ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with director John R. Leonetti about Lullaby and his work on Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Lullaby is now enjoying in theaters and thru video-on-demand.
“A new mother who discovers a lullaby in an ancient book and soon regards the song as a blessing,” reads the movie’s synopsis. “But her world transforms into a nightmare when the lullaby brings forth the ancient demon Lilith.”
Tyler Treese: What did you discover most enjoyable about exploring Jewish folklore? With Lilim and Lilith, there’s such a deep historical past and mythology there.
John R. Leonetti: That’s precisely proper. I didn’t know something about it earlier than. You’re proper on. When I learn the script, I used to be simply so impressed together with her character and the depth of the historical past. So I begin Googling her, proper? And she is such a posh character — she’s lovely. She’s haunted. She was screwed by Adam and God, in a method, to be thrown to the wolves, as a result of she was equal to Adam, born out of his rib, you understand? And got here again as a result of her intuition was to have kids, like every mom. That’s from all time to now. It’s a really highly effective factor, let’s simply put it that method. So, what’s attention-grabbing, within the script, is that if now Vivian, Rachel’s sister, loses her son and he or she even goes to the depths of engaging her sister to go and to open up the portal once more so she will go get her child.
And on the finish of the film, as soon as the twist occurs … now, let’s face it, Rachel will do something she will to go and get her son again. That, to me, is tremendous highly effective. simply assume it’s complicated as a result of it’s about love for youngsters. On the opposite hand, it’s about retribution to the max.
You actually play into the concern and paranoia of parenthood. We’re all the time questioning, “What can go wrong?” And one thing as innocuous as a lullaby results in this loopy story. How enjoyable was it to mess around with the dynamic of parenthood there?
I’m a father or mother myself and I bear in mind all that. I simply assume that there’s nothing extra highly effective than … this can be a higher technique to say it: crucial issues in life are those it’s important to work the toughest for. I’ve discovered parenting might be the toughest one, however what you get from having kids … the rewards are big — often not all the time. I imply, it’s very complicated. Parents go into this with, “Oh my God,” from the second of beginning. It’s this sense that’s uncontrollable, by way of how a lot love there may be, but additionally the frontier forward and the way do you cope with it? I’ve acquired, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law proper now that … their three-year-old is simply giving them plenty of shit.
We’re all so sensible, so manipulative, to the purpose the place it might even break — and that’s not going to interrupt up their marriage, I don’t imply that — however they’re stressing proper now. That occurs to everyone. Parenting is the toughest factor, but it’s crucial factor. It’s household and all that. I come from an Italian household and my dad had 26 grandkids and great-grandkids earlier than he handed. Our household may be very shut. It’s only a very deep state of affairs the place they assume they acquired it licked after which, impulsively, they don’t. From then on, shit hits the fan, you understand?
You’ve been a mainstay within the horror style for the previous decade and your cinematography work is past that. When you’ve labored on this many movies, how do you retain developing with methods to maintain it contemporary?
First of all, bounce scares are an anomaly which might be all the time to be reckoned with. I hate them and I really like them, so we’ll put that to the aspect for proper now. What was attention-grabbing about this lullaby is — you bought to it from the start. The lore, the mythology was historic Hebrew — very attention-grabbing. So the pallet is totally different, however on this one, what was nice immediately was the truth that they used mirrors to return to as a portal. I’ve labored with beam splitters, which is Ghost Glass, [as] we name it, as a cinematographer and photographer for years. Many, many, a few years. I instantly found out we might do this stuff in digital camera with a beam splitter and with lighting and stability.
And it was one of many first instances I’ve been ready to make use of that method that I’m very accustomed to. So that excited me and I hadn’t seen it a lot earlier than. I don’t know if that solutions the query, however that’s positively one facet of it that was cool. To be capable to create a lullaby, to create the e-book, to create Lilims, these bizarre creatures — all that was an enormous problem, truly, to do – particularly in our pretty meager finances and time. It was simply distinctive stuff that allowed the crew to make use of among the standard stuff, I suppose. Because there’s positively strategies on this film that repeat, even to a level, from say, Annabelle. I don’t know if that solutions the query, however I feel it’s set the stage for me to strategy it from totally different sides within the coronary heart. In the essence of the mythology that allowed it to be perhaps a bit totally different.
One factor that’s attention-grabbing concerning the ending is there’s a lot extra to play with on this world — particularly with the mythology and every part you constructed round in. Is that one thing you’d doubtlessly be open to sooner or later, or what was your aim with the ending?
It’s an apparent ending to have, doubtlessly, a sequel. It is, after all. How a lot enjoyable would that be? I’d like it. I feel it’s tremendous attention-grabbing, and sure, I’d. Are we planning on it? The film’s popping out. The method it’s popping out now, let’s simply see what occurs and the way folks react. It’s fairly attention-grabbing. People have responded very well to this thus far. If there’s sufficient demand for it, I positively would. I’d like to work with Alcon [Entertainment] and David [Tish] and Lee [Nelson] — the producers — as properly. They’re fantastic folks and we’re an amazing staff. If that ever occurred, that’d be nice.
Your directorial profession began with Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. In retrospect, how do you view your time on that? Because it needed to be fairly the training expertise.
Oh my God, you know the way that began? It was virtually like as a whim, as a joke. I used to be known as by Larry Kasanoff’s workplace and his assistant, who I’d labored with on the primary movie. They mentioned, “Would I be interested in shooting the second one?” I had labored with the director just lately, who was a beautiful particular person, however simply pretty missing truthfully. People have informed me my entire life … after I was a digital camera operator, after I was an assistant cameraman, I had some folks say, “You should direct.” And I didn’t even actually give it some thought. So it’s unconscious, is the purpose. When they known as to ask me, “Would you be interested in shooting the second one?” I mentioned, “I’d love to, but I think I’d rather direct it.” It simply popped out of my mouth and two weeks later, I used to be directing a 35-million greenback film that was on 4 continents, a thousand folks labored on the film, 400 visible results photographs. It was a gnarly problem, however I had such nice assist round me — principally — that I simply mentioned, “Screw it, let’s go. Let’s do it!” Overall it was an incredible expertise. It was a mind-blowing expertise, truly.
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