Entertainment
Oz Perkins makes exquisite horror films. He's got it in his blood
Oz Perkins is no stranger to the public eye. His parents — fashion model Berry Berenson and “Psycho” star Anthony Perkins — were both celebrities. He’s no stranger to darkness either: His father was forced to live a life in the closet, and his mother died in one of the planes hijacked during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It’s a lot for one person’s family history.
Maybe because of this, horror movies have always been a part of Oz Perkins’ life. His fourth film, “Longlegs,” is his scariest. It follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) as she tracks down an Oregon serial killer (Nicolas Cage). It’s poised to be a major breakthrough for the director, thanks in part to a herculean marketing campaign from distributor Neon. It’s also completely terrifying, crafting an atmosphere of unrelenting dread.
One of Perkins’ most formative experiences was watching Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” He remembers the first time he saw it. “We used to take our summer vacations in Cape Cod, Mass., and we watched it in a house with these glass walls, and you could sort of see out into the woods,” the director, 50, recalls via a Zoom call from his Los Angeles home. “I remember trying to sleep with that backdrop. It was a rough night.”
When it comes to writing screenplays, Perkins always draws from his own experiences. “I made a decision early on that characters are going to essentially stand in for me in some way or another,” he says. The description of the glass-walled home where he watched “The Shining” is not unlike the one Monroe’s Harker inhabits in “Longlegs,” and her ability to see only a certain distance into the woods is a key aspect of a sequence.
A scene from the movie “Longlegs.”
(Neon)
His second feature, 2016’s eerie, slow-burning ghost story “I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House,” was dedicated to his father and even includes a clip of Perkins’ Oscar-nominated performance in William Wyler’s “Friendly Persuasion.”
“It was about how we want to know who our parents are, and sometimes we don’t get that desire until they’re gone,” he says. “It can be impossible to learn who someone is when they’re not around anymore.”
“Longlegs,” written and directed by Perkins, is about how “our parents can construct a story. It can be an old story that’s part of the family lore for generations, but it can also be a generational karma that’s passed down, something you have to continue to deal with and explain. A secret or challenge that can be withheld.”
That imposed secrecy, especially as related to his father, had an unmistakable effect on Perkins that continues to influence his work. “I think when one lives in that environment where there’s the whole, full truth — the concealed truth — and the version you’re fed,” Perkins says, “that creates layers of mystery, intrigue and curiosity. And that’s what I’ve tried to impart on the pictures that I make.”
Perkins has warm memories of his dad. He’s seen all of his films, although they didn’t watch them together. (“If your father’s a dentist, they don’t bring you in to look at people’s mouths,” Perkins remarks, sharply.) Instead of bonding over movies, father and son found kinship in their shared sense of dark humor. “My dad was known in his circles as being super dryly funny and came at things with an abstract and surreal sense of humor,” Perkins remembers. “And I’m proud to be able to express that myself, especially in the movies I make, which at times I really do think are quite funny.”
Maika Monroe in the movie “Longlegs.”
(Neon)
Horror thrives on the unexpected. “Longlegs” draws you in with familiarity before plunging you into something more unforgiving. Set in the 1990s and centered on an intuitive but untested female protagonist, its closest comparison is Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs,” a resonance Perkins uses to his advantage.
“The idea was to come in on the wings of ‘Silence of the Lambs’ and use it to do something radically different,” Perkins says. The idea of employing a film as dark as Demme’s crime landmark as a palate cleanser for “Longlegs” shows just how nasty Perkins’ movie is.
Though the thriller builds an impressive mood over time, the scares are there from the start. That’s a deliberate move by Perkins. “You want to make sure the audience is with you as soon as they can be,” he says.
It’s a lesson he learned from the great filmmaker Mike Nichols, who took Perkins under his wing after his father died in 1992 when Oz was 18. Says Perkins, “Mike demonstrated to me that as a director, you have the ability, power and opportunity to plant a point of view into everything you do, and if you want to give your film body, texture and depth, it’s essential.”
He looked beyond the horror genre to establish the movie’s unique visual style, pushing cinematographer Andres Arochi toward the work of director Gus Van Sant. “If you plant the seed of something unexpected,” Perkins says, “it automatically turns artists onto a different channel. ‘My Own Private Idaho’ is going to be a far more important reference than ‘Rosemary’s Baby.’”
Though Perkins’ films are terrifying, actors love working with him. “Oz’s filmmaking style is a relaxed, humble confidence with a twist of ironic humor,” “Longlegs” co-star Blair Underwood writes via email. “His dash of humor is just the icing on the cake to create a creatively safe and daring work environment.”
“He lets his work breathe through others and doesn’t hold on so tight that he strangles it,” adds Monroe.
That sense of freedom is exactly what lured Cage to deliver some truly inspired work as the titular Longlegs — a deeply unnerving performance (even for him). He lives in a dark lair with a T. Rex poster. His hair is long, lanky and gray, makeup a corpse-like white, and prosthetics render his face into something masklike and practically inhuman. Longlegs suddenly bursts into chilling bouts of song. Cage is unrecognizable with a high-pitched raspy voice; you’d be forgiven for having no idea he’s even in this.
It’s the kind of role that requires a complete commitment, and that’s exactly what Cage delivers. “It was clear what a deliberate, careful, considerate and focused actor — and human being — he is,” Perkins recalls thinking from their first meeting.
They found themselves sharing ideas at all hours, with Cage sending Perkins voice notes of potential options for Longlegs late into the night. “It was both of us doing it together at all times,” the filmmaker says. “No part of Nic is in it for himself. He likes to collaborate as much as anybody I’ve ever met.”
While filming “Longlegs,” Cage didn’t want to mingle with cast or crew after each day’s shooting, keeping his focus entirely on his role. This wasn’t in a Method actor way, Perkins assures me, but because that isolation served one of the film’s most harrowing scenes: Longlegs and Harker meeting for the first time. That was also the first time Monroe met Cage. She had no idea what he’d look like, sound like or act like.
“It felt like I was really loading the deck for an opportunity to get some real emotion and presence in a scene,” Perkins says. Because of Cage’s commitment, they were able to capture a moment of genuine shock and spontaneity that’s sure to rattle audiences.
Perkins has already filmed his next movie, “The Monkey,” based on a 1980 Stephen King short story. But bracing for another all-out horror excursion would be a mistake, he insists.
“‘The Monkey’ is nothing like ‘Longlegs’ in any way,” Perkins assures me. He describes it as a comedy “with lots of really extreme cartoon gore” and counts “An American Werewolf in London,” “Gremlins” and “Death Becomes Her” as references.
Perkins also returns to acting in “The Monkey,” something he’s not done since Jordan Peele’s “Nope.” His first performance was as a young Norman Bates in 1983’s “Psycho II.” Typically, he finds the lack of control in acting nerve-racking, which is why he’s largely transitioned to behind the scenes.
For Perkins, though, you get a sense that challenging himself as much as the viewer is part of the fun. “That’s the whole game, isn’t it?” he says. “Give them what they don’t think they want.”
Entertainment
Lucas Museum to give free annual passes to South L.A. neighbors, host community preview day
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is moving at light speed toward its Sept. 22 opening, announced Thursday that it will give free annual passes to its South L.A. neighbors living in the 90037 ZIP Code. The 300,000-square-foot, $1-billion museum located in Exposition Park will also host a special community preview day on Sept. 13, more than a week before the general public gets to step inside.
The 90037 ZIP Code has a population of more than 65,000 and is bordered roughly by the 110 Freeway to the west, Slauson Avenue to the south, Central Avenue to the east and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north. Residents can register for passes at lucasmuseum.org/lm37 and will be alerted in August when the program launches. Pass holders can reserve tickets for themselves and one guest.
Tickets for non-pass holders go on sale July 21. They cost $25 for adults and $21 for seniors. Kids 17 and under are free.
“Storytelling has the power to bring people together and create a sense of community,” said Lucas Museum Chief Executive Tracey Bates in a news release about the program. “Through LM37, we are inviting our South Los Angeles neighbors to make the museum part of their lives and take their own path of discovery through the art, programs and experiences that will help shape this new cultural hub for Los Angeles.”
The community preview day is designed to give local business owners, community partners, civic leaders and registered LM37 pass holders a sneak peak of the 10,000 square feet of exhibition space, as well as the expansive gardens with 11 acres of park space.
The opening programming, curated by co-founder George Lucas, features 20 inaugural exhibitions across more than 30 galleries, including one titled “Star Wars in Motion,” containing vehicle designs, high-speed racers, flying vessels, props, costumes and illustrations from the first six films in the beloved franchise.
More than 1,200 objects will be on display from Lucas’ personal collection of narrative art. Highlights include work by Norman Rockwell and Dorothea Lange, as well as a variety of manga, children’s book illustrations and comics.
Movie Reviews
Movie review: Supergirl is a blast
Last year’s “Superman” ended with Iggy Pop singing “Because I’m a punk rocker, yes I am” — an ironic coda for a superlatively square hero. But it rings straightforwardly true for Superman’s cousin.
Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El, or Supergirl, sports not a spandex suit but a Blondie T-shirt. When we meet her in Craig Gillespie’s “Supergirl,” she’s been on an interstellar bender for days. She’s more Courtney Love than Clark Kent.
Nonchalant and sarcastic, Kara is also a little Han Solo-ish, you might say, given that she moves capriciously through the galaxy in her junky spaceship while getting in fights in extraterrestrial bars. She’s a welcome, jagged riff on more buttoned-up superheroes, and Alcock is terrific in the role. If only “Supergirl” was as good as she is.
While the latest DC release, and second under James Gunn’s stewardship, has its moments, “Supergirl” struggles to match Kara’s punk-rock energy with an equally spirited supporting cast and story.
Skepticism seems to have gathered for “Supergirl” ahead of its release. Many fans have argued it wasn’t the right next step for DC Universe. But I’m not so sure. Alcock’s breezy cameo in “Superman” was one of that movie’s highlights. Handing the follow-up to her, and her faithful floating dog Krypto, strikes me as an extremely natural next step. When in doubt, follow the dog.
And much of “Supergirl” is winning. It resides almost entirely in space, touching down only momentarily on Earth. In its consistently creative production design, clever needle drops and underdog story arc, “Supergirl” resides a little closer to Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies than other DC entries. Its outer space is filled with cosmic detritus, mean characters and cute critters. Seth Rogen as the voice of a tiny alien co-piloting a space bus is an inspired concoction, as is a shabbier sci-fi realm with rest stops along the intergalactic highway.
Entertainment
Justin Baldoni and wife break silence after ‘It Ends With Us’ legal battle with Blake Lively
Justin Baldoni has broken his silence after reaching a settlement in a lengthy and highly publicized legal dispute with Blake Lively.
Baldoni and his wife, Emily Baldoni, presented a united front in an Instagram video the couple shared Wednesday that began, “So we have not spoken publicly for the better part of the last two years, and it’s not because we haven’t had anything to say, because Lord knows we have.”
The “It Ends With Us” actor and director said that although they’d wanted to address the debacle that involved dueling lawsuits with Lively, nearly two years of tit-for-tat fodder and culminated in a confidential settlement, “something was telling us not to.”
The couple said they prayed about when to make a public statement. “This feels like the moment,” Emily said.
“What does feel important,” she continued, “is that we can genuinely say that we are sitting here today feeling immense gratitude for so many things and so many people and so many things that have happened to us.”
“Gratitude has saved us,” Justin added.
“I also feel that it’s important as we say that — in that gratitude — it doesn’t negate the injustice and the pain that we have also felt in the last few years, and we’ve had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand so many things,” Emily said. “How could something like this even happen? Let alone disguised as a fight for women. So much to unpack. And the truth is, reality is, is that there’s been a lot of trauma for us to move through as a family, which also makes it hard to speak.”
“We don’t even know this is the right thing to say, but we just know we need to share something,” Justin said. “What I will say is that there have been so many painful things that have been spoken into existence — “
“Untruthful,” Emily broke in.
“We didn’t want to add to the noise, so we just wanted to let the justice system run its course,” he said.
“And the truth and the facts have spoken for themselves,” Emily said.
The couple’s statement comes a year and a half after Lively filed a bombshell lawsuit against Baldoni alleging sexual harassment, retaliation and several other charges on the heels of a messy “It Ends With Us” summer release and press tour that fueled rumors of on-set turmoil.
Less than a month after the allegations against Baldoni rallied Hollywood against him, he countersued Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for $400 million in damages, claiming they’d smeared his name in the press and wrestled away his control of the film. His suit was later dismissed.
In May, two weeks ahead of the trial, Lively and Baldoni reached an agreement to resolve their legal dispute, bringing an abrupt end to the contentious battle.
“The parties in the Blake Lively and Wayfarer Studios litigation have reached an agreement to resolve the matters,” lawyers for both sides said in a joint statement.
“The end product — the movie ‘It Ends With Us’ — is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind. We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments. It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.”
In June, a federal judge ordered Baldoni and his production company to pay Lively’s attorney fees related to his unsuccessful defamation lawsuit against her, but rejected her bid for additional damages.
“So, how are we doing?” the filmmaker said in the Instagram video. “We are healing, and if you’ve ever been through something traumatic, you know that healing isn’t linear. It lives different every day, and we have had to rethink for ourselves what is real. What matters, and it’s this. It’s our family. It’s our friends. It’s our community. It’s our faith.”
Times staff writer Josh Rottenberg contributed to this report.
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