Six years after delivering the chilling Unhinged, director Derrick Borte and Russell Crowe have reunited for the crime thriller The Get Out, and with the film now playing in select theaters, we were able to catch up with Borte to break down some of the film's biggest moments as well as get some behind-the-scenes intel.
Borte walks me through adapting the source material, changing the original title, and casting Crowe in the lead role, before getting more into the making of the film, including a detailed break down of the film's standout car chase. Plus, he also talks turning Australia into Los Angeles, pairing Aaron Paul and Nina Dobrev, and the truth behind all of those Point Break references.
As per the synopsis, "A nightclub owner is on the verge of leaving his dangerous past behind for retirement with his girlfriend. When masked gunmen rob him and he finds himself squeezed by ruthless cartels, a mysterious newcomer arrives with an interest in buying the business. With danger closing in from all sides, he must navigate a deadly web of deception, power, and survival - where escape may no longer be an option."
The cast features Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator; A Beautiful Mind), Luke Evans (Fast & Furious 6; The Hobbit), Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies; A Discovery of Witches), Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries; Love Hard), and 3x Primetime Emmy-winner Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad; Westworld).
Derrick Borte (Unhinged; The Joneses) helmed the feature, which is based on the novel Strip by Thomas Perry. In addition to directing, Borte also co-wrote screenplay with Daniel Forte.
The Get Out is now playing in theaters and will arrive on Digital and On Demand on June 30th!
The film is available to rent or buy on Fandango at Home & Prime Video.
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ROHAN: The Get Out is based on the novel Strip by Thomas Perry - what was it about his novel that inspired you to adapt it into a feature film?
DERRICK: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, the essence of this novel, really Marco's story, it's about reinvention, what happens when the life that you've taken so much time and energy to build, kind of no longer works for the world, or you get surpassed by the world in some way, and what do you do? How do you, for lack of a better expression, get out? How do you get out? How do you move on? I thought that was kind of a theme that spoke to me in a way, and, you know, every character in this film is trying to escape something, you know, debt, age, responsibility, even in one character's case, you know, themselves. So, it just worked on multiple levels for me.
ROHAN: Building on that, the film was announced as Bear Country, but it’s being released as The Get Out. What went behind the title change?
DERRICK: Well, you know, sometimes things happen when a distributor buys a film, whether that's just some notes on the film or whether it's a title change, so yeah, the film was shot as Bear Country, and it's being released as The Get Out, so, you know, happy to support The Get Out.
ROHAN: You’re working with Russell Crowe again, after working together on Unhinged. How has your working relationship evolved, especially as you tackle a much different story and character?
DERRICK: I think that that even going back to Unhinged, I saw very quickly when the camera was not rolling just how warm and funny Russell can be, so, you know, obviously the subject matter of Unhinged was much more intense, dark material, and yet you know the moment the camera stopped, he was his normal, you know, very funny self, and so, the difference now is really kind of, you know, the material may be different, but it's still the same Russell. He offers a wealth of knowledge about filmmaking, he's been around it for a long time, he's just such a smart and generous actor and person. It's a great dynamic. It's a pleasure to be around him, and get to push some buttons to get him on screen, and let him use this tool belt that he's worked on for all these years to be able to do such amazing things.
ROHAN: The film is set in Los Angeles, but you’re shooting in Australia. What kind of challenge was it trying to convincingly turn Australia into LA?
DERRICK: I think the challenge seemed like it was much bigger in theory than what we sort of found on the ground practically when we got there. I think the idea was pretty scary, and then once I got there with my production designer, Freddy Waff, who's from LA, you know, we found places that looked like LA. We found, you know, the place where the club is on the Gold Coast, which really looks like Korea Town in LA, and we found a place for Manco to live near Burleigh Heads that looks a lot like, you know, sort of South Bay, Manhattan Beach. We found places that worked, you know, and just tried to avoid anything that kind of had to play as the iconic LA locations that everybody's familiar with.
ROHAN: You have these two characters, played by Aaron Paul and Nina Dobrev, who are two actors well-known for iconic TV roles. In this film, they are playing against type. What was it about their chemistry that made them right for these roles?
DERRICK: I think that these characters, on the page, really had this great dynamic, this great chemistry, that really they could have had their own film, you know? These two characters, they could have really, they had enough of a story that somebody could probably have given these two characters their own movie, so they're very strong characters to begin with. And, I think that, you know, when you've got actors with the range and talent that those two have, you know, you want them to take some ownership over their own characters, and, obviously, if people know them from these other characters they've played, there's going to be a little bit of that, no matter what, but I think that these roles offered them a chance to flex a little bit and show some range, maybe that they hadn't in previous work, and I think they're both really, I mean, they really are scene stealers. I mean, like I said, their story is so powerful and so funny and so tragic at the same time. It worked because these two actors brought what they did to the table. I mean, you know, the fact that they're close friends in real life probably helped, but, you know, it was just a pleasure to sit back and watch these actors really just embody these characters and collide on camera in a way that was something new that, to me, really didn't relate to anything they've played before.
ROHAN: There’s a really great car chase in the third act. What was it like staging that sequence and lighting it properly since it is at night. How many different set ups did you have to go through?
DERRICK: Well, you know, each car chase is different. I think that I try as much as I can to shoot practically and not shoot on a stage or shoot with a, you know, low loader trailer or flatbed, I really like to try to avoid that as much as possible. I love shooting with a performance arm, a Russian arm, which is a car with an arm, with a camera on it, so you can really move around the other car and let the person actually drive, so I tried to keep it practical as much as possible. There are one or two shots in there that are visual effects, or, you know, probably one or two visual effects. There's the spinning shot where the car's flipping, that’s on a stage where we actually built a car on a rotisserie that would really spin, and we put our stunt people in there and whipped it around, and it was actually spinning, so there's a little bit of visual effects in there. There's a little bit of, you know, special effects there, in terms of, you know, the entire car flip is not totally practical, but as much as I can, I would prefer to shoot practically wherever possible. So, yeah, there does have some challenges in terms of lighting and stunt work and things like that.
ROHAN: When you’re breaking down the movie, there’s a huge cast and so many different storylines, how are you juggling all of the different moving parts? Are you shooting chronologically or do you have a different plan of action?
DERRICK: Well, I think that the thing with an ensemble is inevitably you're dealing with everyone's schedules, so, for instance, Nina and Aaron were both in Australia, their schedules didn't overlap with Luke's, I don't believe whatsoever. So, it was like we kind of broke it down, like here's the ten days you got with Nina and Aaron, here's the time when Luke comes to town, and then we had a hurricane in the middle there that shut us down for a week, but I think that the key is really just philosophically, you know, knowing that each one of these characters kind of believes that they're the main character of this story, and sort of trying to keep that in mind while staying true to the script. You just kind of get used to shooting out of order, you get used to shooting different characters that are in town when others are not, and then, you know, you take everything in the edit room and cut it all together as though it all happened sequentially.
ROHAN: Nina's character mentions Point Break a few times. Did you draw any inspiration from that film or was there something else to it?
DERRICK: Well, I think that, you know, in trying to create a character who's a bank teller who decides to go on a crime spree with a guy that she knows into some kind of robbery. We thought, how cool it would be if she's obsessed with the movie Point Break, and she's been working at this bank and kind of bored with her life, and just waiting for this sign, you know, the sign from, as referenced in Point Break, the 50-year storm, you know, like she's been waiting for this, and when he comes in making these large cash deposits, it's a sign to her, she knows that's her sign, that she's going to go on this unbelievable adventure now, that she's going to force herself on him to be his partner in whatever, she doesn't even know what he's up to, but she wants it in, and she is delusional in a way that she really does think you can kind of do this, dip your toe in this, and get this kind of adrenaline rush without there being a price to any of it, and, you know, she learns, obviously, that it's not quite that easy.
A nightclub owner (Russell Crowe) is on the verge of leaving his dangerous past behind for retirement with his girlfriend (Teresa Palmer). When masked gunmen (Nina Dobrev, Aaron Paul) rob him and he finds himself squeezed by ruthless cartels, a mysterious newcomer (Luke Evans) arrives with an interest in buying the business. With danger closing in from all sides, he must navigate a deadly web of deception, power, and survival - where escape may no longer be an option.