Disney+ will be the exclusive home of Clouds, an original film based on a true story. In anticipation of the streaming premiere on October 16th, the director and cast reunited for a presentation through the Paley Center for Media's PaleyFest. Get ready for an inspirational film about the meaning of life by checking out this special presentation.
The Panel Included:
- Director Justin Baldoni
- Fin Argus (Zach Sobiech)
- Neve Campbell (Laura Sobiech)
- Madison Iseman (Amy)
- Sabrina Carpenter (Sammy)
Director Justin Baladoni first discovered the story Zach while working on a documentary series for SoulPancake when he was still alive. “Before he died, I sort of made a promise to Zach that I would do whatever I could to make sure that his story was seen by as many people as possible and that I would help him raise money for the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund, which is a cancer charity set up in his name,” Baladoni shared during the event. “And here we are seven years later and the world’s about to get reintroduced to Zach and his beautiful story and his beautiful music.”
The screenplay was based on a book by Zach’s mom Linda, who is played in the film by Neve Campbell. “I read Laura’s book and I finished it the night before I met her,” the actress shared about her tremendous respect for the incredible woman she was about to play. “What she lived through and carried her family through in such a beautiful way and the way that she has expressed that to the world in her book and the strength in her faith and the acceptance of her journey is just beyond what any of us want to go through, but at the same time is so inspiring. It gives us strength to know that if ever we have these kind of challenges in our lives, that there’s a way to overcome them.”
Fin Argus plays Zach, who drew on his personal experiences to help connect with the character he was playing. “Last year, I was dealing with something in my own personal life that was echoing Zach’s story with a dear family member who was fighting her battle with cancer,” the actor shared. ‘So the emotions were at the forefront. I was able to tap into them easily, in this case for better, and it was difficult but I had a family around me in this cast, in Zach’s family.”
Music is a big part of the film and Actress/Singer Sabrina Carpenter shared why the music is such a big part of the story. “I think music is a whole other language and I’ve always felt that throughout my entire life,” the actress who plays Zach’s best friend Sammy explained. “I remember reading the sides for Clouds for the first time and I was sitting there crying. And then once I listened to Zach and Sammy’s album… my heart was set on wanting to tell this story.”
At the heart of Clouds is a love story with Madison Iseman playing Zach’s girlfriend Amy, who also made herself available to the actress to learn from. “Amy just possessed so much grace and strength and she really is one of the most incredible women I’ve ever met in my life,” Madison shared. “She was sort of my rock throughout this whole movie. I know for Finn, too, we would call her during production and just be like, ‘Help us out with this, how did you feel?’ She was definitely my guiding light throughout this entire thing. She was gracious enough to share personal letters that she and Zach had written back-and-forth during their time together and shared so many stories and memories and really just opened up her world to their entire relationship.”
In addition, Director Justin Baladoni revealed that there will be a Disney+ 10-part series called Beyond the Clouds that will take a deeper dive into special moments from Zach’s life and the making of the film. You can see the full PaleyFest presentation on Clouds above and be sure to catch the premiere of Clouds on October 16th, only on Disney+.
