David Limacher was at the 2010 Wizard World Comic Convention in Chicago this past weekend, and screened the EXCLUSIVE five minute clip of the upcoming suspense-thriller “Devil” in theaters September 17. The clip also included a brief Q & A with Director Drew Dowdle and his brother and Producer of the film, Drew Dowdle. The teaser clip was careful not to divulge anything important, and David had the chance to personally interview the Dowdle Brothers and got answers to some questions about their backgrounds and answers to questions that will make you want to see their new film even more.
David Limacher: I just wanted to thank you both for taking the time to sit down and answer some questions for the readers of iRATEfilms.com today.
John Dowdle: You’re welcome.
Drew Dowdle: Pleasure is all ours to talk to you.
DL: So we’re going to talk about the movie you recently completed “Devil” here, but first I wanted some background information on you both. I heard in the session that you’re from the same home town as the Coen Brothers, are they mentors of yours to become filmmakers?
JD: Actually, the Coen Brothers are from Minneapolis and we’re from St. Paul, but it’s the Twin Cities and we just kept the answer short.
DD: I like that you asked this question, because I feel that we’re going to get a lot of this coming our way. The truth is we do enjoy the work of the Coen Brothers, but when we were growing up we had different interests. It just so happens that after college and such we both found we could help each other more working together, rather than separately. We didn’t exactly plan on our lives taking this direction, but I believe I can say for both of us, we are glad it did!
DL: Excellent answer. I now have to ask since you said you went in different directions where did each of you go to school and what did you study?
JD: I actually started off in school at the University of Iowa. I didn’t like the direction I was going in so I transferred to NYU Film School and got my degree there. I think it was a smart move for me as well.
DD: I went to the University of Michigan and received my degree in business there, which has translated over to me using my knowledge to help keep the budget balanced on production of the movies.
DL: Moving right along, what was your first project that you worked on together?
JD: That was actually the first movie I ever made and it was titled “The Dry Spell”. It was an interesting project because I worked on the movie the entire time we were filming and Drew had very little input into the subject at the time.
DD: That’s true! I spent only a few days with everyone on the set and just saw how things were done and helped John with some of the areas he might have had problems and fixed the budget to make the movie work. I think we can both agree that after that experience we decided that we enjoyed the process and working together so much that we should attempt to continue doing this in the future.
DL: I believe you found a niche audience with your movie “The Poughkeepsie Tapes” and then that led to a larger audience with “Quarantine”. Do you believe “Devil” will cause people to check out your older films?
JD: Another good question and I think we are lucky to be the first film to be part of M. Night Shyamalan’s production company The Night Chronicles. He actually wrote the story for the movie, but he didn’t write the screenplay. He looked at all the dailies, but we filmed away from him and didn’t send anything over the internet which took longer yet still kept the film in secrecy.
DD: This film is something that is really exciting to us due to the story involved. This movie will make people think so many different things about who might the person that is terrorizing the five people trapped in the elevator, and at the end it’ll make sense and just shock people with the whole experience.
JD: I want to add to this by saying the methodology of this movie is nobody can get out and nobody can get in. We used a strong score to develop the story as well – the score becomes another person in the elevator and draws the audience in with more dramatic effect. I like to consider this to be the type of thriller like “The Shining” where there is no way in and no way to get out. The difference in this is it could be ANYONE and the secret will not get out until the end.
DD: We also like how M. Night has taken control and basically told the studio to not release anything that might give hints about the ending. [Rick Swift likes this] We had a problem when Quarantine was released, the studio told us that the ‘payoff’ scene would be its calling card and they showed it in the trailer. The studio said that was going to draw people into see the movie and it really hurt the integrity of the film. “Devil” is upholding its integrity and just allowing the story-line to grab people’s interest, but the movie itself will not be given away.
DL: I am really excited about seeing “Devil”, and the five minutes we were shown just sparked my interest more – who could it be? And do you think the movie grows on that even more?
JD: This movie, we believe, does a great job of casting a spotlight of suspicion on everyone that is in the elevator. The viewer can believe that it is one person and a few minutes later change their mind and say it’s another person entirely.
DD: I agree with John on this subject. Fact is, there are only five people in the elevator and that limits the possibilities of who it could be, if it is anyone of them at all. We’re not going to even say that it is someone in the elevator; you have to see the movie to know the secret. That is also why the studio is not showing any advanced screenings of the movie. We want to keep the secret intact and not let it get leaked out which might take some of the interest away.
DL: I recognized some of the actors in the movie; what made you decide on your casting choices?
JD: We actually like comedic actors and putting them in a different environment, and they also like working on these films because it takes them out of their comfort zone. We had the actors working for two solid weeks, 12 hour days in an elevator! After that amount of time, it can become very psychologically challenging and started to get to them as well.
DD: This movie is so psychologically bending and also has so many issues that it becomes something so much more. I agree with what John said, because we filmed in such a small place and with everything going on in the movie, even though the actors had a script it still got to them.
JD: Yeah, it really allowed the actors to stop acting and start playing off on their own fears and nerves that they were dealing with in the elevator. This movie took a whole different shape in the fact that the tensions grew and the actors became the characters they were portraying without even trying.
DL: I was just wondering with so many movies having sequels now, do you think this movie will have a sequel?
JD: Interesting question, and we can tell you this movie has a definite ending. There always seems to be a way to have a sequel for movies, but when this movie ends – the viewer will know we got what we wanted out of the story.
DL: Now you said in the Q&A session, “Devil” was originally supposed to be released in February, but the studio pushed up the date to September 17th, 2010. Do you believe this is a better release date for this movie, or would you rather have had more time?
JD: We finished ten days ago, putting this all together. We both found it humorous that we were still finishing the movie and already seeing the trailer for it gave us goosebumps and made us work harder to make sure we had the product we wanted to deliver ready to go.
DD: I was happy with the date change, because this seems to be a more fitting time to release this movie, the interest is there, now.
DL: I was curious if both of you knew that the History Channel has a new series about the Portals of Hell starting in the next week or so, and could this be a reason why the studio pushed up the date of release?
JD: I had no idea about that.
DD: I didn’t either, and the fact that you bring that up – it might spring even more interest in “Devil”.
DL: I have time for one more question, and I will ask what your favorite movie of all time is, and why?
JD: I would say “The Shining” is an all time classic. The elements involved and everything that the film gave the viewer was ahead of its time and can still be considered so today, even by modern standards. “Devil” incorporates a lot of the same psychological intrigue as “The Shining”.
DD: Mine would have to be The Big Lebowski. I just love that movie and how everything spins out of control and in the end you sit back and just say “WOW, what did I just watch? That was AWESOME!”
DL: Well, I thank you both for your time and talking about “DEVIL” which comes out September 17th. I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing it.
JD: Thank you! And we can’t wait for everyone to see this film.
DD: Thank you, David and we hope you get the thrills and experience watching the movie that we got making it.
