Once again, our amazing colleague Matthew Schuchman brings great questions to one of the coolest filmmakers in the biz. Adam Eqypt Mortimer brought us Daniel Isn’t Real last year and now we’re jumping into the superhero genre in only a way Mortimer can. With brooding visual similarities and a fresh script, Archenemy (read my review here) is hella cool. Yes, I said it. Matt gets some awesome info from Adam. Wait until you find out who was originally in talks to play Max Fist! Joe Manganiello ultimately landed the role and is balls to wall amazing. The rest of this kick-ass cast combined with a screenplay that keeps you guessing will undoubtedly win you over. Can Archenemy save audiences during one of the weidrest movie viewing years in history? Find out for yourself. The film is now in Theaters, On Digital and On Demand. Check out Matt’s interview with writer/director Adam Eqypt Mortimer below.
Did you always intend to show Max’s origin as animations?
That’s an interesting question. When I was first writing it I knew that that was always part of the story; that we were gonna see his stories that he’s telling about Chromium. But I wasn’t super certain how I was going to do it. I knew that I wanted there to be a big contrast between the present-tense story, and what we were seeing from the past. So it was kind of a confluence of– I understood how we were going to be shooting the present, but how different can we make the past? One of the issues I struggled with when I was writing the script was the scene where Max is falling out of a giant building and flying through the sky and punching his enemy and all this crazy stuff. If that was hyper realized or looks exactly the same as the rest of the movie, then it would only ever appear as truth. So ultimately, I thought I could do animation. Daniel Noah from SpectreVision and I talked a lot about what it should be and I really came around to animation in thinking about things like, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Watership Down, too. In ways that those film’s innovations can be very expressive and interact with reality and all of those kinds of things. Then it started to feel like the right move, as long as it didn’t feel like comic book pages or motion comics. It’s not supposed to be referencing comics, it’s supposed to be referencing more. The feeling of this sort of superhero world and how that might present itself in Max’s deranged mind.
Well, I do also appreciate that the film doesn’t try to force-feed me everything through pointed exposition.
You know, there’s whole scenes of Max and his new friend Hamster walking down the street and Max is telling him all of this stuff about how he had the crystal fist, and the cosmic source, and all this stuff. But,I tended to think of all that, not like an exposition, because it’s not really there to set the stage to advance the story. I thought of it more like music, or decoration, or poetry. You can let all of this madness and all these strange world constructions flow over you and take it however you want. I said to Joe [Mangainello] when we started the process of building the character, “I don’t even care that much if I can understand what you say.” Joe and I are both metalheads and I told him to think about the way he talks as being like the guitar player from Slayer, Kerry King. Like, it’s sloppy and insane, loud and fast, and it’s really not about precise musical construction; it’s about getting some kind of point across through all this other stuff. So that was how I thought about things both in terms of how Max talks and about how he sees things.
Joe was really amazing in the film, and I feel like no one else could have really been Max Fist. Was he always the first choice?
I’m glad it was him; I think he was amazing. There was a moment though when I was talking to Nicolas Cage about it. We had lunch and talked about it and he was interested in it. He seemed great for it also, because he is somebody who had once almost played Superman, but he had also been in Leaving Las Vegas and one of my ideas in this movie was always; it’s Superman in Leaving Las Vegas— but we couldn’t do it. It didn’t work out with him and so then I got Joe and like you say, Joe is absolutely the perfect person; and a long time ago, also, was up for the part of playing Superman. He was going to be Superman and it didn’t work out and, but you can just see how he is Superman. But it’s not just him as a physical actor. He has so much confidence that he can deconstruct himself into a tragic mess of a man and pull that off too, which is what’s wonderful about it.
Why does Max care about Hamster so much? Is it just because Hamster is willing to listen to him?
I don’t know, I mean that that’s one of the emotional mysteries of the movie. When you meet Max, he’s somebody who doesn’t care about anybody. He lives this emotional life that he can’t get out of his own head. That’s the journey, and I hope it’s a believable one. I think you get this idea of him talking about how important it was to be a superhero. Then you increasingly see that imagery in terms of people’s love for him, they build statues to him. You start to go like, “wait a minute…” What does it mean to have been a hero and I think by defining things in this tiny relationship between him and hamster, there is a whole different way to look at why you would be a hero.
I don’t know if it is just me– and this is kind of getting away from the point– but I started focusing on smaller things. There’s the henchman Finn, and he carries this book in his hand but I couldn’t see what the book was. Was it something like, “The Big Book of Zen?”
It’s called; Nihilism for Beginners. There is a frame or two where you can see it. And I’m glad that you are looking for details like that because I put a lot into thinking about the world and all of the characters. Even when they are just in a scene or two, they’re really building part of that universe. The idea with him is, he’s a guy who’s just started to think philosophically about the world and he’s like, “God I’m just a hired hitman goon, but the world is so much more complex.” There’s a scene where he’s interrogating Indigo about this other guy who died but you can see that there’s this incredible sort of sorrow or grief about what he is doing. That was all Joseph Reitman; super great actor. I will always want to do things where there’s tons of fucking violence and bleakness and it’s crazy, but there’s also the theme of empathy and who can have empathy and what does that feel like. There was a little patch of that in that character.
It’s clear that–and especially from talking to you now– that you had a specific point of where you wanted this to end, but were there thoughts about deciding whether the ending would flip the other way, maybe?
I think it was more a question of how it would play out, or what the timing of it was. The question for me really was, “It’s going to be a story about a betrayal of some kind and a mistruth of some kind.” So where exactly does that play out? Does that play out in terms of everything he said is invented? Or is it that he’s telling the story differently than he should? It’s important to have a narrative twist or a narrative, revelation, but the emotional revelation around it is really the key.
Most movies do kind of give up the kitty a little too early. I love the fact that, as an audience member, just as you may start to believe Max, he’s doing a bump of coke on the stairwell before going in to punch a bunch of guys.
There’s nothing that gives you superpowers better than amphetamines and that’s one thing I want people to take away from this [joking laughter]. If you’re gonna run into people who are shooting at you with uzis; you take meth. It’s gonna be bad, but it’ll be better that way.
Has the casting process gotten easier for you, now that your stock is on the rise?
No doubt, Archenemy was so much easier to get done, than Daniel Isn’t Real. With this movie, I had all these people able to see my last movie. Glenn Howerton, Paul Scheer, and Joe; all saw my previous film, and they think, “I love that movie, I would work with this director.” That’s how I was able to get them in it and that’s the wonderful, wonderful aspect of starting to build up a body of work that you can point to. When I was making my first movie, nobody gave a fuck that I wanted to make a movie. None of my set ideals are real, it was like very few people gave a fuck to help stretch my vision. Now they’ve got my back and it’s sort of grown like that in a way. It’s wonderful because the most important thing to me is to be able to attract brilliant people to work with me and particularly get actors who are really good and can really do all of it. So to be able to point to other examples of what I’ve done is a blessing.
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RLJE Films will release the action/thriller ARCHENEMY In Theaters, On Digital and On Demand December 11, 2020.
Archenemy has all the makings of a franchise. I hope we see more of this crew! Amy Seimetz, Glenn Howerton, and Paul Sheer level up this film. Every single cast member gives a nuanced performance. It’s dark and complex and nothing like you think it’s going to be. How often do we genuinely get to say that? You can check out Archenemy today!
The camera work is decisively cool and the subtle lighting change when they enter the parallel world is key. The truly minimal CG is pretty spectacular. The visual reminder that the mirror is but a reflection of the outside is featured prominently throughout. The cast has genuine chemistry based on their backgrounds. They walk the perfect balance of guarded when necessary and enamored with their past dynamics. It feels like a choose your own adventure but with the highest of consequences. Director Isaac Ezban (who ingeniously slips in a nod to his brilliant film 
Drew Barrymore gets to play two polar opposite roles. Candy Black is character number one. For sure a nod to Drew’s vast collection of lovable characters over the years but with a seriously jaded mean streak. And perhaps also a not-so-hidden, tongue-in-cheek riff on Melissa McCarthy, who gets named dropped immediately in the best way possible. For Barrymore’s character Candy, 5 years after a breakdown on set, she is another person. Her sadness has consumed her. She is a recluse who is court-ordered to go to rehab for 90 days. Frankly, she has other plans. Her second character is the titular role. Paula is seemingly lovely, sweet, and bright, but now also out of a job until she gets an auspicious call to get back on the horse for Candy. Both women get the opportunity to reshape who they are… for better or for worse. You think you know where this story is going, but you’re in for a big surprise.
When they play the same scenes it’s an excellent dynamic. Watching Drew commit to these two women is really fun. You’re constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. It makes for a heightened watch. It becomes unexpectedly dark. Drew is actually scary to watch. The marketing is doing a disservice to the film. There is so much more to The Stand In than the trailer offers viewers. I hope they can appreciate what comes their way.
It is definitely an interesting commentary on fame and notoriety. There are innumerable moments that will make you cringe but you have to ride them out. The Stand In makes fun of itself in a thoughtful way. The cameos are aplenty and each person is given the opportunity to highlight the trappings of Hollywood with their dialogue. I think that’s what I appreciated most. The dark honesty is what sticks with me as the credits rolled. The entire success hangs on Barrymore’s ability to play two characters we’ve never seen from her before. Congratulations to director Jaime Babbitt for helping a film that’s much deeper than an audience is expecting.
This script does an excellent job of presenting something that feels familiar but layering it with the lust of a teenage girl. Braden R. Duemmler gives us a nuanced look at relationship dynamics wrapped in an enigma of anxiety and fear. We get a fantastic balance of a real-life scenario with the understanding that something is indeed very off about John Smith. The cringeworthy moments are aplenty and that’s a compliment. The character of Liberty is fully fleshed out. I was that girl, in many ways, at 16. While my passion was writing and theatre, I understood the awkward encounters and the sensation of excitement at the thought of an attractive older man having an understanding of the things I liked. Liberty ends up being a badass through her terror and she is a hero in my book. That’s the kind of female protagonist we need.
Ema Horvath is outstanding. Having just seen her in 
Nani just cannot kick her addiction. She claims she wants to be part of her son’s life, but chooses drugs over and over. Daryl is just guilty in the ways he facilitates her habits. It’s heartbreaking to watch him have so much confidence in a woman who will most likely overdose. When he snaps at her you don’t blame him one ounce. He’s doing his best and she’s doing crack. The emotional hold she has on him is stronger than almost anything, except the love of his children.
Higher Love tells the stories of the lives and deaths of so many locals. But the tragedy is everywhere. Iman, one of Nani’s associates, gets his path highlighted, as well. He explains that with a phone call, one can procure whatever they need whenever they need. His story is like so many others, he has a family that loves him and they only want his rehab stints to stick. He is the highest motivated individual we come to know. We could not be rooting for him any harder. The most engrossing aspect of the intimate conversations with these addicts is the fact that they are actually incredibly self-aware. They understand they are ultimately responsible for their behavior. It’s a cycle of sadness, confusion, trauma, and sickness. How do we, as a society, fix this? What can the government and the people do together to help this ever-growing population? I’m not sure what the answer is, but with the problems exacerbated by a pandemic, 2020 might be the worst year on record for drug deaths.
The eclectic personalities represented in 18 To Party put me right back in 8th grade. I knew or was all of these kids at one point or another. This ensemble cast is unreal. There is an incredible mix of nonchalance, awkwardness, boldness, and fear. All the hormones and adolescent rage are there in its purest form. It is impossible not to think of Richard Linklater‘s films. Writer/director Jeff Roda‘s dialogue touches on nothing and everything all at once and it is delicious. The pacing is brilliant. You’re fully into these kids and all that’s occurring in their small town circle. I remember when every little thing had the weight of the world because my world was only so large. 18 To Party has a familiarity that lets the viewer live in the film. It’s on real stand out in 2020. Any fellow Gen Xer will be fully in flashback mode, nodding and smiling and cringing along with these kids. It’s totally awesome but in an understated cool way. Wait until you hear the soundtrack. So yeah, Jeff Roda nails it. Watch it with your kids. Their reaction might surprise you. Catch 18 To Party on VOD platforms today.
Family is complicated. Every generation trying to make life better for the next but ultimately failing in one way or another. You cannot do it all perfectly, that’s not a thing. It is in the mistakes and flaws we accept where we grow as individuals and as one family unit. King Of Knives is a raw and undeniably funny look at regret. It shines in its honesty. It allows its characters to feel relatable with great dialogue and effective editing as the full plot is revealed. It’s a beautifully balanced screenplay, allowing each of the four family members to come to terms with where they fit in and how that might affect the others.
The performances are really great. I have to call out the comic timing from everyone. It’s a natural back and forth I have with my family, like it or not. While we all think everyone is so very different, I reality we’re all just as messed up as the next person in line. Gene Pope, Mel Harris, Roxi Pope, and Emily Bennett do a fantastic job making you believe they are related. There is just enough connection and disconnection for you to buy it completely. They are coated in trauma they ignore and facing it one year later will finally break open family secrets and revelations that will change everyone. Lindsay Joy‘s script feels real from my perspective; the first of four (now adult) kids that all did different things and pretend to be too cool for school most of the time. But we know, deep down, we’re all floundering in one way or another. We’re still better together. King Of Knives hits home for any viewer. Sometimes you have to break it down to build it back up. It’s a “Go call you Dad” kind of film. It’s the perfect holiday film, once you watch it you’ll understand why. It releases today on VOD and Digital platforms. Get a taste from the trailer below.
Werewolf is incredible from the very first frame. The fear is visceral in the visual presentation but especially in the performances from a cast of children. This is a new version of Lord Of The Flies as a group of Holocaust survivors lies in wait as they are stalked by attack dogs, and even one of their own. Hormones, trauma, hunger, and anger, all drive this riveting plot forward. It is easy to root for these kids. As a Mom, it made my heart race at every turn. I was sweating watching their ingenuity. Survival is not guaranteed especially when the threat comes from within. It was profound watching these young actors, at times, become as wild as the dogs they feared. Other scenes momentarily allowed them to be children again. This ensemble casts’ chemistry will blow you away. Adrian Panek has given us a thrilling gem. The writing is intelligent and enthralling. Your heart will be in your throat from beginning to end.
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