Interceptor Director Matthew Reilly on Elsa Patak and Finding A Role for Chris Hemsworth
37The threat of war with Russia looms ever nearer, so Interceptor seems like the film we all need right now. Written and directed by Matthew Reilly, the film takes a look at what would happen if malevolent forces took control of America's two interceptor stations: places where American forces have a limited window to shoot down incoming Russian bombs.
The action film stars Elsa Pataky as an Army captain who is assigned to an interceptor base in the middle of the ocean. She is barely there for a few hours when they come under attack by Russian pawns who are determined to take control of the site so that their bombs hit their American targets. What evolves is 90 minutes of pulse-pounding action.
Reilly, whose career started as a novelist, spoke to Collider about the difference between writing a novel and writing a screenplay ("A novel is like running a marathon; writing a screenplay is like Usain Bolt running a 100-meter sprint at the Olympics"); why Interceptor was better suited for the screen than a novel; and how the work experience is more communal on a film set.
Interceptor also marked Reilly's directorial debut. "I've been waiting for 36 years, since I saw the making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi on TV," he explains. He spoke about getting ready for this new position, making sure that the film wasn't sold without him attached as director, and directing the entire script in, essentially, a single, small room. "Keeping a story in a confined space is a writing challenge," he says, but continues by assuring us that "that command center is just, intrinsically, interesting."
The official synopsis is as follows:
The tough and reality-bruised Captain JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky) finds herself in charge of a lone nuclear missile interceptor base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after she is wrongfully drummed out of her dream job at the Pentagon. When a simultaneous coordinated attack then threatens the base itself, Collins comes face-to-face with the charismatic yet crooked Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey), a former US military intelligence officer intent on carrying out an unthinkable plan. With only minutes on the clock, Collins must utilize her years of tactical training and military expertise to determine who she can trust and stop Kessel and his covert mercenaries from completing their twisted and terrible mission.
Interceptor premieres on Netflix on June 3.
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