Jesse Eisenberg thinks “Sasquatch Sunset” is among the greatest scripts of the past decade.
The “Social Network” star stopped by the IndieWire Studio at Sundance, presented by Dropbox and revealed that the upcoming film “Sasquatch Sunset” was “one of the top five greatest scripts I’ve read in my life,” despite having no dialogue.
The feature debuts at 2024 Sundance before being released in theaters April 12 by Bleecker Street. David and Nathan Zellner co-direct, using a script penned by David Zellner. Ari Aster executive produces under his Square Peg banner, along with co-star Riley Keough’s Felix Culpa production company.
“It’s one of the top five greatest scripts I’ve read in my life,” Oscar-nominated star Eisenberg told IndieWire’s Christian Blauvelt. “It’s so brilliant, a very unusual, most likely impossible to pull off premise, and then fill it with the funniest, sweetest, touching, kind of almost human story. It transcends the fact that these characters are not humans and yet it still feels relatable.”
Keough agreed, saying, “It was an amazing script. It was so funny and like Jesse said, so touching and incredibly well-written and hilarious. I could tell by reading the directions that I would have a similar sensibility as them and I found the same things funny and I think that’s always really exciting. I absolutely responded to it. They also sent this lookbook for it too, sort of like what the sasquatch would look like and how it would feel. It was beautiful. I’ve never read anything like this in my life. There’s a lot of silliness in the script but we were being sincere in our performances.”
Screenwriter, co-director, and actor David Zellner shared that he was worried how longtime friend and “The Art of Self-Defense” co-star Eisenberg would react to the “Sasquatch Sunset” script. Eisenberg is also at the festival as the writer and director of “A Real Pain,” his sophomore feature.
“Jesse was the first to get involved. We have known him for about 15 years, I think,” Zellner said. “We didn’t know how he would react.” Zellner added that the wordless film centers on the “grey area of human and animal behavior,” with Eisenberg, Keough, and actor Christophe Zajac-Denek all playing a family of Sasquatches.
Zajac-Denek noted that “Sasquatch Sunset” set out to show a “real depiction of these creatures in their environment,” with the cast going to a “bootcamp” of sorts to learn how to have a “lumbering” gait.
Check out the full video above to hear about “Daisy Jones and the Six” alum Keough detailing her “itchy attack” from extensive sasquatch prosthetics.
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival runs January 18 to 28, with festival talks taking place January 19 to 26. See the full list of IndieWire Studio at Sundance, presented by Dropbox, lineup here.
Dropbox supports and champions independent makers, crews, and teams behind the camera who bring their unique perspectives to life at the Sundance Film Festival. We’re proud that over 60% of films at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival leveraged Dropbox in their filmmaking process.It takes a monumental effort for film projects to go from ideation to completion, and Dropbox is dedicated to helping filmmakers get their projects across the finish line faster. Filmmakers used Dropbox as one organized homebase to keep video files secure, to remotely collaborate with teams around the world, and to get real-time video feedback with Dropbox Replay.
