KARLOV VARY – The 2017 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival opened with Casey Affleck and Uma Thurman receiving Presidents Awards (aka lifetime achievement honors). Almost a week later the festival is winding down and Jeremy Renner is in town to receive the last of this year’s honors as well as to present his hew film, “Wind River.” The question that was top of mind for the assembled media, however, were the recently revealed injuries Renner sustained shooting a movie.
Speaking at his official festival press conference, Renner, who wore a black jacket which appeared to cover some bandages, was asked if it would affect any upcoming projects.
“No. There will be an affect to it, but it won’t stop me from doing things that I need to be doing,” Renner says. “I’ll heal fast. I’m doing everything I can to heal faster. And doing a job that doesn’t really require a lot of stunts. It’s not an action movie, it’s a comedy that just happened to have a few stunts in it. I don’t have to beat a whole lot of people up or do anything crazy. It won’t really affect my job. It affects how I get dressed. I can’t tie my shoes. And I’ll heal up before ‘Avengers’ starts up for me so I’ll be good for training and doing my thing there.”
Renner revealed he fractured his right elbow and left wrist. He did not name the film where the injuries occurred, but the comedy in question was likely New Line‘s “Tag” which also stars Isla Fisher, Rashida Jones and Ed Helms, among others.
And, to clarify, if you’ve read a report that says Renner injured himself while shooting “Avengers: Infinity War” that was not what he said during the conference. He specifically noted he hadn’t shot his portion of “Infinity War” yet.
Another franchise Renner has been intimately involved with is also in production and the 46-year-old actor admitted he’s “sad” he’s missing out this time around.
“They are currently shooting another ‘Mission: Impossible’ that I’m not in because I’m busy with the ‘Avengers’ franchise,” Renner says. “That’s all I can speak to it. I’m pretty upset I can’t be in that one because I really enjoy working with Tom and the whole team; Ving and Simon and Rebeca now. It’s a really really wonderful franchise and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
A number of topics were touched upon during the 30 minute Q&A session. Renner revealed the fact Elizabeth Olsen was involved with “Wind River” was one reason he signed on (the other was director and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan) and his never ending respect for Kathryn Bigelow the Oscar-winning force behind his breakout role in “The Hurt Locker.” He also admitted, like many of his peers, that he doesn’t watch most of his own performances. The exception are the “Avengers” films and there’s a unique reason why.
“I remember watching the first ‘Avengers’ and that movie is so big and there are so many characters and so many things going on you can’t really understand from the script what the hell you’re really doing,” Renner said “Just figure out your character and your piece in this puzzle. Then VFX takes over and it creates the bad guys. It creates the aliens. The backdrop.”
Runner added, “I’m always surprised when it comes to films like ‘Avenger’s and the whole Marvel universe and the output comes out. It’s the only time I really watch a movie when it’s done because it’s a complete surprise to me. When it comes to movies like ‘Wind River’ it’s very practical. You understand what you see and what I see. I try not to watch those things too much. ‘Bourne Legacy,’ that’s pretty practical. But the Marvel Universe is always fun to watch those. Those are a thrill.”
As for “Wind River,” Sheridan surprised many by winning the Best Director prize in the Un Certain Regard competition at Cannes (Sofia Coppola took the honor in the main competition). Renner explained why the two collaborated so well during production.
“He and I saw eye and eye. He’s sort of a brass tax sort of guy,” Renner says. “Get it done truthfully. He’s a no-nonesnse type of guy and we just got along so well. For a cowboy he’s hyper intelligent and emotionally as well. I love working with him and hope to keep working with him.”
“Wind River” opens in limited release on August 4.
