Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, And The Zellner Brothers Talk SASQUATCH SUNSET

Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, and the Zellner Brothers talk Sasquatch Sunset with Cinema Scholars. Bleecker Street will release Sasquatch Sunset in Select Theaters on April 12 and Nationwide on April 19.

Introduction

Every region of the world has its own legendary creatures. From the Yeti of the Himalayan Mountains, Scotland’s Loch Ness Monster, or the Chupacabra in the Americas, regional cryptids have captured imaginations for generations. In the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., Bigfoot reigns as the most notorious mythical creature.

Known by Native Americans as Sasquatch, the legend of the mysterious hairy humanoid has been around since explorer David Thompson supposedly discovered its enormous footprints in the early 1800s. Though later grainy photographic evidence purports to prove the existence of the elusive biped, the legend of Bigfoot remains a contentious debate.

For the believers out there, the next logical questions naturally arise. If Sasquatch is really out there in the isolation of America’s northwest forests, how do they survive? What do they eat? Are there more than one? Do they procreate? Luckily, filmmakers and lifelong Bigfoot enthusiasts David and Nathan Zellner dare to answer these questions and more in their new film Sasquatch Sunset.

Known for their oddball brand of indie filmmaking, The Zellner Bros have made a name for themselves as festival darlings over the past 20 years. In 2018, the duo dipped their toes into the mainstream film world with the release of their Robert Pattinson/ Mia Wasikowska-starrer, Damsel.

With their latest outing, Sasquatch Sunset, the Zellners return to weirdness by imagining a world where the Sasquatch not only exist, but they live out the day-to-day challenges of any half-sentient beings living in the solitude of the backwoods. With zero dialogue and big-name stars like Jesse Eisenberg (who also produced the film) and Riley Keough hidden under Bigfoot bodysuits and makeup, the filmmakers manage to paint a funny and poignant picture of the fabled creatures.

Interview

Cinema Scholars’ Rebecca Elliott recently had the chance to interview co-directors David and Nathan Zellner, who also stars in the film, alongside fellow actors Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, and Christophe Zajac-Denek. They chat about pitching and getting Sasquatch Sunset greenlit, taking each other seriously on set in full costume, and considering other mystical creatures.

**Separate interviews were combined for clarity and cohesiveness

Rebecca Elliott:

Thank you so much for chatting with me today. Great to see you guys. I’m a South by Southwest attendee every year for a million years. You guys have always been a frequent presence and are sort of known for oddball indie filmmaking. But where in the heck did this come from? Is this something that you’ve been dreaming up for a while? Or was it just a recent eureka moment? Tell me where this came from.

David Zellner:

Nothing’s a recent eureka moment for us. It takes so long to make a movie. So it’s just which ideas stick with us long enough to keep fighting to make them. We’ve just been obsessed with Bigfoot since we were little kids. Both are part of American mythology and then just as a pop culture figure.

But all the Bigfoot footage that you were familiar with was always just them walking. Or just elusively poking out of the woods. It just started off as a joke. It’s like, “What else is it doing? What else is going on?”

Rebecca Elliott:

Was it difficult to pitch this script to potential talent? How stoked were you to find a cast that was on board with your vision for this?

Nathan Zellner:

It’s so unconventional, and there’s not a lot of comps for it. It’s like, “How do you pitch it?” But we just talked a lot with everyone about the tone that we were going for. And then just how unique of a project this is and why we fell in love with the reason we wanted to do it.

Thankfully, when we talked to Jesse and Riley and really everybody associated with it, it’s a project that you get or you don’t. Everybody was on board almost immediately. We didn’t have to sell it very hard to those who love it. I think that was very validating to us because we’d been living with it for a very long time. It was neat to see other people’s passion for it immediately with why we wanted to do it as well.

David Zellner:

It took a while to get going, as you could imagine. Then, Jesse, we’ve known Jesse for years, but he had never been in one of our films. We were nervous, but he responded. He got what we were going for with it, and that balance of humor and pathos.

His getting on board early on really validated it. Not only just as a co-star, but as a producer, and it was essential to getting off the ground. We couldn’t have done it without him.

Rebecca Elliott:

And for you guys coming into this project, what was your initial reaction whenever you read the script or heard the pitch? I have to know.

Jesse Eisenberg:

When I heard that they were writing this, I thought, “Oh, this sounds amazing, but I’ll never act in something with no dialogue.” It just seemed like such a stretch. It seemed like somebody who was not me would perform it. Somebody who’s a committed stunt player who knows how to work their bodies in a more adept way than me.

But then when I finally read the script, I realized within a page. Oh, this thing is really emotional and funny and dramatic in all the same ways as actors normally are trained to work. The pitch for this movie does not match up with what the actual movie is. Which is this very relatable, almost very human, funny, sad experience.

Rebecca Elliott:

Nathan, as a co-director, was it ever tough to be taken seriously in costume, and how did you navigate your on and off-screen duties?

Nathan Zellner:

Yeah. I mean, all four of us would get into makeup first thing in the morning. And it was a two-hour process. Then some days, my scene wouldn’t be until the end of the day or even one shot. We even had one where we pushed it, so I was just in costume all day without ever being in front of the camera.

But after the first day, for all the crew and everybody, just wearing the costume became very normal. It was just, “Oh, yeah, this is the strange project we’re all in together.” Everybody was so excited and loved to make all the weird stuff. They just liked being in that situation. They said, “Yeah, of course. One of the directors is going to be in makeup.”

David Zellner:

Like any movie, by day two, everything’s normalized.

Rebecca Elliott:

Can you tell me what it was like emoting under all of that fur? You mentioned leaning more into the physicality of the role. Can you talk a little bit about that and maybe some of your influences with that?

Christophe Zajac-Denek:

Yeah. Well, Jesse had worked with this movement coach in the past, and he came on. So we had this two, three-day Sasquatch boot camp. We spent a lot of time exploring the movements. And trying to explore the relationships and how we would interact with one another and around one another in certain ways. Just our communication through physicality.

It was really interesting. It was great to have that experience because we were able to work on the balance between how you act under all of the prosthetics and also matching with your eyes and your physical body movement. So Sasquatch boot camp was huge for us.

Rebecca Elliott:

Yeah, I bet it was pretty challenging with zero dialogue. So whenever you were telling friends and family about this project, how did you describe it? Lots of explaining or pretty straightforward?

Riley Keough:

I told my dad because I grew up with him telling me Sasquatch stories because he’s from Oregon. As far as I was concerned, growing up, it was a real thing. So everyone had a Sasquatch story.

My dad would show me in the hills of Oregon, where he heard a Sasquatch. It was very much a part of my upbringing. So I was very excited to tell him about the movie. He’s very excited to see it.

Rebecca Elliott:

That’s so cool. I love it. So it sounds like you’re definitely more of a believer. How about the rest of you? Are you believers in Sasquatch or even other mystical creatures of the world?

Jesse Eisenberg:

Yeah. Well, there are some we have to draw a line at. Like the scary ones. The ones that eat us. But the kind ones, the Sasquatches, those are great. I’m hopeful that they exist.

Christophe Zajac-Denek:

Since I was five, or six years old, as soon as I saw some film on TV about Sasquatches, they’ve always existed in my heart. I’m just so grateful that I got to actually play one in a film now!

Rebecca Elliott:

David and Nathan, are there any other legendary creatures that you guys want to dive into after this? Or are you done with mythical creatures?

David Zellner:

We love mythical creatures, but nothing more than Sasquatch. We love Bigfoot the most.

Rebecca Elliott:

All right. Well, thank you guys so much for chatting with me today. I really appreciate your time and good luck with everything. Thank you so much.

Jesse Eisenberg:

You too.

David Zellner:

Thanks so much for your time.

David Zellner:

I appreciate it, Rebecca.

Rebecca Elliott:

For sure!

Riley Keough:

Thank you so much.

Christophe Zajac-Denek:

Thank you.

Bleecker Street will release Sasquatch Sunset in Select Theaters on April 12 and Nationwide on April 19. In the meantime, check out the video for “The Creatures of Nature,” the lead single from Sasquatch Sunset featuring vocals by Riley Keough and music by The Octopus Project.

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