This Friday, Ti West’s stunning thriller The Sacrament arrives in limited theaters courtesy of Magnet Releasing. At recent press day, Daily Dead had the opportunity to speak exclusively with co-star Joe Swanberg about his involvement in the Eli Roth-produced project.
During our chat, Swanberg discussed how his own fascination with the Jonestown Massacre drew him to West’s story for The Sacrament, how his role as camera guy in the movie forced him to change his performance style, and if he’d ever consider branching out to make studio films after finding so much success in the indie world as a filmmaker over the last several years.
Great to speak with you, Joe. You guys made a great film so I’m happy to chat about it with you today. I know you’ve worked with Ti and AJ a bunch of times before, but what exactly was it about the script for The Sacrament that excited you the most as an actor?
Joe Swanberg: Personally, I have always been fascinated by how Ti was able to use Jonestown as a model for this story and it instantly tapped into things that I’ve always been drawn to about what happened at Jonestown. In fact, I always had wanted to make a movie about it, but I think how Ti approached it is amazing so that’s out of there (laughs). What Ti also tapped into were things that I always thought about, but you never really hear much discussion on, like why did they do this? Why make THESE choices? Isn’t there something else for you in this world? Things like that.
I also appreciated how Ti didn’t treat the followers like mindless zombies too. These were all real people with real concerns and he didn’t try and marginalize them in any way, which was great.
This was a little bit of a different role for you becauseyou are playing the camera guy, which means your character is essentially our gateway into the film. Did having to shoot that way present a lot of challenges for you that maybe you weren’t expecting? Oh, and who was responsible for the decision to have your character rock a kickass bandana in the movie?
Joe Swanberg: (laughs) You know, the bandana was all Ti. I wouldn’t be bold enough to make that kind of fashion choice, but I think it actually added to my performance in a bit. But yeah, that was all his idea; he was really into the bandana (laughs).
Making The Sacrament was a lot different for me even though Ti shot most of it. I did shoot some of it, but most of what you see in the movie was him. I still had to be present in all those scenes even when I wasn’t shooting, so I’d just kind of hang out and pretend. I’d say the real big difference was that making a movie the way that we did was far more technical than I’ve ever experienced before- just because our actions also had to make sense with the camera placement and movements. I think the hardest thing for me was when I was just standing there and wasn’t physically interacting because that can throw you off.
Because you have such a busy career both in front of the camera and behind it as a filmmaker yourself, is there one career path you prefer a little more than the other?
Joe Swanberg: I’d have to say that I really enjoy them both. You learn very different things by doing either one, but I do think that I am a better director because of my acting experience and vice versa. I’m really lucky that I don’t have to choose, but, if I did, ultimately I’d have to choose directing just because that was my first passion.
You’re also a guy who has found a lot of success in the independent film world over the last few years and I was curious if you’ve ever thought about doing a studio project or do you prefer making films on your own terms?
Joe Swanberg: I would have to say that I think I’m happiest when I’m doing my own thing. I always want to challenge myself in different ways though, so I wouldn’t totally rule it out ever. For now, I’m just going to keep making the movies I want to. I don’t really have a grand vision or anything for the rest of my career, but I do know that I want to keep my filmmaking feeling very personal. I want to keep collaborating with great actors and telling great stories. That’s what is most important to me and what I want to define my career.
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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