Latest news with #DannyMichaelPhilippou
Geek Girl Authority
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Bring Her Back Archives
Categories Select Category Games GGA Columns Movies Stuff We Like The Daily Bugle TV & Streaming Does Danny and Michael Philippou's Bring Her Back maintain the same level of quality as Talk to Me? Read our spoiler review.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Bring Her Back' Directors Went To Extremes For The Nightmarish Horror
Bring Her Back's directors, Danny and Michael Philippou, are keeping it real, or at least as real as possible. The supernatural horror film, their sophomore effort after bursting onto the big screen with Talk to Me in 2022, took them and their cast down a series of rabbit holes, many of which they didn't see coming. From movie nights and practical effects to two-time Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins buying trinkets from thrift stores to decorate the set, Bring Her Back is as terrifyingly authentic as it can be. "Sally wanted to disappear into this character and be her as much as possible," Michael explains. 'Every character has moments in their life, and in rehearsals, we'd like to play those moments out, even though they're never going to be seen. We were like, 'Let's act them out so there's some history.' Sally's like that, even with the house. To her, this is Laura's house. She said, 'Let me make it familiar to myself, dress it and be in it.' She wanted to familiarize herself with every corner of the set, so she would buy things and bring them in. It helped give it a lived-in experience, rather than feeling like a set, but more like her home. She was in the rabbit hole, which I loved. She is deep in every single aspect, which is incredible because we were in there too." Bring Her Back is about Andy, played by Billy Barratt, and visually impaired Piper, played by Sora Wong, a brother and sister whom Laura, played by Hawkins, fosters after their father dies. However, it's not long before they realize their new guardian and her home are hiding a darkness they could never imagine born out of tragedy and a terrifying ritual. A24's Bring Her Back is R-rated and in theaters now. "There's a scene in the movie that is the aftermath of an argument," Danny explains. "These two people are looking at each other with this rage. As a director, you can sit the characters down and go, 'Okay, you guys are angry at each other… and action,' or you can go, 'Alright, have a fight, scream until your voice is gone, and then sit down and the camera's already rolling.' That way, you've actually captured something that is much more real than just saying 'action' at a certain point. Sally would take that all the way back. She'd start at the beginning of waking up that day if she could. She didn't do that, but she would do that. The best thing about Sally is that we would continue rolling after the scene was done. I'm not calling cut. She would stay in it and be in there, and it's the best thing." Sometimes, the Philippou brothers didn't even know that Hawkins, whose work includes The Shape of Water, Paddington 2, Happy-Go-Lucky, and Wonka, was continuing to delve deeper into her character when they weren't around. "We went and did a thing with her in London recently," Michael recalls. "We had lunch, and we went for five hours. She's such an incredible person. When you're working with Sally, you want to hang out. We get along so well. Anyway, she had all these script notes. It was this big, fat Bible of the film's story where she had all these annotations. I was like, 'Can I take this home?' and she said, 'You want that?' I was like, 'I would cherish this always,' so I've got that at home. It's all of our script notes for Laura, and it's wicked, all of her scribbles and everything. It's so cool." Sally Hawkins in 'Bring Her Back.' A24/Ingvar Kenne Keen collaborators, the Australian filmmakers also have some set ideas and principles that they won't shift on. One of them is using practical effects as much as possible. Whether it's makeup and prosthetics or realistic sound design, it has to create a visceral reaction – even if audiences have to look away. "We love practical effects because they always seem to stand the test of time," Danny, who also co-wrote Bring Her Back, muses. "When actors are interacting with something tangible and present, even for a character that has got prosthetics on, it changes them and the way they move and act. It brings a level of realism that visual effects (VFX) can't achieve. However, VFX are so good at tying that stuff together and helping to smooth out all the rough edges. It's always a beautiful dance between the two of them, where it's 90 percent practical, you got five to ten percent VFX helping blend those elements." Instead of having one FX team on the movie, the Philippous brought in two companies so they could compete and complement each other in a creative and bloody ballet to raise the bar and achieve the best results possible. "It's always the funniest part of the most exciting thing when it's like, 'How can we execute this practically?' There were things in the script where I was like, 'I don't know how this is going to be possible. How do we do this practically?' We had two epic special effects teams on the ground the whole time, each specializing in different aspects. They were incredible and helped bring everything to life," Danny explains. "Bring Her Back's sound design is amazing, too, and she's so incredible. Emma Bortignon was our sound designer, and we love her to death. She's so down and game for anything. We were asking her, 'What is the sound of this?' and she also knew when a sound wasn't right. I wanted a sound for Oliver, the mysterious other child in the knife scene. She was sending me things, but they didn't sound right." He continues, "I cringe when I think about metal on teeth, but I was like, 'Let's just record the metal on teeth.' Get me a knife.' So, we had a knife, she had the microphone, and I just put it in there, started to turn and move it around. I wanted it to be so that audiences can look away and still feel it; they don't have to look at it. It's just as painful and effective." When it comes to influences, the filmmakers drew on several inspirations across multiple genres, from Bong Joon Ho's Memories of Murder to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and even the 1997 slapstick comedy Mouse Hunt. "There were a couple of weekends that were intense periods focusing on the extreme side of Sally's character, so as not to live there, I said to her, 'Do you want to come over?'" Danny laughs. "I love Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and it did inspire this film. We'd watch it, and Sally would like to do the voices of the characters and act it out, and she's so funny. It's one of my favorite experiences from the whole film." "There were certain movie nights that were just watching films that feel like they were in the same genre, and not even exact inspiration points. Those conversations with Sally were never fully about films. It was always about lived experiences." Michael adds, "I don't know quite how this Mouse Hunt influence became a thing, but one day Danny was talking about the inspirations. I think it was in an interview, and they said, 'What about you, Michael?' Danny had said all the main ones, and I was like, 'Mouse Hunt.' It's an amazing movie. It has amazing practical effects, and it's also about manipulation. There's a scene where they are trying to manipulate the mouse so they can kill it., It's a nostalgic movie, and it's also really great." Both of the brothers would work with Hawkins again in a heartbeat. They still can't quite believe she said yes to Bring Her Back. With their shared love of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? would they reunite for a remake? "The idea of working with powerful character actors and the idea of Sally Hawkins taking on that role and then trying to find someone to match her against is insane," Danny says. 'I love Bette Davis and her career, so the idea of working with actors like that and putting them in a room together is so exciting to me. My fear with a remake is that I won't be able to live up to the original. I know that I will falter, it'll be worse, and I'll let everyone down. That is one of my biggest fears. I'd hate for people to be like, 'Hey, it's the guy that fucking ruined that movie.' There were so many franchises that we got offered after Talk to Me, and I was like, 'Trust me, I feel like I'm going to screw this franchise up if you let me do it.'" Michael concludes, "The thing is that these classic movies came out of someone's vision and an authentic way of expressing themselves. Bring Her Back is our vision. To go, 'Alright, we're going do our version of it,' feels like it's a disservice to the original. Some people pull it off, but I would like to take that idea and have a different take on it. Maybe it's not those exact characters, so it's not a direct remake, but something like that could be cool. Who knows."
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Talk To Me star Sophie Wilde stuns in plunging black gown as she leads celebrity arrivals alongside Mischa Heywood and cast of Bring Her Back at Sydney premiere of hotly anticipated horror flick
The stars of the most talked about horror film of 2025 were on the red carpet for the Sydney premiere on Monday night. Bring Her Back, directed by Australian brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, the powerhouse duo behind 2022's smash hit Talk To Me, premiered in Sydney and the talented young cast and an array of stars were on hand to celebrate. Leading the charge was Talk To Me star Sophie Wilde, who stunned in a plunging black gown. The Aussie actress opted for halter dress with a deep V-neck and a maxi length cut, paired with towering heels. She pulled her hair off her face and chose a warm makeup look with a natural lip and rosy blush. She stunned in a plunging black gown. The Aussie actress opted for halter dress with a deep V-neck and a maxi length cut, paired with towering heels Sophie completed her ensemble with a pair of hoop earrings and a dainty chain, as well as a smattering of rings. Also turning heads was rising star Mischa Heywood who looked adorable in a pale blue, strapless number with a bubble skirt. The 15-year-old's dress featured a floral motif across the front and she added a pair of strappy beige heels. The Aussie actress added a fine gold necklace and small hoop earrings while wearing her hair down in soft curls. For makeup, Mischa chose a rosy palette with some highlighter as well as a pink lipstick. Another of the film's cast, Sora Wong, also put in a glamorous appearance in a black, lace ruffled mini dress. She added a short leather jacket which sat off her shoulders as well as edgy biker boots. The actress completed her look with a simple necklace and a soft, natural makeup look while letting her dark hair fall in loose strands. Bring her back is the second original feature from Australian filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou, after the international success of their first film, Talk To Me. Oscar-nominated English actress Sally Hawkins, 48, known for her roles in Paddington, Wonka and Happy-Go-Lucky, stars in the supernatural chiller. Hawkins was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 2013 film Blue Jasmine. She was nominated again in 2018 for her leading role in the Best Picture winning film The Shape of Water. Hawkins plays grieving mother Laura, who attempts to bring her daughter back from the dead using a paranormal ritual. The Adelaide-born twin brothers, 32 who have a YouTube channel called RackaRacka, re-teamed with independent production company A24 and Causeway's Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton who produced their box office hit Talk to Me. Ahead of the premiere, star Mischa Heywood revealed that filming Bring Her Back was anything but scary. 'It was just like a big party. It was the funnest thing ever,' she said of her experience playing Catherine in the film. The boys started out filming stunts and pranks in their backyard at the age of seven, but soon graduated from home videos to Hollywood flicks. 'They're so full of energy and bubbly, which is great because when you're filming something so serious and devastating like Bring Her Back I guess you have to have that fun on set to lighten the mood,' Mischa told Daily Mail Australia of the YouTubers turned horror directors. 'They're just the sweetest human beings.' And the RackaRacka brothers weren't the only ones on set who had the young actress starstruck. 'I think my highlight when filming was probably meeting Sally Hawkins,' she said, adding that she was 'so cool' and 'hardworking'. Sally, who has featured in mega box office films such as Wonka, The Shape of Water and Paddington, plays Mischa's mum Laura in the flick. Despite throwing herself into the 'grown-up' movie genre, Mischa still had time to be a teen on set, playing foosball with her castmates between takes and going out for YoChi with her co-star Sora Wong, who plays Piper. Sora was one of her 'best friends' while filming Bring Her Back and the girls 'helped each other' while filming, bonding over their shared interests and similar age. It was Sora who broke the big news to Mischa that they'd be heading to Los Angeles for the film's US premiere, a 'surreal' moment for the young star. 'LA has been on my bucket list for years,' she said. Bring Her Back is set to hit Aussie screens on May 29.
