It’s been 16 years since writers Colin Trevorrow and long-time collaborator Derek Connolly penned the action comedy. Deep cover. Nearly two decades later, it is now up for an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Television Movie.
“Deep cover “It was initially set in America,” explains Trevorrow of the Amazon Prime Video film set in London. “We were about to give it up. We both went and did other things. After many years, I asked our producer, Walter F. Parkes, if I could bring it to the UK, where I lived for nearly 10 years. Once it got the go-ahead, British writers Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen joined in ‘rebuilding’ it.”
Deep cover It sees Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Muhammad play a trio of improv actors recruited by the police to infiltrate a gang in London’s criminal underworld. However, things get out of control very quickly. The film’s supporting cast includes Paddy Considine (MobLand, Dragon House), Ian McShane (John Wick, Dead wood) and Sean Bean (game of thrones, Lord of the Rings). This second tier of talent, known more for bold dramatic performances, brings gravitas Deep cover.
“Derek and I wanted this structure to be able to stand up as a cop thriller in its own right if it wasn’t a comedy, so it was essential to bring in people who would play characters who take themselves seriously,” says Trevorrow, who also produced the film. “Let Ian, Paddy and Sean come in and do a version of what we’ve seen them do before [in previous projects] – In this high space, it creates dangers for our three comical characters that feel very real. I feel like they’re going to die at certain points.
Howard, with whom the director worked Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Sovereigntyheadline news, but she came on board just when the shooting was about to start. This was her first time doing comedy.
“She was afraid of it, and I think when you’re afraid as an actress, that’s exciting,” Trevorrow says. “She was doing a relatively low-budget film in east London, shot mostly in the streets, but she threw herself into it. I was very proud of her as a friend for having the courage to put herself out there like that,” he adds, likening Howard’s dynamic of him being the only American in an all-British cast to Andie MacDowell in Four weddings and a funeral And Julia Roberts in Notting Hill.
Bloom’s character, an actor who takes himself seriously, was something a real actor wanted to have fun with.
“He was ready to pee, as the British expression goes,” Trevorrow says, laughing. “At the time we were talking about this, there were a lot of articles about the actors, and what they would do, so we took that and took it to the next level. It really worked. I love those surprises where it’s like a new actor.”
As Ashenden and Owen were reworking the original text, the character of Muhammad evolved along with… Ted Lasso The actor is in mind, given his friendship with the husband.
“This is the character that’s probably closest to Nick as a person out of the other things he’s played,” Trevorrow says, highlighting the subtlety and relatability of his performance. “He’s the weird guy who comes into comedy and he’s really just looking for friends. It’s a beautiful approach and angle. If anyone reading this interview wants to do a romantic comedy with Nick Muhammad, I’m all for it.”
“We’re really trying to get them thinking about casting Nick for James Bond,” Trevorrow continues, “so we’re finding ways to get inside Amazon. It’s there“.
When it comes Deep coverIn his appearance, Trevorrow used the unpredictability of London’s weather to his advantage, mimicking the work of the famous director who directed the film. Top Gun, Man on fire and True romance.
“We didn’t shoot it as a comedy,” he recalls. “We wanted it to look like a Tony Scott movie from the mid-’80s. When you shoot a movie that way, it suggests a different set of stakes. There’s a darkness that runs through it. The good thing about that is that England doesn’t necessarily have the best sunlight available on Earth, and if you’re making a moody crime movie, it’s perfect. It was always raining, it was always gray, and we just had to rely on that and the colors and saturation changes that happen naturally in a sunless movie.”
until Deep coverTrevorrow’s filming experience in the United Kingdom was limited to his two experiences Jurassic World films, where it was “beautifully contained” on the sound stages at Pinewood Studios. While Tom Kingsley was on the job of directing the hopeful action-comedy Amy, the writer-producer relished the opportunity to make a film in the setting where it was filmed.
“At a time when we were shooting a lot of movies in a completely different part of the Earth than they were supposed to be set in, you rarely had a sense of real place and environment in the movie,” he muses. “Not since then Safety is not guaranteed And the first Jurassic Film in Hawaii Did you manage to be in the place where the film was filmed?
Although Deep cover It premiered on Prime Video, and Trevorrow wants viewers to remember that it’s an independent film with a modest budget — not a studio film.
“The path to independent films doesn’t go through theaters like it used to, and I’m so grateful to Amazon and other streaming companies for continuing to support these films,” Trevorrow says. “This film may not run as an independent film because we wanted it to be able to compete with the other big-budget streaming films they’re producing, but it costs about 15 of the cost of one of these films.”
Trevorrow concludes, “I’ve got a WGA award for this. I never thought I’d win one in my life. I’m deeply honored. My wife put it outside the bedroom door so I can see it every morning to boost my self-esteem.”
This story first appeared in the June standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To obtain the magazine, click here to subscribe.
