Longlegs’ Osgood Perkins on Nic Cage, T. rex, and the Scariest Movie of the Summer

It’s astir clip for Longlegs to arrive, and if you haven’t been counting down the days, you indispensable not beryllium a fearfulness fan. It stars Maika Monroe (It Follows) arsenic an FBI cause hunting a genuinely peculiar serial killer—played by Nicolas Cage successful 1 of his most memorably shocking roles ever, which is saying a lot. You tin cheque retired io9’s reappraisal of the movie here, and support speechmaking for an interrogation with writer-director Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter).

Cheryl Eddy, io9: Longlegs made an content months earlier merchandise acknowledgment to its antithetic selling campaign. How overmuch of that was your thought and however progressive were you successful that process?

Osgood Perkins: None of it was my idea. I was progressive arsenic overmuch arsenic they wanted maine to be. When Neon took the task on, I could archer however palpable their excitement was, and I could archer that they were truly connecting with the footage and the materials that we had made. I conscionable trusted them inherently, and it truly worked out. The 1 happening I lone ever asked them was to support the facet ratios of the representation successful the materials—and they have, and they benignant of turned that quadrate look into 1 of the benignant of pb feelings of the movie. And so, the full happening has been great, but I instrumentality zero recognition for however large it’s been.

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io9: What’s been your content of however radical person reacted to Longlegs so far?

Perkins: It’s benignant of overwhelming. Everybody seems to similar it. I haven’t travel crossed idiosyncratic who doesn’t deliberation it’s beauteous okay. And that’s a weird thing… I conjecture the happening that’s weirdest for maine is however disturbing radical find it to beryllium and however haunted radical are by it and however impacted they are successful a scary [way]. I conscionable tried to marque a amusive movie. I deliberation it’s mostly funny. I don’t accidental that arsenic similar a sick idiosyncratic who similar gets disconnected connected different people’s misery. I conscionable deliberation it’s benignant of popular and, fun. And I conjecture the radical who are truly frightened are having popular fun, truthful it’s fine.

io9: A movie that came to caput portion I was watching Longlegs was The Silence of the Lambs, not conscionable for the communicative but for peculiar circumstantial moments too. Would you hold that your movie has a peculiar narration with that one?

Perkins: It’s a deliberate one-for-one relationship. When I sat down to constitute the movie, the question successful my caput was: what’s the invitation to the assemblage that I tin marque aboriginal connected that benignant of gets radical successful the roller coaster car. What gains them admittance to the world? What’s the extremity of the spear? For me, Silence of the Lambs had been specified a hugely impactful movie—it came retired erstwhile I was 15 oregon 16-ish [when] I truly started getting funny successful movies, and each of a abrupt you’re handed this immaculate thing. I don’t deliberation immoderate of america who are that property and are filmmakers volition hide the effect of the perfection of that movie, conscionable like, “Wow, they truly conscionable nailed it. This is truthful satisfying connected truthful galore levels.” I conscionable cheated. I conscionable utilized it arsenic a crib, arsenic a mode to soften oregon tenderize the audience, to say, “You know, it’s this! You retrieve this.” And then, of course, instrumentality a beauteous hard near crook to marque it not that astatine all.

io9: Is that wherefore you chose to acceptable the main communicative successful the 1990s?

Perkins: It was precise overmuch that. It was however tin we marque this movie consciousness similar Silence of the Lambs and however tin we usage the recognition that comes with that to our advantage? Both successful presumption of gathering expectations, and past deviating from expectations. So, yeah, the thought was to marque it look similar Silence of the Lambs oregon Se7en. And I deliberation it does.

io9: And mounting it successful the Pacific Northwest—we cognize it’s Oregon by the licence plates—is that drafting connected that region’s true-crime serial slayer history?

Perkins: Yeah, it’s drafting connected the serial slayer history. It was filmed successful Vancouver, truthful you benignant of get what you get, you know? Which is great. Vancouver is an exquisite spot to marque movies. It besides felt a batch similar a Gus Van Sant moment. Both the cinematographer and I are large Gus Van Sant geeks—and you know, erstwhile you’re making a fearfulness movie, it’s benignant of bully to say, “What astir Gus Van Sant?” As opposed to saying, “What astir John Carpenter?” Or “what astir Dario Argento?” Can you root references from farther distant than the fearfulness conception of the video store? Can you scope retired further? And so, reaching retired to immoderate of the beauteous enactment of Gus Van Sant—My Own Private Idaho especially—you conscionable privation to consciousness inspired, and that’s the benignant of happening that inspires me. 

io9: The pb actors, Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe, person specified contrasting show styles. How did you attack directing them to get that opposition conscionable right? 

Perkins: Well, they lone stock 1 country together, which helium truly powers, truthful I felt similar we were going to beryllium capable to benignant of find it successful the editing room, which is wherever everything yet gets found. It’s wherever what the movie truly is, [where it] reveals itself—not until the editing room. And yes I was conscious of the information that I had 2 precise counterweight, counterbalancing energies. But I deliberation it becomes, ultimately, conscionable that; you get to equilibrium your representation with 2 extremes. And, luckily, similar I said, I was capable narratively to support them apart, truthful determination was precise small interplay. Then erstwhile they bash connect, it’s a precise charged moment. And truthful their other charges enactment adjacent better. 

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io9: Cage is 1 of the film’s producers arsenic well. How aboriginal connected did you cognize that you wanted him to play this role?

Perkins: When you’re casting a movie, you’re trying to get the champion idiosyncratic successful it. Obviously, arsenic the director, you’re trying to assistance yourself with casting arsenic overmuch arsenic you can. So erstwhile his sanction was brought up arsenic idiosyncratic who mightiness work it, of people I jumped astatine it. And past from there, he’s not hands-on—he’s not imposing notes connected the process. He’s not trying to alteration things. He’s not trying to instrumentality control. If anything, he’s trying to instrumentality what’s written and marque it enactment for him, arsenic opposed to the different mode around.

io9: He’s decidedly going to daze audiences who deliberation they’ve already seen him beryllium arsenic utmost arsenic helium tin be. How overmuch of his show and his quality successful the movie came from you and however overmuch was a collaboration? 

Perkins: The collaboration is betwixt maine and Nic, the costume people, the wig people, the peculiar effects constitution people. And it’s everybody doing their champion enactment and trying to marque the coolest thing. A batch of it I brought to it—a batch of it’s written successful the script. His airy face, his airy constitution was ever a thing. That’s derived from Bob Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Revue. This benignant of prime of being idiosyncratic who performs—the archetypal thought for Longlegs was that helium was idiosyncratic who came to your kid’s location connected their day and did, like, a small shitty, benignant of soiled amusement that helium was benignant of unsure about. He had this benignant of show anxiousness happening wherever helium felt weird going to these houses, doing this small weird show. That lives successful the movie, erstwhile you spot him travel to [a child’s] location for the archetypal clip successful the snow, that his benignant of shifty uneasiness truly is clear. As acold arsenic voices go, [Cage] starts with the words arsenic written. It’s similar getting immoderate benignant of, astir similar a dialect, and benignant of figuring out, what is the dependable like? What’s the cadence of this? Where’s the punctuation? 

In Longlegs’ dialog connected the page, there’s a batch of periods. There’s a batch of periods wherever determination wouldn’t beryllium periods, and I conscionable benignant of enactment those successful determination due to the fact that it felt similar it said thing astir his interior life—it said thing astir his uneasiness and his shame successful a weird mode that helium couldn’t marque it done implicit sentences. It was to benignant of enactment a play successful the mediate of things. Just a weird happening that occurs to you erstwhile you’re writing, and past you springiness it to an Oscar winner, and 1 of the large all-time movie presences. And, you get fortunate if there’s a small spot of magic, and we got lucky. 

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io9: I person to inquire astir Longlegs’ T. rex and Marc Bolan obsession. How did that travel into play? 

Perkins: It’s 1 of those things where, arsenic the creator of this stuff, I don’t unreal to cognize everything, and I don’t unreal to beryllium successful control. You got to benignant of clasp the happening with a escaped grip, different you’re going to interruption it. As I was forming this movie, and this script, and this world, and this character, T. rex was an creator that I didn’t truly cognize precise good and had benignant of heard of a mates of times, but past each of a abrupt it was successful my space. It conscionable came to that space. It was shown to maine oregon played for maine by the universe, by the source, by the muses, immoderate you privation to say. And I truly bash deliberation it’s my occupation arsenic the writer, arsenic the creator of the thing, to conscionable perceive to what’s happening astir me. How bash my kids speak? What’s my woman disquieted about? What songs are coming through? What movie did I conscionable watch? If you wage attraction past it seems deliberate, similar it seems similar you’re being fixed definite things for a reason. And you’d amended constitute them down. 

Longlegs opens successful theaters July 12.

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