Destroyer

Arthouse on Wheels

Much of this movie took place in an old Chevy Caprice on a dirt road.

We had private land for the location, which was great. But the logistics of moving the crew, feeding everyone and managing schedule changes or weather changes just become harder when you're way out on the prairie.

Thankfully, this movie was really an expression of art with three great actors and we had a lot of freedom for the director Andrew Kightlinger and director of photography, PER Wigand, to play around.

Because we were on private land, we were able to safely allow the actors to drive slowly on these flat dirt roads and still give the performances they needed.

Judith Hoag and Alan Ruck

So, a funny thing about working with Alan Ruck was that everybody on set was excited about him because of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

A funny thing about me is that I had never seen Ferris Bueller’s day off… literally until like 2025 (Don’t ask, I don’t know wtf is wrong with me.)

Because of this, I really couldn't relate, but he was a fantastic actor and a great guy to work with.

And I think if I would have told childhood me that one day I would be making a movie with Judith Hoag, the OG April O'Neill, I probably would have freaked out.

I mean, I literally had action figures of her.

They were both just lovely and I hope we get to work together again.

The Worst Moment

At the end of a pretty great day, we all wrapped in high spirits, but they were soon dampened when we realized something unthinkable had happened.

No one had been hurt. Nothing bad like that…

But as our lead actress went to collect her personal items, something was missing.

Somehow along the way of some location moves, a ring had been misplaced.

Not wardrobe. A personal ring. The ring meant a lot to her and our departments banded together to look for it. Over the next two days, several people took shifts, walking each location, and even rented metal detectors to try to locate it.

It was nowhere to be found.

It put a huge damper on our high spirits.

Thankfully, the actress was very kind about it and understood that things happened. And in the end, we ended up finding the personal item.

But it was touch and go for a while there

Honestly, one of my absolute favorite things about making this movie was just the vibes.

Things worked well on set. We handled problems quickly and for the most part, it went smoothly.

The crew was really great and it felt a little magical as we made it.

We were a little family, and sunsets on the prairie are absolutely fantastic. Gold now seems to last forever and the sunset is beautiful. It was great to just enjoy it with friends while we made something we were all excited about.