“THE WRATH OF BECKY is about a 16-year-old girl whom sets out to slaughter a bunch of insurrectionists in a quest to avenge her loved ones, remedy some trauma, and protect her country. Did we use “whom” correctly there? I think we did.” Filmmaker Matt Angel on THE WRATH OF BECKY which screens at SxSW Film & TV Festival.
Welcome to SxSW 2023! Are you attending your screenings in person?
This is our first time at SXSW and we’re beyond excited. And yes, we will be at the opening screening of our film. With bells on. Maybe not bells. But Matt will be wearing a jumpsuit in honor of Becky’s costume in the film. Suzanne isn’t thrilled about this decision.
How did this whole project come together?
We had been trying to find something to do with the Boulderlight group for a few years when J.D. Lifshitz called Matt and asked, “You wouldn’t, by any chance, want to do a sequel to that film we did in 2020 called BECKY, would you?” This call came in on December 16, 2021. The date is seared into Matt’s memory because the next sentence out of J.D.’s mouth was, “We have no idea what it would be, and we would need a script in three weeks.” Challenge accepted! We found the first movie to be a lot of fun. We also really wanted to work with Lulu Wilson. We had known the Wilson family for years — they were our neighbors. And there is no cooler human on this planet than Lulu Wilson; that is not hyperbole. But the biggest selling point was that we were looking to do a different type of film than the two we had done prior. We wanted to have some fun. Our first film was inspired by really dark, psychologically disturbing films, like Michael Haneke’s FUNNY GAMES. (We love Haneke. We’re deranged). But we are also obsessed with all things Tarantino, or Edgar Wright, or Guy Ritchie. Films with very distinct voices that know exactly what they are. We were ready to shake things up and dip our toe into that space.
While working on a project, what is your creative process? Do you have any particular ritual or tradition when working on something?
We watch a lot of movies when we are writing or in prep. At least one a day. Sometimes, if writer’s block is winning the day, we will watch three or four movies, just to get the juices flowing — we learn a lot doing this, and it inspires us. When it comes to co-directing, we have a rule book. We actually call it The Ten Commandments of Co-Directing. (There are technically twelve, but The Twelve Commandments of Co-Directing wasn’t as catchy). But, yeah, we are married — partners on and off set. And we want to still like each other when we go home at night. So, before we ever stepped onto a set together as co-directors, we outlined some things that were necessary. Full disclosure: we actually did this with a couple’s therapist. No joke. The most important commandment is, “Never give up. Never surrender.” This one is all about fighting for your vision, but never throwing your hands up simply to make the other person happy. That breeds resentment. It also destroys the creative process. We won’t bore you with the other 11 commandments. With regard to traditions, two come to mind. First, we start every day by gathering the crew around to say hello, thank them for the hard work they’re doing, and remind them that we’re there to make a movie, and have fun doing it. The crew are our teammates; we’re nothing without each and every one of them. That’s a really important tradition that lies at the core of how we run our sets. The second tradition started on The Wrath of Becky and we think will continue. When we would drive back to the hotel at night with our DP, Julia Swain, and our 1st AD, Alex Burstein, we would each give a high and low for the day. It was a good way to live in gratitude and learn from experiences. It also felt really good to vent when you’re that tired.
If you had one favourite moment out of this entire project, the “Yes, this is IT” moment, what would that be?
Wow. It’s hard to pick. We have different answers. Both are spoilers, so we’ll be vague. Matt: My “IT” moment was the moment when we shot Becky killing Twig. It was incredible. There wasn’t a single crew member whose jaw wasn’t on the ground watching Lulu give that performance. Suzanne: My “It” moment was the moment when we shot Becky killing DJ. This wasn’t in the original script. We were halfway through production when Matt had the idea and pitched it to the team. Two weeks later, we were on location in the middle of nowhere, doing a very cool thing, which I won’t spoil.
I love to get technical, so I would love to know about the visual design of the movie from the cameras you used and the formats and your relation to the cinematographer.
We wanted The Wrath of Becky to stand on its own two feet. We were excited to satisfy fans of the first film, but we also wanted to be sure people who had not seen the first film could watch this movie and enjoy it from top to bottom. A good sequel must have impactful character evolution. And with that character evolution, must come impactful visual evolution. We wanted The Wrath of Becky to visually embody Becky 2.0. This time around, Becky is faster, sleeker, and smoother, so our camera had to be faster, sleeker, and smoother. This time around, she is more in control, so our camera needed to be more controlled. This time around, Becky is bolder, so our visual design had to be bolder. The bad guys aren’t coming to her and forcing her into a state of survival. No. Becky is bringing the thunder to them. She isn’t hiding. She is running around in a bright red jumpsuit. As a result, we really leaned into the primary colors in this world so things would pop. What we set out to do on this film, at this budget level, was very ambitious, to say the least. And we pulled it off, in large part, because of our cinematographer, Julia Swain. We couldn’t have done this without her. We shot on the Arri Alexa Mini LF. With regard to lenses, we had used anamorphic lenses on our first two films, but knew from the get-go that they did not feel right to us for The Wrath of Becky. Julia introduced us to Arri’s DNA lenses. They blew our minds. We were immediately sold. And, by the way, special shout out to Arri for supporting this project in such a big way and giving us the tools we needed to accomplish our vision.
What are you looking forward to the most about showing your project at SxSW 2023?
The audience! No one has said to us, “The audience at SXSW are just meh.” Apparently, you won’t find a greater audience, and this movie is meant to be a crowd pleaser.
Where is this going next? More festivals or a theatrical or streaming release?
After SXSW, we head to New Orleans for Overlook Film Festival, which should be a blast. And in mid-April, the film is having its international premiere in Belgium at BIFFF (Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival), which is supposed to be a wild genre fest. Then, into the world. We hear Quiver is doing a limited theatrical release and then it will be available to rent, etc. But we are not sure of a date yet. Unless we are forgetting something. Maybe we’re the wrong people to ask.
How do you feel about the current moviegoing climate? Are you wishing more people to see movies in theatres, or is it okay to opt for a streaming release where more people could potentially see a movie?
Theaters, theaters, theaters! Streaming has its perks, sure, but… theaters. Did we mention we prefer theaters?
What is the one thing that you would say to someone who is looking to get into movies, even now in such a changing world?
Do not wait for someone to give you permission to make a movie. Go make a movie. It is how we got started. It is how so many of our friends got started. It is something we CONTINUE to do. We STILL do not wait for people to tell us we can make a movie. You just have to do it. That does not mean it is easy. It is the opposite of easy. It is hard, hard work. But you can do it. And yes, the world is changing. But part of that change is the emergence of technology that makes it possible to go make your own content. Most people will not take this advice. That is why if YOU do, you will stand out from the rest.
And final question: what is the greatest movie you have ever seen?
My favorite movie of all time is One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. It’s a perfect film. The acting, writing, directing. The casting. The music. It’s perfect. I cannot find a single flaw in that film. I saw it for the first time when I was 11. It wrecked me. To this day, it wrecks me. When a film can affect you for 21 years, and counting? That’s cinema. Suzanne: Dr. Strangelove/anything Kubrick, really. But Dr. Strangelove was one I saw when I was 15 and ever since, when people ask me what my favorite film is, I just blurt out, “Dr. Strangelove!” It blends genres in such a masterful way. We actually have two movie posters, side-by-side in our house. Cuckoo’s Nest and Dr. Strangelove.
This film and many others like it will be showing at South By Southwest taking place March 10-19. For more information point your browser to www.sxsw.com!