Your relationship with Akira Kurosawa dates back to the beginning of your career. Can you share how you first encountered Kurosawa’s work and what drew you to reimagine it?
Spike Lee: People always assume that this film is a remake of Kurosawa’s High and Low, but it actually began with Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom.
Kate, as a first-time director, you went out looking for a story. How did you discover these women and this story?
We took a wrong turn, found a woman and she said, if you want an amazing story, head east of Wall and you’ll find Tabatha. That’s what I did. And I met these two incredible women along with the rest of the teenagers on the ranch.
I’m curious about your collaboration process. Did you have a chance to rehearse, or was it more about trading ideas before filming?
Dylan O’Brien: It went on for a while, actually. For years we were getting passed on by financiers, so in the meantime we kept checking in, updating each other, commiserating.
What was it like working with Luca Guadagnino as a producer, and as a mentor? Did you ever have to defend your choices?
No, it was totally the opposite because as a director, he understood all my artistic needs. He protected me from anything that took away from artistic needs.
Sophie, let’s start with the genesis: how did this project begin?
Sophie Brooks: It really does feel like a miracle when an indie gets made. We almost made this movie in 2020 and thought, “this is easy,” but it ended up taking another four and a half years.