Having previously directed documentaries and shorts until this year, filmmakers Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz burst onto the narrative feature scene with “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” which won the Narrative Spotlight Award at SXSW Film Festival. A boldly idiosyncratic independent film with a heart of gold, the modern-day Twain-inspired adventure story doubles as one of the most crowd-pleasing buddy comedies in years. The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Zack Gottsagen (both of whom create undeniably infectious chemistry), and Dakota Johnson.

Ahead of “The Peanut Butter Falcon’s” wide release, I spoke with writers and directors Nilson and Schwartz on making Gottsagen a movie star, finding Twain in their story, the casting process, nurturing onscreen chemistry, creative influences, and more.

What was your inspiration for this unique story?

Schwartz: We wrote it specifically for Zack, the actor that stars in the movie with Down Syndrome. We knew him for three years before we started writing the script and had worked together on a short film at a camp for people with and without disabilities. And he wanted to be a movie star. He’d been acting since he was three years old, and went to a performing arts mainstream high school. And we were having a frank conversation that to be a movie star for anybody is really difficult, but especially him because there’s not a lot of roles written for people with disabilities. And he just said, “Cool. Sounds like we’ve got to do it together. You and Tyler can write and direct, and I can be the movie star.”

Read the rest of the interview at The Playlist.