Openly gay writer and director Bryan Fuller, a visionary press the daisies, hannibal, wonder falls, dead like me and american godsis behind the camera in his first feature film. His debut film, a quirky horror fantasy dust bunny‘ was released nationwide on December 5th and has already received high praise.
Starring Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver dust bunny A 10-year-old girl asks a hitman who lives next door to kill the monster under her bed, which she believes ate her parents.
He spoke in an interview with Gaety prior to his nomination. Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature Film for dust bunnyFuller spoke about the inspiration behind the film, casting young stars, and how queer audiences can relate to the story even without explicit LGBTQ+ themes.
“Dust Bunny” marks his first feature film directorial debut. What inspired you to get behind the camera for this particular story?
Bryan Fuller: This started out as an Amblin branded “Gateway Horror” and was designed to be something very similar. With kids in danger, a high-concept storyline, big heart, and at some point in the process, we felt this would be a great first story. This is his first full-length work as a screenwriter, and his first as a director. And what I loved about this opportunity for a story that was relatively simple but had a lot of nuance was that it really gave us an opportunity to tell the story cinematically in a way that we hadn’t been able to do before.
The concept of an assassin killing a monster under a child’s bed is both outlandish and horrifying. How did this idea come about?
Bryan Fuller: Movies have a lot of elements that need to come together. And the most important part of this film may very well be Sophie Sloane, who imbues the character of Aurora with charm and vulnerability. It required a very special actor. So we cast an incredibly wide net with our amazing casting director, Margie Simpkins, who had thousands of applications for this role. And out of those thousands of applications, she got thousands of auditions, and those auditions were narrowed down to a few hundred auditions, and then narrowed down to 12 auditions, and that’s what I saw.
That’s a gift I got from a great casting director. And Sophie immediately stood out from the group. Whether it was Drew Barrymore, Fairuza Balk, or Chloe Grace Moritz, she had all the characteristics of a great child actress that captivated our imaginations, and she definitely belonged to the glamor category, and the only problem was that she had very thick Scottish brogues. And then she came to audition. We spoke to her about accents and how it was a little difficult to understand her since Mads Mikkelsen was already cast. He also had a very thick accent. I was worried that having two actors in this movie would make it difficult to understand what was being said. Sophie took that memo, went watching TikTok videos for two weeks, came back, auditioned with a perfect American accent, beat out thousands of other girls to win the role, and dazzled us every day on set.
One of the things that we were very passionate about was giving the best experience to the kids who came to make the film, and that was a responsibility shared by myself, Mads Mikkelsen, Sigourney Weaver, and our amazing acting coach, who played Sophie’s mother on screen early in the film.
The film has already drawn comparisons to Gremlins and Labyrinth. What do you think about these comparisons, and have those films influenced you as a storyteller?
Bryan Fuller: gremlin and labyrinth These were two of my favorite horror movies as a kid. Gremlins, Labyrinth, Poltergeist, The Goonies, Indiana Jones, Temple of Doom… As a child, I was always drawn to that story, whenever children are in danger, forced by circumstances to take the step into adulthood sooner than anyone expected. So it was great to delve deeper into that genre and tell a new version of kids in danger becoming their own heroes, and those stories excited me as a kid. The intention of this film is very often to be a throwback to the great Amblin movies of the ’80s that were the light when me and my group of friends went to the movie theater and got lost in someone’s daydream.
So I wanted to create the same sensibility in these films. Because I was missing out on the market. With Guillermo del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth, and The Devil’s Backbone, you could see kids in situations where they became heroes. And I miss those stories. These really apply to adults and children of all ages, and children’s movies aren’t just aimed at kids. I still enjoy The Goonies as much as I did when I was younger. I want to give people like me who love Gateway Horror a similar moviegoing experience. We also want to introduce the genre to a lot of kids who may have this as their first horror movie. This is an incredible honor.
The film has been described as a combination of Guillermo del Toro and Dr. Seuss. Could you please unpack it?
Bryan Fuller: That’s a great comparison. Receive that comp. It all goes back to the design of these stories, which were made to feel like 80s Amblin movies. And I think you can see that inspiration in Guillermo del Toro’s work. You can also see the influence of Dr. Seuss on the type of stories that are fantastical, quirky, and full of danger that thrill audiences and encourage children to continue exploring these types of stories.
Even great horror novelists like Clive Barker and Stephen King have great fairy tales in their libraries that influenced them, and they too wrote and contributed to the genre. So I feel like whenever we’re scared of something, even if it’s a movie, it kind of takes us as an audience to a place where we’re like children. Whether it’s an R-rated horror movie or a G-rated horror movie, there’s something about the feeling of danger that reminds us of the primal fears of childhood, and it always affects our place in the audience.
What was it like working with icons like Mads Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver in the world you created?
Bryan Fuller: Working with Sigourney Weaver was surreal, to say the least. I had worked with Mads Mikkelsen before and understood his iconography for the audience, but I also had the added benefit of him just being my friend and having my back and supporting me. It was in a way that an actor with whom I didn’t have the experience and history might not have been able to do so freely. Sigourney Weaver was a completely new experience for both of us who are huge fans.
The film is a fusion of the horror, fantasy, and dark comedy genres that have always been played on television. How did that translate to the big screen?
Bryan Fuller: Well, there’s a big difference between a showrunner and a feature director. I think the biggest difference is the gift of being able to be part of a long-form set that doesn’t necessarily air on TV. Because after that episode of TV ends, there’s more to do. Episodes 6, 7, 8, 9… We used to have to keep filming 20 more episodes. Because everything was written in advance, we were able to go to set every day instead of going back to our hotel room to rewrite and get all the material for the next week. The script was set, and I enjoyed working with the actors and craftsmen to create the film. That allowed me to be on stage with these people at every moment and point of production. It was really special and I would love to do it again. I love TV. I love television storytelling. But there’s nothing like being on a movie set with like-minded people rowing in the same direction.
Although this movie doesn’t have any gay content at all. As a gay man, how do you feel about injecting your own sensibilities into this work?
Bryan Fuller: I would argue that gay content contains the implication of a child trying to make his or her way in the world, and this is a very relatable experience for people in the alphabet gang of all kinds. And there’s something unique about queer experiences that often leave us isolated and without structures that make us feel safe. I think this movie will be very relatable to queer audiences who remember a time when they were scared as children. Not necessarily a monster heading to bed, but perhaps a monster in the hallway, a monster at school, a monster at work, something filled with fears that are difficult to overcome at that point in your life. So we’re creating opportunities for everyone to enjoy being scared.
dust bunny Released nationwide from December 5th.
Source: Gayety – gayety.com
