Alex Ross Perry: Exclusive Interview

Hey! Thank you for accepting our interview. To start, Can you tell us about the first meeting with Tobias Forge and how the collaboration started and evolved from a music video (J.H.K.M.) to a complete movie?

i didn't meet tobias until we were days away from shooting the jesus he knows me video, by which point we had been speaking for weeks about the video while also knowing that we had communicated a bit throughout the process of finishing metal myths and getting approvals for the various items in the whisky a go go pop up. but i met him during the filming of some chapters at the mausoleum a few days before, but he was Cardi at the time, so my first meeting with him was through a giant rubber head. i'd also been at a photoshoot in brooklyn months earlier to meet management and discuss metal myths filming, but he was working at the time so we didn't meet. the mystery was quite appealing, with a near miss, then meeting in character, and then finally hanging out during the video shoot. during the visit to the mausoleum, i was told the piece they were filming announced a tour culminating with two shows at the forum to be filmed for a movie. this was february 2023, and i said to please keep me in mind if the movie needed any help. one thing lead to another...

How did the band or Tobias react to the first draft of the film?

the first draft of the film was the first/final draft of what tobias wanted. the edit - of both the concert, which i wasn't involved with and then our narrative scenes - is done to his specifications, or with him on a call collaborating, so the first draft is basically halfway there. he was enthusiastic and positive as we edited our narrative moments, but we both wanted the same thing: for the edit of concert into backstage to be seamless and invisible at all times, both with picture and sound.

How hard was it combining the scenes from night 1 and 2? Were there any syncing issues?

i didn't have anything to do with this part of the edit, but the concert was so meticulously performed that there surely could not have been. you can tell in the movie because one night had the cameras on the left side and another night on the right. so when you see images cutting, say the mounted drum camera angle, from one side to the other, you are watching the nights interact. this speaks to the professionalism of the band and the fact that this show represented about a year and a half of the various impera tours.

Were the backstage shots all recorded during the Ritual, like how it looks in the movie? Or did the actors perform after the show was over?

the forum rituals were september 11 and 12, 2023 and we shot all of our scenes in february 2024 in brooklyn. so, very much not. but there are select shots and moments of the narrative/backstage filmed at the forum, such as the final shot of the movie and also a shot of sister that - as you can see in the film - is clearly filmed at the venue.

The “non-serious” question but we wanted to ask, Did Tobias actually do the split jump in "Square Hammer"? Or was the split jumper a stunt double?

as i've said about this before, either he rehearsed for months to get it right or a double was dressed in his wardrobe, both resulting in a single 1.5 second shot during the middle of a complex dance number. both equally plausible, both quite insane to imagine.

Were the ghouls marching along with the skeleton dancers to the song "Twenties" intentional or something unintentionally discovered during a rehearsal?

i wasn't present when choreographer lisa easton created the dances. i think because twenties had never been performed, it obviously had to be rehearsed from scratch for these shows with the dancers, so likely it was an opportunity to find some new performance moments for a new song.

How did you choose who to film for an “in the crowd” moment? Was it random selection or a thought-out choice?

quite random as i recall. there were 12 or 13 cameras every night, including several by the stage. obviously the most die hard fans put in the time to arrive early and be that close, so they're likely to be camera-ready at all times. in the edit though, certain shots were chosen to highlight audience enthusiasm, emotional reactions to the songs or general fun ritual vibes.

Are there any reasons for some ghouls having more screen time, such as DEWDROP, Phantom, and Rain, while others like Swiss had less? Was it due to their places on the stage?

that is exactly why. obviously cameras are visible during the show, but performers who are toward the back are harder to capture than those on the edge of the stage by the stage cameras. there are mounts on the drums and keyboard set ups, so you see a lot of those ghouls and ghoulettes as a result, but it's just the nature of filming without blocking the space between performer and audience.

Some fans take home the mummy dust dollars and confetti as little souvenirs. For the scene where Copia was sobbing over his passed mother, was extra confetti and mummy dust added?

not really, we just pushed it mostly around the area where the stretcher was. that's pretty much what the floor looked like when people left, although during the private 3rd day of filming, those canons were used again so maybe there was a bit extra.

What scenes or moments did you really struggle to cut from the movie, if there were any? And how did you decide what goes in vs. what gets cut over the course of the 2 nights?

nothing got cut except some stage banter, and the bows at the end of square hammer. as you can see, the accidental fun with papa's shoe breaking and ashley coming on stage to fix it and jesus kaufman using the leaf blower were included, and that would have been easy to cut, obviously it only happened one night, but overall the idea was to preserve the show but tighten the space between songs sometimes.

What was the most enjoyable part of filming "Rite Here Rite Now"?

i did enjoy having the forum as a private filming location, mostly to get the shot you asked about above where he is sobbing in the empty arena. that is not something you'd get on most independent projects. but the most enjoyable for me would definitely be when i joined the tour in missouri a month before the forum shows to ride on the bus and extract 1,000 ideas from tobias and help create a plan of what was needed on the day at the forum and what we could punt down the road to our filming portion. it was a total immersion in this vast vision he had, and doing that on the bus, seeing how the whole operation worked was very inspiring and creative.

What new challenges did you face directing "Rite Here Rite Now"?

stitching together stuff shot 6 months apart on opposite coasts was not easy, but cinematographer/editor Rob Kolodny made it quite seamless. but the challenge of shooting a reverse angle in february of a shot we already filmed in september is quite a puzzle. that, plus the release date was set in stone and not going to move to executing this all quickly and at the level fans would expect was nonstop, but also mostly exciting.

Which genres and styles of movies are you most interested in from a director’s standpoint?

i mostly like horror, spectacle and general craft on display. tobias would often say he didn't want the grounded, handheld version of stuff. everything has to be grand, planned out, and specific. i don't exclusively feel that way on other things i do, but his desire for a certain aesthetic was a fun challenge to deliver.

Are you interested in directing other movies similar to "Rite Here Rite Now" in the future? If so, what band/musician would you like to work with?

i'm not sure there ever has been a movie like this, or could be again, but i'd love to do another concert movie. however only ghost can merge the narrative and theatrical with characters that have been around for years.

What is the funniest behind-the-scenes story that you could tell us?

probably nothing specific, but it was endlessly amusing to me to watch my usual crew of new york film friends interact with the world of ghost, something that is vast and specific but which they knew nothing about. tobias walking around, in character, shaping scenes, shots and moments was a real trip for them.

Thank you, Alex, for sharing your time and insights with us it was really cool to talk with you! As we wrap up, we’re curious to ask you one last question, what was the biggest lesson you learned while working on this film?

I really liked how tobias expresses ideas, either ones he is crystal clear about and are not yet correct, or ones that are more flexible. Watching someone with more ideas than I will ever have know when something is one kind or the other was quite interesting, and something I hope I can utilize myself.

You can follow Alex and his work on his instagram by clicking here!