Growing up, David Oyelowo was a fan of movies like E.T. and The Goonies. So when he came across the family friendly script for The Water Man on The Black List, he pursued it “voraciously.” After all, he wanted to make those kinds of films for his kids to enjoy growing up too.“I was so nervous to show it to them because I made it for them,” the director/star said during The Water Man press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12. “I know what it is to have a loving relationship with your children, but also to have these periods where you're trying to navigate as they are growing and as you are trying to guide them, and sometimes getting it wrong, you know, which is something that plays out in this film.”The Water Man stars Lonnie Chavis (This Is Us) as a boy named Gunner who seeks out the legendary death-cheating figure known as “Water Man” in order to help his own ailing mother (played by Rosario Dawson). After Gunner disappears, his father Amos (Oyelowo) searches for him, and the two characters learn more about each other as a result.“I have four kids. I love watching movies with them,” Oyelowo added. “And I love watching movies, the likes of which I grew up enjoying. Those films had adventure. They had escapism, but they also had a sort of a depth and a meaning to them… I’d been looking for something like this primarily as a producer. It was just the kind of thing I wanted to see in the world.”

A major directorial glitch

Once Oyelowo secured the rights to develop and star in the film (with the help of Oprah Winfrey, who signed on as a producer), they went ahead with the rest of casting, secured the remaining funds needed, got a start date, and hired a director. But then that director bailed, and Oyelowo was left “spitting chips” because he was so upset that after everyone’s hard work they had little time to find a new director who shared their vision. That was when screenwriter Emma Needell stepped in and suggested that Oyelowo just do it himself, in what has since become his directorial debut.[video_embed id='2031618']RELATED: The stars making their directorial debuts at TIFF [/video_embed]“I actually remember the phone call where she said it,” Oyelowo recalls. “I was so angry with this director who left the project. And on that call, she said, ‘But you know what? I'm gonna say something now, and I just want you to hear me out.’ And I was like, ‘We should go find him? Yeah, I think we should go find him,’” he joked, before continuing.“She said, ‘Look, you've been by my side, developing this for four years. I think it should be you,’" he said. "And I have to admit, I cried. I cried on the phone because I know how much this story meant to Emma. It's based partly on her childhood and her family and her growing up in Montana. And it was something that that she had lovingly and beautifully written. That vote of confidence was just huge for me.”

 

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Here’s the moment @jessicaoyelowo and I found out our film #thewatermanmovie had got into @tiff_net captured by my sneaky assistant, Bailey! ??????

A post shared by David O (@davidoyelowo) on Sep 10, 2020 at 9:54am PDT

Finding the perfect balance

From the sounds of things, that vote of confidence went both ways. Needell and Oyelowo made several more family friendly tweaks to the script in order to bring audiences the film Oyelowo truly wanted to make, including changing the character of the little boy that Gunner goes off in search of the Water Man with to a girl. In the film, Jo is played by Amiah Miller (Lights Out), a change that was made at least in part because Oyelowo also has a daughter he wanted to see represented on screen.“I want her to be represented in anything and everything I do, especially when it comes to children. I want her to see that she can lead,” the Golden Globe and Emmy nominee said. “She can lead a boy through the forest, she can be vulnerable as well. She can have an arc of transformation. She doesn't need to be an addendum or an appendage, but she can be someone who is front and center. I want that represented in the work. I do. You know, Queen of Katwe I made for my daughter specifically. This one I made for my sons in terms of that sort of journey. And thankfully, oh my lord, I was so nervous. But they hugged me, they kissed me. They were so proud of me. And for me, my work is done.”The Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to September 19.[video_embed id='-1']BEFORE YOU GO: Puppies adorably struggle as they play on a log in the woods [/video_embed]