Interview with “Boneyard” movie director, Asif Akbar
Out This Week In Theaters and On VOD In US/ Canada
When the skeletal remains of eleven women and girls are discovered in the New Mexico desert, an extensive investigation is launched. Inspired by true crime stories, this chilling crime-thriller follows Police Chief Carter (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson), Detective Ortega (Brian Van Holt), and Agent Petrovick (Mel Gibson) in a multi-agency effort to identify and apprehend the killer. As each of their agendas and methods clash, a tangled web of intrigue casts suspicion in all directions.
Criticólogos:
I’m a sucker for movies based on a true story, and it scared me to think that this is still happening. What was it about this story that told, “Hey, I need to tell the story”?
Asif Akbar:
Well, that’s a good question. Thank you. It was a blend of many different reasons. And, yes, the West Mesa murders from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was one of the cases that inspired this. We centered the story kind of inspired from that case. But it also takes inspiration from many other serial killer cases that I’m sure you’ve seen in the movie where it looks at all the different types of serial killers that are out there and the different types of cases and the situations and the types of victims.
But our main purpose and goal for this was to bring awareness, about these kinds of cases and this being a global crisis of having serial killers and murderers and kidnappers and traffickers. Basically taking the lives of these victims and affecting their family members and even not only just the family, but the other side of it, or the law enforcement personnel that are being affected by this daily and the 24/7 work and dedication that they put behind it, and then all the different layers that are there part of the investigation that takes the investigation from one way to another.
It’s always a complex case, you know, in each case by case. So that’s something we tried to show, you know, through this by taking those inspirations and the complexities and this.
Criticólogos:
I would love to know, is there something that you learn from this project that you you didn’t really realize? When it comes to the respect that you have for law enforcement?
Asif Akbar:
Absolutely. I mean, the one major thing I could say is what we kind of try to show with all the different characters is what inspires them to be doing what they’re doing. You know, it’s a very tough life. What they have, especially with the pressure of saving lives with the, you know, uh, uh, ticking time bomb type of, uh, you know, they have to solve this case before the next victim pops up, or he strikes and kills someone else. So that ticking time clock is horrific to be under that kind of pressure in this profession where, you know, we don’t realize what these people go through.
That takes a whole different level of commitment dedication and service. So we tried to kind of showcase a little bit of that and from the law enforcement character’s perspectives of what’s their loss and inspiration and motivation for committing these cases.
Criticólogos:
I wonder how much of it, with this story loosely based on a true story, where you’re able to make it real and how much of it is just Hollywood, turning this story into a movie?
We had to take some definitely, you know, theatrical licensing and creative licensing and making it Hollywood and dramatic. Which in an hour and a half, it’s very challenging to develop all these different characters we’ve had with all these layers and to be able to tell this story. But a lot of it fit in well, because my style of approach to this was to give it realism and have that real life feel and connection to the characters where it’s not over dramatic. It’s not over, Hollywood and theatrical wise to where you can’t relate. Everyone can relate to somebody in this film in some situation.
Criticólogos:
I gotta talk about the cast. Great cast. Mel, Nora, 50, and obviously, Brian, how it came about. And obviously. How was it working with the cast?
Asif Akbar:
And he didn’t even want the paper in front of him. He just, you know, became Chief Carter, uh, dealing with the press. And so, um, that was across the board with all of them, even Mel, you know, um, brought it 100% in every scene. And you can see it at the scenes, you know, don’t lie. And, um, I was very blessed to have that kind of a commitment from these, you know, great actors.
It was great. I mean, every single one of the cast members, you know, were very committed and dedicated to the role. Like 50 Cent, you know, you see them in a whole different way than we’re used to seeing him. Right? And he really owned that character. I mean, even the press conference scene where normally in real life, you would see a police chief looking down at his notes and talking to the press. In this case, you know, he was so into it, he memorized that entire speech and that announcement during the press conference. He never even looked down.
See the full interview below:
Trailer:
