Devon Sawa, Sarah Murphree & Brando Benetton for ‘The Girl in the River’ | Conversations

[music] There is a kind of a motif to this film. There's a very kind of modernized noir element to it and we have the hearts scrapple detective. We have the you know intrepid but nosy reporter and you know all those different kind of archetypes that are celebrated within this film. I want to know was that part of your process Beniton and how did you then instill that into the film? I mean it's it's interesting because you know I I wrote this as a speck as co was starting out many people want to be productive uh you know despite what was going on and I among the re the reading I was doing I was doing a lot of true crime book reading and I realized that you know uh murder mysteries are one of the only genres that really engages the audience more than others because in theory you're handing out all the clues to you guys and audiences are super smart and The gamble we're playing is let's see if you guys can figure it out uh you know before the characters do and even if you do hopefully um guess it. It's not what's gonna happen but how is it going to happen right? So that said this is one of the only genres that you also at least for me have to constructed from knowing how it ends - and then working backwards. So I think all the characters kind of emerge as part of the process because you need you know some of them to uh but it's also great to have such such a large amount of characters. You have a kid who went to school with them who's playing chess. You have a reporter another reporter and the more characters you introduce and hopefully give them their time the more you're kind of like could that could they be you know uh so yeah - I absolutely love that. you know, there is an idea to kind of make it because it is a genre film in and of itself and that's kind of what I want to uh shift to you Devon and Sarah. Um tell us of course how you got involved with the film and is the uh true crime thriller horror that kind of genre. Is that something that you feel drawn to and does it speak to you? And if so, why? - Um sorry [clears throat] I was something my throat. Yes. Well, I got the audition from my agent and I find as an actor when you get an audition for a character, some characters you know right away and some it takes you a little longer to find. Um, I actually went to school to be a journalist and worked at a local paper in my hometown. So, when I got this audition, I was like, "Oh, I know her." Because I kind of used to be her. So, it was so exciting for me to audition for this because I felt like I had lived experiences that were kind of similar to what I would make this character have. Um, so yeah, I love genres like this. I love thrillers and to play her just kind of felt like coming back to a version of myself. - Um, when when I look for these little independent films to do these these kind of uh, you know, the these things I do between the the TV shows, I I look for stuff that that I'm into. Um, I've always been a fan of these kind of genre films. Um, seven, uh, the Silence of the Lambs, those kind of films. And so when I read this film, it was something that I really wanted to do, something that kind of um spoke to me. Um and then of course the the script was great and and uh I knew that I had to do it, you know. - So that's that's kind of how I landed on it. - Well, now we're going to ask Beniton a question that hopefully doesn't get him in trouble, but we'll see. Tell us when you were looking for your characters, when you were looking for Allan and for Julie, what was it specifically about Devon and Sarah that you said, "This is going to work. This is the one." - I mean, first off, you know, Sarah's audition when when it came in, she knocked it out of the park. And there there's no conversation that needs to be had. It's just some people just I will to me acting is so difficult and the ability for someone to read a script and sometimes have conversations you know about the material but never really rehearsing anything and then it's Wednesday and you call action and we never technically you know ran through the whole thing and suddenly it's coming to life. It's it's a magic I'll never understand. It's and it's uh fantastic. And then you know beyond the obvious talent that that you know actors have it there's also like a screen presence which I think is undeniable you know I think Devon and I talked a lot about you know the films of the 70s that are not wrapped in a bow very clean you know and actors like Steve McQueen and the kind of careers they had and the kind of projects they gravitated towards and there's something I think about you know both of them I think it's okay for me to say that you you can't help but glue your eyes to the screen and want to just listen to what they're saying. Um and yeah, that's you know the same way um you know when when back in the day you had great movie stars you know like Carrie Grant and you know Ingred Bergman there there's just something about them that goes beyond the talent of the performance. It's it's something where they walk in a room and you want to you want to follow them. - Did you want to add to that? No, I just I [clears throat] No, no, I don't. - Um, I'll add one. - Perfectly said. [laughter] - So, um, the script was so good to just like back up what Devon was saying like as an actor when the writing is good. Wow. It just is so easy to act honestly cuz the writing just makes it come alive and the writing just Yeah. - Yeah. And when Brandon spoke to me about the script, I I read the script. I love the script. I I heard it was shooting in Mississippi, which added to the the flavor of the whole thing, but he also said that it was going to be gritty and dark and kind of have that noir feel, and that was something that really sold it for me. Um, and uh that's what we did. And and it, you know, these kind of films, they they go fast, they're quick, everybody has to be well prepared, and I think the cast was, you know, everybody came. - It's it's also interesting. And I have never, now that, you know, we were mentioned seven and stuff. I never thought about until today. - Seven. - No. No. Well, I thought about seven, but it was - it's this movie with Brad Pitt. You got to see it. - It's great. - Comes in the box, you guys. - But but part of the the South the grade to what you were saying is that you know what they did for seven to create a mood. They had rain in LA, right? Cuz they - so it it filters the light and we had sweat. So, the idea of doing a noir, which in in theory sounds like it's going to be, you know, like night scenes and stuff like that, and there's some of that, but I'm now realizing the additional challenge we had was was shooting in Mississippi where you're going to get, you know, harsh sunlight most of the day. So, the grittiness, I think, comes from, of course, you know, cinematography, lenses, all of it. But it's also like specifically Canton. out of all the options we could have had in Mississippi, it's one of, you know, the most classic gothic Yeah. - kind of towns you could have. So, I think that really helped us. - It definitely was a character in the film. It gave it a flavor. If we had shot in LA, it would have been a different film. Not necessarily a bad film, but it would have been different. Mississippi brought this whole other element to the film, this kind of southern charm. Um, and also that grittiness, that old gothic feel in in Canton. Um, yeah. Well, it's not just, you know, the southern, but it's that small town southern charm. The idea of like, oh, well, they put, you know, chicken under their fingernails to lure the fish. And I remember fishing with my dad and he would take uh chicken and like soak it in strawberry soda or something. The fish loved it. - I was buy I was buying boiled peanuts at the gas station. It was awesome. - Exactly. Exactly. And I - Nobody else was, just me. [laughter] - I think it adds to that atmosphere and creates an environment where you can really kind of go there. Yeah. - Um, I wanted to ask you, Sarah, you know, Julie talks a lot about kind of the unfinished picture and how our assumptions and biases can paint the story um over the actual truth. As a metaphor, who is Julie to the story? She gives us a lot of information, but what does she represent for you? - That's a good question. I feel like Julie represented for me as an actor. I felt like being from I'm from Tennessee originally and was raised in a kind of smaller place and I found, you know, I feel like Julie wants to crack the case herself. So, these big- time detectives are coming in and she knows, oh my gosh, these people are probably have a lot more experience than her, maybe more educated, but I feel like, oh, this is her hometown. These are her people. So, while she shares information, I think she ultimately does cuz she wants the murderer to be found, but I think at her core, she really wants to solve the case herself, which is why, you know, she's played a little like, I don't really want to give you this information. - Well, especially she doesn't seem to fully believe that Ameilia knows what to do with it. - And um because she does have a lot of experience, whereas, you know, Ameilia's our neopight, she's our naive kind of newbie. And so I loved that conversation between you two because there was a lot I was like there's tension. [laughter] - Yeah. - Talk to me. Um Devon, so you have a unfortunately lost child in this uh show and you have that dream that is so visceral and so kind of sad. And I wanted to know this film isn't one that necessarily tells you straight out what's happening tells you, you know, there's a lot of subtext and context that you have to consider. And so we know that he has a son. We know that he's lonely, but other than that, we really don't know a lot about Allen. So tell me um what what how did you work with Beniton to really craft that character and make sure that you were able to show what you wanted to without all the words? We we definitely talked a little bit about a backstory of this. I think that from what I remember, the son was killed in a fire, right? Is that what we talked about? I I I came up with this whole - And then - as an actor, uh you you sometimes when the writers don't provide that information and you're moving so quickly, you have to come up with prior moments. You have to come up with a with a story, some background. And and that's the whole reason why Kramer is not doesn't want to work as a detective anymore is because he's gone through his whole life on on idle autopilot kind of numb to seeing murder after murder after murder. But when it finally hits home with his with his own son, that's kind of the straw that broke the camel's back. And he doesn't want to he wants to now go off to Hawaii and and rent snorkels and and um and and not do this anymore. And so this is his chance out. This is his last case that he's he's going to do. I think the story that I built um and we may have talked about it a little bit, but but he had burnt down in a house and and that's when Kramer kind of went crazy with the alcohol and - hit the bottle and um and uh yeah, - it it's also because it's a movie that has - Am I wrong? Did I get it wrong? You're right. - My point my point being whether it's that whether it's a medical related thing - um it's a movie that has so much information and that's not lost in us. We're working as hard as we can to translate information into emotion for you guys through the way it's shot and scored and all of it. And there for for a backstory as powerful as that, there's also simplicity where you take away all the dialogue. And I think we're aware that people in the audience are going to project their own imagination. Yeah, that was that was a a cautious decision that we made was just let the audience imagine what could have happened come up with their own - even more interesting than than us attempting to yet again provide you know - um - go further into a dream or you know a big monologue about - it's enough to kind of create a context and then people can bring their own imagination and understanding to it. - Yeah, I know. Um, you were talking about he just wanted to retire and I said after that dream I was like he's got a deadline that he's just not ready to make yet but he is going to make that deadline and that deadline being going to be with his son you know and so it it infuses so much more grief and so much more kind of anger and sadness but then also this thing of I have the chance to save a child now. I'm going to do what I can to do that. So yeah, and like you said, nothing was said explicitly. That's all kind of under the surface. - I mean, hopefully if you think about the movie like a couple days later, as you're saying, very big picture, you step back in the sense that we win at a cost, we win. But as you said, you know, Kramer finds a sense of peace. You know, the suffering ends and he is reunited with his son. But at the same time, would he not have been involved, you know, there's a chance that other pe other characters wouldn't have made it. So like his impact on the story itself is is crucial, you know, and there was actually one scene that we ended up shooting. We ended up cutting from the movie - um at the last second. - I don't remember. - Yeah. So it would I it wasn't my call. It wasn't my call. Um but it was it would have happened at the end of the movie and that would have kind of framed the entire movie. And it's a scene between you and Tiffany Hadisha's character and you're outside the station. and you've agreed to go on the case and Tiffany you they're waiting for Amelia to come so they can go to the train station yada yada yada and you know Tiffany's thinking about it and she's like you're you're right you're not she's not ready she's not let's call it off you know and Kramer is the one who says do not worry give her a shot I'm going to make sure she comes back safe and that without obviously knowing what would have happened watching that scene there would have created this you know this entire context of um and it was beautiful, you know, beautifully performed and beautifully shot and it's uh - director's cut. - Director's cut. - We all know the secret now. I love it. So, speaking of Tiffany Hadtish, how did uh she become involved in the production specifically as a producer? How did you uh get her involved with that? - That is a question that you should ask. the producers would have even more stories, but from my understanding, they had just worked with her just months before uh we we shot The Girl in the River on this other movie called The Deputy, which is also coming out. So, they had a relationship. Tiffany was very excited about the idea of of - she comedy. - Yeah. Not comedy in the sense of like she had tried that with the deputy, which which is I saw and it's great. And I think she kind of that kind of scratched the itch, but she's like, "Oh, we could go we could do even more because her role in The Girl in the River is is gives her even more to do." Um, so they talked and they roped her in and she's just so much fun to be. - Yeah, she's great. - She's she's fantastic. You know, she's always the kind of bubbly personality, but then took it so seriously. And that was for me part of the the the challenge. you know, I'm aware of the fact that, you know, this great cast is giving me a shot by choosing to be part of the project and spend their summer uh in Mississippi um and and kind of take a shot on the movie. And I really it's not lost on me that some of them are really stepping out of their comfort zone in terms of you know even Ralph this was the first non karate kid related project he had done in almost a decade. - Yeah. He spent the first two days at the morg like he wanted to feel what it was - getting ready. um - went down there and checked it out and - yeah, he took it very seriously and he had a lot of question. He's like, you know, let's talk through this again. Even though the movie is not based on any specific one story, everything that they talk about in the movie, you could check, you could bring, you know, there's this great book called which inspired the Mine Hunter TV show by John Douglas, which where in the 70s they started talking about serial killers. they had to start articulating the concept of you know forensic behavior and all of it because it didn't exist before the 60s and 70s. You had these you know zodiac and stuff like they didn't know what to do with them because there was no logic to it. So based on that all of that got turned into a book not the ultimate book but all of the information is there and then it was my job to try and make it as organic as believable as emotional coming out of you know the the mouth of these these characters. You know, I wanted to talk about the dialogue because it's very intricate and there are a lot of um idioms that feel kind of hard one and hardearned where you know what you're saying may not be exactly what you're saying. You know, what you're saying may have another meaning or a deeper meaning something to that extent. I wanted to ask you about kind of what it was like writing this film and then when it came to your actors portraying that are you someone who's kind of like word perfect or do you do they have a little more room to kind of grow with that? What's your process? I mean, the the wild thing about this, and I've spoken about the fact that when I wrote it, we um English is my second language, and there were a couple moments on set where actors very kindly pulled me over and said, "I think you mean this. That's not a word in English, you know." So, beyond that, I I I try to be Yeah. You try to be very judicious and that the I think writing is also extremely hard because good luck finding perspective after a first draft. We were lucky that by the time the script got to Devon and and and Sarah, it had been five years of rewrite over rewrite and at, you know, so if you were to go look at the first draft, a lot of the bones are there, but how we got to some scenes, how how um Ralph's scar is exposed was completely different. Originally, I don't know if I ever told you, they got into um a car crash - and you, you know, Kramer kind of picks him up, brings him back in the lab to help him out. And while you know, uh Ripley's unconscious, he realizes there. So all these things sometimes as as they say you're in the neighborhood but you're not quite at the address and you don't know at the very beginning how you're going to get there but it's going to only take time and notes and suggestions to - framer walked with a cane. - Oh yeah. - Up until the 11th I had I ordered a cane on on Amazon. I was walk my kids were I was driving my kids nuts. I would walk places with this cane. I was getting used to this cane and then the 11th hour I guess the producers were like we we don't want - like we're not doing a cane - and I was like oh that that whole week of cane walking - if anybody has a script - if anybody needs a cane [laughter] - well I wanted to ask also Sarah and Devon you know there these words as they come together there are a lot of monologues a lot of kind of two-handers and there are parts that feel very theatrical like you are you know on stage there's there's just so emotional and you're really kind of like projecting to the back of the house but in a way that sends out the emotion. [clears throat] What's it like being able to deliver dialogue like that? - I don't know. I never really I just I say the words - like I [laughter] do it. - Um I you just you you movies like this you have to be like there's a there is a lot of monologue. There's a lot of a lot of pages, a lot of words. So the you have to be prepared for for films like this. And I'm I'm the type of actor that likes I have a lot of respect for writers and I like to try to stay as precise as possible to the to what's on the page because it's you know it's their art as well. Um not to say that improv isn't you know you know that's another but I I like to stay as as close to the page as possible. Um the the the dialogue all floated for you know English being your second language. You did a phenomenal job pal. It was it was easy to say and it was you know it all kind of flowed. - Yeah. - Um - how about you? - Yeah. Um same the monologue was really long what I had to say but I love words so it was so exciting for me to like you know how am I going to say this or that but I think as an actor something I try to do when I get lengthy monologues that are well for this character specifically in this setting is I tried to be as still as possible. That's something I just like have learned that sometimes when the words are so powerful, stillness like enhances them. Um, and I know y'all don't know me, but I'm naturally a pretty big personality. So, stillness is a challenge for me. So, I practice that a lot at home before going on set. - Same. [laughter] I can't stay still for anything. So, I love it is a discipline. So, I'm very impressed. Um Sarah, you do a lot of work with mental health advocacy and you are able to kind of talk about your experiences. Tell us what what gave you made you get the decision to do that to share that part of yourself with everybody and um how is that going to kind of factor into any future projects? - That's a great question. I was not expecting that question. Um yes. Well, I guess to make this very brief, I was a standup for years. Um, and when I was a stand-up comedian, I found the greatest stories were actually in the green room. They were like the pain behind the jokes being told. And I thought, "Wow, if people could hear the stories in the green room, these are inspiring and healing." And I find comedians are naturally funny, even when they tell a story about pain. Um, which led me to create this show called Funny People Cry Too. And it basically was like the place where the funny naturally funny people tell the jokes behind the pain. And um I used to do it every year and money went back to the National Alliance of Mental Illness to raise awareness for mental health. Um my mom has a mental health condition so it's very personal to me. And um yeah, the more I did that, the more I just fell in love with Yeah. people sharing the truth behind the jokes. - That's beautiful. Devon, like I was saying, you got killed every time you died in Chucky. [laughter] you would come back as a completely different character and then die again. Tell us what acting challenges are you looking forward to moving forward. - Oh. Um, - what other ways do you want to challenge yourself? I - I just like to do different things and I like to do things that I love to watch. That's the main thing. Am I going to love to watch this? Like if if you don't love it, then why do it at all? Um, and then I just I just like to do challenging challenging things. Chucky was a was a challenge and and I I really think the showrunner just didn't like me and that's why he wanted to keep bringing me back and killing me. - Get him out of here. - Um no, I I just like to I I like to have fun. I like to do things, you know, before I took a break from acting for 5 years. And before that, I took it way too seriously. And when I came back, I just wanted everything I wanted to wake up in the morning and be excited to go to work. And that's that's how I kind of pick my projects now. I don't want to work with shitty people and I want to do good stuff with good people and and uh stuff that's interesting and stuff that I would watch. So, - you certainly earned it. - Yeah. - At this point, - it's been a road, - right, Beniton? This is your first feature debut. Tell us what what's different in putting together a feature versus your short film? What's something that you have learned that you maybe weren't expecting to be different? I mean, it's just just so so much gratitude. I promise it's not a copout. Like, I would step onto set and to see the production design. I wrote something and now they're showing me three fantastic options. And I see whether it's that department or them, there's so much work that goes on behind the scenes that I'm never even exposed to. And that to me is just so humbling. Um, and I I mean on a logistical level and I was talking about this to someone else. I was very lucky in terms of like having a lot of experience as assistant director - um and thinking about schedules a lot when you write because you can write something that sounds fantastic and then good luck getting there on the day and realizing oh my god this doesn't work or we can't pull it off. So the short film we had done uh one of the short but one of the bigger ones is TV pilot where we blew up buildings and cars and it was and I think because of how ambitious we were back then even though this probably doesn't feel like the most ambitious project our time to make the movie was so limited that I think for all of us it it required trust to just go with our instincts trust each other um because we really had to keep it going. there was no time for luxurious crane shots or or to to spend three or four hours talking about it. So, a lot of that adrenaline hopefully that I that we were feeling translates onto the screen and that that fuels that narrative urgency of like we need to find this other victim ASAP, you know. Um - well in that vein um I know you were you have such an interesting take on the idea of like an action piece as a storytelling device and I would love for you to kind of elaborate more on that and then say how you brought that to the girl in the river. - Yeah, it's it's it's difficult. The theory would be if you want to write action in your stories a lot of people just you know as as it happens writers are not second unit directors. They don't understand the logistics, so they usually just plop it in. The action, when they say action is character, it should get get to the point where if you take the action sequence out, movie falls apart. It just doesn't work. So, it's not Amelia performing a stunt is unless Amelia finds a way to climb on the truck and get in the building, movie is not going forward. Unless Ripley, you know, doesn't get out of that car and shoots the cop, you know, he has no other way of of of of getting out of that situation. Um, so you know, and yeah, I I don't know if that answers because the all things considered, believe it or not, there was more action in the original script, you know, and you have to just be willing to let the movie tell you what it needs to be because of that logistical, you know, this is how much time we have. This is the resources we have. So, if you try to fight it, it's going to run you over. And I was a lot more interested going back to, you know, your point of of this being my first movie. I'm here to listen. I'm here to listen to them. listen to, you know, what what how casting flavors a character, how producers like the great ones we had who has shot all over Canton time and time again or the location manager listen to them and and listen to their advice instead of trying to like, you know, uh, so I try to be a sponge as much as I could because I didn't know anybody on set. - Um, and that was fantastic. It turned out, you know, for us never meeting before, no cinematographer, no anything like that. I I think it turned out fantastic. I also think it turned out fantastic. Thank you guys for taking time to talk with us tonight about The Girl in the River. Uh tell us release information - tomorrow. Tomorrow. Yay. [laughter] - If you guys want to see it on the big screen again, it's playing at Town Center 5, which is an Enino for one week. That's your chance. One week. Otherwise, for your friends and family all over the country, it's on Amazon and Apple and people can from the comfort of their couch can also enjoy it. But we have a chance to see it in theater, so why not? - Thank you everybody. Thank you guys for coming out and - thank you so much. Thank you. [music]