‘65 Filmmakers Beck And Woods Just Want To Bring Some Mystery Back To Movie Theaters
© Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter65 Directors Scott Beck and Brian Woods yearn for the days when movies were filled with mystery and intrigue about what was to come.
These days, moviegoers know more than ever what they'll see on screen, as more and more revealing trailers become events and are shared endlessly by fans and the media. Scoop is also a lot on social media, but unfortunately some of these parties do not understand the big difference between a scoop and a spoiler. After all, even if you're not looking for that kind of information, it's hard enough to let the mystery remain when more and more social media algorithms are giving us information we're not looking for at all.
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In Beck and Woods' case, they hoped to take a page from Matt Reeves' Cloverfield by not disclosing that their sci-fi thriller 65, directed by Adam Driver, was set on Earth during the prehistoric age of the dinosaurs. However, in a full month with sequels like Creed , Scream , Shazam! and John Wick , both Iowa natives, along with Sony, knew they could only play for so long.
"We talked about it in the early stages, but at the same time, dinosaurs are the heart of the film," Beck told The Hollywood Reporter . “To be honest, we are torn between what will create more tension and what will hide it. We made this film trying to keep it [the dinosaurs] a secret without leaking it to the Internet.
With so much attention paid to opening weekend, it's often overlooked that the films live on outside of theaters and, for generations, were their only connection to something like the original Star Wars trilogy. This is via home video. Therefore, the writer of "A Quiet Place" is optimistic that moviegoers in the future will enjoy the shock of the 65th room due to the lack of actual filming.
"A lot of the movies I loved, especially growing up, I found twenty or forty years later," says Beck. “We hope that there is someone who will turn 65 in the future and have absolutely no understanding of what marketing is. So, maybe for them it is still a revelation.
Below, during a recent chat with THR ahead of the weekend premiere of 65 , Beck and Woods also discuss the origins of the project, as well as the memorable day on set when Driver blessed a somewhat unusual creative choice.
Well, I would love to spend more time in this world, but I'm so grateful for the shortened 90 minutes.
Scott Beck and Brian Woods: ( Laughs ).
In fact, it reminds me of what Chris Nolan said about Dunkirk's 106-minute running time, in that it can drain an audience when tension strikes. Do you have a similar thought process?
Beck: Of course. We've seen films of this genre where there's a certain amount of roller coaster going on. Something like Gravity or even Apocalypse don't want to linger too long, but there are definitely moments during editing where the film drags on for longer. It's never the classic, the classic, "Oh, there's a three hour 65 version," but there's a one hour and fifty minute version. And there's so much resistance that you have to put up with your character, you want to make sure that you let the audience breathe and don't feel exhausted, in a bad way, at the end of the ride. So that's definitely the benchmark we're looking at.
© Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter Directors Brian Woods and Scott Beck in the 65th set.Since we're running out of time today, how about a CliffsNotes look at Beck and Woods' origin story?
Woods: Scott and I met when we were 11 years old, and it was a really good time because I found someone who loves making movies like I do. Anyway, we got our family members and other friends to help us make the film and they all gave us the thumbs up. And one of the first movies we followed was Jurassic Park . We have all the dinosaur figures from Jurassic Park , and it's a very monumental film for those of us who are finally 65 years old .
When we were in high school, we did feature films. We're going to make our version of Magnolia , but at 16 years old. It was really scary. We have no life experience, but we learn to spin, ride and jump. We never went to film school, but once we graduated from Iowa State University together, we knew we needed to brush up on our screenwriting skills. So we spent five years, right out of college, just practicing our writing skills.
During that time, we wrote ten bad scripts, but every time we wrote one, we learned something. And finally, we did a little independent film called Nightlight , and it was the first time one of our scripts was actually shared by a company and recognized as good writing. So that was our first step into this business.
Often, when a film becomes a hit, other studios try to make their own versions of similar material. For example, when Knives Out came out , murder mysteries were back in vogue and green-lit all over town. So why didn't anyone actually try to get some Jurassic audience in quicker?
Woods: What you just said is our conversation. We wrote this script according to specifications. We know we can make a movie and maybe improve on it, but we want to write the script and make sure that the studio that wants to make the movie likes what we're going for. But when we had the script, we went back and changed every studio in town. And there was a great moment in our conversation where we said, “Why is Steven Spielberg so much fun? Why did you let Universal have the monopoly on dinosaur movies? Why aren't there as many dinosaur movies as there are superhero movies every year? It's crazy for us. ( Laughs .)
So we're asking the same question you just asked, and I don't know what the answer is. Dinosaur movies are certainly expensive, and Jurassic Park's singular concept is so brilliant it probably freaked out everyone else in the genre. That's fair. But we're thankful we got our first glimpse of the subgenre. This was a subgenre that Hollywood represented even before "Jurassic Park" , such as "The Lost World" (1960).
Beck: I remember when I was a kid I saw a B movie from the 60's called Dinosaurs! They caught the melted dinosaur, and suddenly the dinosaur was running among the humans. So that clash of genres mixed with a more atmospheric and tonal film like Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven is something that I think has inspired every film we've made, but definitely 65 .
© Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter: Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt star in 65Given the attractive and exclusive premise, I imagine the 65 is a quick sell when you get your specs in town. Is that so?
Beck: Well, as soon as Sony heard the tune, it was only a few hours before we got the call and they wanted to put their hands up and play. But there were concerns in the writing process... We always try to write large-scale films. So, for example, A Quiet Place was made on a manufacturing budget, but we wrote it on a hundred-thousand-dollar budget when no other studio or production company would put their hands up. At 65 years old , we know it's a bigger-screen movie, so you have the choice of making it in the studio or not being able to make it at all. It's a great concept, but we don't even think of it as a multi-character story with lots of explosions. That's through the lens of Adam Driver's character, who faces a loss. It's a quiet vulnerability that shines through in what is also meant to be a roller coaster, popcorn flick. So we tried to achieve two different simultaneous notes throughout the film.
And when was 65 conceived in relation to the rest of your work?
Beck: The idea for a dinosaur movie probably came about ten years ago, and we were brave enough to think that maybe we should write it. So we started getting lots of clues as to what it was, but it was the opening weekend of A Quiet Place in April 2018. They quickly announced that they were going to do a sequel, our push in terms of further work like, I don't know, a sequel or a franchise or an offer from Lucasfilm or Marvel, but what about this dinosaur movie we've been thinking about all along?
Woods: How about re-investing the original film culture? In essence, we felt inspired and confirmed that the silent place worked really well. We thought, "Oh my God, there's an audience that will show up if they've never heard of this property before," and we also felt this incredible responsibility to write another spec movie and make another big hit.
Was Interstellar as much a part of the 65 launch as it was for A Quiet Place ? The family messaging element, while not exclusive to Interstellar , is definitely there.
Woods: "Alien" is definitely a great reference.
Beck: Yes, and Forgotten . But maybe there is a small Interyllar . One of the things we did to introduce not only the studio, but also Adam as an actor, was a detailed presentation of the film, with pictures. Before we even got into the studio, Sam Raimi signed on as producer and was a great guide on how to make great movies on the studio screen. So we invited concept artists early in the development process to get a sense of what this world was like in terms of technology and Pangean Earth. We also want to start releasing some dinosaur concepts in terms of appearance and behavior. And using all of that material was a great way to get started as a director and show the studio and Adam why this is an interesting film and an interesting world to build on what Jurassic Park and Jurassic World had to offer. public.
I recently spoke with Matt Reeves , and one of the topics we discussed was that Cloverfield cannot be sold with the same level of secrecy today because of social media and front-end resources. So, was there ever the fact that this film would trade in Cloverfield without exposing the dinosaurs?
Beck and Woods: ( Laughter ).
Beck: There are probably two answers to that question, and one will come from Sony and marketing. And then there's our other answer. The entire presentation of the script, even the script itself, doesn't reveal what the concept is in just 15-20 pages or minutes. We've talked about it from the start, but at the same time, dinosaurs are kind of the brand of the movie. So, frankly, we're torn between what will create more tension and what will hide it. We made this film trying to keep it [the dinosaurs] a secret without leaking it to the Internet.
Woods: Yeah, I think Reeves is right. The theater ecosystem is a difficult time. We are looking forward to March. We're grateful to be the only big-budget film at the studio without a number in the title. We are the only non-continuity. There's Shazam! 2 , Scream 6 , Creed 3 and so on. So for the original film, it was tough. Can you do Cloverfield now? It's a good question, and it's what keeps us up at night.
Beck: We're always trying to make the next mystery film that can be kept under wraps until people are interested enough to come out on Friday night.
As Scott hinted, the title card hits the 15-minute mark and adds some context to what we've seen so far. So basically it serves as a commercial for audiences who may not be aware of the premise, either now or in the future. Is that an idea?
Beck: Well, when we do the film, we focus a lot on opening weekend and marketing and everything that goes up to it. But many of the movies I loved, especially as a kid, I found twenty or forty years later. So, to some extent, the Pepsi vs Coca-Cola fight comes down to how long it lasts. And we hope that in the future there will be someone who looks 65 years old , which is completely unrelated to what marketing is. So maybe it's still a revelation to them, but at least it puts you in the footsteps of Mills discovering this world for the first time. We, the public, are one step ahead of knowing what a dinosaur is, but Mills, who comes from a different civilization, is now learning and might even think that these dinosaurs were aliens. And it's also about point of view and character point of view.
M. Night Shyamalan and I recently discussed this as well . If you show something like "Village" now, the audience gets a completely different picture than when it was released. And that's why the reaction is so different now than it was in 2004.
Bosco: Right. Reflecting on Shyamalan's career, Vulnerable is a film we really love.
masterpiece.
Woods: It's a masterpiece, and we've probably seen it four times in theaters. So we asked our friends to go, and every friend said, “I don't understand. I don't know what it is. He was ahead of his time.
Beck: Even when we were working at AMC Cinemas when I was in my early twenties, Brian would mention by name that his favorite movie was Unbreakable . It was over ten years ago, but even then it didn't look good. There were some people who came up to him and said, “Oh, yes, the invincible . I love this movie,” but there are a lot of people today who would say that. So, 23 years later, everything has changed completely, and the context is constantly shifting. So we're always trying to think about the age of the film and how best to position it in the future, and preferably earlier.
There have been calls recently among various media conglomerates for turning a profit, with some highlighting the franchise's emphasis on storytelling, while the overall lower costs of producing films. So, the status of the original film worries you more than ever?
Woods: To sleep at night, we have to believe in a world where a good idea, if executed well, can still explode and get people talking. And I believe it. I really believe it can still happen. Franchise burnout is inevitable. It's unavoidable when you think of the funny movies we love. They are created on an astonishing scale and for the most part very well executed. They lived in theaters for 20 or 30 years, but there were 70 years of theater where people went just to see westerns. Western cinema dominated for 70 years, and at one point people said, “I'm done with the West. I never want to watch westerns again. And now it's only a couple out a year, so things are cyclical. Things will change, but I think there's always room for a great, well-executed concept.
Beck: We're in a wonderful transitional ecosystem right now, especially as Covid has accelerated the big question: Is this the day and date? Is it broadcast? Is it theatrical? And there is a scale where nothing is really decided. And from the perspective of larger studios and multiple companies, it seems like franchises are a safe bet for today's theatrical landscape. I don't know if this has always been the case, but it comes from the two guys who are currently building a movie theater in Davenport, Iowa called The Last Movie House. Common sense would say that building a movie theater is probably the worst financial decision ever. , but we believe that there is a social aspect to it and a love for not only contemporary but also cult films. This is how Tarantino handles New Beverly and really creates awareness of the importance of what films are about and what needs to be shown on the big screen.
If you went back and read the landscape of Hollywood in the 1920s and crossed the date out of the headlines, it would be like reading The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. Everything evolves, and you can be reactive, or you can cheat and get what you want. And there's not much we can do as directors, we're always going to be interested in trying to forge our own path and do something new and not have to rely on sequels or remakes.
Woods: One of my new hobbies is buying Hollywood annuals from the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc. It's the hardcover books that have [snippets] like, "Here's what the Hollywood Reporter thinks is the best film of the year," and look at the performances and Oscar nominations. And each of those books had something that terrified the company at the time, and it's always the same thing. It doesn't matter if you pick up a book from 1958 or 1972, these are the same worries and fears as today. This is a business that relies on the imagination, and that imagination is accompanied by anxiety, foreboding, and fear. So maybe it's better to just enjoy the ride and not worry about it too much.
Цікава, як ён узяў адзін з першых урокаў гісторыі або дагісторыі, які мы вывучаем у сярэдняй школе, і дадаче. Ядомм кец те т т тц.
Бэк: Нам падабаецца тое, што зрабіў Таранціна з гэтага пункту гледжання, таму што ён заўсёды быў выдатным чалавекам, што б было, і менавіта так быў вынайдзены 65 . Што, калі б вы сапраўды былі каля 65 мільёнаў гадоў таму і сутыкнуліся з дыназаўрамі ў гэтым ландшафце? Такім чынам, ёсць пара, якую мы рыхтуем у нашых галовах. Вядома, мы не хочам дзяліцца імі, таму што, як Мэт Рыўз, мы хацелі б захаваць гэтую таямніцу. "Бясслаўныя ўблюдкі" - адзін з маіх любімых фільмаў усіх часоў і адзін з самых вялікіх "што, калі". Што, калі б вы вярнуліся і забілі Гітлера? І, бачачы ўзровень выканання Таранціна, ён стаў яшчэ больш займальным.
Вы, хлопцы, сказалі THR шмат гадоў таму, што засталося ў мяне з тых часоў. Гаворка ішла пра тое, як Джон Красінскі паставіў сябе ў цэнтры ўвагі ў фільме « Ціхае месца» , і тады ён лічыў, што ён доўга плаціў грошы, каб атрымаць гэты момант. І ў патрэбны час вы абодва можаце апынуцца ў падобным становішчы, каб мець гэты момант. Адкуль вы развілі такое спелае мысленне для ўсяго гэтага? Вашы каштоўнасці Сярэдняга Захаду?
Бэк: Ну, дзякуй, што сказалі гэта. Спачатку нам трэба было зрабіць тоўстую скуру, але мы зрабілі гэта самі. У сярэдняй школе, калі мы рабілі гэтыя шорты і рысы без грошай, мы апрабавалі іх у мясцовым грамадскім калеждыжж. І мы ніколі не забудзем нашу першую рэзкую рэцэнзію на адзін з нашых фільмаў. Нам было па 17-18, і ў такім узросце ты неверагодна ўразлівы, калі спрабуеш знайсці свой голас. Аднак гэта адкрыла нам вочы на крытыку. Вы можаце вучыцца на гэтым, пакуль гэта крытыка. З гэтага нешта вынікае, і гэта зыходзіць ад двух людзей, якія гадамі чыталі рэцэнзіі на фільмы ў рознМСых . Ён таксама даведаецца, што не можа дагадзіць усім і што ўсё не заўсёды знаходзіцца пад яго кантролем.
У гэтым вар'яцкім свеце кіно вы можаце зрабіць фільм, і раптам нешта пойдзе не так, і ён будзе сапсаваны. Вам пашанцуе, калі вы зможаце вярнуць яго, але калі гэта па-за вашым кантролем, у вас ёсць два варыянты. Вы можаце вырашыць кінуць паліць або працягваць рухацца. І мы ўвесь час знаходзім такія моманты, калі можам проста падняць рукі і здацца. Але, на шчасце, нас двое, таму ў нас ёсць унутраная тэрапія, якая кажа нам: «Давайце працягваць, шкая кажа нам.
Франшыза "Ціхае месца" зараз здымае свой трэці фільм, свайго роду спін-оф, з рэжысёрам "Свінні " Майклам інарс. Яны будуць трымаць вас у курсе, калі ласка?
Бэк: Так, час ад часу мы побач. Home Але, шчыра кажучы, мы вельмі рады быць у аўдыторыі зараз і бачыць, што думаюць іншыя геніяльныя людзі. Ммл [сарносi], я'яўляецц эжыё э э э э п ф ф фяўляецц фым сцёцё сцё с уэж Нам спадабаўся яго фільм пра Свінню і танальнасць, з якой ён пагружаўся ў кожную сцэну. Мы можам толькі ўявіць, наколькі гэта магчыма, што ён зробіць з A Quiet Place .
Аглядаючыся назад, вы рады, што вас пераследвалі , перш чым вы падняліся да 65?
Вд мы зы зходз ў ў той мом мом, к ппырыц, яыыц ныц ны ны доы з ны ны пп п. Гэта заўсёды працэс навучання, але ў які момант мы атрымліваем задавальненне ад працы, а ў які гэта проста навуковы эксперымент, каб паспрабаваць зрабіць працу лепш? Так што цяжка адказаць на гэтае пытанне, таму што я зараз разважаю.
Арыяна Грынблат : Хлопцы, вы хочаце, каб я дапамагла вам адказаць на пытанне?
Бэк і Вудс: ( Смяецца ).
[З з
Бэк: З пункту гледжання Haunt , ёсць сваяцтва ў тым, што гэта таксама 90-хвілінныя амерыканскія горкі. Ёсць персанажы, якія вас цікавяць, але гаворка таксама ідзе пра захапляльныя прыгоды. Адна рэч, з якой мы адчувалі сябе нязручна, калі ў нас была перспектыва, - гэта тое, што мы трымалі аўдыторыю пад занадта моцным кантролем, а гэта было тое, што мы заўсёды кантралявалі65 . І па праўдзе кажучы, мы не будзем мець аналіз 65 праз некалькі месяцаў, калі не гадоў. Але Haunt быў лакмусавай паперкай, каб даведацца, ці занадта шмат у ім прыгод і налад.
© Рэжысёры The Hollywood Reporter Браян Вудс і Скот Бек з Адамам Драйверам на здымках 65.Прп некллллл дзеяцоддзяў, кы ўд ўд б б беце цдз удз уя удз удз удз удз удз г.
Бэк: Адзін, які адразу прыходзіць на розум, гэта дзень у снежні, калі мы былі на здымачнай пляцоўцы. У нас было, магчыма, усяго дзесяць дзён да вытворчасці, і я стаяў на подыуме разбітага касмічнага карабля і. У асноўным ён пабудаваны ўнутры балота Луізіяны, дзе могуць быць або не быць актыўныя алігатары або кракалы. І я проста глядзеў на пейзаж з 300 чалавек, якія выконвалі неверагодна цяжкую працу і неверагодна артыстычна. This is я прос п п п п п Было нешта ў гэтым вобразе, што прыцягнула маю ўвагу ў той час.
Вудс: Мы са Скотам прыдумалі, каб група артыстаў Cirque du Soleil апранулася на здымачнай пляцоўцы ў касцюмы гіганцкіх драпежнікаў, каб акцёры маглі іх бачыць і насіць. І калі мы былі за сцэнай, там было пяць артыстаў, якія рабілі драпежныя рэчы, і мы са Скотам паглядзелі адзін на аднаго і сказалі: «Гэта калі Адам скажа: «Што? Што вы тут робіце і чаму здымаеце гэты фільм?» ( Смех ). І нам гэта было вельмі няёмка. Такім чынам, мы падрыхтавалі сцэну, мы падрыхтавалі сцэну і ходзім, як дыназаўры.
А потым Адам прыйшоў да нас, і мы сказалі: «О, чорт, вось ён ішоў». This is ё сuз І мы сказалі: «О, дзякуй Богу». Такім чынам, гэта быў неверагодны момант для нас, таму што пастаноўка гэтага бліскучага студыйнага фільма з адным з найвялікшых акцёраў нашага часу была надзвычай страшным вопытам. Адам прыехаў да нас і даў нам зялёнае святло для творчага рашэння для паказаў, а таксама камера і ўсё астатняе для нас значаць свет, і мы ніколі гэтага не забудзем.
***
65 цяпер у кінатэатрах. Гэта інтэрв'ю было адрэдагавана для большай даўжыні і яснасці .
Лепшае з The Hollywood Reporter
Націсніце тут, каб прачытаць артыкул цалкам.
