“A Quiet Place: Part One” had its New York City premiere on Wednesday, June 26 at AMC Lincoln Square. The third film in the franchise, this prequel sets the story that led to the John Krasinski and Emily Blunt-fronted apocalyptic thriller. Through Krasinski still serves as an executive producer, he stepped away from the camera to let a new director, Michael Sarnoski, tell his own story, along with a brand new cast that includes Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, and Alex Wolff.
Off the heels of “Stranger Things” and recently wrapping production on Alex Garland’s “Warfare,” intense scenes are nothing new to Joseph Quinn. “Every project provides its own challenges and its own obstacles that need to be overcome,” he tells IndieWire. “This one had a very specific set of things that needed be attacked and negotiated and money, the fact that we can’t talk. So that was a very interesting thing to do, but we weren’t doing it alone. It was a very thrilling and exciting prospect.”
Throughout the movie, a cat named Frodo becomes a shining star as Nyongo’s character uses the pet as her emotional support animal. Sarnoski recently told IndieWire that “Frodo was played by two cats, Schnitzel and Nico. Early on, a lot of people assumed, ‘OK, it’s a big movie, we’ll CG the cat, and it will make everything a lot easier.’ It was important to me to have a real cat that you could feel connected to.”
Quinn and Nyong’o refflected on working with the furry felines, “They have different schedules. We work on their schedule, which is a little challenging. They were kind kings and queens,” Quinn said. “And kings they were, for sure,” Nyong’o added.
We also caught up with producer Brad Fuller, who has worked on each of the three “Quiet Place” films. “I did not work as closely with Michael on this film, I was doing another film,” Fuller tells IndieWire. “John [Krasinski] picked Michael and John came up with the story. There were a lot of things that Michael did that were fantastic. Michael’s emphasis were on the performances and I think that really comes through. I’ve made a lot of horror movies and I’ve never really said that about one of the movies we’ve made. I think the performances in this movie are outstanding and that’s one of Michael’s contributions.”
Fuller also had read the script for Jeff Nichols’ version of the film, before Nichols left because of creative differences. He noted that Sarnoski’s script is “totally different.”
Alex Wolff previously spoke with IndieWire at the Golden Globes BAFTA Tea Party in January, “It’s the director of a movie called ‘Pig,’ Michael Sarnoski,” Wolff tells us. “He did a terrific job with it. I haven’t seen it, but I had a great time doing it. I love John Krasinski, who produced it. Lupita Nyong’o is going to give a tour de force performance. I saw it up close, it’s stunning.”
From working with indie directors, like Ari Aster on “Hereditary,” and studio directors, like Christopher Nolan, to now a franchise IP director, Wolff doesn’t “really notice” a difference in filmmaking between the two.
“If they’re a great director, they’re a great director — you don’t really notice. The only difference is that the crafts services are sometimes a little better on the bigger movies, and that’s not even always true. Sometimes you can get a small movie where it’s got some artisanal chef person [laughs]. But I’d say that’s really the only difference.” He continued to reflect on working with his “Oppenheimer” director, “Chris Nolan is in a league of his own. He’s just an artist that people, you know, understand as a genius. He’s one of the few people that makes movies that people want to see. Also artistically, I mean, the craftsmanship of “Oppenheimer” is like “Apocalypse Now” or like ‘The Godfather.’ I think it’s on that level of ambition and thought. I’m really, really proud to just be part of it.”
Joseph Quinn will continue keeping busy, including with playing the Human Torch in “The Fantastic Four,” and later this year, starring alongside Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, and Pedro Pascal in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” sequel. On working with Scott, Quinn said the experience was “life affirming, amazing, and beyond anything I could’ve imagined.”
“A Quiet Place: Part One” premieres June 28 in theaters. Check out the trailer here.
