The Big Picture

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff discusses Disney’s
Young Woman and the Sea
with director Joachim Rønning.
Rønning sings the praises of lead and executive producer Daisy Ridley and shares the challenges and benefits of filming on the ocean.
The filmmaker also discusses the “cutting-edge” technology and influence for his upcoming feature, the highly anticipated
Tron: Ares
.

One thing seems clear about Disney’s new Young Woman and the Sea, and that’s the magic it took to get this incredible true story to the big screen. The movie stars Daisy Ridley as Trudy Ederle, the first woman to ever successfully swim the English Channel. The film is based on the inspiring true story covered in the Glenn Stout novel, yet it still took over seven years to make. It turns out that attempting to capture “the beauty and the dangers” of the ocean is a harrowing task, but one the cast and crew were more than qualified for.

In this interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, director Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) sings the praises of Ridley, who also serves as executive producer, calling her a “force of nature” who “gave her all” to the production. Young Woman and the Sea is the first time Trudy’s story has been told onscreen, and it was important for the team behind this movie to make sure audiences could feel the passion of its subject and the dedication to making this movie a cinematic experience.

During their conversation, Rønning discusses how Ridley inspired him on set every day and why the ocean is a recurring character throughout his filmography. The director, who will be helming the upcoming untitled Pirates of the Caribbean project with Disney, also compares the challenges of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales to those they tackled on Young Woman and the Sea. For more on this unbelievable story and what to expect from the highly anticipated Tron: Ares, check out the full interview in the video above this article or in the transcript below.

Young Woman and the Sea The story of competitive swimmer Trudy Ederle, who, in 1926, was the first woman to ever swim across the English Channel.Release Date May 31, 2024 Runtime 100 Minutes Main Genre Biography Writers Jeff Nathanson , Glenn Stout Expand

Daisy Ridley Gave Her All to ‘Young Woman and the Sea’

PERRI NEMIROFF: We often hear the phrasing, “What did a director bring out of an actor?” I want to spin that around. What is something about Daisy as a leader, a lead actor, and a producer on this movie that brought something new out of you as a director?

JOACHIM RØNNING: She inspired me to be the best I could be, honestly, because she gave it all for us, and we were so lucky to get her in the first place. Obviously, she’s a great actor. I love her in the Star Wars films and all of that, but I think she also has something else, like a very strong energy to her, that I imagine Trudy had some of. She proved it on a daily basis. She’s that kind of force of nature coming out in every stroke. I’m on the boat in a jacket, you know? [Laughs] She’s in there, and you better be on your A-game because she’s constantly there.

I feel like this probably happened multiple times on set, but can you give me an example of a time when she took what was on the page and made more of it than you ever could have imagined?

RØNNING: I think that’s every good actor who can do that, and I’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of great actors. There’s a reason why they’re so great, because they make it their own and they always, always enhance what’s in the scene. Every time I’m even on set, watching my little monitor, I see it. It’s just, I think, the closest thing to magic when that happens, and you just feel so lucky that you have a couple of cameras on them to capture that, and that’s what she did. Definitely.

The Trickiest Character to Capture in ‘Young Woman and Sea’
Image via Disney

I wanted to ask you about working with so much water, which you know a thing or two about thanks to Pirates [of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales] and Kon-Tiki. Can you tell me something about those experiences that you found coming in handy on this movie, but then also, what’s something about Young Woman and the Sea that posed a first-time challenge in terms of working with water?

RØNNING: The analogy I’m very often using is like when you’re crossing an ocean. It helps that you’ve done it before, but it’s always going to be different weather, different challenges, but the experience will always help you. But then also, there are always surprises that you have to be prepared for. I’m drawn to the ocean. I grew up by the ocean, so I’m drawn to it. I think it’s a wonderful, beautiful place on earth, and we should take better care of it. But in Young Woman and the Sea, it’s almost a cliche to say that the ocean is a character, but in this movie it truly is. It’s such a great obstacle for Trudy to overcome, and so, in that sense, it was important for me to do it for real and to be in the elements and to show the beauty and the dangers of water.

The difference from Pirates or Kon-Tiki is obviously here I have an actor swimming in the water, face-down for the most part. So that was, from a technical visual point of view, a little tricky because we have to see her. So we had to figure that out, but I keep coming back to it for some reason. I get that question a lot, and I ask myself as well.

You come back to it because you’re naturally good at it! And Óscar[Faura’s] work in this is absolutely stunning, too. His photography with material like this is just consistently spot on. I love the collaboration between the two of you.

RØNNING: And he comes from The Impossible so he’s done water too.

That he has!

RØNNING: But I think at the end of the day, it’s just so rewarding when you sputter home on a boat in the sunset and you think about, “Okay, did I get it? Did I get that?” And then you get into the editing room, the warm, safe place, and you start looking at this stuff, and there’s a big reward, a sense of accomplishment that we actually did it, and I’m hoping that the audience can also feel that this is as real as it gets.

‘Tron: Ares’ Will Carry Joseph Kosinski’s ‘Legacy’ With It
Image via Disney

I have to ask you some Tron questions because our viewers and readership are rabid about it. One of the coolest things about the original Tron is how groundbreaking it was in terms of being one of the first feature films to use so many effects. What would you say is something that your movie is going to do in that respect? How will it change the game for effects again?

RØNNING: Well, I think you’re right. It’s such a big part of the franchise to use cutting-edge technology, and how to make the film, so that was very inspiring for us as well. We’ve used new technology in every way that I will talk about after a year in editing. But again, I just feel so fortunate to be able to do so many different kinds of stories. I wrapped a week ago basically, and going from The Grid, you know, and out on the ocean with Trudy, I feel so lucky. I don’t take it for granted. It takes a lot of hard work, but it’s so wonderful to be able to do that and to be trusted with that task. I have such a respect for that franchise. I love the first film. I love [Joseph] Kosinski’s Legacy. I think it’s a masterpiece, and learned so much from that film that we’re trying to carry on into this next installment.

It’s the best people behind the camera, in front of the camera, and with all the resources that we have, it’s the closest thing to a theatrical release, in these times. That’s why I keep doing those movies. Not to be pretentious, but cinema is my art form, and that’s why I’m so thrilled that Young Woman and the Sea is finding its way into the theaters.

Young Woman and the Sea will be in theaters on May 31. Click the link below for showtimes.

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