S3E27. Interview | A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE Director Michael Sarnoski

The Movies

Today, I interview Michael Sarnoski, the director of the new horror movie A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE. This is the prequel to the A QUIET PLACE franchise where humanity has adapted to live as silently as possible to survive an alien invasion. You make a noise, you get eaten.

But what if you don't know that? What if it's the first day the aliens land on Earth? What if they happen to land in New York, one of the loudest cities on the planet?

That's the approach DAY ONE takes, following hospice patient Samira (Lupita Nyong'o) as she navigates a city under rapid ruin, accompanied by idealist businessman Eric (Joseph Quinn) and her loyal cat Frodo.

This is the first installment of the franchise not to be directed by John Krasinski, instead helmed by director Michael Sarnoski, whose 2021 debut PIG (a fucking stellar justice-not-revenge drama) earned him the National Board of Review's award for Best Directorial Debut.

Speaking with Sarnoski, I got the feeling that he needs to not only have control of his creative sandbox but also undertake projects in a manner that sometimes completely defies what genre conventions would prefer. He marches to the beat of his own drum and dances to the swing of his own horns and the swells of his own orchestr-You get my drift.

We talk about the screenplay's importance as a foundational text, directorial approaches, writing what you halfway know and how fucking cool Jeff Nichols is. I hope you enjoy.

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Closing Song: "But I'm Alright"- Can't Hardly Wait