With The Bad Guys officially out in Australian cinemas now (read our review here), Peter Gray spoke with Australia author Aaron Blabey (again), whose series of books the film is adapted from. Talking at the Australian junket, Peter and Aaron, after the pleasantries of finally meeting in person, discussed where the idea originated from, the pitch perfect casting, and just how influential Quentin Tarantino has been on his books.
Given that you have written so many books, how did you decide on what particular story was going to be used for this film? Or did DreamWorks come to you with the idea?
They had all the books that were published, and I just thought as long as they were faithful to the relationships (in the books) and the tone I didn’t really mind where they took the story. I knew they’d go somewhere cool and heisty and Soderberghy (laughs), so I just stepped back and was curious to see what they’d do. They took predominantly elements of the first four books, but it’s a more compressed journey.
I was one of those kids that would watch animated films just as much as I would watch adult-aimed films, so I very much appreciated the fact that this film blends the elements of a children’s film with this crime movie mentality. How was it finding that balance? Especially for the film, because you want this to be enjoyed by audiences across the board.
That balance is something I’ve dedicated my life to finding. It’s created a space for me to work in as a children’s author that feels very underpopulated. It’s hard enough spot to be in though as a single person, but to hand it over to a very big team and, as you said, not go too old and then panic and pull back and aim too young or too cute, it’s difficult to find that balance. But my job as an (executive producer) was to be a guardian of tone, but if it felt like it was going too young I could say so. The opening scene, for example, in the diner was beautifully written and really, really funny, but the conversation Wolf and Snake were having was just a little too adult. They were discussing their last meal on Earth, and it was a concept that was a little too hard to get. Then Etan (Cohen, screenwriter) came up with “What do you mean you don’t like birthdays?”, and then all of a sudden you could have that same conversation that wasn’t too cutesy. It was just those little micro-shifts that make such a difference, and it’s so much fun to play with that.
I think of the movies I loved as a kid…I mean, I have a huge poster in my studio of The Temple of Doom, which is crazy! It’s effectively a kids film, but it’s full of all sorts of madness and child slavery. It’s bonkers! I understand even Spielberg has reservations about it these days, thinking it was too dark, but there was stuff that always pushed boundaries, and it’s just finding that line.
I understand what you mean. One of my favourite films from my childhood is Batman Returns. You watch that movie now and it’s horrific. It’s not a kids movie at all! But I think when you’re a kid you don’t see it that way. And one of the great things about The Bad Guys is that kids will see it and understand what’s going on. There’s obviously a few jokes for the adults, like the opening scene is Pulp Fiction, just animated. What were some of the films you drew inspiration from when writing the series?
Quentin Tarantino’s ears are probably burning with the amount I have spoken about him (laughs), but there’s no denying how much impact Reservoir Dogs had on me when I saw it some 30-years ago. I saw it on its very first run and it just melted my brain. It had the same effect on me that Spielberg’s films did in the 1980’s. I just wanted to grab it and do something with it, but it was that impotent feeling of it being someone else’s movie. I think that’s what I was looking for. How could I take all this stuff that I love and funnel it into a simple theme. Getting those elements together and making it click for it to become what this is took years.
We don’t want to give Tarantino any more reason to feel the burn, but, like his films, this is incredibly cast! Having seen the film they really all were so pitch perfect. Did you have much say in the casting?
Only in the sense that as an executive producer I could put together a list and throw it into the mix. Obviously DreamWorks have a pretty great casting department, but our cast lists were all pretty much aligned. Apart from Marc (Maron), who I was unfamiliar with at the time, I was a fan of everyone’s work at that point. They sent me a link to one of Marc’s stand-up routines and instantly I was like “That’s Mr. Snake!”
It’s bizarre now, because my boys are huge Craig Robinson fans. This is The End is one of their favourite films, and they can’t believe he’s in this film (as Mr. Shark). That was very gratifying. Sam Rockwell, who I’ve been a fan of since Lawn Dogs, which was the first thing he did before even Green Mile gave him that breakout, and I remember watching that and thinking he was amazing. It’s mind melting.
On the mention of Craig Robinson, he was so funny in this movie. Do you know with the recording process if they’re allowed to go off the cuff?
Oh, it was actively encouraged. Because of COVID everything was happening remotely. They sent the cast really good recording equipment and they were doing it almost entirely in isolation. I do know that Sam loves working with other actors, so whenever it was possible they would get him and Marc in a studio together. I think you can really feel it in those scenes as they spark off each other. The fact that it is done in isolation? You can’t feel that at all on screen.
Did you find your role as an EP challenging because of the isolation?
It could be, yeah. I don’t just live in Australia, I live in the Blue Mountains, so I couldn’t be further from the action in that sense. It was a very strange feeling because prior to COVID I was travelling all the time. I was getting deeper and deeper into the work at DreamWorks, which was really cool, and then all of a sudden it was impossible to do. I’m curious to see how it changes the industry going forward, especially with animation, because it’s incredible what they can do remotely. Most of this film was done remotely.
And because this is a series of books, and it feels like this is setting itself up to be a series of films, any clues as to where it’s going to go?
I have a few ideas. Because it is a long arc, there’s already ideas out there, but it really all depends on if people go and see it, so we’ll see.
The Bad Guys is now screening in Australian theatres.
