Sundance: Kate Hudson on Why She Joined Zach Braff’s ‘Wish I Was Here’ (Video)

PARK CITY — Zach Braff has made his return to the director’s chair with Wish I Was Here, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday.

Braff, who also stars in the film, visited THR‘s video lounge with castmembers Kate Hudson, Josh Gad and Mandy Patinkin ahead of the premiere. Braff spoke to THR about the freedom that using Kickstarter had given him. (The film raised more than $3 million on the crowdfunding website.)

“The beauty of the crowdfunding situation was that I had no outside financing other than the fans. I was able to choose my first choices for all the roles, and I was lucky enough that they liked it,” he said.

The film follows Braff’s character, a father who is still trying to find his identity, as he decides to attempt homeschooling his children. Hudson, who plays Braff’s wife in the film, said that she had been friends with the Garden State director for quite some time before working together on the drama.

“We’ve been wanting to work on something together for a little bit,” she said. “The script hit me on so many levels, just in terms of relatability to my own family, to my own struggle with my family at times.”

Hudson, who is the daughter of Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, told THR she was 19 years old when she first visited the Utah festival. “Before there were all these websites and paparazzi, and it was a blast. That’s all I remember.”

After Gad described the fashion choices of his co-stars (ranging from Hudson’s “Just arrived back from Siberia” to Braff’s “Wish I was somewhere else”), Homeland star Patinkin joked about his surprising side profession as an Alaskan mohel.

“I actually do do that work on the side,” he said. “I’m very quick.”

Watch THR‘s complete interview (including a bit of singing) with the cast of Wish I Was Here above.

E-mail: Rebecca.Ford@THR.com
Twitter: @Beccamford

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