When production started on The hunt (now released on Peacock) in early 2019, no one could have predicted just how controversial the film would end up being. The bloody satire co-produced by Blumhouse and Universal Pictures had only one purpose: to castigate the deep ideological chasm that divides the United States and the crazies one is likely to find on the other side of its two-party system.

“It felt like we were going to do something that Mel Brooks would have done if he was an action movie director,” the film’s cinematographer, Darran Tiernan, told SYFY WIRE on Zoom.

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While the Hostel meets The most dangerous game Screenplay by Damon Lindelof (watchmen) and Nick Cuse (station eleven) was larger than life, Tiernan and director Craig Zobel (the two had previously worked together on TV shows like Westworld And american gods) was looking for a more grounded visual language.

“One thing that came out pretty quickly was that we both thought the movie needed to be pretty realistic,” says the cinematographer. “I know it wasn’t to everyone’s taste. I think I’ve seen some pretty harsh reviews about ‘It’s pretty dreary’ and stuff like that. I just think it was realistic. So when you watch it, you feel like it’s real, even if it’s very heightened. It’s hyper-real.

The rise and fall (and rise) of The hunt

Once the plot details (wealthy and politically posturing ‘elites’ chase conspiracy and bigoted ‘deplorables’ for sport) became public knowledge, the public outcry – which included a tweet from the president of the time, Donald Trump – forced the hand of the studio. The project was ripped from its release in late September 2019 and set aside indefinitely. Rather ironic, given the film’s deference to the works of anti-censorship poster child George Orwell.

“Interestingly enough, none of these people had seen the movie, so that’s what was pretty hilarious about it,” Tiernan said. “I don’t think anyone should react to extremists that way. It’s the same as trying to ban books. It’s silly, especially when people haven’t read them or even tried to read them. to understand.”

The gesture of putting The hunt on ice was a real blow, admits the DP, who goes on to explain that despite its comedic elements, The hunt “touches on some very important things” about America and the world beyond. “I think if there’s a message in the movie for me, it’s, ‘Everybody’s wrong. [and] we need to meet more in the middle. ‘”

After several clever misdirections at the start of an airy 90-minute run, SHINE (and now Mrs. Davis) alum Betty Gilpin takes the lead as the taciturn, single voice of reason, Crystal May Creasey, “a character of any kind who really wants to get away and doesn’t want to be in this place,” Tiernan notes. Of course, Crystal isn’t an easy target, as the morons trying to kill her soon find out.

“Every sequence of Betty was always incredibly enjoyable [to shoot] because Betty is an amazing actress and she has such reach,” the DP says. “She really had fun with the character; she could play with it and see where Crystal came from.”

The studio ended up pushing the film’s release back to mid-March 2020, which resulted in another stroke of bad luck: an emerging pandemic was about to shut down the world until further notice.

The hunt played on the big screen for no more than a week in North America, grossing just under $6 million domestically before Universal decided to release the title on VOD platforms. In a way, however, the delay ultimately felt fitting, with the film presciently arriving at the dawn of a vicious division based on how to behave properly during a global health crisis.

RELATED: Universal Cancels The Hunt Release After Latest Gun Violence

“I think because it didn’t go into theaters and the pandemic happened, we may have been somewhat sheltered from [more controversy]“, Tiernan reflects. “The times were not normal, it was not like we were all outside and talking about things. I like to hear that people found it a few years after it came out. I appreciate that people watched it and appreciated it for what it is.”

International ticket sales boosted the film final box office gross at $12.4 million, while another $4.6 million in home video sales brought the film to $17 million (not enough to recoup the $18 million production budget, though). Had The hunt performed better financially, a sequel could have been greenlit. Talk to ScreenRant in March 2020, Lindelof, Cuse and Zobel raised the idea of ​​a second film, stating that the field of wild conspiracy theories represents “a very fertile space for storytelling.”

Could there have been a sequel to The hunt?

Tiernan, on the other hand, reveals that there “was talk” on set of a Die hard with a vengeance-esque follow-up involving the sister of Athena Stone (Hilary Swank), the main antagonist of the first film and organizer of the titular bloodbath.

“I don’t remember the pitch exactly, but it may be that the character of Hilary Swank had a twin sister and then she came after Crystal,” he said. “But a lot more cat and mouse, which would have been fun. I don’t know if it was a joke or if they were just talking to each other, but I thought it was a really interesting premise for a sequel. But who knows, I know Damon just finished his new show, Mrs Davis, which also contains Betty. He’s obviously a big fan [of hers] and I know Craig is a huge Betty fan. I’m sure they’ll work together again.”

What to expect from The Penguin spin-off series coming to Max

Tiernan is currently in New York, working as the director of photography on The Penguin series based on Matt Reeves The Batman. Slated to drop on the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max next year, the 8-episode spin-off will follow Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot (an unrecognizable Colin Farrell) as he amasses a vast criminal empire after the death of Carmine Falcone (John Turturro).

“It’s planned a few days later The Batman Ends and it was extremely enjoyable because Colin is amazing and I only ever see him as Oz or the Penguin,” Tiernan admits. “I don’t even remember what he really looks like. It’s been quite a journey [and] I can’t wait for people to see it.”

To properly mimic the aesthetic established by the film, Tiernan had “lots of conversations with” Reeves and his cinematographer, Greig Fraser. At the same time, it was decided The Penguin would be given the leeway to forge its own stylistic path.

The BatmanThe signature style of… is gorgeous and I can’t believe it hasn’t been nominated for an Oscar because I’ve over-analyzed it at this point and it’s pretty amazing the work they’re doing. did. The Batman is really the story of Batman,” says Tiernan. “So as much as we honor this world of Gotham, The Penguin has a [separate] story and which creates its own energy, its own kinetic energy. I hope it will be an excellent bridge between Batman 1 And batman 2which will eventually start filming late this year or early next year.”

He concludes: “I think we have honored [the movie] good enough, but are also evolving him to honor the Penguin’s story because he’s a different character. It has great scripts and we had a lot of fun shooting it. Colin is so watchable as the Penguin and all the other actors in it… there’s like comedy and stuff you read on the page and there’s no way I thought it was funny until let them deliver it. And you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ So it’s been really interesting.”

The hunt is now streaming on Peacock alongside all episodes of Mrs. Davis.