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| A Quiet Place Day One |
Writer-director Sarnoski tackles burning concerns regarding the renowned animal character Frodo, such as why he never hisses at the aliens and what was the most difficult shot to shoot. "Everyone assumed we wouldn't pull it off."
A Quiet Place: Day One is a suspenseful thriller about a tuxedo cat named Frodo navigating an apocalyptic New York City under attack by aliens. There are other human actors in the cast, including Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o (who is great). But the goal of today's conversation is to focus on the feline who is captivating the hearts of horror series fans.
Frodo was a significant risk for writer-director Michael Sarnoski (who had previously directed another animal-centric film, Pig). Cats are notoriously difficult to direct, and Day One marked Sarnoski's first significant studio film. His script (co-written with John Krasinski) places Frodo at the centre of intimate dramatic moments and action set pieces, and he did not want to utilise CGI. However, if the cat did not function, neither would the movie.Sarnoski's courage paid off.
The Quiet Place prequel, which releases this week, has received high praise (some critics have named it the best installment in the saga) for its grim survival story with Frodo, hospice patient Sam (Nyong'o), and law student Eric (Joseph Quinn). Sarnoski willingly consented to offer an exclusively cat-centric interview, answering pressing questions about Frodo's voyage and working with the two cats (called Nico and Schnitzel) who were cast in the part. He also hinted at a future Day One sequel.
What was the original inspiration for having Frodo as a part of the story?
Frodo developed naturally from Sam's character. A hospice patient is not necessarily looking to survive at the end of the world, and this is an opportunity for her to reconnect with her life. Frodo became an extension of that. I always assumed that when Sam lived in the city, Frodo was a clever street cat who she began leaving out a dish of milk for, and he became her pet. Then he became the only thing she brought with her as she left the city as her life was coming to an end. Frodo represents her previous existence. So, when they return to the city, they relive their experiences together. Also, just the image of Sam walking through a desolate New York City with her little cat jumped out at me as perfect.
The first reaction was, "Okay, we're going to have a computer-generated cat." "I suppose we can pull that off." At that point I responded: "No, I really want to do all the cat stuff for real and not ever do a CG cat." Everyone said, "We'll see about that." Fortunately, we were able to accomplish this with the help of amazing cat trainers and performers. Everyone feared we wouldn't be able to pull it off the old-fashioned manner, but I'm glad we did.
One, cats have a great affinity for New York City. There's something about street and bodega cats that reflects the city's survival drive. And I don't think a dog would fit very well in the Quiet Place universe—too barky. Cats pursue predators and maintain a natural silence. So they make a lot of sense as a species that would thrive. I believe a cat complements Sam's atmosphere and feelings. They appear unapproachable at first, but as you get to know them, they can be very kind and wonderful. A cat just seemed like the ideal companion.
But yeah, Lupita was terrified of cats. She wasn’t just “not a fan.” She was really frightened. And in one of our first meetings, she was sitting on the floor of my office and slowly crawled towards the cat getting a little closer, a little closer, until she finally touched it, and then eventually she was petting it and could pick it up. And now she has a pet cat of her own. It showed how brave she was and how willing she was to commit to this role.
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