Time travel is in these days. What would you do if you stumbled upon a ring that could take you back to the past? Don’t get too excited, it’d only be 57 seconds. But apparently the possibilities are virtually endless, as demonstrated by Franklin (Josh Hutcherson), the protagonist in Rusty Cundieff’s new feature. 57 Seconds also stars Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman as a sort of futuristic Steve Jobs in the medical tech industry. Franklin stumbles upon a daring piece of jewelry that allows him to manipulate scenarios for the good of humanity (or just for fun in a casino) by traveling back just under a minute.

We recently caught up with director Cundieff (Christmas in Harmony) to learn more about bringing an intriguing tale to life on the big screen, what it’s been like working with Hollywood heavy-hitters.

Bringing a Short Story to Life

Hutcherson and Freeman hold the screen well during their occasional scenes together in 57 Seconds. Cundieff commented on the perks of directing seasoned performers, both on and off set. “Both are super professional, but at the same time, fun to be around and to work with. Morgan has a great sense of humor that, probably, I don’t know how many people know that, outside the people that work with him. But he’s a fun person to talk to and be around.”

Both of these guys have so many stories of jobs that they’ve done and things, so it’s just fun talking to them about their careers in the business. And when they show up on the set, they just bring it.

If the premise of 57 Seconds sounds familiar, that might be because you read Lucifer, the short story by E.C. Tubbs, back in the day. Macon Blair (who directed the new Toxic Avenger movie) wrote the first draft of the film adaptation, Cundieff explained, and then he came in to help out with the script:

“My job, when I came on board, was just to try and figure out if there was a way to make the protagonist someone that you could root for. And that’s kind of what I did. I added the stuff about the drug company, I added in the kind of other side with Morgan’s character so that you saw that Josh had something that he was fighting for.”

“The original story is a more personal look at a human being who was going directly into hell, which I guess is why it’s called Lucifer, and a harder thing to sell. So that’s kind of what I brought to the brought to the table with this,” continued Cundieff. “And like I said, I really enjoyed Macon’s first draft quite a bit. I’ve liked dark stories, and I like seeing people sent directly into hell. But everything in the business is about how you can sell something and who’s going to buy it.”

Related: Best Morgan Freeman Movies, Ranked

What’s that famous line popularized by Stan Lee in Spider-Man? ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ One can’t help but think of those words when watching certain parts of 57 Seconds. “Overall, that’s kind of what the framework and the theme of the movie is. You kind of see it in Greg Germann’s character. Thorenson, who has these drugs that he’s making. They can be helpful, but also not,” explained Cundieff. “And then on the other side, Morgan’s character has this bracelet that he’s saying is going to be good. And we find out his connection to the ring. Everyone in this has a certain amount of power. And the question is, are they using it in the best way, or are they taking advantage of it in some sort of way?”

Exploring ‘How Society Works’
The Avenue

57 Seconds also joins the ranks of the plethora of other films hitting the masses these days that come off as an unorthodox blend of different genres. In Cundieff’s film, we see shades of sci-fi, of course, but also romance, thriller, and drama. It also seems to be making a statement about the real-life world we live in. Says Cundieff:

“I’m really interested in how society works. I’ve got a political thing that I’m often dealing with, social issues that I’m often dealing with. And being able to address some of that within the film, in terms of how technology is working in Franklin’s life, how drugs affect us, what it kind of relates back to, with what we’re going through with social media now, with AI, with all these things that are kind of have percolated up. They’ve become so important to how we view the world for good or for bad, and how people can manipulate what our view of the world is.”

Related: The Best Uses of Social Commentary in Sci-Fi Films, Ranked

“So that’s something that I’ve kind of played around with in some ways in other films,” added Cundieff. “And that’s generally what connects me to any story that I’m really super interested in it, because I have a real thing about how people interact with other people, for good or for bad, and how your worldview affects that.”

Rusty Cundieff’s Future and Dave Chappelle
HBO

Cundieff also noted a few challenges he faced while directing his new film, down to scheduling. “When I first joined the film, they said, ‘Oh, you might have 28 days.’ It turned out we had 18, which is very short to do a film of this scale,” Cundieff told us. And when asked about his future projects, he noted how “crazy” his career has been. “It’s comedy and Chappelle to horror, sci-fi,” he said. “I’m working on a rom-com now, that Cristina Milian is the lead in. She’s the sweetest person ever. I think it comes out sometime in 2024, if I’m not mistaken.”

And speaking of Chappelle, Cundieff has directed dozens of Chappelle’s Show episodes from back in the day. I myself grew up watching the sketch comedy classic, which have recently reentered the spotlight after they landed on Netflix. “He’s easily one of the smartest people that I’ve worked with,” Cundieff told us about Chappelle. “He’s much more well-read than probably a lot of people might realize. And he’ll play it down, but he’s super f***ing smart. And he’s a very decent human being, too.”

From The Avenue, 57 Seconds is now in theaters and on digital.