Interview: Day Of The Fight director Jack Huston on tempting Joe Pesci out of retirement

Jack Huston wears his heart on his sleeve. Films are “my first love, so deeply engrained in my heart that I can’t go for a day without thinking about them” and his passion for acting started well before he’d reached double figures. He’s speaking in the run-up to the UK launch of his directorial debut, Day Of The Fight, a film that takes him behind the camera for the first time and was “something I had to do”.

It takes us on a journey with “Irish Mike” Flannigan (Michael Pitt), a one-time boxing champion on the day of his first fight since leaving prison. He’s preparing for a title bout knowing not just that he’s the underdog but, more importantly, that this could be his last time in the ring. This is not a day for training, but for confronting the past, finding forgiveness and recognizing the importance of the people closest to him.

MORE: READ OUR REVIEW OF “DAY OF THE FIGHT” HERE

In the interview below, Huston describes the advice he received on filmmaking from no less than Ridley Scott, as well as the influence of his grandfather, the legendary director/actor John Huston. He also describes what his experience as an actor brought to his first outing as a director. “It’s given me a beautiful shorthand that I’m lucky to have developed from my acting,” he reflects. “I love the collaboration. It’s magic!” He can’t wait to get a second film off the ground but plans to mix directing with acting.

He sees the film as “a character study. My grandfather said that 90% of filmmaking is casting” and he’s assembled an impressive line-up. Alongside Pitt in the lead, Steve Buscemi, John Magaro, Ron Perlman and Joe Pesci all play small but pivotal roles. Huston tempted Pesci out of retirement for the film and admits that, had the Oscar-winning actor turned him down, there probably wouldn’t have been a film.

Check out the full interview.

Day Of The Fight opens in UK cinemas on 7 March.

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About the Author

Freda Cooper

Editor

Freda is a Senior Writer at The People's Movies. A lifelong movie fan and a film critic for over ten years, Freda’s natural habitat is the darkened rooms frequented by fellow cineastes. She can also be found asking questions of some of the biggest names in the business – from Cate Blanchett to Daniel Craig or Mike Leigh to Pete Docter – or crafting reviews for a number of sites and publications, including The People’s Movies. And listeners to BBC Local Radio can catch her views on the latest releases. She always – and probably always will – cite The Third Man as her favourite film of all time. Her top ten? That’s a moveable feast …..

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