Directors Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer joined Variety’s virtual studio presented by Canada Goose to discuss their documentary film “Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds” premiering at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
The co-directors shared how they divided their responsibilities for the project. With casting, Herzog said they trusted each other’s expertise and experience in choosing the right characters for the documentary. On the field, Herzog stayed behind the camera, while Oppenheimer communicated with the narrators on the side.
Herzog also explained “Fireball” is more than a didactic science documentary. The duo spoke to the film’s attempt to understand the world through both science and culture. “We deal with wild characters. We deal with tribal people who believe that they are riding meteorites into the netherworld. We speak to a Jesuit priest who goes wild over his fears of a comet that he saw,” Herzog explained.
Oppenheimer added, “It’s true that in many languages, the word for sky is the word for heaven. So when something out of that celestial order happens, it needs to have meaning. It can’t be disregarded as another factorial observation.”
When asked about directing Baby Yoda in “The Mandalorian,” Herzog responded, “I tried to tell the humans who couldn’t see exactly what I saw. And I said, ‘here’s the light. Our torch light is going right in its eyes. It should close its eyes,’ and, of course, bang — they closed [Baby Yoda’s] eyes.”