Amandla Stenberg, Lee Pace, Maria Bakalova, Rachel Sennott, Myha'la Herrold and Chase Sui Wonders talk A24’s “Bodies Bodies Bodies.” They discuss the film’s smart dialogue, uniquely “psycho” characters, it’s jaw-dropping ending (spoiler-free) and more.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00hopeful throughout the story that the ending would culminate in something like that.
00:06And then really deeply gratified because I think that the ending
00:10so encompasses the satirical nature of the whole story.
00:25Who wants to play bodies, bodies, bodies?
00:30Oh my God.
00:31Are party movies and specifically nighttime movies just exhausting to film?
00:35Yes, definitely. I wouldn't say the party element was the thing that was exhausting.
00:41That was kind of a break for us. But definitely hurricane films.
00:47So that means that you're soaking wet all the time, covered in mud and blood all the time.
00:53And yeah, most of our shoots were night shoots. So we became like strange little feral
00:59creatures that only, yeah, only were awake at night.
01:03You know what? It's you get into a rhythm where you like come alive at night.
01:09I think we did a lot of overnights and then all of a sudden it sort of becomes like
01:14the movie is the world because you sleep in the day and you're staying in a weird little hotel
01:21in this small town. So it's I think it almost like switches and then it kind of fuels you
01:27and doing the party scenes and the scenes in the rain.
01:29It's sort of like electrifying where it's like it takes so much energy that you create more energy.
01:36Gotcha. That makes sense. A quick follow up. What is Alice's podcast about?
01:41It's about hanging out with your smartest and funniest friend, which is apparently me.
01:46I can imagine her just like talking to different people
01:50and not really having, she doesn't really have an arc.
01:55She's working on that and she's figuring it out. But right now it's just her personality
02:00shining through. I can imagine her having no guests at all. Just her. Just her. 60 minutes.
02:08Sometimes 90 minutes. Hey guys. So this morning my stomach was feeling a little weird. Let me delve
02:16into that. First of all, a podcast takes a lot of work. Okay. You have to organize the guests.
02:23You have to do a Google calendar and you build a following. It takes a long time
02:29and I've been working on it for a while. Myala, because of that, were there any bits of direction
02:33that you received to almost behave in a certain way to throw the audience off of the mysteries
02:37trail? No, actually I was never advised to make myself seem more suspicious. I just am.
02:48Our friend is dead. So if you could just like not escalate the situation. I'm not escalating.
02:55You're holding the knife and you're moving your hands while you talk. No, I think, you know,
02:59the, all of the twists and turns, the audience, like it could be this person. It could be that
03:02person. All just has to do with like all each character's like deep need to get what they want.
03:08And the perception from everyone else is what makes it twisted. Like their drug fueled lack
03:14of sleep paranoia is, is the lens through which we see everyone's need to survive or save the
03:21person they, you know what I mean? So no, I just, I just look like that, I guess.
03:27Lee, I'm curious if there were any bits of direction that you received throughout the
03:31course of the film to behave specific ways to maybe throw the audience off of the main
03:36mysteries trail. Oh, well, Helena is, what I love so much about working with her is her specificity.
03:45She brought to all of the characters and I would watch her give notes to everyone that very much
03:50focused all the characters to be very different from one another. Cause it's all a diversion of,
03:56you know, cause that's kind of what the movie is about. It's the chaos,
04:01kind of group of psychos. So I absolutely, I think Greg is, you know, he's not an unserious person,
04:10but he's not being serious at this party, which is what he thinks it is. You know,
04:15he's having a good time with a bunch of kids and he doesn't really see danger is around.
04:23You know, I don't think he thinks that there is danger, but he does kind of think at times,
04:27this is not necessarily fun for me. Right. I love that he thinks he's in a game
04:33throughout elements of it as well, too. That's Emma, that's Jordan.
04:37What's up? I'm Greg.
04:40Sup player. I'm Sophie.
04:42Oh, whoa. You're Sophie.
04:47Maria, one of the things I love so much about the dialogue is that it's very, very modern without
04:53being over the top, almost like a spoof. You're always gaslighting me.
04:57You can trigger me. You are so toxic.
04:59Relax. You're silencing me.
05:01The reliance on social media and technology. And I'm just wondering if that was something
05:05that appealed to you in the script of how it presented these characters and how they speak
05:09to each other. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely.
05:13That had appealed to me. I have to say that my character is not one of the most outspoken people
05:19in this world that they live in, but she's out there to see and witness everything that's
05:23happening. And me as myself, I speak way too much more like all the other characters instead of B.
05:31But I see and I pretty much, we've been talking about that recently today for a long time,
05:38that we are a little bit underrated as Gen Z and the meaning that we put behind our words.
05:45And I think the film actually shows that there is a little bit more than actually people see
05:50and talk about. So I think the dialogue is incredible. It's written very well.
05:57And I think everybody delivered it in a very great way as well. So yeah.
06:07You don't have to be nervous. I'm not nervous.
06:10Wow. So impressive.
06:13You're impressive. They're going to be obsessed with you.
06:16And then Chase, without giving any specifics away, I just need to know your reaction when
06:21you read the end of the script, because a murder mystery like this hangs on sticking the landing.
06:27Yeah, I think it's so, it was so unexpected upon reading it. I think like throughout,
06:32it's so interactive throughout the whole, like you swear that you know who it is and that it's
06:38going to go one direction. And I think that's like the most fun part of a horror movie. And
06:42usually you're able to predict the end, but I haven't, I've yet to hear like anyone who has
06:47seen it or been a part of it. Who's been like, yep, knew that from the start. So I think it's
06:52so cool how it was like very clear upon reading the ending, like this bends genres. It's not in,
06:59you can't typify like one box for this movie.
07:02Completely shocked. Also hopeful throughout the story that the ending would culminate in
07:10something like that. And then really deeply gratified because I think that the ending
07:16so encompasses the satirical nature of the whole story.
07:20Oh my God. It sticks to landing so well. Congratulations, ladies. I appreciate it.
07:24Have a good day.
07:25Thank you so much.
07:27Is that the lights? David?
07:35Our friend is dead.