I was really surprised when the opening credits rolled, and I sort of thought to myself, “wait, Blumhouse, this doesn’t make that much sense” but then the more I thought about it, the more it did, and it especially makes sense knowing the connection between Jason and Ethan. I have one more question about him. Did you always envision Ethan Hawke as Rusell Millings? How did he come into play?
As far as writing the role, I didn’t create Russell Earl Millings out of the idea of an actor. It was more of an amalgamation of archetypal characters throughout the ages. He definitely has a Lennie Small feel to him. Not that he’s mentally challenged but that he might be touched in a way. I knew that in writing this role that I was asking a lot of the audience, which is to root for a guy who’s not rooting for himself. He is not competing for anything, uses no drugs, sex, rock-and-roll, or anything flashy or dynamic. But also I was going to be asking a lot of the actors. I needed an actor who could tackle beta, so the first person that came to mind was Ethan. Because early in Ethan’s career, he made a career out of playing that gorgeously complex, poetic Beta. And, that’s not who Ethan is, Ethan is a leader. Ethan is an Alpha, and that’s what I think makes his performance so spectacular. It’s his ability to drop his director, drop his writer, drop out and enter this guy, and he disappears. I truly believe it’s one of the most nuanced performances of his career.
“…asking a lot of the audience, which is to root for a guy who’s not rooting for himself.”
I agree. Finally, I’d like to know what do you want people to take away from Adopt a Highway? What’s your dream response from a viewer?
I dedicated the film near the end, and I think the dedication encapsulates a lot of what I want people to take away from the film. The dedication is, “This film is for anyone who’s made a mistake.” For me, what I’m trying to simply address is our ability to forgive. Our nation, our world, our species collective ability to forgive, and more than that, to stop arming ourselves and just going into our corners. You know we can turn our indictments out. We’re really litigious right now, all you have to do is turn the TV on.
For sure, you’re correct.
The world is really litigious, we love indictments, but when push comes to shove, we’re not going to be able to indict the heart. We’re not going to be able to indict the earth. Eventually, we’re gonna have to get together in the middle of the ring and talk it through and forgive ourselves. Start moving forward as a species instead of staying a step behind. It’s a big old deep answer for a tiny dedication.
That’s definitely what I took away from it, so I would say that you succeeded in your vision. Congratulations on such a great film. I can’t wait for everyone to see it!
