The Hitcher - Movies Online

 

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Making of The Hitcher
January 2007

Actor Sean Bean, who stars as The Hitcher – homicidal hitchhiker John Ryder

– in The Hitcher, admits, "I’ve never been a hitchhiker, and I’ve never

picked any up – and I don’t think I ever will, now…” Zachary Knighton,

cast as college student Jim Halsey, adds, "This is a thriller that shows

real people in an extraordinary yet believable and accessible situation.

To me, that’s the biggest fear; something that could actually happen.”

"There’s nothing in our movie that couldn’t happen to somebody,” confirms

Sophia Bush, who plays opposite Bean and Knighton as college student

Grace Andrews. "That’s what’s terrifying about it.” Updating the earlier

film of the same name, The Hitcher is the fourth production from Platinum

Dunes, the company formed five years ago by filmmaker Michael Bay with

producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller. Given the success of the company’s

first three movies – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror,

and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning – Fuller notes, "This

genre is a great avenue to give first-time directors opportunities in. Our

intent with Platinum Dunes was and is to let them be able to realize their

vision of a film.”

The Hitcher director Dave Meyers is, notes Fuller, "the first director who

we’ve made a deal with before we had a final script. The reason being,

we’d been talking to him for some time; we’d seen his reel and, from

meeting with him, sensed that this story was important to him. "Other

directors will come in and talk about how they’re going to shoot certain

scenes, and with which color palette. With Dave, we had a director who

was more concerned about the story of this movie than he was anything

else.” Form adds, "We all talked about the movie we wanted to make.

We try and ground our movies in reality, and not make them flashy with

distracting shots or weird effects. Dave’s take on this movie felt real.”

Even so, as the director elaborates, "We’ve got scares, thrills, cars, blood,

vistas, and a love story. The Hitcher is actually a date-movie thriller, which

audiences usually don’t get.” Meyers is a top director of music videos and

commercials who makes his feature film directorial debut on The Hitcher.

He reflects, "I believe that people go to the movies to see memorable

characters. Based on that, this project had what I was looking for; not only

in terms of The Hitcher – who is to the road what the shark in Jaws is to

the water – but also in terms of these two young people who you can care

about. In most thrillers, they’re just one-dimensional kids who get killed off.

In this movie, Grace and Jim are on a journey, not only in terms of their road

trip but also in terms of their relationship. So there was a good character

thriller here for actors, which made it something I was interested in directing.”

Form remembers, "After The Amityville Horror, we were thinking of doing a

movie that wasn’t a straight-ahead horror movie; a thriller with action. At a

lunch one day, The Hitcher came up. Like most people, I had seen it a long

time ago. We re-watched it, and we instantly thought, ‘This is exactly what

we need to do…’” The new movie now has not one but two protagonists,

Grace and Jim, driving it – both literally and figuratively. Form notes,

"Most of our movies – the ones we’ve done and the ones we’re developing –

have female protagonists.

We didn’t think that a young woman driving cross-country by herself

would pick up a hitchhiker, but a college couple would – and it becomes

a very different kind of journey for them.” Fuller adds, "Grace and Jim are

in love and they get into this horrible experience; they desperately try to

make the right decisions, but things get worse. As far as we’re concerned,

that’s where true horror comes from, and there are real scares in this movie.

"One difficulty for us in developing the new story with our screenwriters

was getting John Ryder into the car with our young couple. That had to be

changed from the original movie, considering that 20 years later drivers just

don’t stop for hitchhikers any more. So, in our version, Ryder had to be able

to maneuver his way in – which he does…” Meyers says, "If you’re going

to update a picture, then you need to bring something new and not just

do the original movie again. There are certain key scenes that we’ve

re-done, but with our own twist on them.

The Hitcher is more dreamlike and ours is more real. "The biggest and

most exciting change, for me, is having two leads who you can be

emotionally connected to, on a more articulated journey and in love.

There’s more conversation in our movie because this boyfriend and

girlfriend play off of each other and deal with the attacks, the situations,

and the cops. In turn, I think that helps The Hitcher come into focus a

little bit more, in terms of what he’s after. That’s something I wanted to

explore, too.” With the director in place and the screenplay completed,

casting began. Fuller admits, "Our casting process is unorthodox, but it’s

what we’ve done and will do every time; we sit down with a number of

actors and actresses and talk with them. This way, we get a sense of

who they are as people. We tape these sessions, and then recommend

which actors and actresses should audition for Michael and the studio.

"Andrew and I had taken note of Sophia Bush in another movie previously.

She seemed to have a lot of energy – which you need to star in one of our

movies, because they can be grueling physically. When she came in to

talk with us, we saw that she did have that, and a larger-than-life personality,

too.” The actress felt drawn to the role. She says, "Grace is like me in that

she’s outgoing, and a bit of a tomboy and a daredevil. I’m always looking to

do roles that are different, and what was exciting for me in taking on this

movie was that I could play someone who was a little closer to who I am –

and indulge the side of me that wants to do stunts with cars! "She’s a fun-

loving girl and pretty strong, and all of that gets put to the test. So, as an

actor, I get to play fun, emotional, and action all with one strong female

lead role.” Comparative screen newcomer Zachary Knighton, meanwhile,

"showed up to the audition on a motorcycle,” marvels Form. "He took his

helmet off, and already we were seeing Jim Halsey.” Knighton enthuses,

"I have always wanted to be in two kinds of movies; thriller and on-the-road.

And The Hitcher has always been one of my favorite movies. So when I got

the call to audition for The Hitcher, I thought, ‘I have to get this part!’”

Fuller clarifies, "We had already met Zach, while we were casting The

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. For whatever reason, we

didn’t go with him on that one. When he came back this time, we fought

for him during six auditions over several weeks – during which time he

came back to read with Sophia – because it’s not conventional to go with

an actor who has not starred in a movie before. But we felt that he looked

like our guy, one who would be driving cross-country with his girl. "He had

lost fifteen pounds in two weeks; he was doing whatever it took to get

this role. It’s rare to see that kind of commitment from an actor before

they were cast.” The chemistry between the two young leads was evident

from their read together. The producers knew that it had to be immediately

believable on-screen to audiences.

Form remarks, "On all of our movies, we bring the talent out to location

two weeks early; this is so people can get to know each other. We all

spend time together and hang out.” Bush reports, "Dave and Zach and

I spent most of the first week sitting in a room going over how couples

talk to each other. We all drew from experiences we’d had, and Brad

and Andrew had their own stories, too. For Zach and I, it was like putting

a puzzle together, and we started working as a team and figuring out

how to play off of one another.” Knighton reflects, "You always worry

that you’re not going to get along with someone. But I had gotten

comfortable with Sophia throughout the audition process, where she

was already really giving as an actor. Then, getting to know each other,

we became great friends.”

Form notes, "When actors are playing friends, or in this case boyfriend

and girlfriend, that time together matters. On our productions, the only

people who don’t come during that period are the actors playing their

adversaries.” As such, Sean Bean laughs, "It was quite appropriate for

what we were trying do on this picture! Sophia and Zach didn’t know

anything about me, and I didn’t know anything about them.” There was

a separate sustained uncertainty over just who The Hitcher was, because

Bean was late getting cast – though not for lack of trying. Fuller explains,

"We didn’t have a second choice; we wanted Sean, but he was booked.

Michael had worked with Sean on The Island, so we had met Sean and

his agent. Sean had read the script and liked it. Finally, three or four

weeks before shooting, Sean’s dates opened up and worked out. It was

down to the wire.”

Bean felt sanguine about the way things worked out. He reveals, "I

always try to choose projects that will challenge and excite me, and I’ve

found that playing villains can be more psychologically rewarding. I quite

like being scared by movies such as this one, where it’s based on

psychological fear and suspense and tension. The script was a pageturner.

Also, I had seen the original film when it came out, and I remember being

very scared by it. So, I was delighted to be asked to play this very

disturbing character – someone who pushes limits and gets away with it.

"I felt it was important that, initially, you encounter him as a regular guy

and not as an out-and-out psycho from the beginning. Ryder is intelligent

and shrewd, and a good actor; I see his clothes as coming from a previous

victim, as he takes the part of someone else. He himself is a kind of phantom,

without his own back story.” Meyers notes, "Sean is the strong actor we

needed to bring a strong interpretation to the role. Rutger Hauer’s performance

in the 1986 movie helped define who our Hitcher was written to be.”

Form clarifies, "Clearly, no actor would want to imitate what Hauer did, so

Sean’s is a different John Ryder – and just as powerful. When Dave called

‘action,’ Ryder would be right in front of you.” The actor offers, "I like to see

what happens on the set and be spontaneous about the possibilities. Dave,

who has a great eye, gave us a creative environment where the actors could

play around and experiment with a scene. We were able to take our time and

find the moments that we might otherwise have missed.” Bush states, "It was

great to have somebody in your presence that you can watch and learn from.

After the first two takes I did with Sean, Dave had to tell me, ‘Don’t pay so

much attention to him and Zach talking!’ Because Zach and I hadn’t spent

any time with Sean before he got in the car with us, I couldn’t stop staring…

"Sean gives every scene his all. He’s willing to go full-on, and I communicated

to him early on that I was as well. I told him, ‘Go for it. If you’re hurting me,

I’ll tell you.’ I did get some bruises, but that gave the scenes more reality.”

Knighton reflects, "He had been on my own ‘Hitcher’ list even before anyone

told me that they were after him to do the role. Sean is always prepared –

and intense. I think people are going to be really surprised by what he does

with the character.” Another key character in the film is a 1970 Oldsmobile

442. Form says, "We were thinking, ‘What is a cool car?’ When we saw the

442, we felt it was the perfect car for our Jim Halsey.” Knighton agrees,

calling the 442 "the coolest car ever. Just to be able to drive it in sequences

was awesome.” Fuller admits, "The casting of Zach influenced the casting

of the car – and vice versa.

In fact, The Hitcher is different for Platinum Dunes in several respects; first,

we got to wreck some cars, which we haven’t done before. Second, it’s the

first of our pictures that takes place in the present day. "The biggest challenge,

though, is that the heart of this movie is Grace and Jim’s relationship,

which is something we really haven’t done before; in order for this movie to

work, you have to believe in their relationship.” Meyers says, "I worked with

Zach and Sofia to create a believable romance for their characters; Jim is

not ‘whipped’ and Grace is not objectified.” Bush comments, "Grace’s

boyfriend happens to be her best friend, and they get put through something

horrific together. The stakes are higher because they’re a couple. You see

them going through a lot physically and emotionally – it’s do or die.” The

story, and the relationship, comes to a brutal reckoning in New Mexico. For

the filmmakers, "there could not have been a better place to shoot The Hitcher,”

enthuses Form.

"The state has some of the most beautiful landscapes and wide vistas I’ve ever

seen, and they added so much to our movie.” Director of photography James

Hawkinson adds, "There’s wonderful skies and clouds there. Sophia has an

incredible profile, so we did silhouette shots of her against the sky that were

very strong. We shot during monsoon season, so we had storms circling our

locations. The weather would change quickly, from hard sun to diffused sun,

but that worked for filming Sean as Ryder. "A film like this is made stronger

by the lighting and compositions, which are extremely important to me. The

early scenes start out very nicely lit, but then things start to darken and get

grittier, even as Grace and Jim are driving through these beautiful landscapes.”

Fuller marvels, "The rocks in Santa Fe are so red and rich. The best part of

driving crosscountry is driving through this type of terrain.” That beautiful

terrain sustained a considerable amount of action-packed mayhem, as the

production carefully staged what stunt coordinator Kurt Bryant assessed as

"hellacious stunts. We had a car chase at nearly 100 MPH, a stunt man

jumping off a 30-foot embankment, and guys getting thrown out of cars,

among other action scenes. We built a Mustang with special camera mounts

on it. There was a lot of prep work on the cars; everything had to work

precisely.” "Kurt is the best stunt coordinator in the world,” states stunt

man and stunt driver Corey Eubanks, whose career recently passed the

quarter-century mark and who took a busman’s holiday from working on

the Michael Bay-directed Transformers to be part of Bryant’s team. "There

is so much preparation for vehicles doing stunts that people can’t fathom.

A stunt that lasts seconds on film is the result of a six-week process.”

Meyers opines, "You can laugh and say, ‘Oh, boys with toys,’ or ‘Smash-

and-trash,’ but on the set that day you will spend hours on safety

precautions working up to a twosecond stunt. And when that finally takes

place, you are exhilarated; hopefully the audience will be too.” One

sequence, where the 442 veers violently into a ravine, tested Eubanks’

mettle. He relays, "I’ve jumped hundreds of cars – not an exaggeration –

and this stunt on The Hitcher was the first time I jumped a car where I

was not able to see my target. The car just didn’t have the acceleration

we needed, so we had to use the SWAG method – Scientific Wild-A--

Guess. "On this movie, Dave welcomed all of our thoughts and ideas.

Working with him, you wouldn’t know this was his first feature.” Utility

stunt man Mike Owen notes, "With that special Mustang – we called it

the Camestang – we were able to get the cars inside the action.

This was especially important for the sequences late in the movie.”

Bryant found a more unexpected addition to his team in the person of

the film’s leading lady. Bush reports, "I got to do some stunt driving.

The stunt team was saying, ‘Well, we need to get a bit of this scene

with you, but not the whole stunt. 180 degrees but not the whole 360.’

And I said, ‘If we’re gonna do this, let’s do it right,’ so that the audience

doesn’t feel, ‘Oh, there’s the cutaway.’ "It was truer for the movie and

for my experience as the character. My rule of thumb is to do something

as long as it’s not a risk to my health, and I had already watched the

team – who were amazing – set everything up and test things.

So Dave called ‘action,’ and I went spinning down the highway. It was a

blast, but I kept having to remind myself to look terrified. Afterwards,

everyone was asking if I was okay, and I said, ‘Can we do it again?’” The

careful preparation ensured that only some cars were harmed during the

making of the movie as well as, reports Meyers, "one camera that got

destroyed.” Having completed his first feature, the director notes, "In

the work I’ve done prior, one of the overlying principles was always

trying to be true and real. With those same priorities, hopefully, a

sense of realism and the human emotions between a boyfriend and

a girlfriend have made The Hitcher a roller-coaster ride that audiences

can relate to.

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