Director Rian Johnson explained why he shot Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery in the UK while Daniel Craig discussed future films and Glenn
Director Rian Johnson explained why he shot Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery in the UK while Daniel Craig discussed future films and Glenn Close spoke of Johnson’s unique approach at the film’s UK premiere for the opening night of BFI London Film Festival.
“I was here in the UK for the Star Wars movie I did, The Last Jedi, and I was here for a long time, and I loved shooting here in the UK,” Johnson told Screen on the red carpet. “The crews here are fantastic.”
The director also noted that while the third instalment in the murder mystery franchise is set in a church in upstate New York, the UK gave them more options for locations. Production took place at Warner Bros Leavesden and at various locations around Greater London.
“We knew we had to build a lot of the sets and we wanted to use the same crew from The Last Jedi,” added producer Ram Bergman. “And it also made more sense financially.”
On plans for future Knives Out instalments, Bergman says the hope is for further films but, for now, he and Johnson are focusing on an original project. “Rian is writing it now and we’re going to take it out to the market and see what happens,” Bergman said on whether it will land at Netflix.
Daniel Craig, who portrays detective Benoit Blanc in the series, says he hopes to do more films. “As long as [Johnson] keeps writing [Knives Out] films and they’re as good as this, I’ll keep doing it.”
On his collaborations with Johnson, Craig noted: “Rian is one of the best screenwriters around and I’m so fortunate to be able to work with him.”
Echoing these thoughts, Glenn Close discussed what makes Johnson unique as a filmmaker. “When you get on the set, he’s prepared. Nothing changes in the script which for an actor is really good,” she said. “I’ve learnt to be a little nervous about scripts that are still being written when we’ve started the actual production.”
Close also spoke fondly of co-star Josh O’Connor who takes on the lead role in Wake Up Dead Man as a teenage priest who butts heads with the congregation of his novel church.
“To me, he’s like a young Jimmy Stewart,” she noted. “He was one of the most loved actors and certainly in the great Hollywood tradition and I just think there’s something about Josh O’Connor… He is supremely gifted and such a wonderful human being.”
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery has a confined theatrical release from November 26 before it hits Netflix.
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