Moviefone Editorial

Tag: samara-weaving

  • ‘Chevalier’ Digital Release Interview: Kelvin Harrison Jr.

    foya7xqE

    Debuting on digital June 16th is Searchlight Pictures’ universally acclaimed ‘Chevalier,’ which was directed by Stephen Williams (‘Soul Survivor’).

    What is the plot of ‘Chevalier’?

    ‘Chevalier’ is inspired by the incredible true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court.

    V4bhwP9ldDkT38QOMmAED4

    Who is in the cast of ‘Chevalier’?

    ‘Chevalier’ stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. (‘Elvis’) as Joseph Bologne, Samara Weaving (‘Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins’) as Marie-Josephine, Lucy Boynton (‘Murder on the Orient Express’) as Marie Antoinette, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo (‘Been So Long’) as Nanon, Marton Csokas (‘The Last Duel’) as Marquis De Montalembert, Alex Fitzalan (‘Slender Man’) as Philippe, and Minnie Driver (‘Good Will Hunting’) as La Guimard.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kelvin Harrison Jr. in honor of ‘Chevalier’s digital release and talked about making the movie, his first reaction to the screenplay, shooting the amazing opening scene, Bologne’s relationship with Marie-Josephine, and working with director Stephen Williams.

    Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film 'Chevalier.'
    Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film ‘Chevalier.’ Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.

    Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction to reading the screenplay, learning about this real-life figure, and what research did you do into Joseph Bologne’s life to prepare you for this role?

    Kelvin Harrison Jr.: I was really excited that this movie was getting made, when I first heard about it. I was really intrigued by, at first it was the character because I didn’t really know the man. I didn’t even know that he was a real man. Then once I found out that he was, then the preparation, there was a lot. I had to do a lot of research on the history of Paris and Guadalupe, trade and economics, who was in power at the time, and just why was Maria Antoinette there, and what did she believe in and what was her relation to Joseph? What did the art scene look like? There’s just a lot of specific little details to tackle before I could even get into building the man. But that was the beginning of it.

    MF: There’s a great featurette on the digital release that shows how the opening sequence was filmed. Director Steven Williams mentions both Jimi Hendrix and Prince, and the specific way they play their guitars, and that he was trying to recreate that with the way that Bologne plays his violin. Can you talk about that and shooting that opening sequence?

    Kelvin Harrison Jr.: It’s interesting, because you’re trying to figure out how to make this thing that doesn’t feel very contemporary and doesn’t feel very cool, even in contemporary terms, feel like a rock thing. There was a lot of playing around with the movement coach, with actually making it look like there was some type of the same physicality or the poses of a rockstar. But then you have to throw a lot of it out the window, and then it just becomes about the feeling. What are the lines that (composer) Michael Abel was able to compose that gave an element of really showing a sense of showmanship? I think the thing is when you have a character like Joseph who is what’s called a virtuoso, which is just the speed and agility, it’s like people that sing riffs and runs. You’re doing it to be like, “Look at my vocal availability,” you know what I mean? It’s not always necessary for the song, but you’re doing it kind of to show what you can do, and that gives you the moment leaning into some of those slides, which is what guitarists do. That physicality of that has to be present in order to create the rockstar. So, yes, the Jimi Hendrix, Prince of it all, it was correlating the movement to the musicality.

    Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film CHEVALIER. Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.
    Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film ‘Chevalier.’ Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

    Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Chevalier’

    MF: Can you also talk about the challenges of learning how to play the violin and fencing for this role?

    Kelvin Harrison Jr.: I actually started learning how to fence from ‘Cyrano’ when I did that because Joe (Wright) originally had a big fencing number for me in the movie, or sword fighting number, and then we cut it. So, that was my pre-training. Then, when I got into it, they hired a proper fencing coach. I had to learn it. I don’t even remember any of the terms anymore. But I used to do that for an hour or sometimes two hours a day for a couple of months. But it was mostly just learning the choreography of that particular sequence. But it was a lot of work. It felt like I was in college. You know what I mean? I just felt like I was taking a bunch of classes, and the day of the shoot was my test. I just had to study.

    MF: Can you talk about Joseph’s relationship with Marie-Josephine and working on that relationship with Samara Weaving?

    Kelvin Harrison Jr.: It’s an interesting dynamic, Josephine and Joseph’s relationship, because I never interpreted it as if they were actually in love. I think Joseph learned. Lucy said this earlier in an interview. She was saying, “Marie Antoinette didn’t necessarily want to be friends with Joseph because she wanted to be. She wanted to be in close proximity to him because it made her look good.” I think when you are in an environment like that, the other players in that community start to pick up on the same tactics. So, I think Joseph was doing the same thing. Marie-Josephine made him ultimately look good. Now, is it more complex? Is there a lust involved in that? Absolutely. Is there a sense of kinship in Marie Antoinette and Joseph’s relationship? Absolutely. But ultimately, each of those characters wants something. Marie-Josephine wants an opportunity to pursue her dream and her craft. She feels like she’s a bird in a cage. She wants something from Joseph. Joseph gives her an opportunity. She’s willing to defy her husband’s wishes to get that opportunity. So, what we’re seeing is people having a commonality between them, and a bravery and a boldness that can only be tested in those circumstances. You almost get attracted to your own grit and your own tenacity. That’s what me and Sam Weaving talked about. We just discussed those dynamics and what we had in common, and what we were trying to explore with those characters.

    Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Lucy Boynton in the film 'Chevalier.'
    (L to R) Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Lucy Boynton in the film ‘Chevalier.’ Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

    MF: Can you talk about the way Joseph’s view of the world changes once his mother comes back into his life?

    Kelvin Harrison Jr.: I think, Joseph, he sees everything as if this is the best it can get. “I’ll accept where I’m at. I want more, but I don’t have to necessarily feel appreciated, or feel loved, or feel a sense of community right now in my life.” But his mom teaches him that you’re worth so much more than you’re giving yourself credit for, and you’ve bought into the game and the system that they play in this town. Actually, it’s killing you. You’re not elevating because of it, because you’re so obsessed with a goalpost that won’t give you happiness, won’t give you community, and won’t give you a sense of belonging. What he’s learning is to redefine his sense of self and what his core beliefs are. It changes his whole sense of freedom and ownership. He stopped allowing these people to say, “We own you. You’re only worth something if you can do A, B, and C.” He’s like, “I’m worth something because I say I am, and I believe I’m special, and I believe I’m interesting, and I want to share that with people that want to acknowledge it. All the people that are heartbroken in France right now because they aren’t being acknowledged as well.”

    MF: Finally, what was your experience like collaborating with Stephen Williams on this project?

    Kelvin Harrison Jr.: It was so much fun. Stephen, he’s such a playful director. He really is Joseph in his own way. He’s Joseph at the end of the movie, where he’s like, “I’m not interested in trying to subscribe to however the blockbuster or whatever movie is supposed to be, or the period piece it’s supposed to be. I’m going to make my own version of this, and I’m going to discover that with you and the rest of the artists that I choose to work with.” It was really cool to just be like, “We can make up our own rules as we go,” and as long as we were telling the truth and we were having a good time. So, I really appreciate him, and I think he made a really fun movie.

    Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Director Stephen Williams on the set of 'Chevalier.'
    (L to R) Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Director Stephen Williams on the set of ‘Chevalier.’ Photo Credit: Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. Copyright: ©20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Chevalier:’

    Buy Tickets: ‘Chevalier’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Kelvin Harrison Jr. Movies On Amazon

    ‘Chevalier’ is produced by Element Pictures, and Searchlight Pictures. It is scheduled to release digitally on June 16th, 2023.

  • James Gunn Begins ‘Superman: Legacy’ Casting Process

    (Left) David Corenswet in Netflix's 'The Politician.' (Center Left) Nicholas Hoult in 'Renfield.' (Center Right) Emma Mackey in Netflix's 'Sex Education.' (Right) Rachel Brosnahan on Prime Video's 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.'
    (Left) David Corenswet in Netflix’s ‘The Politician.’ (Center Left) Nicholas Hoult in ‘Renfield.’ (Center Right) Emma Mackey in Netflix’s ‘Sex Education.’ (Right) Rachel Brosnahan on Prime Video’s ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’

    With the movie set to properly show what DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran have planned for the comic book adaptation world, all eyes are naturally on ‘Superman: Legacy’, which Gunn has been writing to direct.

    OT00arSyAacXCGscjvNND4

    And thanks to many of his duties regarding ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ being complete now, the filmmaker is fully focused on his Superman film.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, the casting process is in full swing, with various candidates being considered.

    David Corenswet in Netflix's 'The Politician.'
    David Corenswet in Netflix’s ‘The Politician.’

    Who could be Gunn’s Superman?

    The Reporter’s story mentions ‘Pearl’s David Corenswet among the front-runners for the main character, a role that has been played in the past by the likes of Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill and, on smaller screens, Dean Cain, Tom Welling and Tyler Hoechlin.

    Corenswet has apparently impressed Gunn enough that he’s moving forward to the screen test phase, though of course there is plenty of competition for that role in particular. Names such as ‘Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi and British actors Tom Brittney and Andrew Richardson have been in the mix, but it’s still very early days and none of those are apparently in serious contention.

    Rachel Brosnahan on Prime Video's 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.'
    Rachel Brosnahan on Prime Video’s ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’

    Related Article: James Gunn Confirms He’ll Direct ‘Superman Legacy’ in Emotional New Message

    The search for Lois Lane

    Since the film takes place during Clark/Superman’s early days as reporter at the Daily Planet and how important star reporter Lois Lane is to his story, hers is naturally a vital role to find. Rachel Brosnahan, the Emmy-winning star of ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ reportedly rocked her audition but might be seen as too old at the grand age of 32! (The roles are apparently being targeted at 20-somethings).

    So, a more likely choice, at least give age-wise, is ‘Sex Education’s Emma Mackey, who will be seen this summer in ‘Barbie’.

    Also in consideration? ‘Bridgerton’ Season 1 star Phoebe Dynevor and ‘Ready or Not’s Samara Weaving, last seen in ‘Scream VI’.

    None of the actors for Lane have screen tested yet –– that’ll happen later this month and early in June.

    Nicholas Hoult and Joseph Mikel in 'Renfield,' directed by Chris McKay.
    (L to R) Nicholas Hoult and Joseph Mikel in ‘Renfield,’ directed by Chris McKay. © 2023 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    Who else is involved?

    Then we have the villain, and from the sounds of it, ‘Legacy’ will feature the most famous Superman opponent, Lex Luthor. And if the Reporter’s story is to be believed, ‘Renfield’s Nicholas Hoult is currently the front-runner for the role. He’s nowhere near official yet, of course, but the word on him is positive.

    Hoult has comic book experience, of course, having starred in several ‘X-Men‘ movies. And he was in consideration for Batman in Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ but lost that role to Robert Pattinson.

    There are also other classic DC characters involved, so expect a slew of casting stories once the actors are locked in.

    Gunn, in typically open –– but still private –– style, took to twitter to reiterate that he won’t be commenting on any casting rumors.

    ‘Superman: Legacy’ is scheduled to hit theaters on July 11th, 2025.

    Writer, director, co-chairmen and co-CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn and Superman.
    (Left) Writer, director, co-chairmen and co-CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn. Photo courtesy of James Gunn’s Twitter account. (Right) Superman. Photo courtesy of DC Comics.com.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Superman: Legacy:’

    Buy DC Movies On Amazon

     

  • Movie Review: ‘Chevalier’

    Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film 'Chevalier.'
    Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film ‘Chevalier.’ Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

    In theaters now, ‘Chevalier’ brings to screens a story that absolutely deserved to be told but ends up telling it in an immature and overly melodramatic way that makes it seem more like soap opera than even the opera performances that dot the story.

    V4bhwP9ldDkT38QOMmAED4

    Does Chevalier have a true story at its core?

    ‘Chevalier’ is based on one of the most compelling (and sadly overlooked) real lives in history.

    Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges was the illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner. Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair Queen Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) herself and her court.

    Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film 'Chevalier.'
    Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film ‘Chevalier.’ Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

    History with an issue

    Bologne’s story is even more impressive than it sounds, especially since his talents and accomplishments were all but buried by those who came after him. When his father (a white and wealthy plantation owner) discovers his illegitimate son’s prodigious musical abilities in Guadeloupe, he brings Bologne to a prestigious academy. “Always be excellent”, he’s told, so as to win over his peers and superiors.

    And “excellent” could certainly describe Bologne, who excelled in music, horse riding, fencing, and dancing. Granted the title of officer of the King’s Bodyguard –– which is where the “Chevalier” comes in –– he lived a life of inspiration and invention, of scandal and suffering. Today, Chevalier de Saint-Georges is remembered as the earliest European musician/composer of African descent to receive widespread critical acclaim.

    It’s just a shame that this new movie of his life feels less like a well-constructed biopic and more like a paper written by a student more interested in linguistic flourishes and skipping to the juicier parts of the story than making the whole work.

    Of course, there was no way that any one film could encompass all of Bologne’s life; short of a limited series, it would take an epic movie of hours’ length. And another problem is that much of his life, scoured from legitimate history books after his death, can only be accessed through anecdotal evidence and hearsay.

    ‘Chevalier,’ while it does work to compress some of the highlights (and painful lowlights) into its swift 107-minute running time, does so at the expense of a truly successful cinematic experience.

    Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Director Stephen Williams on the set of 'Chevalier.'
    (L to R) Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Director Stephen Williams on the set of ‘Chevalier.’ Photo Credit: Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. Copyright: ©20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

    Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Elvis’

    The trouble with ‘Chevalier’

    Even given the limitations of accurate history from which to draw, director Stephen Williams (a veteran of impressive TV including ‘Watchmen’, ‘Westworld’ and ‘Counterpart’) and writer Stefani Robinson (who has worked on scripts for ‘Atlanta’ and ‘What We do in the Shadows’ among others) make some big leaps when it comes to dramatizing Bologne’s story.

    The movie opens as it means to go on, with Chevalier confidently taking the stage at a concert being held by Mozart (Joseph Prowen) and playing the maestro off of it with his superior violin skills (so impressive are they that one woman nearly faints from the power of his music). That never, as far as history records, actually happened (Mozart did spend some time under the same roof as Bologne, so it’s at least believable that he would have heard his talented musical skills), but it’s one of the few moments where the movie truly comes alive without then dipping into cheap drama that doesn’t befit the man it purports to celebrate.

    We hurtle from one event to another, none of them really given any subtlety or grounding. Complex issues such as social status, class and race are dealt with in the most surface level fashion possible, the ideas and issues brought up and dispensed with in swift order.

    Towards the end, given that Bologne lived through the French Revolution (and fought on the side of the people, though that part of his story is relegated to an end-credit title card), it’s almost as though ‘Les Misérables’ breaks out in the middle of ‘Amadeus’, the two tones rarely sharing the screen with ease. Even before the revolution proper bubbles up, Bologne’s friends involved in the movement come across as parodies of the type.

    Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Lucy Boynton in the film 'Chevalier.'
    (L to R) Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Lucy Boynton in the film ‘Chevalier.’ Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

    Solid lead cast

    The real shame is that the movie wastes good performances, particularly from Harrison Jr., who was so impressive in movies such as ‘Luce’, ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ and ‘Cyrano’. He grasps the chance to play Bologne fully, and though his accent fluctuates, he brings real compassion and energy to the lead role. He’s much better than the script and most of the movie around him.

    As his primary love interest, Marie-Josephine, Samara Weaving also tries to punch through a relatively poorly written character, coming to life when she’s working opposite Harrison Jr. but otherwise left floundering (no matter how much the society at the time would force her into such a role) as a damsel in distress.

    Part of that distress comes from her scowling, military-minded husband, Marquis De Montalembert (Marton Csokas), who has no love for the arts and disapproves of his wife spending any time with Bologne, let alone performing his work. He’s a snarling villain, which –– again, might be fitting for an opera, but is just another embarrassment in a film such as this.

    Harrison, Weaving and Lucy Boynton (as the ill-fated Queen) are the standouts here, but nothing else in ‘Chevalier’ lives up to the work they do.

    Final Thoughts

    As missed opportunities go, this is a big one –– long on its version of frothy style (it sometimes wants to be a Baz Luhrmann movie), it never commits to a tone that really works, and is more likely to leave you frustrated and underwhelmed. That’s almost a crime given the inspiring source material.

    ‘Chevalier’ receives 5.5 out of 10 stars.

    Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film 'Chevalier.'
    Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the film ‘Chevalier.’ Photo by Larry Horricks. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Chevalier:’

    Buy Tickets: ‘Chevalier’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Kelvin Harrison Jr. Movies On Amazon

    ‘Chevalier’ is produced by Element Pictures, and Searchlight Pictures. It is scheduled to release in theaters on April 21st, 2023.

  • ‘Babylon’ Interview: Composer Justin Hurwitz

    i2YkPA5Z

    Currently available on digital and streaming, and arriving on Blu-ray and DVD beginning March 21st is the Oscar nominated movie ‘Babylon,’ which was directed by Oscar winner Damien Chazelle (‘La La Land’).

    What is ‘Babylon’ about?

    ‘Babylon’ follows the rise and fall of a group of characters during Hollywood’s transition from silent film to talkies in the 1920s.

    INbdFjETdVDtpMjNWNclT1

    Who is in the cast of ‘Babylon?’

    ‘Babylon’ stars Brad Pitt as movie star Jack Conrad, Margot Robbie as young actress Nellie LaRoy, Diego Calva as assistant turned producer Manny Torres, Jean Smart as journalist Elinor St. John, Jovan Adepo as musician Sidney Palmer, Li Jun Li as performer Lady Fay Zhu, and Tobey Maguire as gangster James McKay.

    The movie also features appearances from Lukas Haas, Max Minghella, Katherine Waterston, Flea, Jeff Garlin, Ethan Suplee, Samara Weaving, Spike Jonze, Chloe Fineman, and Olivia Wilde.

    How many 2023 Academy Award nominations did ‘Babylon’ receive?

    ‘Babylon’ has received three 2023 Academy Award nominations including Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score for composer Justin Hurwitz.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with two-time Academy Award winning composer Justin Hurwitz about his Oscar nominated work on ‘Babylon,’ collaborating with his friend director Damien Chazelle, watching dailies and creating music for the elephant.

    'Babylon' Composer Justin Hurwitz.
    ‘Babylon’ Composer Justin Hurwitz.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to Damien Chazelle’s screenplay for ‘Babylon’ and the themes that you wanted to explore with the score?

    Justin Hurwitz: So I got the draft in fall of 2019, and I was just so entertained by it. I mean, my jaw was kind of on the floor for a lot of these scenes, and there were great monologues and really beautifully written emotional scenes as well. So it was just such a great read. The first thing I thought was, “Oh, my God, there’s going to be a lot of music in this movie.” So Damien and I started talking about it.

    Of course it’s set in old Hollywood, but what got me excited about it was right off the bat, Damien said he didn’t want the music to sound like 1920s jazz. He didn’t want it to sound like old movie music. He wanted to do something very different than that. So that got me excited, because I was thinking the same thing as I was reading the script. I was thinking super entertaining movie, but I don’t want to have to write period music, and luckily he didn’t want to do that either.

    Director Damien Chazelle on the set of 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Director Damien Chazelle on the set of ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    MF: You’ve composed all of director Damien Chazelle’s previous movies. Can you talk about collaborating with him, your working relationship, and how the process of scoring one of his films works?

    JH: Well, so much of it feels exactly like it did when we were 20-years old working on the ‘Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench,’ which was our student film that kind of ballooned into a small feature. Just the process of sitting at the piano, coming up with ideas, making voice notes, sending idea, after idea to Damien getting, “No, no, no, maybe, no, no, no,” before you finally get, “Yes, I love it, that’s the one.” I rely on him so much to help steer me into my best ideas, and that has never changed. Even the process of sitting at the piano and making little MP3s hasn’t changed. But we’ve gotten more efficient over the years at certain things.

    I love the way we have sort of developed it in post-production where we get offices next to each other so he can cut the movie with (editor) Tom Cross for a year or so, and I can be there the entire time, literally sharing a door. We have a suite with a shared door, so I can be in their room all the time and Damien’s coming into my room. We’re just going back and forth working on picture and music. That’s a process we’ve kind of refined over the years, and I love it. Probably my favorite time is when we’re in post, and we’re all under one roof, and we can finish the movie together, and the score can really take shape and come together. So that’s something that we learned from the past couple of movies, and we’ve sort of fallen into those practices.

    Damien is full-time with Tom Cross, the editor, so they’re working together, and then Damien’s full-time with me, really. So that’s why we have these shared offices. So he can be very hands-on with the editing and very hands on with the score. What’s great about Damien is he has such a specific vision, and he’s such a specific filmmaker. He knows what he wants visually, sonically, everything, but he also lets creative people do what we do.

    So it’s this very tricky balance and I think he’s found the right balance. He does it very well, and you don’t want to work with a filmmaker that doesn’t know what they want. It’s good to work with filmmakers that are very specific, and very hands on, but they need to give the latitude to the collaborators to come up with their own ideas, and explore, and be creative people of our own. So Damien does both of those things very well.

    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy and Diego Calva plays Manny Torres in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy and Diego Calva plays Manny Torres in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    Related Articles: Damien Chazelle Talks ‘Babylon’ and Working with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie

    MF: Do you watch dailies and take inspiration from the actor’s performances for the score?

    JH: Absolutely. There were kind of two phases of scoring this movie. We had to create about an hour of music in pre-production before we could even shoot the movie. So I was doing tons and tons of demos. We were building that for about a year and a half. We were in the studio recording that. All of that was before the movie was shot. I was going off of the script, and I was going off of Damien’s storyboards. He makes literally thousands of pages of hand-drawn storyboards, and he cuts animatics and we build to that.

    Then the movie’s shot, and I’m on set. So I’m there experiencing the feeling of the shoot and the scene. The performance is actually live in front of the camera. Then we have post-production and I made about another hour of music in post-production. At that point, that’s more of the traditional film scoring approach, where I’m watching the dailies, the cuts, the scenes, and then the entire cuts.

    For that last hour of score, these are the scenes that you have to just watch, and you have to just respond to what’s in the scenes. So the Manny/Nellie cues, those relationship cues, you just have to watch and respond to the rhythms of the dialogue, and the feeling of it, and the way it’s cut, and what you’re seeing in the design of it all. There were plenty of cues of that sort. So there is really kind of two totally different approaches to this movie. The hour of music we did before it was shot, and then the hour of music we did after it was shot, and it’s about two hours of score in total.

    I mean, it’s so well planned because like I said, Damien has storyboarded this thing down to the fraction of a second. While I’ve been building the demos, he’s been building the storyboards. He’s like, “Give me two more seconds here, cut a half second from there.” It’s like we are refining this. Of course things change, and that becomes part of my job. I said, an hour of music is created beforehand. I’m still rebuilding that music through post-production as well, because as the cut comes together, we are lengthening, or shortening, or rebuilding, and moving things around. Things are always changing. But I don’t think there were any pieces of music that we recorded that just got cut from the movie or anything that was that drastically rethought when it comes to those pre-recorded tracks.

    MF: Finally, what was it like scoring the scenes with the elephant?

    JH: Well, I wasn’t on set for the actual defecation scene. But the elephant does burst into the party a little bit later. That was fun because the track “Voodoo Mama” is the track that’s going on, and that’s where Nellie, Margot Robbie’s character is dancing, crowd surfing, and completely owning this room. It’s a real fun jazz band meets rock and roll, meets dance music sort of track. That track, as soon as the elephant bursts through the door, takes a big turn into circus music. So we have kazoos and slide whistles, and the band starts playing almost like a circus band in with all these crash symbols and circus sort of music. So the track takes a big turn there, and that was a very fun genre to play in.

    We actually use circus sounds throughout the score. We bring a lot of those sounds back even during some of those really intimate Manny/Nellie cues. Those cues are kind of this mixture of three pianos that have this very fragile, broken, half out of tune quality. But in those cues, sometimes we pull in little circus sounds as well because their relationship is a bit of a circus, and it’s just sort of a motif in this movie. So we had a lot of fun with many different colors in this score, including circus colors.

    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Babylon:’

    Buy Tickets: ‘Babylon’ Movie Showtimes

    Where to Watch: ‘Babylon’ Online

    Buy ‘Babylon’ On Amazon

    ‘Babylon’ is produced by Paramount, Marc Platt Production, Material Pictures, C2 Motion Picture Group, Wild Chickens and Organism Pictures. ‘Babylon’ debuts on digital and streaming January 31st, and will be available on Blu-ray and DVD beginning March 21st.

     

  • Movie Review: ‘Babylon’

    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    Debuting in theaters on December 23rd, ‘Babylon’ is the latest film from Damien Chazelle, the writer-director of ‘Whiplash’ and ‘La La Land’. Unfortunately, it is also his weakest effort, though not for lack of ambition and scale.

    Starting, perhaps as it means to go on with a desire for shock and even a metaphor for what happens to many of the characters in the movie, ‘Babylon’ features an elephant defecating noisily and filthily across an unfortunate man helping to push the truck it is riding in up a hill, the result also splattering the camera.

    The animal is on its way to be the star attraction a lavish Hollywood bash being held in the hills, and one of the people helping to get it there is Manny Torres (Diego Calva), who fortunately avoids being covered in Proboscidea poop.

    He ends up hired to help out at the party and has his first experience of roaring ‘20s Hollywood––or at least its decadent, wild excessive side––where sweaty, near-naked crowds writhe in time to jazz music. Drugs and booze are in free supply, all thanks to the host, veteran actor Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt) who shows up with his latest soon-to-be-ex-wife, played in a brief scene by Olivia Wilde.

    Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad and Diego Calva plays Manny Torres in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad and Diego Calva plays Manny Torres in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    Looking to gatecrash is Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), an ambitious young woman convinced she has untapped star power, and who ends up scoring a lucky break, setting her star on the rise as Jack starts to see his own begin to fall.

    Manny––who befriends Nellie––is captivated by the idea of working in Hollywood, and sees his own prospects enhanced when one of Jack’s team asks him to make sure the sozzled actor gets home safely. From there, Manny works his way up the ranks, his good ideas for movies helping boost his career in the fictional film studio of the story.

    ‘Babylon’ is primarily the story of Manny, Nellie and Jack, with some attention paid to jazz musician Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo), who will carve his own path out in the entertainment industry, performer Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li), and gossip columnist Elinor St. John (Jean Smart).

    The characters’ arcs weave in and out of each other, as Nellie becomes more and more famous (while her gambling habits and other addictions catch up to her) and Chazelle roams from party to party, interspersed by scenes where movies are made.

    Jovan Adepo plays Sidney Palmer in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Jovan Adepo plays Sidney Palmer in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    Around them, Hollywood begins to evolve from the silent era to the age of talkies, and from rough-and-ready shooting in the desert to cavernous soundstages.

    Robbie is particularly vibrant in the film, finding different layers to her character as she moves through the business, and is convincing at every step. Whether she’s conniving to get her name in lights, or overhearing people talking her down, this is further proof that she’s one of the best working at the moment. Pitt, meanwhile, commits to the easy charm of Conrad, whose career is on the wane as audiences don’t warm to him once talking pictures come along.

    Calva, who is probably best known to American audiences from ‘Narcos: Mexico’, is something of a revelation, a soulful presence in the movie who worries that his soul is tainted as he climbs the executive ranks and then has to help Nellie out of her money problems.

    Smart, whose gossip hound flits in and out of the story, is particularly strong, though she’s not often on screen for more than a minute or so. But her big scene with Jack, where she explains his downward slide, is a highlight. Li, meanwhile, who is also largely on the sidelines, makes the most of her role.

    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    And there are certainly elements to recommend here: in some scenes, ‘Babylon’ has a pleasing level of comedy, especially when director Ruth Adler (Olivia Hamilton) and Nellie are trying to shoot a scene in the early sound era, where mic positions, concerns over volume and particularly an overheating cameraman, provide memorable laughs.

    A stacked cameo cast largely exists for the audience to play Spot The Actor, with the likes of Eric Roberts, Max Minghella (playing Irving Thalberg, one of the few actual Hollywood legends in the mostly fictionalized movie), Katherine Waterston, Lukas Haas, Flea and Samara Weaving all showing up at different times.

    Chazelle unfortunately loses focuses when it comes to the theme of the film, though. Certainly, there is plenty to be mined from the idea of Hollywood and this time, but ‘Babylon’, for all its length and intertwined stories, merely scrapes the surface. The concept that the entertainment industry is a place for excess and fraught with problems for those who seek stardom is hardly a fresh one, and the movie has little to say that is new or interesting.

    This is much bigger than his previous efforts, but it soon becomes ungainly, and is loaded down with flabby scenes that add little. Even a crazed moment for Calva, where he’s seeking financial help from the distinctly dodgy James McKay, played by Tobey Maguire, which takes in freaks, torture implements and an alligator, feels like it could easily be lost in the service of reducing the movie’s overinflated running time.

    Tobey Maguire plays James McKay in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Tobey Maguire plays James McKay in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    The less said about the final montage that wraps up the movie, the better, to be honest. It’s meant to celebrate the movies but ends up an embarrassingly amateur example, cramming in easy highpoints and coming across as something out of a film school offering.

    Given that he’s been planning and writing the movie in his head for around 15 years, we’re sorry to report that Chazelle has fumbled this one. ‘Babylon’ is not without its charms and some diversion, but beyond the main cast’s appeal, it is a lot of sound and fury, signifying––not nothing––but not much.

    ‘Babylon’ receives 2.5 out of 5 stars.

    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy and Diego Calva plays Manny Torres in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy and Diego Calva plays Manny Torres in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
    INbdFjETdVDtpMjNWNclT1 Kth9u9mk

  • ‘Babylon’ Interview: Writer and Director Damien Chazelle

    JiTUVuJK

    Opening in theaters on December 23rd is the new film from Academy Award-winning writer and director Damien Chazelle (‘Whiplash,’ ‘La La Land’) entitled ‘Babylon.’

    The new movie follows the rise and fall of a group of characters during Hollywood’s transition from silent film to talkies in the 1920s.

    The incredible all-star cast includes Oscar-winner Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, Tobey Maguire, Lukas Haas, Max Minghella, Samara Weaving, Olivia Wilde, Spike Jonze, Flea, Jeff Garlin, Eric Roberts, Chloe Fineman, Ethan Suplee, and Lewis Tan.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in-person with writer and director Damien Chazelle to talk about his work on ‘Babylon,’ what audiences can expect from the new movie, why he was interested in this point in Hollywood’s history, casting Pitt and Robbie, and the importance of music in his films.

    'Babylon' writer and director Damien Chazelle.
    ‘Babylon’ writer and director Damien Chazelle.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Chazelle, as well as actors Jovan Adepo and Li Jun Li.

    Moviefone: To begin with, what would you say to moviegoers getting ready to sit down and watch this film to prepare them for the experience they’re about to have?

    Damien Chazelle: That’s a good question. I would say just to prepare yourself for a wild ride. It’s not the kind of movie about older Hollywood that I think anyone is expecting. It’s shocking, it’s wild, it’s crazy, it’s a roller coaster ride, it’s an adventure, and it’s a party. I would say to go in with that in mind.

    But beyond that, I don’t know, I wouldn’t say much. I think ultimately I made this movie for audiences, for them to have an experience. I think whatever mindset you’re in when you sit down in the theater for this movie, it will sweep you up and it’s going to take you for a ride whether you want to or not.

    MF: What was it about this era in Hollywood’s history, the period moving from silent films to talkies, that really fascinated you and what were some of the themes you wanted to explore with this movie?

    DC: Well, a lot of it had to do with just how unhinged the society was at that time. I just hadn’t realized the extent to which people at that time partied, how hard they lived, how hard they worked, and how recklessly and transgressively they operated. It was this circus atmosphere that I think in many ways got lost once Hollywood became a little more sanitized and regulated, and became more of a corporate industry.

    The Hollywood in this movie is right before that. It’s the last gasp of the wild West of early Hollywood when it was still unregulated. It was like people pitching a tent in the desert and making their movies, and doing them the way they wanted to. There was just this manic, hysterical atmosphere where anything went. That was key to try to capture that and take that as far as it went.

    Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    MF: Can you talk about casting and working with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie?

    DC: It was amazing. As a director, it’s a dream come true. They’re such seasoned actors so, yes, on the one hand, you’re getting these larger-than-life movie stars, and they’re playing larger-than-life movie stars in the movie, so that’s kind of perfect. But they’re also just real thespians.

    They deliver. They know how to craft performances that move you and make you laugh and cry and break your heart. They take you on a ride. I think they help ground this movie and make it human, so that even at its most excessive, larger-than-life, outrageous, shocking moments, you still feel a beating heart underneath. That’s thanks to them, I think, and the rest of the cast.

    MF: Margot has a scene in the movie where her character has to cry on cue. Did she actually do that on set, or did you have to enhance it in post?

    DC: That is Margot! Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to shoot it. You can’t CG that!

    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    MF: Finally, can you talk about Justin Hurwitz’s music for the film and the importance of music in all your movies?

    DC: Music comes early on for me. I work with the same composer, Justin Hurwitz, for all my movies. We’ve worked together since college. We have a shorthand at this point. As soon as I have a script, I hand it to him, and he starts working on the music.

    By the time I’m shooting, I’ve got a lot of the music already in place. We can play it on set and we can set the mood with it. We can have the actors dancing to it and thinking about it, and just letting it seep into their body. You get a sense of what the tone is right away. That’s really important to me, and especially with this movie. I knew I needed a very specific tone and a specific kind of energy and pulse, and that’s what the music provides.

    Director Damien Chazelle on the set of 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Director Damien Chazelle on the set of ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
    INbdFjETdVDtpMjNWNclT1

  • New Trailer and Photos From Damien Chazelle’s ‘Babylon’

    Kth9u9mk

    Damien Chazelle is no stranger to either star power or turning back the clock to look at historical figures. He’s made Los Angeles, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone sing and dance in ‘La La Land’ and chronicled some of legendary astronaut Neil Armstrong’s life in ‘First Man’.

    But for ‘Babylon’, Chazelle is thinking even bigger. He’s got Hollywood on his mind, and more specifically the 1920s, a pivotal time for both the movie industry and the city most identified with it.

    At this point, Los Angeles is expanding rapidly, an infusion of money and people arriving, the latter on the hunt for wealth and fame.

    Movies, and the performers who star in them, are making the difficult transition from the silent era to talkies, with some careers on the rise and some on the wane. It’s an idea that Chazelle – who won the Best Director Oscar for ‘La La Land’, but saw Best Picture go instead to ‘Moonlight’ during one of the biggest Oscar night surprise moments back in 2017 – has been percolating in his head for at least 15 years, ever since he moved to Los Angeles with his own dreams of success.

    “The basic idea was just to do a big, epic, multi-character movie, set in these early days of Los Angeles and Hollywood, when both of these things were coming into what we now think of them as,” he tells Vanity Fair. “I kept putting it off, because it was just a little too massive.”

    But with the likes of ‘Whiplash’, ‘La La Land’ and ‘First Man’ under his belt, he finally felt ready to tackle the giant movie he’d been making in his brain for years.

    Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.

    And he’s recruited quite the star cast, with Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and relative newcomer Diego Calva, leading a sprawling ensemble that also includes Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, P.J. Byrne, Lukas Haas, Olivia Hamilton, Tobey Maguire, Max Minghella, Rory Scovel, Katherine Waterston, Flea, Jeff Garlin, Eric Roberts, Ethan Suplee, Samara Weaving and Olivia Wilde.

    For the most part, the cast are playing fictional folk, albeit based on real movie stars of the time. Minghella is one of the exceptions, playing powerhouse producer Irving Thalberg.

    Pitt’s hard-partying Jack Conrad, for example, has echoes of Clark Gable, and Douglas Fairbanks. “He’s reaching a point in his life in his career where he’s starting to look back and starting to wonder what’s ahead,” says Chazelle of the character.

    Robbie, meanwhile, is Nellie LaRoy, burning with ambition and energy, who is the Clara Bow or Joan Crawford of the story. And Chazelle sees her as a good fit for the person playing her: “Margot as a person has this— it’s a very Australian sort of thing—brash, bold, hungry kind of edge to her that she was really able to tap into and do a lot of really fun things with.”

    And then there’s Calva, playing Manny Torres, a Mexican immigrant who is a wide-eyed newcomer to the world and serves as the audience’s POV.

    We’re promised wild, lavish parties, scandals and more when ‘Babylon’ opens in theaters on December 25th.

    Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad and Diego Calva plays Manny Torres in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad and Diego Calva plays Manny Torres in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
    Diego Calva plays Manny Torres and Jean Smart plays Elinor St. John in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) Diego Calva plays Manny Torres and Jean Smart plays Elinor St. John in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
    Li Jun Li plays Lady Fay Zhu in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Li Jun Li plays Lady Fay Zhu in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
    Lukas Haas plays George Munn and Diego Calva plays Manny Torres in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    (L to R) Lukas Haas plays George Munn and Diego Calva plays Manny Torres in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
    Tobey Maguire plays James McKay in 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Tobey Maguire plays James McKay in ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
    Director Damien Chazelle on the set of 'Babylon' from Paramount Pictures.
    Director Damien Chazelle on the set of ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
    INbdFjETdVDtpMjNWNclT1

  • ‘Scream 6’ Adds Samara Weaving and Tony Revolori

    Samara Weaving as Major O'Hara / Scarlett in 'Snake Eyes.'
    Samara Weaving as Major O’Hara / Scarlett in ‘Snake Eyes.’

    Cameras are rolling on the next ‘Scream’ Movie, which, while it’s being referred to as ‘Scream 6’, will more likely end up titled ‘Scream II’ or some immediate sequel variant, since the most recent movie was simply called ‘Scream’.

    With directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett once more overseeing the movie, they’ve added two new cast members in Samara Weaving and Tony Revolori.

    Weaving has experience with the directors – she starred as a young woman who marries into a wealthy family, only to discover their dark gaming traditions in ‘Ready or Not’, which was the movie that is partly responsible for the pair landing the job in the ‘Scream’ world.

    Revolori, meanwhile, is more known for his work with Wes Anderson and acting as smug high schooler Flash Thompson in the latest three live-action ‘Spider-Man’ movies.

    This year’s ‘Scream’ successfully brought the movie series back to screens, featuring a combination of younger cast members (including Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Jenna Ortega) and the returning likes of Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell and David Arquette.

    'Scream' 2022 Poster Courtesy of Paramount
    ‘Scream’ 2022 Poster Courtesy of Paramount

    It has so far made more than $140 million worldwide and a sequel was announced almost as soon as it debuted. As it turns out, the creative team – which includes James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick once again co-writing the script – had already been figuring out what the next movie should be, which explains while it’s already in production.

    Barrera, Brown, Gooding and Ortega are all officially confirmed to be coming back for more, having survived their encounter with the cloaked menace in the last movie, called, like the original, simply, ‘Scream’.

    Spyglass Media and Paramount have yet to announce much about the story, save for the hint that it follows those four surviving younger characters leaving the town of Woodsboro behind to start a fresh chapter in their lives.

    Also on board for this latest movie is veteran Courteney Cox, once more back as intrepid journalist Gale Weathers, plus Hayden Panettiere, returning as Kirby Reed, who last tangled with Ghostface-related terror in ‘Scream 4’.

    New this time are Dermot Mulroney, Liana Liberato, Josh Segarra, Jack Champion, Devyn Nekoda and Henry Czerny.

    Controversially, one person who won’t be on screen (at least at time of writing) is Neve Campbell, who, like Cox is a franchise veteran. She turned down a lowball pay offer to come back again.

    “Sadly, I won’t be making the next ‘Scream’ film,” Campbell said in a statement. “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to ‘Scream’. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”

    There have been rumors of a boosted offer to star not just in this next film but also a potential seventh outing, but nothing is official right now.

    Whatever the final title is, the next ‘Scream’ will be dialing up some scares in theaters from March 31 next year.

    mEm8Zq5l2ZkjmSmCSSuBE7
  • Watch the most excellent new trailer for ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’

    Watch the most excellent new trailer for ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’

    The latest trailer for ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ has just been released, and it gives us more of a glimpse of what we’ll see in the film. Aside from new footage of stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, this trailer shows us a little more of William Sadler reprising his role as Death, and we also see Kristen Schaal telling the Wyld Stallyns what they need to do to save the world (similar to the late George Carlin as Rufus).

    Here’s how the official synopsis describes the film:

    The stakes are higher than ever for the time-traveling exploits of William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan. Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the now middle aged best friends set out on a new adventure when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it. Along the way, they will be helped by their daughters, a new batch of historical figures, and a few music legends – to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe.

    The movie is directed by Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) and the writers of the first two ‘Bill & Ted’ films, Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, have written this latest adventure.

    ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ will be available in theaters and on demand September 1, 2020.

    5LiUva8UHgJr2Ut4Wy6tT7
  • ‘Ready or Not’ Filmmakers Radio Silence Talk Major Spoilers

    ‘Ready or Not’ Filmmakers Radio Silence Talk Major Spoilers

    Fox Searchlight

    By now you have (hopefully) rushed out to see “Ready or Not,” one of the very best horror movies of the year and a much-needed end-of-summer blast that doesn’t feature a single, solitary superhero. And if you have, well, this is the article for you. If you haven’t seen “Ready or Not,” turn back now, because we’re going to get spoiler-y.

    LAST (SPOILER) WARNING.

    Still there?

    Great! When we sat down with the filmmaking collective known as Radio Silence (“Ready or Not” directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Opin and producer Chad Villella) and talked about all the things that we really couldn’t talk about before the movie was released, including the movie’s surprise supernatural elements, why Grace got the “Hide and Seek” card, and what they’d originally planned for a post-credits reveal.

    How did you manage the integration of the supernatural elements?

    Matt: We discussed it endlessly and for us it felt like if we’re going to go there and be able to say the things we’re saying, we should go there and say the things we’re saying right. And not hide behind the I don’t know. And it just felt to us like at the end of the day that there was only one way to do that. And that’s what you see in the movie.

    Tyler: And the conceit of the game is there’s only one winner. And so delivering on the promise of that, we felt like we had to go there.

    There’s some doubt there.

    Chad: That’s something new that you get to live in for a little bit. You have to have that conflict and the characters actually get to look it up and you know, Fitch even Googles it on his phone to see if it’s really right. But it’s fun to have to explore the conversation of whether or not something is supernatural in the movie.

    Tyler: That is a big conversation that all the characters are having, they’re all at different levels of belief about the ritual of what the game is.

    Matt: A big part of the engine or like the second and third act is, Is this real? Does this matter?

    Did you talk about why she got the card?

    Tyler: The way that we framed it, Charles in the teaser meets his demise via the game, so he presumably drew the hide and seek card. And Grace drew the same card. And the idea is that both of those characters are too good to marry into this family. They don’t belong in the ugliness.

    Do you have ideas for a sequel?

    Matt: Guy and Ryan wrote a end tag for the movie to play after the credits that took place at some nice hotel convention center thing where you follow these two like rich dudes into this convention hall where you realize it’s like a Le Bail foundation and that here are all the titans of industry gathering to tell their tales of Le Bail and it’s like, “Oh shit, there’s 150 of these f*cking families.”

    “Ready or Not” is in theaters now.