No, it was not an X-Men reference in “Him”

Of all sports, football is clearly better for horror. It is a violent battle and forces players to do things to their bodies that no one would do normally. This is why these players are so paid, which then opens a completely different box of worms. These points may seem obvious ways to evoke the kind of horror, but it is not something that happens very often. A horror sports film? It’s unique.

HimThe new film by director Justin Tipping and producer Jordan Peele, embraces all these things. He follows a young quarter of the college named Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) who is mysteriously invited to train with his idol, a legendary quarter named Isaiah White, played by Marlon Wayans. What Cameron discovers soon is that the price to pay to be the biggest of all time may not be something that he is ready to pay, but he may have no choice.

The film is now in theaters, and Io9 has spoken to its director, Justin Tipping, all about it. We discussed this strange mixture of sports and horror as well as the team and collaboration with Jordan Peele. The tilting spoke of the adaptation of the original script of the film by skip bronkie and zack akers and confirmed exclusively to IO9 that there is no X-Men connection in there, no matter what we thought they saw. Read all of this and more below.

Germain Lussier, io9: I am a big fan of sports films, so I was very excited to see your film. But I also know that sporting films and the genre very rarely mix, and when they do it, it is generally science fiction. Your Rollerblashes. Your Real steels. So what were your first thoughts when you realized that you will have the chance to make a sporting horror film, which is almost unprecedented?

Tipping Justin: I was so excited. I played sports all my life, a pile of sports. I arrived at university and I was playing football, and halfway, I said to myself definitively: “There is no way.” I was the worst. It was such a ridiculous idea, but she settled. So I found a film, then I became a film projectionist, and I found this new thing to put all the energy. Cinephile, you know. So I had this base. I studied film theory, film analysis and film history. And so I think that the basis of cinematographic language and history, seeing something like this mashup, I want to take the catalog and the guns and I said to myself: “Wait, there are no comps.” Since I can’t really indicate a composition that is told that way. So, I honestly put like a child in a candy store. Like, “shit.”

This means in a way that there is a new language that was necessary to do something that has never been done before. And then it’s exciting. And then you get it, and then you are a little terrified because you say to yourself: “Oh shit.” But I think it was the most enriching thing because all the people involved in the creative process were like: “Yeah, it will be difficult to break.” And it was a constant calibration through each part of the realization of this, the development, the shooting, the post, where it was like too many jokes of Tim Heidecker at any time, or not enough camp here, or not enough nuances here, somehow threw the reflux and the flow of tones. So it was incredible and terrifying.

Io9: yeah. I imagine. Do you think that the violent nature of football is crucial to do so? Like, maybe not this story, but could you imagine that there is a football horror film, a basketball, a horror film? Or is football just this good balance of faith?

Tipping: I think I did this one, I could see a path to go for other sports. The one I felt, and I said to Jordan when I saw him beat is perfect because the horror of the body is intrinsically integrated into the DNA of the game. Just the machismo, the ecstasy of victory, the agony of defeat. And these guys are very adjacent gladiators. And there are a lot of economic stories, and people simply understand that the “two smash” very essential “. He therefore lent himself to the perfect adjustment because of this. And once it was already working, and it’s really the way you put it, or that’s what you want to show or not want to show the game, and even the recovery of athletes, leans in the horror of the body. It was like: “Okay, well, we have it and we can always hang our hats.”

But for me, I really wanted to focus on psycho horror because the psychology of what is needed and the psychology of these professional athletes who do this every week, knowing what they risk, knowing what is at stake and doing it anyway, what it takes to push you to these limits, opened a whole different Jacob scale, the brilliant (thing). But also, it’s quite eclectic, I also did Tyriq Watch Holy mountain, Jodorowsky. Then Luca (Guadagnino) Sigh. Black swan And Sigh Have this movement, (as well as) these supernatural elements. He pulls a lot, I guess. And striking this Venn diagram in the middle of the ideal point where we serve both in one way or both.

Io9: What you can absolutely see. Now, I know you came on board after Jordan and the Monkeypaw team had already found the original script. I wonder what has changed the most of this initial script in what we finally see in theaters?

Tipping: The fundamental genre of Handicap The elements are still there, with the old QB and the new training together. I think what has changed the most are all visuals, visual language. And it is really, there was a change of structure where I think that in the original project, it has already been drafted, and it was a question of training for the season. And the biggest change was, what happens if he was not yet written? What he did is somehow increase the stakes to become more Rudy Or Friday evening lights Or a classic sports drama where you have everything to lose and everything is at stake. And I think it is this cropping that Monkeypaw (gave) which is more popcorn and a simplified understanding. He simply cropped what was going to happen or what could happen.

Io9: Okay, and after seeing the film, I know what you mean. Although I would say like a big fan of (the film Kevin Costner) Draft dayI would have liked to see a horror turning Draft day.

Tipping: Listen, there are things on the floor of the cutting room. Pages that I have made. Maybe I will show you.

Io9: (laughs) It would be great. Okay, then talk about working with Jordan. I read a little in the press notes on the way you were so flattered that he had seen your first film and how surreal. But talk about him as a creative partner and what he brought to the film. How was it to work with him? What were his contributions?

Tipping: Having the point of view of a filmmaker was invaluable because he could come after something I had done to be a bouncing painting. We were sitting down and that we had really browsed the scenes, and he could offer the point of view O, f like: “Well, what are you going to?” And then, “Oh, okay, well, what if?” And some of the most fun were these moments because it was like: “Oh, I can rally with someone.” As if we were just playing tennis and it was like “what if that?” And “What if that?” And it was just a lot of “yes and” that could help me reach a new idea or anything.

It was like: “Well, I bet that if you just made this sentence that the character of Jim Jeffries says, but if you mention it in this way, it’s the area.” And it’s just a word. Like, cut the mom when she says: “We all pray for …” instead of cutting her elsewhere in this sentence. He therefore has a completely different brain that is different from mine which serves this genre beats at a level that I say to myself: “Oh, I would never have thought that this word that would change the tone of a scene for the genre.”

And I think that another example would be the final scene of the film. I was like Charlie Day and this meme where he tried to understand everything. I was like “Oh my God”, because the film is crazy, really, then it ends there, and too many jokes of Tim, or like bad music or the bad rhythm, it would go too camp, that would be too seriously. So I remember presenting three different cuts to him and losing my head. And the three of he looked at and would come back and say to himself: “Okay, if you really want thatI’m sure you should try this, this. I will give you some notes. And then I said to myself: “Okay, great.” And I come back and I can do these notes.

And then we were able to see him together until it is, “oh, gee, thank God.” This is the advantage of having someone like Jordan Peele in my corner. I don’t think this film has succeeded unless it has my back. Sometimes I laugh. I say to myself, “I don’t know how I fled with that.”

Io9: It’s pretty, quite messed up. Okay, it could be false, and I would be embarrassed, but I have to ask. When Cameron arrives for the first time at the complex, in the hall, you see all the Isaiah championship rings and all that. Have I seen the Magneto helmet from X-Men in there? It is in the lower left corner of the door. Is it there, or have I thrown this?

Tipping: (Beat) I wish.

Io9: It really looks like that, but of course, you saw the film more than me.

Tipping: I wish because I am a 90 X-Men Cartoon Fan, and it makes me so happy. So I’ll just say yes.

Io9: (laughs) okay. Perfect.

Tipping: But everything was evocative of war or a kind of game, so it could be a gladiator.

Io9: Yes, that’s probably what it is, but he had a purple tone? Nevermind. This is probably my last thing, but I like that in the film, it is not always clear what is real and what is not. So what was it like finding this balance and letting people know when it was real, when it was not real, and how important it is throughout the film?

Tipping: This is the perfect example of that of a constant calibration. I definitely pushed it too far to the points, and it became poor confusion. And then sometimes, I overpalibrate, and it was like: “Very well, we all understand.” We have now lost part of the plot. I went to beat for rhythm, and I knew, in my heart and in our tradition, what was and what was not. So there would be things in the frame itself that would stay on or the Easter eggs and it was a bit like: “Well, look. If Reddit does their thing and they really investigate, it points to Xyz.” But that’s what it should feel. It shouldn’t be easy.

And look. I love shit like that. Jacob scale was a great influence on me. So, anyway that we could rely on the pleasure of having an unreliable narrator that we set up in these first 10 minutes, the more pleasure and mischief we could have. I was constantly trying to think about things to put in the frame. Many of these things were just me on the set, like putting a leather head or throwing it to someone. As if I had this thing on me all the time.

Io9: But not, the magneto helmet.

Him is now in theaters.

Do you want more iO9 news? Find out when you expect the latest Marvel outings, Star Wars and Star Trek, what is the next step for the DC universe on cinema and television, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.