They signed him up off the strength of his last film his second feature,Cop Car.
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So, were here to talk aboutCop Car which you wrote and directed.
[Laughs] You know what?
Those were not the first words.
I dont even remember what it was, initially, in the script.
But we had this long list of potential cusses.
And then, its just over shots of the landscape at the beginning…
So when we recorded it, I just had the kids list every curse word they could think of.
You know, you write something like that when you dont think that anyone will see it.
So we meet these cussing kids after theyve run away from home.
Did you put a lot of thought into why theyd left home?
Do you have a whole untold backstory there?
I have my own backstory, but it also doesnt matter.
So, yeah, I would never want to reveal what it is because it doesnt matter.
For me, I wanted it to be more like a [Jean-Pierre] Melville movie.
When you just meet a gangster, and you just go with him.
You might not even learn his name.
But you see what he needs to do.
I like that approach.
And where did the original idea come from?
And, the movie shot right where I grew up.
Like, those are the actual fields.
Thats my home town, and its all very… thats what we would do.
When we were kids, we would just go walking.
Youd find like a coyote skeleton, something like that.
That was the most exciting thing youd ever find.
So this dream I had.
Im like… ten.
And were driving around our small town.
And were passing these people who we know, but theyre not saying anything or stopping us.
Were not getting in trouble.
In that weird dream logic sort of way.
And Im worried, Im really nervous.
But Travis is having a great time.
And hes going faster and faster, driving this car around.
Just that image of two kids driving a car.
And, I was like well, maybe its a police car.
That would be more dramatic.
Now weve got a story.
And we just sat down and wrote it.
In other hands, that script could have become a broad comedy.
Some people might expect that fromCop Car, but its actually more of a thriller isnt it?
Yeah, its sort of a combination of those two things.
Theres been two movies already, about two little kids driving a car around.
Which I didnt know about when we came up with this idea.
And, theres been a couple of comedies that involved a similar premise.
But, I dont know… to me, the tone was always more grounded.
Lets write the dialogue the way kids actually talk.
Lets show what kids would actually do.
I hope its funny too some people laugh!
Kevin Bacon in particular is brilliant.
At what stage did he get involved?
Was that a big deal for you guys?
Oh, it was a huge deal.
I mean, I couldnt believe that he read the script and liked it.
Then he called me, and he wanted to talk about it.
And, er, he was just really excited to play this character.
He said, as soon as he read it he knew exactly what the character would be like.
And he just wanted to do it.
And was it quite strange to work with him on set?
Its a fairly unhinged performance, and from a star that you must have been very familiar with…
He is the most professional, precise actor I could imagine.
You know, he can do anything.
Hes just so, so precise and amazing.
Um, and hes also just a really nice guy.
Hes smart, and great to talk to, and has amazing stories.
So, it was really comfortable.
Its a huge relief, when youre working with someone who can do anything, like that.
it’s possible for you to just… the door gets opened up.
It can actually enhance it, so…
I think he had fun.
The only time was weird was when I would look down at my monitor.
Your two child actors James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford are strong, too.
What was the process like to cast them, was it a big wide call?
I knew both of them were right for the part, for the movie.
Because of the way they carried themselves.
And not necessarily in the audition.
They just were those kids.
I didnt know who was gonna play who.
And I had them read, and then swap parts, and then read again.
And then it was pretty obvious who should be who.
What was your approach to guiding them on set?
You brought two great performances out of them, which feel very natural…
They were very prepared, and they had had all their lines memorised and they were ready to go.
Like, its okay to mess up.
And, you know, you just want to encourage them to be in the moment.
And Shea is really great with kids, and hes a great acting teacher.
Youve just got to look at me.
If you feel scared, just be scared well see it.
So he gave them this, like, method acting crash course.
So, that helped them too.
Did you have any particular filmmaking inspirations to help you step into that bigger scale?
The biggest thing was probably watching Sergio Leone movies again.
Like, watchingThe Good, The Bad And The Uglyagain.A Fistful Of Dollars.
Like, the landscapes obviously.
Like, I love that.
You watch that and then you watch, like, some David Lean movies again.
And youre like yep huge landscapes.
I can make the character tiny.
You were playing with genre expectations inClownas well.
I was assuming it would be straight-up slasher movie, and it was actually more of a family drama.
Do you consciously try and subvert the obvious with your movies?
I think that was really disappointing to some people.
Our idea was always to make, like, a weird psychological drama.
Which, to me, is the funniest, driest joke.
To make a psychological family drama about a guy turning into a clown [laughs]!
ObviouslyClown as your directorial debut was a breakthrough film for you.
What did that experience teach you in terms of writing and directing?
Well, the story behindClownis the best.
It started out as a prank.
If I had done this on purpose I would have been so smart.
But it was a complete accident.
This was a couple of years ago.
Wed just make dumb little sketches, or fake movie trailers, fake TV shows.
Just playing around in our spare time.
Um, we all went to NYU together, so filmmaking is fun for us.
Um, so… One weekend.
You know, instead of a fly?
Um, and we had worked a lot of it out just joking around.
In the way that you do.
And one weekend we were just like, lets go make that.
Make a fake trailer.
To make it seem like a real movie.
Um, so we tried to be really serious with the performances.
And things like that.
The ten people that watched our videos on YouTube.
Lets see if we can fool them into thinking this is a real movie thats coming out.
And then, we said that it was directed by Eli Roth.
And so we put it online, expecting to fool, like, a couple of people.
And then, the next day, it immediately had so many views.
Were gonna be in so much trouble.
So I was just terrified.
and he went and found the financing.
The whole thing started as a complete prank, and it became a real movie.
it’s possible for you to still find the original trailer online.
Obviously, your next job isnt exactly a secret.
Youve been signed up by Marvel to work on the newSpider-Manwith Tom Holland…
But Im here in the trenches now, every day, figuring it out.
Have you been looking at any comics in particular to help shape that?
That felt like… that was Peter Parker back in high school.
Theres also some really funny comics stuff, like, theArchies.
Its like the soap opera of Peter Parker in high school.
Those are really funny, too.
Im just sitting around reading comic books all day its a pretty great job.
Um, I… yeah…
I guess I would say…
I remember when I sawLock, StockI was like what is this?, it was just so amazing.
I always sort of connect him back to that.
Thats a popular choice!
Yeah, Im trying to think if theres anything else…
I mean, he was so funny inSpy.
Like, I wanted more of him whenSpywas over.
I want to see him and Melissa McCarthy, like, team up!
Make it a two-hander.
I love him as a funny character, especially.
Jon Watts, thank you very much!
Cop Caris on Digital HD now and DVD & Blu-Ray on 19th October.
