Fantasy 3-D adventure The Gamesmaker arrives in cinemas this weekend, in which veteran actors Joseph Fiennes and Ed Asner appear alongside rising star David Mazouz.
The talented teenager is best known for his role as the young Bruce Wayne, who will one day become Batman, in the smash-hit American TV drama Gotham.
Award-winning Argentinian director Juan Pablo Buscarini has given The Gamesmaker a lavish, almost animated-style aesthetic – comparable to stylish films such as Hugo and Pan’s Labyrinth – creating a magical world that audiences young and old will fall in love with.
Chatting to 14-year-old Mazouz, I can’t help thinking that while audiences may love the film’s wonderful fantasy world, it must have been even more incredible for a 12-year-old, as he was at the time of filming, to be part of it.
“It was a blast filming it,” he says. “We shot for three months in Argentina and I was working every day, sometimes six days a week. It was a gruelling but an incredible experience for me.
“I got to do some really cool things. I went in a hot-air balloon, did a ton of green-screen, CGI stuff – it’s beautiful to look at. When I watched the movie, I couldn’t believe how they did that, because I would be there looking at a green screen and they edited it to make it this shipping yard with tons of cranes – really fun. So many green screens and so much fun.” Mazouz then reveals a little more about the plot and themes of movie.
“It really is fantasy heaven,” he says. “It’s a hero’s story about Ivan, my character. An accident happens with his parents and he is propelled into this magical, wonderful, haunting, scary world of finding out what happened to his parents and learning more about his family and himself, gaining friends and enemies on the way and, ultimately, taking down the bad guy. It’s a great action, fun, kids’ story.”
Although Mazouz has been acting professionally since he was 8 years old – with an earlier high-profile role alongside 24’s Kiefer Sutherland in two seasons of the under-appreciated TV thriller Touch, in which he played an autistic child who did not talk but could see hidden patterns and connections in the world around him – his star is really in the ascendant now, with his high- profile role in Gotham and now this movie putting him among Hollywood A-list company.
Fiennes in particular seems to have made an impression on the youngster. “Joseph Fiennes is awesome, seriously,” says Mazouz. “He’s such a great actor and a great mentor and role model for me. He’s such a nice guy, with a great family – I just loved being on set with him and it was great when I got to see him at [the] Sundance [Film Festival] in March. He’s been in the business so long, but he’s still such a great guy.”
It’s interesting to hear Mazouz talk of role models. The long list of child actors who have gone off the rails, at least temporarily, includes the likes of as Macaulay Culkin and Drew Barrymore – but Mazouz seems confident he won’t be following them down that path. “A lot of things can go wrong with child actors but I don’t think I would fall into that, though I guess that’s what everybody would say,” he says. “I go to regular school, have regular friends – I just have a normal life when I’m not working. A lot of the kids, where things went wrong, it’s because they make acting their whole life. I really have, and want, two completely different lives.”
Asked, then, for a role model among the ranks of former child actors, Mazouz sensibly opts for someone who has largely avoided the off-screen drama of many of his peers. “My biggest idol is Leonardo DiCaprio,” he says. “He’s such a great actor. I’ve never actually met him, but he seems such a nice guy too. He did loads of really great work when he was around my age – he’s still working today and you don’t hear any of these crazy stories about him. He’s my biggest idol for sure.”
Although Mazouz is chatting to me to promote his new movie, there is an elephant in the room that I can’t help addressing. A big, dark, bat-shaped elephant – after all, I’m talking to the young Batman.
“That’s kind of fun,” he says. “What 14-year-old-boy doesn’t want to be Bruce Wayne? It has been an incredible experience.”
With Gotham about to start its second season and taking up “about 10 months out of 12”, Mazouz doesn’t have time for too many other film projects in the near future, although he is set to appear alongside Aaron Eckhart in the horror movie Incarnate.
Looking further ahead, Mazouz says, with his refreshingly unprecocious sense of reality: “I love working in this business and I definitely want to stay in it.
“I really want to direct and write in future but I’m still young – so we’ll wait and see.”
cnewbould@thenational.ae
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
What should do investors do now?
What does the S&P 500's new all-time high mean for the average investor?
Should I be euphoric?
No. It's fine to be pleased about hearty returns on your investments. But it's not a good idea to tie your emotions closely to the ups and downs of the stock market. You'll get tired fast. This market moment comes on the heels of last year's nosedive. And it's not the first or last time the stock market will make a dramatic move.
So what happened?
It's more about what happened last year. Many of the concerns that triggered that plunge towards the end of last have largely been quelled. The US and China are slowly moving toward a trade agreement. The Federal Reserve has indicated it likely will not raise rates at all in 2019 after seven recent increases. And those changes, along with some strong earnings reports and broader healthy economic indicators, have fueled some optimism in stock markets.
"The panic in the fourth quarter was based mostly on fears," says Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. "The fundamentals have mostly held up, while the fears have gone away and the fears were based mostly on emotion."
Should I buy? Should I sell?
Maybe. It depends on what your long-term investment plan is. The best advice is usually the same no matter the day — determine your financial goals, make a plan to reach them and stick to it.
"I would encourage (investors) not to overreact to highs, just as I would encourage them not to overreact to the lows of December," Mr Schutte says.
All the same, there are some situations in which you should consider taking action. If you think you can't live through another low like last year, the time to get out is now. If the balance of assets in your portfolio is out of whack thanks to the rise of the stock market, make adjustments. And if you need your money in the next five to 10 years, it shouldn't be in stocks anyhow. But for most people, it's also a good time to just leave things be.
Resist the urge to abandon the diversification of your portfolio, Mr Schutte cautions. It may be tempting to shed other investments that aren't performing as well, such as some international stocks, but diversification is designed to help steady your performance over time.
Will the rally last?
No one knows for sure. But David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, expects the US market could move up 5 per cent to 7 per cent more over the next nine to 12 months, provided the Fed doesn't raise rates and earnings growth exceeds current expectations. We are in a late cycle market, a period when US equities have historically done very well, but volatility also rises, he says.
"This phase can last six months to several years, but it's important clients remain invested and not try to prematurely position for a contraction of the market," Mr Bailin says. "Doing so would risk missing out on important portfolio returns."
The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
The biog
Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
SCHEDULE
December 8: UAE v USA (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)
December 9: USA v Scotland (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)
December 11: UAE v Scotland (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)
December 12: UAE v USA (ICC Academy Oval 1)
December 14: USA v Scotland (ICC Academy Oval 1)
December 15: UAE v Scotland (ICC Academy Oval 1)
All matches start at 10am
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
