Jeremy Saulnier hit the scene in 2007 with his set-on-Halloween comedy,
Murder Party. In it, the lead character finds himself at a ‘Murder Party’, dressed in cardboard armor, trying his best to not be killed by the party’s hosts, who are dressed in sweet costumes like Pris from
Blade Runner, and a Baseball Fury from
The Warriors.
He then spent the large part of the next 6 years working as a cinematographer for independent films like,
Septien, Putty HIll, You Hurt My Feelings, and
I Used To Be Darker.
In 2013, he returned to the director’s chair with
Blue Ruin, which took the revenge film genre, flipped it on its head by having its lead character be a normal guy who’s a bit inept when it comes to murder. It was beautiful, brutal, and shockingly for the genre… emotionally engaging! (Check it out on Netflix if you haven’t seen it!!)
Saulnier returns to TIFF this year with his latest film,
Green Room, starring Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart, Alia Shawkat, and Anton Yelich. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the Midnight Madness blog.
Midnight Madness Blog: I’m
thrilled that there was only a 2 year gap between Blue Ruin and Green
Room, instead of the six between Murder Party and Blue Ruin. How long
did you have the idea of Green Room in mind, and what do you think are
its main influences (either films or events in your life?
Jeremy Saulnier: Thank
you. I’m quite thrilled myself! That was certainly the mission- ride
the momentum of Blue Ruin and crank out another film before I was
discovered to be a fraud! I learned that lesson with Murder Party
(2007), which was well received by loyal genre fans but didn’t make so
much as a blip on the industry radar. Green Room was an idea that had
been gestating even before Blue Ruin, so I figured it should be next. I
had been in the punk rock / hardcore scene in Washington D.C. in the
early ‘90s, so I knew the world and was attracted to its aesthetic. I
had also been in my share of cruddy-ass backstage green rooms and
thought it would be a perfect setting for a punk rock siege film. My
goal as a director was to ratchet up the tension and create a cinematic
experience that would elicit a physical response. Sometimes my brain
gets tired and I just want to go for an insane ride with the audience.
Tonal references would include River's Edge, Straw Dogs, The Road Warrior and Assault on Precinct 13.
MMB: You’re
also a cinematographer, and you shot your last film, Blue Ruin. What
was behind your decision to not act as cinematographer again on Green
Room, and what about Sean Porter made him the right for the material?
His work on Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter and It Felt Like Love is great,
and I’m stoked to see that he’s shooting the new Mike Mills film.
JS: Blue Ruin was engineered as a film I could both direct and shoot. It was a
single protagonist’s journey, crafted in a methodical, nearly silent
way. Me viewing the action through the camera lens was both a natural
artistic expression and a cost saving practicality. I knew Green Room
would be a different animal. It was my first union shoot, there was an
ensemble cast that deserved my full attention and the production itself
was a huge technical challenge. I never really thought about managing
more than one department on that shitstorm! Sean Porter’s work on It Felt Like Love and Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter stood out to me not only
because they were both superb visualizations, but because they were so
very different. With that kind of diversity, I knew Sean was invested in
story above all else and our styles would mesh seamlessly. Also, and
this is a biggie, Sean is a kind and generous human with good
intentions.
MMB: From
what I’ve heard, I gather that Green Room is pretty grisly, and maybe
more intense than people might be expecting from a movie starring Imogen
Poots, Patrick Stewart, Alia Shawkat and Anton Yelich. Was your
intention to make a really tough film from the start, and what was the
casting process like, to be able to get such a great group of actors
with such challenging material?
JS: Yes, this film was a face-melter from the start. I used intense gore not for gratuitous celebration (okay, except for that one scene…),
but as a tool for intensifying the action, upping the stakes and
exploring the shocking brutality that sometimes accompanies basic
self-preservation. The only way to make it all resonate, to make it
serve the story was to assemble the best actors I could. They were all
fully invested in their characters, and that creates a wonderful
environment in which the entire crew can do their best work. What makes
the film ‘grisly’ is the not the prosthetic makeup effects or the blood
pumps, but the grounded, emotional performances that bring an unbearable
humanity to this nightmare.
MMB: Were
you able to attend any Midnight Madness screenings when you were at
TIFF with Blue Ruin? If you were, what did you see, and what was your
impression of the audience?
JS: This
will be my first Midnight Madness screening! The audiences here are
legendary. Green Room was a very difficult film to make, and I’m just
now starting the celebration in Toronto-- it’s the world premiere of
the finished film with an entirely new sound mix since it’s
Cannes screening. It’s as if Green Room was carefully concocted in a
laboratory for this very audience on this very night! Muhahahaha!
MMB: I
know Green Room hasn’t even been released yet, but do you have an idea
what your next film might be, or what you hope it will be?
JS: Not
sure yet what the next film will be, but there’s a lot of exciting
projects I’m circling. I hope that, whatever it is, it will be a step up
in scale and an opportunity to make a shit ton of money – err, um- I
mean, to challenge myself as a filmmaker and deliver something audiences
will love.
MMB: Thanks
so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for the Midnight
Madness blog! I’m really excited to see Green Room on Thursday!
JS: Thank
you! Our entire team is grateful to be here. It’s an honor to open
Midnight Madness and I only hope the fans are happy. We’ve got some
amazing guests coming tonight!
GREEN ROOM screens:
Thu, Sept 10th, 11:59 PM RYERSON
Fri, Sept 11th, 8:45 AM SCOTIABANK
Sat, Sept 12, 2:15 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS
