(Left) Eiza González in Flying Lotus’s ‘Ash’. Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release. (Right) Aaron Paul in Flying Lotus’s ‘Ash’. Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.
Opening in theaters on March 21st is the new science fiction horror-thriller ‘Ash’, which was directed by musician Flying Lotus and stars Eiza González (‘Ambulance’) and Aaron Paul (‘Breaking Bad’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Eiza González and Aaron Paul about their work on ‘Ash’, their first reaction to the script, their approach to the characters, and working with director and composer Flying Lotus.
Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Ambulance’
Aaron Paul in Flying Lotus’s ‘Ash’. Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.
Moviefone: To begin with, Aaron, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and why did you want to be a part of this project?
Aaron Paul: Well, really because of Eiza, I am obsessed with her. I’ve been dear friends with her for many years. We got sent this script at the same time, and before I read it, I hit her up. I said, “Have you read this? How is it?” I was just hoping that it was incredible because it was a dream of mine to be able to tackle something with her. So, we both read it at the same time. It was just such a fun ride. We both sat down with Fly Lo, our incredible director, and we just had each other’s backs from the beginning. To be able to witness Eiza and how she tackles projects was really inspiring. She is just such a boss. You know what I mean? She cares for every single moment of the movie. Her preparation is just unbelievable. The number of notes that she has is amazing. She cares deeply. It was thrilling.
(L to R) Aaron Paul and Eiza González in Flying Lotus’s ‘Ash’. Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.
MF: Eiza, what was your experience working with Aaron on this project?
Eiza González: I love him. I’m so grateful to be on this journey with him. I really am. I can’t expand enough on how lucky I am to have him in this film and as a friend.
Eiza González in Flying Lotus’s ‘Ash’. Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.
MF: Eiza, can you talk about your approach to playing Riya, and because she suffers from memory loss, is that freeing to perform as an actor or more complex?
EG: I think it’s both. I think it’s a combination of those things. It is my biggest fear. I think that who I am is an amalgamation of my memories, right? We all are, and my identity, my growth, comes from my memories. My expansion as a human being, as an artist, it all stems from memories. There’s nothing that scares me more than losing all that. There’s a beautiful juxtaposition of meeting a character the way that we meet Riya, which is this covered in blood, obviously lethal human being, while simultaneously being incredibly soft and vulnerable. I find it challenging, especially in this genre, being able to find female characters that feel so flushed out in such a simplistic way, and without having to explain themselves. But also, it’s two underlying currents happening simultaneously, and that is a dream as an actress. We just struggle to find characters like that, that are not necessarily tied to incredibly grounded roles. I love that. I felt like a little kid, like a child, doing things for the first time. I didn’t want to forget that, while I was sort of in the journey of looking for answers, I still wanted Riya to feel like a raw soul, lost and confused, because that’s where you connect with her. It was challenging. It’s a challenging movie, and at plain sight, it doesn’t look like it, but it has so many layers and so many undercurrents, that the director and the actors must be really in sync to be able to fill in the blanks and make sure that every little place has a moment that the audience can hold on to. Because you’re asking for audiences to sit for an hour and a half with a movie that only is in one space with two characters. That’s challenging. That’s a hard thing to achieve.
Flying Lotus in Flying Lotus’s ‘Ash’. Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.
MF: Eiza, I was really impressed with Flying Lotus’ work as both a director and composer on ‘Ash’. What was it like to work with him and watch him execute his unique vision for this project?
EG: Oh, it was a dream. Aaron has worked with some of the best directors in the industry, and I’ve been very lucky to work with some of the best who direct. You can tell from the get-go when someone knows and when they don’t know. He was fearless, and sometimes that comes in different ways. You don’t have to come in with overwhelming overconfidence. It doesn’t mean that you must walk in with confidence, it just means you must have passion about something and a very clear passion. He just was so excited, but with really grounded ideas, and with a very clear point of view. He had built a team around it that really envisioned that. Once you’re with someone like that, you’re on the other side. You must drop into it and bring your knowledge. He is a new director, and Aaron has a lot of experience, and I’ve had a fair share amount of experience. He had an attitude of, “I want to learn.” Sometimes you have resistance both ways as an actor, because you have a very clear idea. I can imagine, as a director, you have an idea, but he was always open. He’d be like, “Oh, okay, let’s do it this way and then let’s try it your way.” Then some of the times it worked, and sometimes it didn’t. But it’s collaboration. That’s just a dream come true.
Flying Lotus’s ‘Ash’. Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.
MF: Finally, Aaron, what was your experience like working with Flying Lotus on this film?
AP: It really is a dream, and you can see every frame of the film was just so well thought out and just the glow of the set every day. Every day everybody was talking about, “My God, it’s just so amazing to be here.” Because you don’t see anything like that. It has such a new look, you know? It’s a brave swing, and it’s just such a fun, crazy, artsy film to be part of.
“A new mindbender by Flying Lotus.”
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A woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘Ash’?
On a distant planet, an astronaut wakes up to find the entire crew of her space station has been killed. Riya (Eiza González) has no memory of herself or of the situation in which she finds herself, jogged by only quick, nightmarish flashes of her partners and their mission. Feeling paranoid, she must decide if she can trust the man (Aaron Paul), whom she supposedly knows, sent to rescue her after he received a distress signal from her location.
Who is in the cast of ‘Ash’?
Eiza González in Flying Lotus’s ‘Ash’. Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.