Rebel Ridgedirector Jeremy Saulnier wanted a break from his own streak of onscreen violence.
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InGreen Room, its the maiming by machete of a punk-rock bands bassist.
LeBlanc) bail when hes immediately targeted by the towns police.
They run him off the road.
They imply that hes a criminal, and they smirk at his military service.
And when they find his money, they essentially steal it in an abuse of civil asset forfeiture.
I wrote it in 2018, and perhaps a little unification was in order.
Rebel Ridgehas all the same crackling, visceral tension of Saulniers previous four films.
But it swerves when it comes to the outright violence the directors fans have come to expect.
That felt like a challenge: Can I get through a screenplay without killing everybody in it?
Youve said it wasnt one specific instance of civil asset forfeiture that inspiredRebel Ridge.
It certainly affects communities of color in certain ways.
Your films have certain shared qualities.
They take place in small, enclosed communities.
The protagonist is an outsider or someone living on the fringes.
Theres a life-or-death struggle on an existential scale.
Were you purposefully playing with genre?Absolutely.
The reference I used once I finished the film wasFirst BloodmeetsMichael Clayton.
Or I didnt know that the Ford F-350 Dually in this movie is a total homage toLethal Weapon 2.
I might enjoy it as an audience member.
I like to have the sanctity of the story be pure.
But for my look book, it wasFirst Blood,Michael Clayton,Mississippi Burning.
Dirt and texture and color palette.
But if Im too hyperaware of the references, I lose track.
I felt that would break the wall.
I aspired to have that level of charge between the actors.
I enjoyed and indulged in taking time to listen to people talk.
It would be, Lets talk to people.
Lets get some intel.
What would one actually do if this was not a movie trying to get to its finale?
Youve done this elsewhere Im thinking of the through-the-door negotiations inGreen Room.
Those characters have no fucking clue what theyre doing, so theyre flailing their way through it.
Im used to having an Everyman or Everywoman, people who are underprepared for the situation.
In this case, it was the opposite.
John Boyega walked awayfrom the film in 2021 due to family reasons.
Recently, Joaquin Phoenix left a Todd Haynes movie, and the productionshut down.
But you keptRebel Ridgegoing.
But every party would agree, it was the right situation.
It had to be that way.
And I was willing to risk the movie unless I found the one and only true Terry Richmond.
We had a very deep conversation.
We were at this perfect crossroads, his career, my career.
Everyone needs a little time.
Netflix was insanely supportive of giving Aaron the opportunity.
And no one whos seen the film can imagine a version of this without Aaron Pierre.
He shoulders this movie hes in about 129 scenes, maybe, of 135.
And this is not just, like, me trying to brainwash myself.
It was the most amazing turn for the film.
He was overly reverent toward, as he refers to it, the text.
The task at hand was pretty intense.
[Laughs] But he and my wife are the first people to ever get my scripts.
And I texted Macon:Macon, translate this into awesome!
They had to scoreRebel Ridgeover a year.
Im always pushing for subtlety and downplay this, downplay that.
The last month, I was like, Fuck it, we need more score!
I ordered a whole other 20 minutes of full-on score, and they were scrambling to the last minute.
We have this amazing footage that we captured in real cars on a real road.
You take us away.
Those last moments, emotionally, are pure score.
That was fun, to let go, and they literally took over the movie and drove it home.
Theyre very proud, and they work so fucking hard.
[Laughs] No, I do like aggressive cinema.
I certainly like to infuse deeper layers of real human emotion and also have a little fun.
And I dont overthink any of that, because then it becomes untrue.
And it does hark back to me playing in my backyard with toy trucks and G.I.
Joes and blowing them up.
I wanted to escape.
Ill write myself into a corner, write myself out.
And the violence, who knows.
I do love makeup effects.
I love onscreen cinematic violence.
I love gore and blood, and I absolutely loathe it in real life.
And I think thats the tug-of-war, how awful it makes me feel.
And the lift and the feedback that were getting is new and different and intoxicating.
Iron Maiden was a part of it, too.
The Number of the Beast is a majestic sort of battle cry.
I wanted to get it right, and I didnt want to infuse, like, my inner angst.
Im very linear in how I write.
Much like Terry, that adrenaline dump buys you time.
It made it easy.
We did get thwarted by Louisiana thunderstorms.
Both feel like they tap into something very elemental.The reference for that wasCool Hand Luke.
I wanted that moment between these two guys.
I actually ran into C.J.
It was really fucking good acting, just the groundedness of all that and him.
And they had the ability to do these more complex, unhappy endings.
He has a certain presence.
Aaron was relatively new to this level of filmmaking, as the No.
1 on the call sheet, and Don was very respectful of that.
There was one very sensitive scene outside of a hospital.
That was a really big deal.
I felt conditioned for an ultraviolent ending.
I was like,All right, were at Rebel Ridge!
Were going to getHold the Dark II,with another shootout!
Its being very true to the narrative and very true to the character.
Terry is a pragmatist.
I mean, the greatest damage that is done in the first fight scene is, like, chagrin.
And even in the finale, he has absolutely no intention of killing anybody.
Hes still the character most like an action hero Ive ever written.
But hes also vulnerable, and subject to other people in the story.
For some people, thats a huge leap.
We all bring our own context.
But if anything, I work against that.
I want to know, as a writer, how to humanize every character.
Like inGreen Room, when a life is lost, as a filmmaker, theres reverence to that.
No one wants to do that, but theyre forced to.
Its not just me trying to hear all voices equally, because this is a fucking Terry Richmond movie.
Leesville, Louisiana, way out near Texas, and New Orleans nothing but love and support.
This film tested extremely high with conservatives, actually.
People want to get behind a protagonist, and its fun to have everybody get behind Terry Richmond.
Its a narrative tool as it relates to my movie.
