Mandy Griffiths
He delighted (and made us cry) with Australian film “Red Dog”, now director Kriv Stenders is back in the Australian countryside, only this time with less dogs, more murder.
In “Kill Me Three Times” Simon Pegg plays the mercurial assassin, Charlie Wolfe, who discovers he isn’t the only person trying to kill the siren of a sun-drenched surfing town (Alice Braga). Charlie quickly finds himself at the center of three tales of murder, mayhem, blackmail and revenge. With an original screenplay by James McFarland, the film also stars Sullivan Stapleton (a gambling addict who attempts to pay off his debts through a risky life insurance scam), Teresa Palmer (as a small town Lady Macbeth), Callan Mulvey (a wealthy beach club owner simmering with jealousy), Luke Hemsworth (a local surfer fighting for the woman he loves) and Bryan Brown (a corrupt cop who demands the juiciest cut).
Mandy spoke with Kriv about landing Simon Pegg, the beauty of Western Australia, and the upcoming prequel to “Red Dog”, “Blue Dog”.
As a director, what do you look for in a script?
Kriv: A lot of things. I look for a good script – good scripts are hard to find. Essentially what I look for is if I like something I have what I call an ‘in’. I need to have a way or a doorway into the material. Something that I can bring to it or I know how to decipher it and make it work on the big screen. That sort of connection with material is what I look for.
How did you come across this script?
Kriv: I met Larry Malkin, the producer, a few years ago. We went out to lunch and talked about the kind of movies we like and the kind of movies we want to be making. We decided it would be great to work together one day and about a year later I got a phone call out of the blue from my agent that Larry had sent a script for me to look at, and I basically had about a week to decide if I wanted to do it or not because there was only a short window to finance it. The original director had dropped out. I read the script and it took me by the throat and wouldn’t let go. I loved it, it was a beautifully constructed screenplay and I couldn’t say no.
I understand the film was originally set in Ireland?
Kriv: Yes the script was written by a guy called James McFarland, he’s Irish and I understand it was originally set in Ireland in some kind of small coastal town there but it was before I came on to it. He moved over to Australia and developed it here.
I’m a West Australian girl originally and it was great to see it on screen – it doesn’t get represented very often and it’s very beautiful.
Kriv: Yes, exactly. We were very lucky to set the story there because if anywhere has a spectacular coast line it’s W.A.
So you didn’t have a tough time location scouting?
Kriv: No we didn’t. We had a tough time getting there! Margaret River is a long way out of Perth. And interestingly that is quite a challenge for a film shoot because you’ve got to move a crew down there and it’s expensive and the travel time takes out of your shooting time. But it was worth going down there because it is spectacular.
You’ve assembled a fantastic cast from all over the world – how did you go about the casting process?
Kriv: When I came on one of the very attractive things about the project was that Alice Braga and Sullivan Stapleton were already attached to the project. So usually as the director you’re the first one to sign on, and it’s a matter of herding cats. And Sully and Alice were already on board which was great, and a good cast attracts a good cast. When I read the script I found it very funny, very operatic and one of my main ideas was that we should get a comic actor to play the hit man. Because if we got a straight actor to play it we’d end up with a pretty generic, bland film. The producer’s agreed and we started to talk about actors that might work and Simon’s name came up and I said ‘do you think we can really get him?’ and they said ‘let’s give it a go.’ And we gave it a go and he loved the script and really wanted to be in business with us. So he said ‘I’ve got these two weeks in my schedule. If you can make it work in these two weeks then I’m on board.’ We made sure we could make it work and that’s how we got Simon Pegg.
Filming in a remote location was there a lot of trailer action or were people hanging out at the pub or at the beach in between scenes?
Kriv: Well because we only had Simon for two weeks we were pretty busy. But yeah we all stayed at the same hotel and had a great time. There wasn’t much down time – it was pretty much work then wrap then start again for the next day. Simon literally flew in on a Friday, we got him down on the Saturday and started on the Monday, then flew out on the Saturday two weeks later. So it was pretty much back to back.
Well they say to make great things happen you need a vision and not quite enough time.
Kriv: Yes, you never get enough time. Even on the big blockbusters you never get enough time or money. There’s no such thing as too much time and too much money in the movie business. [laughs]
I understand you have a bit of an acting background as well?
Kriv: Yeah I’ve done a few little things here and there. Not much. I played the naked buck in “Kenny”. I’m in “Kill Me Three Times” as well, I play a customer at the bar. I had some lines but the director cut them out [laughs].
Do you find it easy to relate to actors and their point of view when you’re filming?
Kriv: Yes I do. I love actors and I’ve grown to love them more and more as I make more movies. I really admire what they have to do. It’s a hard job – you really expose yourself up there. The buck stops with your face. I have a huge amount of respect for them and their process. And one thing I’ve realised is that not one actor is the same. Every actor is completely different. And once you know that you realise it’s like any relationship. You have to talk to them and reach them at their own level, and once you know that, the results can be fantastic. If you understand their process, that’s the path to great work.
And what about dogs? You of course did “Red Dog” and have “Blue Dog” coming up, how do find working with animals?
Kriv: It’s pretty much the same actually! [laughs} Every dog is different. But like actors they need a lot of support. They need a calm set – they don’t like being surrounded by yelling or people throwing tantrums. It freaks them out, as it does human actors. The same rules apply on every level, they need to be comfortable, they need to have good resting time, they need to be fed well, and they need to be treated with respect. It’s identical [laughs].
You’ve had lots of training in that area that’s good. Speaking of “Blue Dog” how far along are you in the process?
Kriv: I’m editing the film, we’re cutting it right now. So it’s still in utero. It’s planned for release in 2016, I don’t know when yet but watch this space!
What part to you prefer, the filming or the editing – post production side?
Kriv: I like both in equal measure. My favourite part would probably be a couple of weeks after shooting. Watching the film start to come to life. It’s very satisfying and relatively relaxing because I no longer have a shoot date to make, and I don’t have that stress, and I can spend some time with my family and look at rushes and there’s so much possibility. That’s the golden period. And then it gets stressful in the editing as well but there’s a little beautiful eye of the hurricane moment.
And what’s the plan after this, or are you just focused on completing “Blue Dog” at the moment?
Kriv: No I love working and I need to work. [laughs]. There’s always the next film to be thinking about. I’ve got a few projects in play. Last year I did my first TV Show, I did “The Principals” which will come out in October. And I really enjoyed that so I’m also looking at getting involved in more TV projects because I think TV is a very exciting medium now. So who knows what’s on the horizon.
Hopefully Netflix will commission an original series from Australia soon – that would be great.
Kriv: Yes well that’s the Holy Grail isn’t it? We’ll wait and see.
“Kill Me Three Times” is now available on Digital, Blu-Ray & DVD.
