The body swap genre takes on a fresh and energetic twist in Greg Jardine’s novel. This is what’s inside. The sci-fi horror-comedy marks Jardin’s feature-length directorial debut, as the director has previously established himself as a director in both short films and music videos. Some of Jardin’s most notable previous work includes Netflix commercials. 13 reasons why seasons 2 and 3, When they see us And Colin in the film “Black and White: The Way is Power”as well as a teaser for the short film Cowboy Bebop: Lost Session for adapting the streamer to live action.
Jardin wears the hats of writer, director and film editor. This is what’s inside focuses on Shelby, Cyrus, Reuben, Dennis, Nikki, Brooke, Maya and Forbes, a group of friends who reunite at Reuben’s family home to celebrate his upcoming wedding. Forbes, who has been estranged from the group since his college days when a party went wrong and he was expelled, appears with a device that allows them all to swap bodies. What begins as a fun night of exploration becomes filled with tension as they revisit old secrets, hurts and desires.
Connected
Jardin has assembled an impressive young ensemble cast for This is what’s insideincluding Fear the Walking DeadAlicia Debnam-Carey Chilling Adventures of SabrinaThis is Gavin Leatherwood ResortThis is Nina Bloomgarden BarryThis is Devon Terrell White LotusBrittany O’Grady I love my dadJames Morosini, BrockmireReina Hardesty and Fear StreetThis is David Thompson. It first premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and then at South by Southwest. Jardin’s feature debut proves to be the perfect combination of visually inventive direction and balance of comedy and thrills, and it currently holds a “Certified Fresh” approval rating of 81% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. .
On the eve of the film’s premiere on Netflix On-screen rant interviewed writer/director/editor Greg Jardine to discuss This is what’s insidehow his original concept evolved from a comedy to a genre-mix with a thriller, how the film’s single location boosted his creativity while writing it, and how he did multiple table reads to help the actors bring out their characters.
Jardin’s unique musical taste led to This is what’s insideChange of genre
“…on set you just had to maintain the pervasive feeling of tension and anxiety…”
Screen Rant: Greg, you’re a genius. This is what’s inside it’s so much fun that it kept me guessing until the very end. Now you describe Everything Inside as a sci-fi thriller with jokes. How difficult was it to balance the thriller and comedy elements without overshadowing each other?
Greg Jardine: Yeah, I originally intended it to be a real sci-fi comedy. It wasn’t until I actually wrote the script that I started listening to music, and the music I started listening to was more thriller, psychological horror. In particular, I listened to the music for the film “The Double” with Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska.
This result is excellent. The guy who did it, Andrew Hewitt, is amazing. We asked him to write music for our film. So, really, it turned out to be something of a thriller. And then it was just a matter of maintaining a pervasive sense of anticipation and anxiety on set, and just giving the actors the freedom to be funny.
Developing the background history of the ensemble actors »It took a while“For Jardin
“This seemed like a good source of conflict.”
Now the reunion of old friends with unresolved differences adds even more excitement to the story. How did you approach developing the characters’ backstories with these complex relationships in mind?
Greg Jardine: Yeah, to be honest, it took a while, but it all started because I knew I wanted the story to be about a relationship in crisis and a woman who didn’t feel valued by her partner because of his diets. social networks, mass media and so on and so forth. And then the thought that there was a woman from their past that he might never be able to forget and that she always felt like a consolation prize. This seemed like a good source of conflict. I guess it was actually just built from the original triangle. And of course, there’s Forbes, the mystery guy in the room. So yeah, it kind of took off from there.
Jardine finds limitations, like stories about one place.”Very helpful”
“… to be honest, it was nice to know that it belonged in this house.”
Now you’ve given yourself the task of writing a self-contained film in one location with a small cast. How has this limitation affected your creativity?
Greg Jardine: Yeah, great question. I think I find these kinds of restrictions very helpful. These kinds of restrictions often appear in commercials, music videos, etc., and it almost takes the burden off of you: “I can do anything.” It’s like, “Okay, now I can only do this.” And then when I had a specific constraint, when we got the house, I thought, “Okay, how can we make this movie, this house, that will look and feel and sound completely different than any other house that we’ve seen?” to the cinema.” movie in this subgenre?” So, honestly, it was nice to know that it was going to be in this house. And then, at that point, the problem arose: “What can we do with the house?”
Jardine wanted multiple table reads to evaluate his cast.Basic level“For versatile individuals
“…it also came from them getting close and spending time together.”
Now, many actors actually believe that the rehearsal process actually found the character. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you read two tables: one from the point of view of the soul, the other from the point of view of the bodies. Can you talk about how that helped the actors play these characters?
Greg Jardine: Yeah, so we read the soul chart first, and I think that was just helpful for everyone to hear and get a basis for everyone’s general mannerisms, how they spoke, and so on. And then after that, we basically had a whole week of rehearsals where that baseline helped, and then we reported the final table read, which was at the end of the week. But in reality, it also came from the fact that they became closer while spending time together. They all stayed in the same hotel and just got to know each other and taught their characters and learned from their co-stars, I think that was very important to how the movie turned out.
If I’m not mistaken, they also wrote each other as their characters to help them prepare and to convey some of the mannerisms of some of these characters. Can you tell us where this idea came from?
Greg Jardine: They record each other? To be honest, it wasn’t even my idea. Honestly, they’re just getting started. I didn’t even realize they were doing it. And at one point I see David walking around listening to his AirPods and I say, “Oh, what song are you listening to?” He’s like, “Oh, I’m listening to James say that line.” I thought, “Oh, interesting. Amazing.” I had the idea that they would sign each other up just for the first test rounds of the Brady Bunch. We did this almost as an exercise, but they did everything else themselves.
ABOUT This is what’s inside
A group of friends gather for a pre-wedding party that turns into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend arrives with a mysterious game that awakens long-buried secrets, desires and resentments.
Follow our others This is what’s inside interview with:
Source: Screen Rant Plus