Girl In The River Thrilling Chilling Mystifying And Can You Solve It Starring Devon Sawa

0:00Think of it as your flat screen. You know how you can go from Hulu to Netflix to Disney to Paramount Plus. Okay, well, that's exactly what arrow.net is. ARROE.net. It is the power of choice. In fact, one of the best podcasts we've got is that voice. I've spent the past 10 seasons with those on NBC's The Voice. Well, now that it's back for its next season, let's talk about that history as to how we got up to where we are right now. That voice only on arrow.net. ARROE.net. Enjoy your exploration. How are you doing? I'm doing good, man. I'm on my fourth espresso. I'm ready to bounce it off the walls. Oh, man, you're my kind of creative person, man. That's what I call it. I just call that creative juices. What it is. You got to get that job inside those veins. Yes, Elaine. Hey, I got to tell you something. And I want listeners to understand this. And I didn't know it until the end of the movie because there's something that happens inside this movie that really, really generates that vibe of, oh my God, there's more to this.

1:00And I didn't realize that there was a documentary. And I want the listeners to go to your movie first, then go to the documentary because you go into areas in this movie that create intrigue, mystery suspense, as well as maybe some answers in our own real world. Yeah. It's a heavy thing to carry, isn't it? It's, uh, it was a dark film to shoot. It was, you have, when we shot this, there was an eerie kind of mood on set until Tiffany had us started doing this. I'm not shocked. I was going to ask you about that because first of all, I love her as a serious actress, but I also love her as a comedian. And, but I love to have this movie's flow was. And let me tell you something. The timing that they had the directors had you guys on. It just, just the fact that you were able to allow us the viewers to feel like that we were in your scene. You gave us time to breathe. What was that like as an actor?

2:03The movie was shot very quickly. We had to put a lot of trust in this director that he, he, he, he spent five years with his script and he had, he had researched it and, and we got those script about a week before we started shooting. So we had to put a lot of trust that he knew what he was talking about. That he had done his research and that everything was on point and factual and whatnot. And we then we just kind of rolled and it was quick and it was fast and it was dark. And it was some of those scenes where we're, we're a lot of fun as an actor to, to shoot my favorite, my, a lot of my favorite scenes in the, in the movie are just me and Maggie sitting there talking, yes, just rounded. And it's, it's really, it's really nice as an actor to do stuff like that. Well, that to me is the camaraderie that we feel on this side of the screen where I'm going, oh my God, these actors really do know each other. They are working on this case together that, that was the believe ability. I swear to God that I felt when I was getting deeper and deeper into this storyline.

3:04Yeah, there's also a Maggie and I didn't know each other well. So we were, we like the characters were figuring each other out. I was doing this. As we were sitting there, I was seeing her do a lot of stuff for the first time and, and it just all played into it, you know, I mean, two, two, two detectives that didn't know each other from two different worlds. And that's kind of how we were in real life as well. And it just played all into it. And, you know, before we knew it, we were moving on to different scenes and, and hopefully it all works, man. Well, it's going to work because once listeners really realize that this is a movie that has so many different dimensions to it because girl in the river not only has criminology involved, but it also has psychology. And you're right. Those two characters that come together have no idea, but God dang it, dude. If I wasn't inspired to find out how you can make a room move and have two completely different thought patterns at the same time. Yeah. It was, it was, it was definitely a workshop this phone. The intensity that we feel on this side, what were you feeling, dude, because it had to move through you first?

4:11You get, you get, you get moving like this because it's shooting so quickly and we don't have a lot of time. You go back to your hotel room at night and there's a, for me, I don't know, a security thing or something, but this is a lot like a holy, holy crap. I hope I did that right. I hope that, I hope that this, this is going well. I hope that I'm, you know what I mean? It's, when you, when you have a bigger budget, there's a lot more time between takes and setups to discuss things and make sure, but this, this one was, was fast. And so you, you'd finished your 12 to 14 hour day, you go back to your little hotel outside of the Ken Mississippi and you, you, you'd run it back and just pray that you're doing everything properly and that you're, you're selling the criminologists and the psychology and, and what am I? I totally get that because people who do live stage go through that all the time, even radio people do that, except we kind of cheat these days by voice tracking. And I've had radio stations say you want to come back to live radio. Oh hell no. If I can sit here and I can record this stuff and make it perfect, I ain't going back anywhere where it's

5:12live. So I totally value where you are as an actor when you've got that short of amount of time, you got to put some, some exercise into your skills. Yeah. We did TV TV TV TV TV and independent films are very, very much the same. They're a different beast than, for instance, I did the hard eyes where we had a lot more time with it. But for TV, you, you know going into it, for every setup you got two to three takes and then you've got to just get it out of your mind. You got to walk away. That's it. That's you got to live with it. That's that's your, you're on to something new. But of course you do go back to the hotel room at the end of the night or your, or wherever you're living and, and run it back and, and try to think about how you did it. So now what are those hotel rooms like because what I'm, I'm the freak that goes back and I have to analyze everything, break it down, break it down, break it down. What could I have done better? What can I do tomorrow? And I mean, I just, I'm such a freak on that only and maybe that's just the radio background. But everything is like you've got to break it down so that you can be greater tomorrow.

6:12Yeah. When you go back, you're just, you run it back. It's, it's almost like you're editing in your head. And then you get it, you just got to keep telling yourself not to think about it and just go in and try to be, every day should be, you should be trying to do better than the, the, the table full without trying, but I'm looking like you're trying to order that makes any sense. But yeah, these things move so, so quickly, it's just like TV. It's, it's you're just, you're moving. Always move it. I got to tell you, dude, I'm, I'm having fun watching you as an actor because I mean, to go from Chuck to this, holy crap, this really does expose a different side of your acting abilities. And it just excites me as somebody. It's like, what is he going to do next? What is he going to do in five years? I got to see what he's going to do. That's the goal, man. That's whenever I get something new that comes, you know, the cause of the emails, I want to see if it's something that I haven't done. Doing Chuckie, doing hats, doing a cup of an academy, doing, they're all so different.

7:13And then to get this and realize, okay, this is very grounded. This is very subtle. This, this, this, this movie is all about the words on the page. I'm going to go challenge myself and see if I can make this work. And then I'll go back to do a cup and where it's larger than a little bit larger. Like we're talking, which is huge and you got Jennifer, till you do running around. I'm just blessed I get to do all this stuff and it's not all one note. So then as a student of acting, did you learn from Tiffany hadish that you can mix comedy, you can mix it all together into one human body and bring it forward because I mean, like I said, I mean, I was so mesmerized by her real life acting that it's like, oh my God, she's also got texture now. And it's like, but you now as an actor, do you learn from her comedy appeal? And are we going to see you in a romcom or are we going to see you something in very, very, very funny things? Well, a romcom maybe, but I tell you one thing, I don't know if I could ever get on the stage like Tiffany. And when she's on set, like we did that to see where the town comes in and they're all sitting in the church.

8:15There's a lot of people there. And it was a very serious scene. There was a death and we were talking to the town and we're, you know, they're all rioting and yaddy, yaddy, yaddy, yaddy. But between takes, I don't know whether she was working on bits for her new stand up or everything, but she had the place just roaring. It was, it was, you know, she was on and then they would say, okay, we're going to buy what to shoot. And she would just right back into it. And, um, yeah. So you watch that and, and, and I don't know if I could ever get on stage and do what she does. But, uh, you know, it's very interesting. Well, I want listeners and viewers to understand you are not going to figure this one out. You know, I mean, it's like just enjoy the ride and go into it because how this movie ends is nowhere near what you think your imagination is going to pump out. Yes. And also if you do figure it out, if for some reason you have an idea in the very beginning, it's interesting to see how it unravels and why it happens and, and, and you know what I mean? Um, but yeah, it's a great film. It's really great.

9:15Well, and that's the reason why I've seen it three times because I am on that second and third time. What was I doing? I was going back to look at the Easter eggs and, and I love it when they do that because that teaches me as a writer that, that it's like, oh my God. Look what they got away with. And we didn't even notice it until we went back to it. Absolutely. Wow. Now the rawness of the Butchers interrogation. Come on now. That, that feeling in that situation, I mean, it was, I, I would have folded immediately and just said, whatever crime you're blaming me, if I did it, I did it. How do I, well, how do I know that? Cause you're making me feel like I did it. And those, those, those are the types of things that drew me to the scripts. I wanted to play those old 90s, those old 90s, uh, I'm trying to war, uh, interrogations. Every act I want to do those things. Those things are so much fun. Well, and the way that you guys break everything down, this goes all the way back to that comment where you give us enough information and room to breathe in this. And I was so fascinated with the timing of it. And I mean, the teeth, the blood, the, everything that was so real and you made me feel like that I was part of a true crime novel.

10:23Yeah. And when you're shooting at a word, when you, when you're, uh, not shooting chronologically, you have to put a lot of trust in the director that he, in the writer that they, that they, they, you know, they've got it right. They, they, they, they were saying everything correctly. Um, and, and, you know, it worked out. You know, one of the things that, that really got my attention as well was that, that slap felt very real. And I don't want to spoil it for the, for the readers and the listeners. And the thing is, is that when you're facing the parents, the way that it is faced and, and to get that slap, I often wonder was it real? What did, because it might. You're, you're absolutely right. It did. They, they sold that slap very well, but she didn't, she didn't even have any. What? They, they, the way the, the way the camera was set up, you know, it was, it was an intro in my face when she went across and, but yeah, man, I was, it was a, she sold that. She sold that for sure. Wow. Well, because I mean, everything about that, it's the chill.

11:26And, and you know what? And maybe that, it's almost like the subtitle of this movie should be the chill because you're going to get chills all the way through this movie. Yeah, man. Thank you. Please do not move. We'll be right back with Devon Sawa coming up next. The name of the movie girl in the river, go into this one, expecting to be shocked. We are back with actor Devon Sawa. You know, it's really interesting about you is that we've always heard of people that go to Vancouver to go to Stanley Park or they go up there, they do their acting, but I've never met anybody that was actually born in Vancouver. And I've been to Vancouver. I've been to Victoria and I've never met anybody that was born there. And all of a sudden, here you are. Da, da, da, da, da, da. It's a great town and I go back my, all my family, both sides of our family, wife's family, my family, they're all up there. Still we go up there. We go up there at least once a year. Sometimes more than that, my kids love it up there. It was a great place to have a childhood. I bet it was because it just, I know that every time we visited it, and I always tried, I always told myself, don't go up there as a tourist.

12:30Don't do it. Don't do a pre-ten that you live here. And it's like you walk around there and you can't help but be the tourist because even the community, the people that make that town work. It's not just the tall buildings. It's the people that make Vancouver work. We were much nicer in the 90s and 80s though. I think we're, with the internet, we've snobbed it up a little bit. Would you do something like this again, except the next time would you do it in a bench watch that's got like several different seasons to it? Because it seems like that's who we are these days. Give me the bench watch. Yeah, I like, I would like to do something like this where it's a, you know, 10 episodes, maybe one crime per season kind of show. I agree with you. This is, that's where we are right now. That's that's the medium of film that we're in. Yeah, this, this, this kind of show would be, would be great to stretch over 10 one hour episodes here. And I would be so into doing it.

13:31And yet at the same time though, while you're watching the movie, whatever you're doing inside your body, you know, screaming for that bench watch, you answer every question that I need as a binge watcher. And so when it, when it comes to an end, you're going, I'm satisfied. Oh my God. I got what I needed when I started this movie. Yeah. 100%. I, it's just amazing how you guys are able to do this. I mean, they always say that making movies is a miracle. And it's like, and then we get on this side of the movie. And it's like, what, what kind of a miracle did you get to experience? And did you take good notes? Making movies is the, is the best job ever, right? You know, I took a break from the film business. I got back into it and realized how much I love it. I have the best job in the world in my opinion. And I love what I do. And I learn something every time I, I do a film and get to travel to some amazing places. Can Mississippi is a phenomenal town in Mississippi that I never in a million years thought I would never be in and I was and I loved it.

14:32I just feel blessed and lucky. So being down there in the South, which is where I am, how'd you like the food? Did you, did you get to sample in some of the real authentic Southern food? Yeah. I love, listen, I would be, I would be 30, 40 pounds heavier than I am. And if I lived in the South, I love New Orleans, some of the greatest food. I've never done more to having some amazing food. Savannah, I did two movies in Savannah. And what I mean, the South is just the food there is amazing. You know, and then everybody always talks about how hot it is down here. But the thing about it is, though, isn't that what really creates the accent and the way of life in this section of the world? Because if you're coming down here to do a movie, you've got to adopt who we are. Southern hospitality is second to none. It really, you know, Canadians are nice and people from the South are nice. It's, it's, it's a great place to share. Um, I'm always happy when I hear I'm going there. I've done a lot of stuff in Georgia all over Georgia.

15:33It's, it's, it's, I love going to the South. This movie is really amazing in the way of capturing what I call the fear factor. It as a viewer, am I supposed to feel fear because I did. Yes, you were absolutely supposed to feel, you're supposed to be uncomfortable. We're supposed to make you feel like you, you did. And that's the goal with this kind of film. How do you do that? What is the magic? What are they telling you in your ears? Because I've been there with directors who are telling me, this is who you're talking to. Who this is who she is. Uh, this is, you know, how many kids she has? What carves and she drives. I mean, they get into your mind so well. And then when you deliver those lines, you understand it. But when you're delivering these emotions, who's talking to you? And how do you know to go there? You better put 100% trust in the writing. Um, there's a big part of the film like this working is the casting. All the parts, every, every, every size part of the film has to be, has to, you know, have a believable character, uh, which creates chemistry.

16:35Um, and then all the actors have to be 100% in and when I think we all learn. So that's why it kind of works so well. One of the most mind-blowing scenes in the movie, and I would love to see how you dealt with it. This is the line I understand what you're going through. Do you? Do you have children? My God, my heart stopped when that line came through. Yeah, it's a brand of bad times. He wrote some great stuff for us. But it's so real. I mean, is this what Spielberg is talking about when he says that today's modern day directors understand who their viewers are and how to use writing to its absolute highest potential? Well, I think that, I think Brandon's inspiration for this was more than nine. It was to take us back to those 90s films. Um, I don't think I don't think we get enough of these kind of films nowadays. I like films, films nowadays move so quickly where we're, we're, we never just settle in for a scene. We never sit with characters and talk.

17:37Um, and I missed that. And that's something that drew me to this film is that we can just sit down and listen and, and, and find out who these people are. Well, you had to be doing that during the water scene when the gentleman is sitting there and he's explaining the reason why the body was thrown into the water. I never even thought about the flow of the scent going downstream. I mean, it's like that's the kind of stuff that we learn is armchair quarterback true crime solvers. The details are amazing. Oh my god. During that, during that scene, we had the, we had the, of the luck, I guess that that train just started coming through at the right time. And they saw that train coming and instead of waiting for it to pass through, Brandon's a look at us shoot this. And we just, we just started rolling with it and we got that train and, and it's all, it's all so beautiful and, and it works. And yeah. Oh my god, because I actually sat there thinking, oh, come on. Now this had to be, they had to set this up. This, this, this, there's no way that this naturally happened like this. And then to hear that it did, that to me is real honest to God movie making when you can take the atmosphere,

18:41atmosphere of everything around you and make it a part of the story. Sometimes when you have a budget, this big you have, you have to just roll things and, and sometimes the film guides and you'll, some, some, some freebies. And that was a freebie that worked well. What else are you doing? Because I want to know also if you're getting into writing, because when you start doing things like this, and I can see how you are as an actor, there's no way that it's not, you know, not going on to a sheet of paper from the tip of your pen. I write a little bit. I've been working a lot on, I've been working a lot this year. I've been very fortunate to, to, to do some very cool things this year. Coming to Academy comes out in October 1st. It's a Disney plus show about a school for little witches. And I'm, I'm excited to be making my first kind of project for my kids. I mean, when I was pitched this project, when I was on the phone in my car, I was on speakerphone, when my daughter was next to me. And I wasn't particularly interested that much in the idea of it. But when I looked over, my daughter, her little eyes were so wide. And, and, and, um, mesmerized at the thought of a school for, for teenage witches.

19:45And I did it and it was just the best experience ever. Um, that comes out October 1st and we're about to start doing press for that. Um, yeah, I've had a great year. I mean, some other, a couple other cool things that I can't talk about. But it's been, it's been a, it's been a ride this year, man. It's been a real ride. You know, I like that when actors do that when they tell me there's something I'm doing that I can't talk about. Because we're going to talk in the future again and I'm going to bring that up. And, and, and it says, I love that kind of stuff because I'm going to go, we talked about this, but you, we couldn't talk about it, but we did. We talked about it. One particular thing, one in particular thing I did this year that I, not a lot to talk about yet, I did with one of my childhood heroes. No. Um, and I, and I want to talk about it so bad because I had, I, I would have done it for free. I was like, you'll understand when, in a couple of months, when I, when it drops and yes, please bring it up, like, oh, that must have been what you were talking about. Well, man, you got to come back to this show anytime in the future because the door is always going to be open for you.

20:47I appreciate it and I will. Well, you be brilliant today and thank you for this movie because it is the ultimate escape. But at the same time, it will chill the hell out of you. Thanks, man. I appreciate you watching and supporting and, and, uh, definitely have me back to talk about the, uh, thing that I can't talk about. Absolutely, man. Be brilliant today, okay? All right, man, you too.