Interview by Rafy Mediavilla w/ Lionsgate Movie “Fall” Director. Scott Mann. Where we spoke about maintaining and balancing the tension within the story, & making visual and practical effects work. Out Now!
For best friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Gardner), life is all about conquering fears and pushing limits. But after they climb 2,000 feet to the top of a remote, abandoned radio tower, they find themselves stranded with no way down. Now Becky and Hunter’s expert climbing skills will be put to the ultimate test as they desperately fight to survive the elements, a lack of supplies, and vertigo-inducing heights in this adrenaline-fueled thriller costarring Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Criticólogos:
What was more challenging for you when it comes to create that tension and maintain that tension to the whole through the whole story?
Scott Mann:
Yeah, I think well, I think going into it was very much like we wanted to create a kind of theme park ride experience. It’s been very kind of theatrical that that really immerses you into it. And I think that we were very conscious that height. I we’ve seen kind of sequences of things in films that play with height and play with high tensions but, but not over crossover films. So by design it was like looking at what different kind of flavors and what different elements and, and really like long running nail biting tension as a kind of it to pull, you know, to pull it off.
It’s kind of it starts with the script, of course. And I think we were very conscious that we didn’t want to just kind of cattle prod the audience with kind of horror jokes. When we had the where we’re really high just by design gives you this great tension that you can really pull out. And, and I think it’s kind of playing with the audience that way. So it came right from the start and, and, and just really looking at ourselves of like, what, what is it? The tension of heights, what is the fear of falling? Why do we feel this way? And obviously it’s built into us as human beings to to protect ourselves. Right.
Because we know kind of stepping off that edge, it’s quick death. Right. So that fear and really kind of pulling and drawing out that fear that we that we try to plan to and just and just laser giving different flavors to it. And the challenge of having something so contained that doesn’t get boring is also a challenge to write and piece. And I think for me, again, it comes back to this theme park idea that you kind of like you want to go on different parts of the ride and you’ve always got to even if you’ve got a long, drawn out kind of conceptual tension, you want to you want to kind of break it down and have moments of up down hopes and, you know, fears and whatnot.
Criticólogos:
The are other two themes that work for the story: letting go of your fears and then learning the truth and understanding how to deal with the truth. You co-wrote the script with Jonathan Frank, who brought these themes to the table?
Scott Mann:
I think it was a bit it, I would say like most things that it’s born when we’re both, you know, from usually from us both, but it is from a personal experience, my own actually, about the exploration of someone like someone just experiencing kind of someone dying and what that leaves and kind of climbing out of that whole and psychological nature, the psychological story of kind of really being pulled down and having to come back up and find yourself again. That that came from kind of a personal place of mind reading and tapping into that and telling that story felt quite fitting for a survival story in it.
And so, yeah, so it kind of, it’s that that bit, it’s special in a way. And I and I kind of think that, that the, for me, like the, the kind of the films that I, I love and I remember most of when you wrap something which is important and personal and, and actually is a human story that you want to share in something, even if it’s a candy wrapper of genre goodness, it’s kind of it’s the way to kind of feed the medicine out in a way so we can enjoy a story but hopefully get something deeper from it.
And that was the hope really. So, yeah. So it was very careful and very honest and intimate really in terms of working with the actors on something that we saw that was so very real at the core of everything else. You know.
Criticólogos:
The other part that stood out to me obviously is the cinematography and I mean, the photography and I got to be very careful how I phrased this question because I don’t want to ruin the surprise or ruin the magic. And because we don’t even know how much is visual effects and how much is practical once’s,can you elaborate on this subject?
Scott Mann:
I think the reason the film works is because ultimately this film is a bit going back to kind of like old school. Filmmaking where we got a tiny team and some IMAX sized cameras and went up the mountain and filmed it on a tower for real at that height. So that I think the reason why it works is because we captured the reality. And then there’s there is obviously elements where kind of things end up looking straight down in your comp in the desert that we filmed at the 2000 feet.
But, you know, we build these towers with the guys who built the tower. We, you know, I mean, we kept we kept it all real. And I think that that comes out because what happens is when the actors are performing at 2000 feet, like it’s all the other elements, it’s like the wind and and the sun. And just the way they act reflects on how the camera, the operators, the people around them react. And I think there’s an honesty of what’s captured that is very grounded. And you need that, I think, for for really good kind of horror intention. So as a kind of byproduct of style in a sense, just by the world throwing so much at you at that high is why we got a lot of what we got.
Criticólogos:
I talk a about the girls obviously putting them in that situation and they’re such great actors obviously. But did they had a clue what they were getting into? What was your first reaction?
Scott Mann:
I tried to filter out the funnel of acting, so I you know, I had the pleasure in this one where I was able to actually cast, you know, because the producers hats off to James Harris Christian hiring for for a lot for encouraging even cast the right people that let’s do this film kind of the old way let’s not be daft and cast the wrong people. But I went through like an audition process which was during COVID as it was through Zoom. And what I was aware of is most actors like Will will try and get a part, so they’ll say they are okay with heights even if they’re not. And I was very aware that in this movie, if you’re not afraid, if you if you are scared of doing this, we are screwed because we were there for weeks.
So I basically showed them the drawings of what was being built. So I showed them the Cliff Mountain, right. With this huge drop off with this hundred foot tower that we were building. And I’m like, you’re going to be on this piece right at the top. And I kind of showed them over Zoom like this and and explain how production was going to work. And I could see, like, the ones that kind of gave it away in their eyes, the ones that were pretending it was okay with the ones who I didn’t ask them to attend. And I think I filtered through that process. But I’ve said Jen and Chris, maybe they exaggerated, but I felt like they were being honest with me.
They were like, This looks horrible, but I think I’ll be okay. That was the kind of answer that that kind of led me towards them because yeah, they’re there. And I have to say, they, they, the range needed and the precision needed to play the ranch, given that where you know, how it unfolds is huge. And they just, you know, we went through scenes, we did chemistry tests and they just shone. And, you know, I can’t that this film is is there are three stars arguably right the tower that you didn’t Chris and you know it made and they just absolutely nailed it so yeah all of them.
Criticólogos:
I laughed when that WWE line came in, mostly because I’m a fan and I wasn’t expecting that to be part of the conversation. Who brought that to the script?
Scott Mann:
Okay. Hats off to Jonathan, who is absolutely will try and get that in every movie that we do. It’s a yes no. And that’s based on him, him as a kid, like her backstory of like doing wrestling with the dad. That’s actually Jonathan’s backstory. And I think it’s really, you know, in the story and it’s again, it’s nice to have these personal things in the movie, right? They’re a part of you and we kind of play it out. And, and so. Yeah, so. So that’s all. Jonathan.
See the interview below:
Trailer:
