Spoiler alert: This article contains minor spoilers on “weapons”, now playing in theaters.
Halfway through the opening weekend, the horror film mixing the kind of Zach Cregger “weapon” gives an audience more than thrills and gorges of the gallows-the film helps its casting established a certain versatility in a completely original script.
Unexpected and aggressive performances by Amy Madigan, Josh Brolin, Benedict Wong and Julia Garner abound in the project, which is certainly true of another key actor: Alden Ehrenreich. The Boy Muse formerly “it” of the Coen brothers and, later, an attempted starter of franchise in the world of Star Wars, Ehrenreich shines like a cop of Rabouri podunk whose city is shaken by the disappearance of the small hours of 17 children.
Paul d’Ehrenreich is trapped in a wedding he does not want, working for his sheriff stepfather and occasionally back in dependence with an old flame and another cum played by Garner. Neither is ready for the supernatural forces which transform their banal self -destruction into a terrifying death trap. Variety Cell with Ehrenreich to discuss the symbolism of the film (already the subject of many discussions on social networks), swinging a mustache and carrying the physical and emotional weight of his character.
Zach Cregger previously said he wanted you and Josh Brolin for this film because of your work in “Hail, Ceasar!” Is it true?
I think it’s the piece of equipment that noticed it as an actor, I’m not sure of Brolin. I saw the script “of weapons” a long time ago and I thought it was one of the best I have ever read. Each character has such a specific world. It is a genre film, but it is completely different, especially in terms of quality. I met Zach and we really got along, but the strikes occurred and all the other obstacles. I’m lucky that the stars are aligned where I could find myself in the film.
Is this mustache stuck or have you gone method?
It’s my mustache. We had initial conversations on this subject, and I just felt: “No question. It is such a shot. ” But then we looked at a photo of me with a mustache, and he said: “Don’t cut him for the moment.” After doing a screen test, it was just good.
Zach did you take a tour with a police officer?
I did it. It was something I really wanted to do. I went out in the middle of the night with a long beach officer, and I also spoke to another cop of a small town. These two beats are extremely different. But the Long Beach officer helped me understand a day of his life. I spent a little time with him at home. His wife was very charming and agreed to be a replacement. He handcuffed her in their living room and showed me how you hold someone on the ground – a lot of things we end up doing in the film. Then we went to a cop bar.
“Weapons” is a genre film, but it has a diversified tone. You end up doing a lot of action, which almost translates into a physical comedy.
One of the most important things for the character was to wear as much weight as possible, physically and emotionally. I wear a bulletproof vest and the production was going to spare me because we turned to Atlanta and it was so hot, but we ended up keeping it. I gained weight for the role, not so much to play a cop, but to play someone who moves in a life that is really not his. Someone in a circumstance, a relationship and a work, it is not real for whom it is. And this is what is tonally unique about Zack. Francis Ford Coppola told me about my first film [“Tetro”] That if you write something really personal, it will become something that no one has ever seen before. Because each of us is completely unique and original. I think it’s true for this film.
What do you think Zach is trying to say with this film?
Trying to summarize it to a thesis is probably in vain, I think this story looks more like a dream. It’s more poetic than rational. We had some conversations, [for instance] There is a moment when a pistol appears in the sky.
Many people are already talking about it.
I think there is clearly a relationship between this pistol and a bunch of missing children and school shots. He didn’t say that, but for me, I have the impression that this is in a poetic sense. The thing that seems to me more concrete is that all these characters are an expression and a part of Zach. Julia said, during our press tour, that she continued to make some choices wearing t-shirts and glasses. In the end, she realized that she dressed like Zach. This is positive proof that filmmakers should take more personal risks. It smells original, in the same way that the public can feel when something is formulated and they have seen it a million times.
You recently converted a historic Los Angeles tram station to game homes. How are you?
It was a bit incredible. We have had a gentle launch in the past six months. We made five staged readings. Our first complete production arrives this spring, and excitement is really encouraging. The goal was to have a kind of Off-Broadway style theater on the eastern side of Los Angeles, and a house for artists where they can experiment. We started an actor lesson and a dramatist circle.
Did the opening had an impact on how you work and do you make?
In a way. I am also interested in impressing people in this space as in a commercial audience. This forced us to articulate some of our artistic values as we want to work. On a personal level, when you spend your life as an actor, it’s very traveling. You travel everywhere, you can work 9 months on something that comes out and does not open and has the impression that it has never happened. The solidity to put this time, work and energy in a 120 -year -old cartoon station? It is like feeling very real and forced me to be an adult in a way that I would probably not have had to do it otherwise.
