Cynthia Nixon talks role as cancer patient in AFI-winning “James White” (video)

 November 13, 2015 - 15:59 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Josh Mond‘s directorial debut “James White” will hit theaters on Friday, November 13 with some awards momentum, as the heartbreaking drama just won the American Independents Audience Award at AFI Fest, TheWrap said.

The film stars Christopher Abbott as the titular James White, a young New Yorker struggling to take control of his self-destructive behavior in the face of his mother’s battle with cancer.

Several weeks ago, Mond, Abbott and co-star Cynthia Nixon sat down with TheWrap to discuss the film, which is based on Mond’s own experience losing a loved one.

“I lost my mom four-and-a-half years ago,” said Mond, who admitted he had similar troubles as his protagonist but that “James White” is not entirely his story, as the cast brought their own personal experiences to the project.

“Josh loved his mom very much and [I wanted] to try to get the portrayal as right as I could, [with] all the strength and the weakness and the love and the pain and the anger and the forgiveness. That’s what makes it a really wonderful part. She’s not just one thing,” said Nixon, who has received Oscar buzz for her supporting turn as Abbott’s mother.

Abbott said he and Mond have been friends for years, so he was able to spend a lot of time finding his character before shooting even started.

Meanwhile, Nixon praised the film’s makeup artists for helping her appear gravely ill and said she responded to Mond’s script because it didn’t tell the reader what to think about the characters and the decisions they make.