Interview with “Boy Kills World” Director, Moritz Mohr

Full transcript of Interview with “Boy Kills World” Director, Moritz Mohr.

0:04KT: Moritz Mohr is a German writer director making his feature directorial debut with Boy Kills World, a dystopian fever dream action film that follows Boy, a deaf mute with a vibrant imagination.

0:18KT: Thank you. When his family is murdered, he is trained by a mysterious shaman to repress his childhood imagination and become an instrument of death. Boy Kills World is in Australian cinemas, May 2. Moritz, thank you so much. And welcome to the For Your Reference Podcast.

0:33Moritz: Thank you for having me.

0:35KT: What a film.

0:36KT: I am very excited. Just like, just need to shake it out and get it out there. Um, we will get to Sam Raimi. We will get to the amazing cast, including Bill Skarsgård. But I want to learn a bit more about you. And I'm sure our friends and lovers would love to learn a bit more about you as well. As far as I understand, you've been a lover of film, whether it was working in a video store to studying in Europe, as well as America, um, in film.

1:02KT: I would love to hear perhaps your long, perhaps your complicated love letter to film.

1:11Moritz: Alrighty. So, um,

1:13Moritz: I always liked movies like, like movies, right? Like as a kid, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, that's, that's cool. That's fun. But, um, my, uh, wake up call for movies was, I think I was around 15 when I, uh, I have my three friends, my video friends, like we always watch movies together. And at one point they introduced me to a John Woo movie called A Better Tomorrow.

1:38Moritz: Okay. And it's, it's this Hong Kong heroic bloodshed action movie with Chow Yun-fat. It's a freaking classic. It's amazing. And, uh, when I first watched that, um, there's this amazing scene where Chow Yun-fat walks in his cool trench coat. Walks to a restaurant in slow motion, and then the door slides open.

1:58Moritz: He pulls out his two guns and shoots everybody in slow motion. And, um, that's sort of when I. Went from liking movies to loving movies. That's what it was like, Oh, this is amazing.

2:11KT: Like I feel something.

2:14Moritz: Yeah. I, this like the stylized action and this, this is just, it blew me away. So we can later, I started two or three years later, I started working at the local, uh, video store, got my hands on more stuff, which was hard back then.

2:31Moritz: Right. Because, uh, no. No internet, no nothing. So, uh, you really sort of had to watch what was there. And, uh,

2:39KT: You have to remember to rewind the tapes before you return it as well. Exactly.

2:44Moritz: Yeah. I had to do that a lot of times and it was a very small town and we didn't have a lot of customers. So I was basically watching movies all day and every half an hour, a customer came in and I was like, stop.

2:55Moritz: All right. How are you doing? And then, uh, I had to work for a bit, but. It was mostly watching movies. And from there I went to film school, which, uh, Uh, where I studied, uh, directing in specializing in advertising because, um, yeah, because they. Wouldn't want to have me for feature. And, uh, that was, that was good.

3:24Moritz: It was actually good. And, uh,

3:27KT: You're advertising yourself now. Look at that.

3:30Moritz: Exactly. But the first movie I shot in, in film school was a zombie movie. So, and that is back in the day, it was pretty special for, for Germany because they love horror movies and action movies, but they don't produce them themselves. Like, um, there's only been like a few, uh, big horror movies in the past 30 years. It all sort of slowly now starts to change because of. streamers and they actually doing some experimenting in that regard. But it's like, uh, if you want to be a, um, make an action movie or a horror movie, I tried, I tried for like, I guess, 10 years to, to make one and it just didn't pan out.

4:09Moritz: Um, but, uh, yeah, that's when I knew I like after that experience, basically after film school, I, uh, Knew I needed to go to the U S if I wanted to do anything in that area and Boy Kills World started for me.

4:29KT: Yeah. And it's, it's so cool to hear cause that WonderCon and also cool watching like interviews with you and Sam as well.

4:36KT: Um, but there was talks of the film being in seven or eight years of development. I think you said your son was one when the concept trailer

4:44Moritz: was standing next to next to the set in a little. What are they called? The, the cages? No, not the cages. Uhhuh. Uhoh. The little, the little, uh, where, where they can't get out and uh, I don't know.

4:59Moritz: Like a baby,

5:00KT: A baby gate.

5:02Moritz: Yeah, I guess that's it. I don't know. Like you put them in and they can't run away. That's the, that's the point. And it was in a very, very dirty, uh, dirty basement where we shot. So it was like that one piece of the set that was super clean and super nice. And Uhhuh was just there while shooting.

5:20Moritz: And his mom was doing the makeup. Uh. And, uh, yeah,

5:24KT: it was a, it was a family production. I love that.

5:28Moritz: Basically. Yeah. It was friends and family. Exactly.

5:31KT: A family production with complicated family feelings in the film.

5:35Moritz: As I always said, it's a, it's a family movie. Basically.

5:40KT: Absolutely. Just no context. Um, I want to talk about tone for a second. I think of. It's like a Swiss French film, it's called Mad Heidi, and that was an independent film, and it was a lot of fun.

5:54Moritz: I've not watched it, but a friend of mine wrote it, so that's funny.

5:59KT: Oh, well, how have I watched it, and you haven't, and they're your friends.

6:03Moritz: Yeah, I also feel bad about it, but, uh, yeah.

6:09KT: That's okay. We can cut it out and pretend. But, um, like Mad Heidi was, because we are an independent film podcast and it was an independent filmmaker. They reached out to us being like, Hey, we made this film.

6:21KT: Would you like to review it? And you never really know what you're going to get, but it's always a very exciting time in the, like being an indie, um, podcast. But when we watched that film, we were like, This is, this is a lot of fun. Um, so I'm glad you understood that reference and, you know, even Bullet Train as well is also a lot of fun.

6:40KT: So when we watched the trailer of this, we didn't know what we were getting into and when we were watching it, it was so much fun, my partner, Oti, we live in the world of like, we're just like, whatever it is, we're going deep into it. If the world is ridiculous and you tell us the rules, we're deep into it.

7:00KT: You know? And I think tone plays a very big role and it definitely played a big role in Boy Kills World. And there were a lot of things that happened. I don't want to spoil, but there are a lot of things or scenes or lines that informed you very early in the film. This is the ridiculous, beautiful, gorgeous, explosive world we're going to get into.

7:19KT: And I want to talk a little bit about that. I think also hearing you speak about how much you love different films, whether it's Hong Kong cinema or even just general action or horror in general, how was it? Finding a way to balance a multi faceted tone that we get in Boy Kills World.

7:37Moritz: it's definitely been a task and it was a source of, uh, Just like, um, headaches for a long, for the entire production where you are, is this, should this moment be funny or dramatic at, um, especially when you have a voiceover, you can change things in the edit still because like, all right, uh, we can actually rerecord that line to be more serious.

8:00Moritz: So it gives you a lot of freedom, but that's, uh, blessing and a curse at the same time. Uh, so you can do all that. And then you, you try to balance and you make decisions and go like, uh, all right. The beginning less funny, more serious. Now, uh, the ending was always serious. There was no, it was never like, like a big jokey thing.

8:22Moritz: The film sort of grows increasingly more serious as it continues. But yeah, balancing that, uh, is, is hard. And, uh, I'm. Like I, I hope I did, did well, um, but yeah, it was always like something you, you had to keep in mind and, uh, I'm still like the, the mixing of genres and, and tonalities is something I really like, uh, if few filmmakers who do that, well, and, um, yeah, I'm, I'm I'm aspiring to like, I have, that's what makes a movie exciting to me.

9:02Moritz: If things happen that you don't expect, then if you, and if you can sort of subvert the genre for a moment and do something else and change the tonality and without losing the audience, that's the, that's the goal.

9:16KT: I'm starting to feel like I chase tone instead of genre, um, which is a lot more fun to discover and you can watch different sorts of films and be like, Oh, okay, this is good.

9:26KT: And, um, it was so fun just watching the trailer because we love Archer. Um, and Bob's Burgers and like, I think it was one word. I don't remember what the word was in the trailer and I said to Oti, this is H. Jon Benjamin. I was like, this is like, like, this is not a drill. Shut it down. This is H. Jon Benjamin.

9:44KT: Yeah,

9:45Moritz: the R rated trailer starts with.

9:51KT: And I was like, I am in like, I knew Bill Skarsgård was in it, but I was like, I am in, I need to see this screener now, absolutely. We woke up at like 5am to watch the screen, but it was, which was a beautiful way to start the day, by the way. That's awesome. I want to, you've talked a little bit about narration and I've just splooshed all over.

10:12KT: That's an Archer reference, but you can just enjoy that reference in general. Um, but I just splooshed all over hearing H. Jon Benjamin. Um, how was it? Because I think in a couple of interviews, you talked about the narration coming post, like filming as well. Did that provide a little bit of elasticity?

10:30Moritz: Um, the, the narration itself didn't come post, uh, post editing. It was sort of, it was the concept, like I told you about the proof of concept trailer that we shot, um, 2016. And that idea of the young boy and the old voice sort of there from the start.

10:49Moritz: Um, it was sort of our thing that we were like, all right, we're going to make a revenge movie, but what's special about it? Like, what is, what makes it more interesting for us as filmmakers and hopefully for the audience too. So that's when that idea was born. But obviously when you. You start editing and you record a voiceover, a layout voiceover, and then you start editing with it.

11:10Moritz: And then you go like, all right, that, that kind of works. And then you record it for real. And then you tinker with it. And then, uh, you reedit test screenings. Then you get the first audience reaction. Then you reedit again. So it's a really. Process and that's where you, we realize, oh, wait, that scene doesn't work for some reason or another.

11:30Moritz: Um, is it the voiceover or can the voiceover help make it work? So that's the, that's the curse and the blessing because you can change. Like up until very long, if you shoot a movie with like normal dialogue, you're sort of, um, bound to the dialogue that you actually feel is

11:51KT: very literal. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get you.

11:54KT: Yeah. Um, well, we haven't really had time to talk about Bill Skarsgård. Imagine an interview where I'm just focusing on H. Jon Benjamin, but I do want to Skarsgård because he is one of the most exciting character actors, um, that we've seen in the last couple of years and to know that he is at the helm and this is like another exciting project that he has.

12:18KT: And perhaps I know one of the producers worked on the Barbarian as well. I'm not sure if that's the connection, but I'd like to hear about what it was like working with Bill Skarsgård.

12:27Moritz: Um, it was fantastic. Like, uh, he's such a, he's such a brilliant actor and the, the whole. Like being, being mute and not being able to talk.

12:39Moritz: And, uh, that is, that is a challenge, like, uh, for, for every actor. And, uh, uh, you might go like, oh, but you don't have to learn the line. That's easy. No, you actually have to know the lines. You have to express them. Uh, then there's this, uh, added. Thing where you actually have to, you know, the lines will be delivered in a voiceover, but, oh, you still have to get the timing right and all that.

13:08Moritz: So that was a bit of a hassle, uh, sort of, uh, unusual for everybody involved, but, uh, we, we sort of on set, we managed, um, and, um, yeah, and just sort of the, so that's basically when I, when we cast him, it was, Yeah, he's a great actor. He's amazing. He's such an expressive face. Like that could be like, really, that really works out favorite.

13:40Moritz: This is amazing. But we didn't know, uh, if he could do the action parts and, um, when you do an action film. Like that, that is sort of, uh, you really want somebody to perform like a lot of it to keep it authentic. So if you have to double the guy every, every time he moves or jumps up over something, then, uh, it's, um, You can feel it in the end and really, you can really tell.

14:09Moritz: And, uh, because you have to film it in a certain way. So you don't see the face and stuff, and we can't afford like full facial replacement, digital one. So we really want somebody who could do it. And Bill, uh, promised basically promise was like, I'm going to get in shape. I'm gonna, uh, Get ripped. I'm gonna train and basically every, every action scene is sort of a dance number.

14:37Moritz: So you have to learn the choreography and that a lot of work. And, uh, Bill put in so much time and so much effort and he really did. Oh, he almost over delivered in the, during the shoot. And it was just like, we really rode him hard, like just for the time. And we, um, um, yeah, it was not easy for him. Yeah.

15:01KT: We're splooshing, we're riding hard. We're having a very good time. Um, I'm getting wrapped up for time. Thank you so much. Also shout out to Andrew Koji as well as Isaiah Mustafa. Um, I want to finish off with my final question. We finished off our reviews with a recommendation. What would you pair with Boy Kills World as a double feature?

15:22KT: Uh,

15:24Moritz: that's so hard. So hard. Wait, um, can you say Mad

15:27KT: Heidi?

15:30Moritz: Sure. Watch Mad Heidi.

15:32KT: Okay, great.

15:34KT: Moritz, thank you so much for your time.

15:36Moritz: Thank you. It was a pleasure.

15:38KT: Thank you.