Even more stunning is that the film was made on a $3 million budget.
It went on to take in nearly $90 million worldwide and promised more purging to come.
Do you feel a sense of responsibility at all about the [violence] in this movie?
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James DeMonaco:I think its a valid question about whats going on.
So, its all my fears that went into the film.
I think thats where horror and thrillers come from.
I have a fear of guns and violence, so it was born from that, completely.
I dont think, personally, movies lead to people killing anyone.
So, I dont feel that responsibility.
I remember hearing Quentin [Tarantino] last year aboutDjangoafter the [Sandy Hook] shootings.
I thought he had a very [good answer].
Its almost giving movies too much credit.
Theres so much that goes into whatever that moment is with someone picking up a gun.
Thats a given, we need to speak about something here.
Especially after whats happened this week [interview held several days after Las Vegas Casino shooting].
And if people then leave the theater saying, We need to talk about violence in America.
Frank Grillo:And at the end of the day, its a movie.
Its entertainment, and we as freethinking people decide what we want to see and dont see.
Im a father of three; Im not a violent person, and I dont condone violence.
Its our responsibility as people, as parents, to control whats going to affect us.
And its a tough call where youre going to draw a line.
Are there things you wont let your children see?
FG:Oh yeah, I mean, theres a lot of things I wont let them see.
One is seventeen, and one is six.
And Im like, NO!
Does that mean he wants to go out and kill people?
He understands its a game.
Mental health is the issue, not necessarily the violent aspect.
We have to consider what mental health is in the country.
And my kids arent mentally stable, so I have to take those games away from them!
How as a storyteller do you thread that needle between being a satirist and glorifying it?
It took me two years to write that script.
I was pushing it into almost like a Verhoeven satire, like aRoboCoporTotal Recall.
And here, we said, Lets play it more realistic inPurge 1andPurge 2.
So, I always attempt to maintain a realistic line.
Its very hard: when youre trying to make a commentary on violence, youre portraying violence.
So, the question is where is that line, going all the way back toA Clockwork OrangetoAmerican Psycho.
Youre making a commentary on violence that means youre portraying violence.
Its become a sexual fetish, in a way.
If people pick up on that, thats great.
Again, I think its a byproduct of a movie that should act as a survival action-horror pic.
Meaning when I see it, Im terrified.
When I watchTaxi Driver, Im terrified of Travis violence, but someone else watchedTaxi Driverand killed someone.
When I watched Batman, the Joker is terrifying to me.
But that guy saw the Joker, and he loved the Joker.
FG:No one can.
Our government cant
JM:Right.
FG:because obviously all this stuff happens on a daily basis.
Believe me, as a father of three, Im always worried about these random acts of violence.
JM:Oh, its terrifying!
But thats what this movie is about.
FG:And its in this country.
JM:Its in this country.
So, to me, theres a source somewhere here.
And its not movies, its not books, and I dont think its video games.
I dont knowif I knew what it was, Id be sitting somewhere else.
[Laughs]
This movie appears more focused on ethnic [class warfare].
The propaganda of it is that we get to cleanse our souls.
Its almost a communal, societal baptism.
In a not very subtle way its about class warfare.
Which we see now with things like Occupy Wall Street.
FG:Which I live there.
I lived on Wall Street during Occupy Wall Street.
My apartment was right there.
So, I watched the whole thing and the pop in of people who occupied Occupy Wall Street.
It was a very interesting thing.
JM:It is.
And it didnt accomplish very much.
JM:Well thats whats scary.
That it didnt accomplish anything.
FG:No, theres still like four people there!
[Laughs]
JM:It will clear up again, because nothings changing.
FG:Its getting worse!
Then again, I was in South Africa.
Went to Cape Town and shot a movie.
Whats amazing is to drive just from the airport into Cape Town.
I know that apartheid is gone, but guess what?
Look whats around you.
They dont know what to do with these people, as if theyre animals.
These are things that just as human beings we should be dealing with.
And if the movie makes us think about it, more power to the film.
Thats not what the film is for.
Again, its a popcorn movie, really.
Its for you to go and have fun, and be afraid.
JM:When their blood spills.
Do you see that as the direction for possibly anotherPurge?
JM:It could be.
I definitely planted the seed, specifically through Michaels character.
Could you talk about the different approach of this movie as compared to the first one?
JM:I think the biggest lesson was being outside.
And I get it!
If I was an audience, Id probably be the same way.
So, I went there with greater expectations of seeing the streets of America and whats happening out there.
So, it was about how we utilize that time.
We only had 30 days.
So, it was a lot of technical lessons on lighting and what not.
But the first one informed all that.
The budget on this one was also bigger.
JM:A little bigger.
But, again, by Hollywood standards [its] tiny.
FG:It was a lot bigger than the first one.
But for instance, to go and make a movie today for $40 millionstudios arent interested.
Like what are they going to make?
Youre talking a billion dollars in profit!
Thats the mindset of the [studios].
Which is kind of bizarre!
How expensive the film looked, and how little money we had.
And its a scary thing, because people come back, and studios say, You did it!
JM:But people arent used to making movies this way.
None of us had trailers.
And thats not a complaint, but most Hollywood movies, you have trailers.
Theres a lot of down time.
We had none of that.
How important is it for you to keep a low budget in these movies?
Is it part of the concept or would you want to make aPurgemovie for $20 million?
JM:I dont know.
Jason Blum is one of the producers, and he has a very specific way of making films.
So, I dont know if theyll give us more if this one is successful.
I dont know how they defined what the budget should be on [The Purge: Anarchy].
They just say, DeMonaco, heres your budget.
Go make the film.
So maybe, theyll get Michael Bay to do it next time.
JM:It could be.
Maybe Michael Bay doesPurge 4for $200 million!
[Laughs]
FG:No story, and all gory.
Whats your motivation for doing another one?
FG:She mention me at all?
[Laughs]
JM:Of course.
[Laughs] She actually did, yes.
If I cant, I wont.
I wont just do it to do it.
I think with this one, I had the actual stories before the first movie even opened.
Could you talk about what the five characters represent in this movie?
JM:I think Carmen and Zoe, and Papa, the father, were specifically the working class.
Thats how I grew up; I didnt have a lot of money.
I know Frank can say the same thing.
And then Frank was just representing someone who wanted to purge.
There was no economic
FG:Someone who couldusethe purge.
JM:…The Outlaw Josey Waleswe referenced a lot.
Frank, have you talked to Marvel Studios or Disney about appearing inCaptain America 3?
FG: Well, Im signed on for six movies.
So, somewhere down the road, yeah.
So we havent seen the last of Crossbones?
I dont think weve seen the beginnings of Crossbones!
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