Summary
DirectorPeter Bergis known for his gritty, realistically action-packed dramas.
Hes brought audiences to Afghanistan with boots on the ground inLone Survivor.
He brought us the horror of the Boston Marathon Bombing withPatriots Dayand the death-defying, blue-collar bravery of theDeepwaterHorizondisaster.
Image via Netflix
He also famously introduced the sublimely AmericanFriday Night Lightsfranchise to an explosively appreciative audience.
Now he reteams withFNLandBattleshipstarTaylor Kitschfor Netflixs new bloody Western epicAmerican Primeval.
CollidersSteve Weintraubhad the pleasure of sitting down with Berg and OKeefe to dissect the themes and influences behindAmerican Primeval.
Image via Netflix
COLLIDER: I’ve watched the whole series.
I really want to say congratulations.
You both did great work on this.
Image via Netflix
I really dug this.
PETER BERG: Thank you!
JULIE OKEEFE: Thank you.
It follows the gritty and adventurous exploration of the birth of the American West, the violent collisions of cults, religion, and men and women fighting for control of the new world.
Peter, I definitely have to start with you.
BERG: I don’t know.
It was a big mistake.
I couldn’t get anyone else to do it.
People were intimidated by the role, I guess.
So I apologize to you and everyone else who has to watch that.
[Laughs] No, you did great.
It just adds so much realism to what is being depicted on screen.
You’ve done so many things, so was this the hardest thing that you’ve ever filmed?
BERG: I think it was, yes.
I can’t say enough about the crew.
It wasn’t just me that got really into the grit.
It was an adventure, and that’s what life should be.
I believe it should be a series of adventures and challenges, and we definitely had one withAmerican Primeval.
I think people who don’t know how movies are made are going tofeelthat realism as they’re watching.
It adds so much.
OKEEFE: What I do is come in and bring in experts.
Then, really engaging artisans to come in.
We set up workrooms within the community, and it was for teepees and really interesting textures.
I had research from [National Museum of the American Indian] at Smithsonian.
Then, we brought in Eastern Shoshone singers.
We have a scene that’s called Getting Ready for War.
It’s a night scene.
Waylon is the head of a Native group, so they came into the set.
And he said, Can we do that?
Because nothing’s written down on sheet music.
You’re bringing in singers, and they’re really just orally singing these songs.
So I started working with Netflix with their legal department to figure out all the details of it.
They go to practice that morning while they’re setting up the set.
They go over just to listen.
So, it set the tone on set, and you saw people dancing.
It’s a really wonderful scene.
Thank you for sharing.
Pete, you havesome great action in this.
Specifically, in Episode 1, you have this brutal sequence.
And if you could, address a little bit of Episode 1 and that incredible sequence.
That was sort of a theme of the show.
It was a mass murder that was committed by Mormons against pioneers from Arkansas.
It’s been documented.
It’s been owned by the Mormon Church.
It’s a horrible crime that really did occur.
American Primevalis now streaming on Netflix.
