DEADLINE: I know Ari initially planned on makingBeau Is Afraidas his first feature.
But when did he first discuss the project with you?
Theres like two or three other things that maybe well make them, maybe not.
‘Beau Is Afraid’ collaborators Ari Aster and Lars KnudsenMichael Buckner/Getty Images
But he just had all these ideas and first drafts of scripts.
And then afterMidsommar, we had conversations about what should be next.
But I had always sort of seen the order.
A24
Like,Hereditary,Midsommar,Beaujust made a lot of sense.
But being marketed as horror movies.
DEADLINE:Theres something aboutBeauthats also very much like a fairy tale…
KNUDSEN: Yeah, exactly.
I think everything Ari does is going to be sort of a different genre.
You have to keep challenging yourself because nothing will be the same.
DEADLINE:How exactly did you first come to connect with Ari?
And the experience of making that movie with that financier was really just not pleasant at all.
[Laughs] But it brought Ari and I closer to each other.
I think when you go through extreme challenges together, itll bring you closer.
Because I think that it can get quite tricky out there, especially with young filmmakers.
DEADLINE:What was at the crux of the tension between yourselves andHereditarys financier?
KNUDSEN: I mean, its been five years now, right?
I think the thing withHereditarywas, Ari was young.
Ari did not have the rights to his own script, right?
Like, he didnt have final cut.
And obviously, thats an old-school way of doing it that weve seen, right?
So for us, it was just about, One step at a time.
Were going to make the movie as best as we can.
And then you know that that persons going to come in and maybe take over.
It was a really hard time, but we got through it.
It got us closer, and it strengthened our relationship with A24.
So, if I could undo it, I would.
But I guess something good came out of it.
DEADLINE:Having said all this, is the version ofHereditaryweve seen Aris cut, or the financiers?
KNUDSEN: It was [Aris].
It was just a long thing.
It all worked out, but when youre in it, it feels like its not going to.
But you just have to keep pushing through, trying to be steps ahead.
I guess thats part of producing, too.
My whole thing has always been, youve got to always protect the filmmakers youre working with.
Like, I dont have a job, you know?
I feel like all my work prior had prepared me to work with Ari.
And hes a perfectionist, too.
He keeps pushing himself because he wants to challenge himself, basically, every time.
And thats what I love about him.
And if we dont make those days, we cant just add.
What did achieving that come down to?
KNUDSEN: Fiona Crombie was our production designer, and shes excellent.
And I think this film, more than any film, is so Ari.
Especially that [opening] part of the movie, he was obsessing about every little detail.
Everything that no ones really ever going to see is there.
So, in that sense too, its a grueling prep.
So, it was a lot.
And then theres still a pandemic going on, quarantining and testing.
And even in Montreal, there was like a curfew when we arrived.
Thats all the behind-the-scenes stuff that happens that you wouldnt really think about, but I do.
[Laughs]
DEADLINE:Were those chaotic street scenes outside Beaus apartmentshot on a backlot?
And its rain or shine.
But those were the days we had to shoot it, and theres weather continuity everyday, right?
But that week, someone was looking over us because we were able to get it done.
DEADLINE: You also mentioned the incredible storybook-like sequence in the forest.
You brought in the filmmakers behind the acclaimed stop-motion horrorThe Wolf Houseto provide the animation for that?
KNUDSEN: Yeah, two filmmakers from Chile, Joaquin [Cocina] and Cristobal [Leon].
And him having just recently seen their film, he reached out to them and asked them.
We wrapped a year and a half ago; its almost been two years since we started prep.
They finished last July, so its been a long process with them, to do it.
You dont really know how theyre going to be on the day.
But that adds another degree of challenge because thats not normally how its done.
KNUDSEN: Well, I mean, its no secret that Joaquin was Aris first choice.
And I know that theyre both extraordinarily proud of the film.
DEADLINE:Tell us about your experience working with A24.
KNUDSEN: I think the world of them.
Ive been working with them since, as acquisitions,The WitchandAmerican Honey, and movies like that.
So, Ive known them for a very long time.
But I think that what makes them so unique is that theyre just extraordinarily supportive.
Sometimes, with a studio, theres always that kind of feeling like, Its us against them.
But with A24, its never, ever felt like its us against them.
I always feel like were in this together, and youre happy, were happy.
Its going to be good for everyone.
And theyre just easy to talk to.
I think withHereditary, we really, honestly had no idea.
Same thing withMidsommar, and especially on this one.
KNUDSEN: Or genre.
Maybe not horror, but he is a genre filmmaker.
I dont know when hell make another horror movie again, but different genres, for sure.
Its always about getting right there, and its my job to check that that we dont tip over.
Because I think the worst thing you might do with the studio is to just not communicate.
