Olympia Theater has stood in the heart of Miami for 100 years. The small red carpet placed in front of the building, however, was a new, temporary addition for the Miami Film Festival.
Adorned with lights and a blue backdrop, the bustling crowds waited for actor and producer Bob Odenkirk’s arrival on Saturday, April 11.
Whether a red carpet is laid out for dozens of celebrities to strut across or for just one, the chaos remains the same. Lights, cameras, press, fans who aren’t always supposed to be there. It’s intense, but Odenkirk arrived calm, collected and confident.
Odenkirk attended the Miami Film Festival to promote the release of his new film, “Normal.”
The film follows Odenkirk’s character, Sheriff Ulysses. The story is told through a simultaneously dark and comical lens and has a combination of thrill, horror and comedy. This gives it a “Final Destination” feel, Odenkirk said.
Without giving away too much, Odenkirk revealed Ulysses is a “very smart fellow, but he’s lived a lot of life,” as a man in his early 60s. He finds relatability in his character, noting how Ulysses “is an older guy,” which he appreciates, as he says he is used to playing characters 20 years younger than himself.
This allowed him to channel his own personality when it came to understanding his character, from the way Ulysses uses his life experiences to guide him, to the way he hesitates to trust his own instincts.
The movie, shot in 35 mm film, was screened for attendees. Director Ben Wheatley made the choice to shoot the film this way instead of a typical digital format, like most movies in this generation are.
Odenkirk emphasized, “it really is an old style film,” he said. It feels like something “that you would have seen made in the early 1980s or the ’70s, even.”
The graininess, saturated, high-contrast colors and overall retro, rustic feeling the movie deserves— as an ode to older cinematography, can only be produced by a film camera.
He added, “it really needs to be seen in the theater” for the optimal viewing experience.
After a handful of other interviews he treated with attentiveness, patience and natural charm, Odenkirk finally made his way to my side of the red carpet.
From playing the title character in the “Breaking Bad” spin-off “Better Call Saul” to having multi-episode cameos as Uncle Lee on “The Bear” to Sheriff Ulysses in “Normal,” Odenkirk’s TV and filmography consists of countless successes.
When asked which of these characters’ stressful worlds he would rather live in, Odenkirk immediately, undoubtedly chose his character in “Normal.”
“I like the guy I play in this film. He’s actually a nice guy, and he’s funny too,” he said. “‘The Bear’ is too tense. Yeah that guy is out of his mind, and ‘Breaking Bad’ is scary.”
Before Odenkirk stepped off the red carpet, I had the chance to ask him one more question: “What are you most excited for fans to see in your new movie?”
”The way that it mixes different genres – it’s got comedy in it, it’s got action, it’s got a little bit of a horror film at times,” Odenkirk said. “I think it’s a tone that I haven’t played yet.”
And with that, Odenkirk shook a few more hands, answered a couple more questions and headed inside Olympia Theater for a conversational Q and A with fans.