Taika Waititi opens up on why he played Adolf Hitler in 'Jojo Rabit'

The director of Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi revealed the reason why he said yes to play the role of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in the film. The New Zealand filmmaker at the film's premiere said that even though there were other actors on his wishlist for the role, he did it himself. "You start [out] thinking of bigger stars to be part of a film like this or to play this imaginary Hitler. But at the end of the day, it came down to the simple fact that if we had done that, that would have overshadowed the heart of the story which is this beautiful story, this relationship story between these two kids," the filmmaker told foreign media. "And if there was a big celebrity, then it would have become the 'so-and-so Hitler film,' which is not at all what this is," he added.

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The upcoming satirical comedy

Jojo Rabbit is an upcoming satirical comedy, which is about a lonely young German boy whose life takes a turn when he discovers that his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a jew girl in their home at the time of the Second World War. The boy who does not have a companion, can only rely upon his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi). The 44-year-old filmmaker has not just acted in the film, but also directed it. The film is all set to release in limited cinema halls on October 18 after which it will expand its screening to more and more theatres in the upcoming weeks. The film stars Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, Sam Rockwell along with Johansson and Waititi. 

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The People's Choice Award

The film premiered at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival on September 8 this year. It won the People's Choice Award in the film festival, which is an honour that has been correlated with a best-picture nomination at the Oscars. American film critic Scott Mantz posted the news on his Twitter account while congratulating the filmmaker for it. He then added that the past winners such as The King’s Speech, 12 Years a Slave, Slumdog Millionaire & Green Book, later on, went to win big at the Academy Awards. 

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(With inputs from ANI)