ComingSoon’s Jonathan Sim recently spoke with director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special) about his new movie The Bikeriders, which Focus Features will release in theaters on June 21.
“The Bikeriders captures a rebellious time in America when the culture and people were changing,” reads the official synopsis. “After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy (Jodie Comer) is inextricably drawn to Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy). Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.”
Jonathan Sim: You wrote this film based on a photo book from Danny Lyon. Was there any particular photo that stood out to you and made you realize that this a story you wanted? Tell?
Jeff Nichols: I guess it was Cal, I dunno, the other guy’s names sitting on their bikes in front of a gas station, but the depth in that photo, if you look at it, the colors that were going on in that photo, they just really brought that period to life. They also brought the specificity of these guys’ clothes, the amount of detail they put into their clothes, the grease under their fingernails. We can accomplish a shot in a film that looks like this then, then I think we’ve really done something.
You’re working with such incredible cast here with actors like Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, and Austin Butler. Was there anything that they brought to their characters that surprised you? And if so, what was it?
They’re all incredible actors and they’re all elevating the material that’s on the page. I have to give a lot of credit to Tom for taking that character and pushing it beyond what it could have been. I think it would’ve been really easy for that character to, to be a father figure to Austin Butler’s character, you know? To say he puts his arm around him and is like, “you’re my adopted son and I’m gonna take care of you, kid.” That’s not the relationship that we wanted. I actually wanted Johnny to covet this young man, to covet the youth that he had and the freedom that he had and the freedom that he represented. And Tom just nailed that.
You know, Tom made it at times dangerous at times, sexual at times, you know, loving. It was a really layered performance and I think in a different actor’s hands, it would’ve come out differently. And I’m just really glad it was Tom Hardy.
I agree. So the motorcycle club depicted in this movie is based on a real club, so how much of the story was based on reality and how much stemmed from your own creativity?
You know, I fictionalized the club so that I could actually fictionalize their ultimate trajectory. You know, Danny Lyon photographed the Chicago Outlaws in 1965. The Outlaws have become the second-largest motorcycle gang in the world. I did not want to offend them. I did not wanna step on their toes, and I did not wanna carry the responsibility of telling their story. So that’s where the Vandals came from.
So, you know, the trajectory of that club might be loosely inspired by them, but the specifics in this film, they’re all made up. It’s all fictional. Now that being said, about 70% of this dialogue is taken from the interviews that Danny did. So it was really about the context of the plot, the context of the narrative construction of this film that, that was creative invention, but the lines, the actual verbiage that was, that was taken from the book. So it really is a hybrid narrative film and almost doc in that sense.
I can definitely see that. You work with Michael Shannon in all of your films, including this one. What is it about your collaborative process with him that makes you wanna keep working with him?
Well, I mean, it’s pretty simple. Michael Shannon is one of the greatest actors in the world, and if you’re a director and you’re a storyteller, and you have access to one of the greatest actors in the world, you’re gonna call him. Beyond that, you know, Mike’s like a brother to me. I learned how to direct ’cause of Michael Shannon. I learned how to direct by directing Michael Shannon. And I hold him very close to my heart and my career wouldn’t be the same without him.
On another topic, you were originally slated to write and direct A Quiet Place: Day One. Since leaving the project, have you been involved in any way? Have you seen the movie and if you have, is there anything that you can share about it?
I haven’t been involved.
Deadline reported that you’re currently working on a science fiction movie with Paramount Pictures. Is there anything that you’re allowed to share about the size of that film and any more details?
I’d love for it to be my next film. It says everything I want to say about humanity and the universe. It’s a big film. It’s got a big scope to it and a big heart to it. Believe it or not, it’s a film with aliens in it. But it takes place in Arkansas, and it feels like a movie made by the guy who made Mud, and it just happens to have aliens in it.
Thanks to Jeff Nichols for taking time to discuss The Bikeriders.