The first-time director opens up about her creepy sci-fi/relationship hybrid Honeymoon…and her love for The Goonies.
Den of Geek: Its been a long haul to get your feature film debut done.
And it was just, you know, its hard.
We were trying to break in right when the stock market was collapsing.
We werent writing big specs, period.
So when we started writingHoneymoonit was this idea that were going to make this movie no matter what.
So the process of getting to the point where we made that decision and that commitment was long.
We started writingHoneymoon,Id say, in mid-2011.
Got it to the person who became our producer end of 2011.
Took 2012 to get financing and shot it early 2013.
So it was pretty quick in the grand scheme of things once the actual script started.
But the process of getting there was long.
What did you learn about the process in those jobs that you had in development?
Its a whole different kind of charmed world.
It has its own difficulties but its a very special place to be.
And then with Misher it was a very different experience.
We had a deal at Paramount when we started working there.
That ended and he essentially became an indie producer but within the studio system.
I think, you know, when you spend all day reading scripts, its just good experience.
I think the best experience for a filmmaker is to watch movies obviously.
And then after that reading scripts is super important too.
What sparked the idea ofHoneymoon?
Where did that come from?
Because again, we were going to take a stab at make it no matter what.
That was kind of the jumping off point.
How well can you know the person sitting next to you ever?
Are genre films close to your heart?
But its interesting because I think that its just that Ive always loved sci-fi movies.
I consider myself more of a sci-fi person than a horror film person.
Ive seen a lot of great horror movies but I dont watch every single thing that comes out.
So it made sense to tell a genre story that was very sci-fi influenced.
And then the horror part just kind of evolved.
You wrote that Polanski was a big influence.
Well,Rosemarys Babyis, I think, probably my favorite genre film.
The horror all kind of stems from that place.
Its not a metaphor the devil impregnated her.
So thats what we wanted to do withHoneymoontoo.
You devote your life to someone and all of a sudden theyre not who you thought they were.
It can be like one little thing and suddenly your whole paradigm of who that person is shifts.
That is the core thing of this body snatcher relationship drama how well can you ever know someone else.
What made Rose and Harry the right choices for this?
And, you know, not a certain look.
That was really important to me.
Id seen her in this thing calledNew Townwhich is this weird Scottish thing.
And she was so different in each of those roles.
I just thought she was really good and her charisma was amazing.
I had read theGame of Thronesbooks so I knew where Ygrittes character was going and the trajectory of it.
And I felt like if they had cast her for this that they also saw that greatness in her.
I knew that she would kind of break out.
So that was the process of getting Rose.
I recognized Harrys name fromControland fromFish TankandBrothers of the Headand was very, very excited by that.
He was just awesome.
So you get out there and finally youre making your first feature.
But we talked a lot about overhead light.
It takes a long time to light it like that.
You know, you might kind of see.
So we went from 12-hour shooting days to eight-hour nights and that was difficult.
And then I think the lake.
You know, everyone says, Dont shoot on water.
And I was like, Oh, its fine, we only have like three scenes, four scenes.
And it was so hard.
But that was really, really difficult.
Where did you shoot?
In the mountains of North Carolina.
Its supposed to be spring and youre supposed to feel like everything alive around you.
And it was pretty dead still.
But luckily it bloomed quickly.
But the rain was terrible.
That was really bad.
The dock was submerged.
The road going in became pure mud.
So that was bad.
So how do you feel about your own abilities, having done your first feature?
Well Im just looking forward to number two.
It feels like already, oh my God, its been so long since Ive been on set.
Obviously a lot of that was in post-production and working on the festival release and everything.
But Im anxious to do another one.
Is number two lined up yet?
No, not yet.
We actually just did a pilot which is going to be for a limited series jot down thing.
So hopefully well be setting that up shortly, and then thinking about what the next feature will be.
I read youre aGooniesfan.
So heres your chance to throw your hat in the ring because they might makeThe Goonies 2at some point.
They should certainly hire me to do that.
Didnt they make aGoonies 2?
No, you feel like they have because theyve been talking about it for like 20 years.
Im going to call my agent.Goonies 2.
Honeymoonis out in limited release this Friday (September 12).
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