SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from Episode 6 of “The Last of Us,” now streaming on HBO Max. HBO’s “The Last of Us” series just took a major leap to the…
HBO’s “The Last of Us” series just took a major leap to the video game’s sequel, “The Last of Us: Part II,” that fans are sure to recognize: The snowy Jackson, Wyoming, settlement where “Part II” begins was faithfully recreated in Episode 6 — despite not appearing in the original game.
Filmmaker Jasmila Žbanić, born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, made her TV directorial debut with Episode 6, titled “Kin.” Her most recent film, “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” was nominated for best international feature at the 2021 Academy Awards. It dramatized the harrowing events of the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, when more than 8,000 Bosnian men were killed during the Bosnian War of the 1990s.
Did you talk with creators Druckmann and Mazin about why they wanted to incorporate Jackson from “Part II” into this episode? We were very lucky because we had the opportunity to have rehearsals before we were on the set. The set was quite difficult because of the cold weather. Sometimes it was even -15 degrees Celsius, so very, very cold. That scene with Tommy and Joel was especially taken care of. They would be reading it, act, repeat and trying different stuff. They also suggested some changes, so it was very deep for both of them in each scene. It was so beautiful, because it’s a very long scene in the shoe shop.
Look, I’m coming from Bosnia, from a very crazy film industry. We make one film per year. So we don’t have amazing professionals like America has. So for me, nothing was a challenge, but a gift. For example, I would talk to people who were dog trainers and they would tell me, “Make a script of what you want our dog to do.” I would say, “One leg up, this face, how much the dog should open its mouth.” Everything. Then they would come with that and the dog would know it exactly.