Interview with “DROP” Director, Christopher Landon

Full transcript of Interview with “DROP” Director, Christopher Landon.

0:14KT: Chris, oh, we we're dining together. Thank you so much for your time. We're on a date.

0:19Chris: Welcome. Welcome. You're a little late. Thank you. It's okay. Thank you so much.

0:22KT: Thank you so much for your time, and welcome to the For Your Reference podcast and also the actual restaurant of Drop. You have such an exciting body of work. In the way that like the best sort of comedy is grounded in the truth of it all. Mm-hmm. And the most horrific sort of horror elements are also grounded in a sort of reality in this very accessible on my phone. At any point in time someone can contact me. Um, how was it being able to, was it much of a challenge to have that sort of reality and the horror sort of elements that you're used to playing with?

1:02Chris: with? No, it wasn't, it honestly didn't feel like a, a, a challenge that I wasn't ready to, to tackle. You know, I, I mean, I definitely know my way around a horror comedy. Um, and, but what was really fun about making this movie was that I got to flex some new muscles and different muscles and make something that I think is a bit more of a classic thriller. Yeah, but still retaining a lot of the things that I think people hopefully like about my work, you know, is that I still always bring a sense of humor, um, to the table, literally. Um, and, um, and that, but in a way that is like, it feels appropriate, you know what I mean? It's not like there's bad jokes forced into the wrong moments.

1:43Chris: It's really just about having the right kind of timing with humor and so forth so that the audience can go on this ride. You know, where they, one second, they're terrified. And the next that they're laughing.

1:54KT: Uhhuh and well, congratulations on New York Comic-Con, as well as South by Southwest as well. It's been nice to see the interviews and the chats and you know, in the making of Drop. It was a nice and tight production. The restaurants still exist, but it was built to purpose for the film as well. Um, I guess from a filmmaking point of view. How was it being able to translate something that feels very real in regards to, you know, technology being so accessible and translating that internal sort of fear onto the screen?

2:28Chris: Yeah, I mean that was, you know, one of the challenges of the movie was making sure that, you know, we weren't just staring at phones. Mm-hmm. Because that gets really boring. And even though we have this piece of technology that is a very big part of the movie, I knew. That I wanted to, to get away from screens as quickly as possible. Um, and so that's why we devised this, this particular technique, um, so that Violet is having a real conversation with her, her tormentor, and that we're able to see her face while it's happening. You know, because that's where the, that's where the anxiety and the fear is, you know, it's, it's written on, on the actor's face and seeing her react to the things that

3:11Chris: That they are sending to her. Um, and um, yeah, it was just, uh, it was fun figuring it out though. It's like what normally would be like a bad challenge or something that looks like really tedious and awful ended up being something that was just a lot of fun to figure out.

3:28KT: Yeah, absolutely. And shout out to Meghann as Violet. I felt like Whoopi from Ghost being like, you're in danger, girl.

3:33Chris: girl. Totally.

3:37KT: Um, horror is such an expansive genre and it deserves all of the love, um, that it should get, hopefully. Um, but in some instances it's not necessarily kind to women in horror. It's nice to see a reclamation with Jennifer's Body as well as Promising Young Woman. And Violet in Drop. I feel like very much fits. That as well of that reclamation. It felt very playful as well of a woman taking charge and, you know, like protecting and she's going to really take her balls to the wall, um, which was a lot of fun as well. Was that something, I guess, in the making of Drop that we're, we are conscious of?

4:14KT: Or was it just in general, this is how anyone would react?

4:17Chris: Yeah, I mean, look, I think I've been conscious of that my whole career and I, you know, I, I was. Raised by strong women, um, and women of agency, um, but also women of that are human and have flaws and have things, have, have difficulties and things to overcome. And, um, you know, I think Violet is, is, yeah, she's just a, a, a character that I deeply loved. Um, and, you know, wanted to tell her story, her human story. And really sort of highlight her, her personal struggles and also highlight her resiliency, um mm-hmm. And how powerful she is, even in moments when she doesn't feel that way.

5:03Chris: I think the, what's so beautiful about the movie is that the audience is, has been watching her fight tooth and nail, not only to protect her son, but to even protect this person that she barely knows. Yeah. You know, that she's on a date with, and that takes a lot of grit and strength and balls. Mm-hmm. Um, and so it's, it's just, you know, I think that's the kind of representation that I want to see in movies.

5:30KT: Yeah. And you know, there's the notion of everyone. Is a suspect. And it's always nice to watch a film. And like you said, it's very grown, it's very sexy, it's very mature. Um, what we are dealing in Drop. And you know, I, I don't know if it was supposed to be like a multilayered nuance sort of thing, but even as a woman navigating this world or even watching women characters, I was like. These four men all have brown hair. Is that supposed to be on purpose of like, sometimes we're not, we can't be safe, we can't be comfortable. Like, are we saying that was like a multi-layered symbolism or it just so happened to have very gorgeous brown haired men?

6:10Chris: No, I mean, I think there's a little bit of, there's a little hidden truth there is that, you know, it just sort of becomes this sort of collective menace, um, in a, in a, in a certain regard. Um, but, uh, you know, I wasn't trying to put too much. Emphasis in one place or another, because I also still needed to allow the audience to cast suspicion on everyone in that

6:31KT: work. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

6:32Chris: You know, men and women alike, you know? Um, it's amazing to me to hear sort of people's reactions after they see the movie and to listen to who they thought was behind it, you know, because it's different every time.

6:43KT: It's, yeah. It's a whodunit and also who has the opportunity to do it. As well. Yeah. And who do we guard ourselves, ourselves from? Um, in the press notes there was a mention of a flash mob of like the extras getting into a flash mob. The song wasn't on there, but that's okay if it's a secret for the set. Um, but it just sounds like there's a lot of jubilation, which is so interesting because it is such an intense. Film, and I want to thank you so much for your time. I wish we could get, um, more into it, but I guess we'll just be fighting all of the usual suspects along the way at our dinner reservation.

7:20KT: But I wanna wrap up with our final question. We finish, uh, we, uh, pair our reviews with a double feature. So what would you pair with Drop like film, double cinema, get your snacks, get your popcorn, get your dates.

7:33Chris: All right. Well, I mean, I think I would pair. I would do Strangers on a Train.

7:38KT: Okay.

7:39Chris: With Red Eye.

7:41KT: Okay. Nice. I don't want to leave now, but I guess I have to. I need to be a lady and I need to scurry off. Sorry. But thank you. Thank you so much, Chris. I really appreciate your time.

7:52Chris: Likewise. Thank you