreams of sharing the chocolate with the world is that much closer to coming true.
In the interview, we talked about working with her co-star, eating chocolates, what advice she got from Chalamet, the production and swimming in chocolate pools, and what representation means to her.
When I asked it what it was like to play a young girl of color where African American girls can see themselves, she said she was honored to be a part of the film. “I’m very honored to be a part of this film, especially as an African-American girl in this new environment,” she said.” I really enjoyed being on set with Paul and all of those amazing actors, and I feel like being in this film is just amazing. I’m so honored to be a part of this.”
King, who has to struggle with receiving compliments because he’s British, says writing an endearing adaptation while paying homage to the original started with penning a script with co-writer Simon Farnaby was challenging because the book and film is so beloved.
“I’m sort of driven by fear and anxiety for the most part, especially in something like this, because it’s so beloved. And the book is so loved by people around the world. And I loved it as a kid. And especially the 71 movie, which I grew up with,” King said. “Calah grew up with the Tim Burton one’s been done so, so gorgeously before and to kind of set foot in that universe. Albeit to tell a different story, like an origin story, you’re scared because you’re playing with people’s cherished childhood memories.
“We just wanted to do something that did justice to the book that we’d grown up loving. As a director, especially to sort of pay homage to the 1971 movie, which I grew up with, it was never a question of how can we? How can we get what we want to do into this world,” he said. “It just felt like we wanted to try and step in the footsteps of those giants and hopefully make it make a movie that people would respond to.”
Part of what makes “Wonka” work so well is Chalamet and Lane’s chemistry. With the former playing as Wonka, the iconic chocolatier with a hatful of dreams and only a pocketful of silver sovereigns to his name; and the latter playing Noodle, an orphan young girl with a tragic backstory but a heart of gold. Lane talked about her instant chemistry with her co-star and how it felt more than being a part of a production family. Right when we first met, we had really great chemistry on and off,” she said. “So we had so much fun. What I love about him [Chalamet] is that he really knows how to get into character. Like he’s really really good at what he does. He’s really really good. But we had so much fun. We became like a family I’d say everybody on set, we just became like a huge family.”
“Wonka” opens in theaters on December 15, 2023.
