Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was the big winner at the Golden Globes this week, and we had the pleasure of meeting the man who thought the whole thing up, speaking to writer/director Martin McDonagh when in London during the capital’s annual film festival.
McDonagh, whose previous films are In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, tells us what inspired this unique, original story, and how he went about securing an unfathomable redemption tale for one of the film’s leading roles.
He also goes to explain why Sam Rockwell listened to ABBA in the movie, and what attracts him to working with the same actors on numerous occasions. Talking of which he tells us that he’s trying to get Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson back together, and that he also has an idea to bring Christopher Walken and Rockwell together on screen.
We also ask about him about winning the grand prize at the Toronto International Film Festival, and given it’s voted for by the audience, we ask about how important it is with comedies that he watches them to see what lands. In this case, it’s proven to be an awful lot.
Watch the full interview below…
Synopsis
After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby, the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command, Officer Dixon — an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence — gets involved, the battle is only exacerbated.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is released on January 12th, and you can read our 5* review from TIFF right here.
