Finn Wolfhard joined the Variety Studio presented by Audible at Sundance and said that being in Park City to promote his new movie, A24’s “The Legend of Ochi,” feels like a post-graduation moment as it’s his first press tour since wrapping filming on Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” The actor spent a decade making the show, which served as his acting breakthrough. He filmed the final episode in December.
“It was incredibly emotional, obviously,” Wolfhard said about his last day on the “Stranger Things” set. “It’s the last 10 years of my life. Also for the creators, the Duffer Bros. started when they were 30 and now they are 40. Everyone had a long journey and shared it together. My whole childhood was there. It was sort of the ‘Toy Story 3’ moment of leaving your toys behind. It was really special.”
“We had a long last year,” he continued. “We shot sort of ‘Lord of the Rings’ style with a year-long shoot. It was a great way to go out and very intense. I feel like it couldn’t have ended better. [‘The Legend of Ochi’] is the first movie that I’m promoting since, so it feels like post-graduation or something. I am excited for everything to come out.”
Wolfhard is on the ground at Sundance to premiere “The Legend of Ochi.” The movie marks the directorial debut of Isaiah Saxon and utilizes puppetry, animatronics, matte paintings and 3D animation to tell the story of a shy farm girl named Yuri, who lives in a remote village on the island of Carpathia and was raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home. The cast also includes Helena Zengel, Emily Watson and Willem Dafoe.
Because the movie used puppetry and animatronics, the “Ochi” cast got to act opposite the movie’s fantastical creatures in real life on set. Wolfhard was appreciative of this creative choice.
“It makes our jobs easier,” he said. “It really feels like you’re interacting with something. Working with practical effects is better. Obviously, there are great visual effects and you interact with a tennis ball and it ends up being amazing still, but there’s something to be said about amazing craftsmanship, and being able to feel that in a scene really helps.”
A24 recently announced it was delaying the release date for “The Legend of Ochi” after Saxon lost his home in the Los Angeles wildfires. The movie will open in theaters on April 25, instead of its previous date of Feb. 28.
