The Big Picture

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff sits down with the team behind It’s What’s Inside at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Director Greg Jardin and stars Brittany O’Grady, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, David W. Thompson, James Morosini, Devon Terrell and Nina Bloomgarden discuss making their Sundance hit. The movie sees a pre-wedding party turn into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase.

I haven’t stopped talking about Greg Jardin’s feature directorial debut since I saw It’s What’s Inside, and now it looks as though I’ll get the chance to continue doing so with the whole world. Netflix just snagged the worldwide rights to It’s What’s Inside at Sundance for a whopping $17 million, money I suspect will be very well spent. It’s What’s Inside rocks a super catchy horror high concept brought to screen brilliantly by Jardin.

The movie focuses on a group of friends at a pre-wedding party. What begins as an opportunity to reconnect before one of them gets hitched turns dark with the arrival of an estranged member of the group who’s brought along a mysterious suitcase. The contents of that suitcase turn their celebration into a brain-melting psychological nightmare.

Shortly before It’s What’s Inside made the big bucks, Jardin and cast members Brittany O’Grady, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, David W. Thompson, James Morosini, Devon Terrell, and Nina Bloomgarden all visited the Collider interview studio at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival brought to you by Film.io to celebrate the movie magic Jardin was able to create, to explain the different between “good confusion” and “bad confusion” in film, and to tease the wild ride their characters experience once the suitcase is cracked open.

Hear about it all straight from Jardin and the cast in the video interview above, or you can read the conversation in transcript form below.

It’s What’s Inside A pre-wedding party descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase. Director Greg Jardin Runtime 103 minutes

PERRI NEMIROFF: I’m giving you these duties because I’m afraid to spoil anything. Just in case our viewers do not know what It’s What’s Inside is just yet, can you give a brief description of the film?

GREG JARDIN: It’s What’s Inside is about a pre-wedding party between eight old college friends where one estranged friend shows up, played by this gentleman right here, [David W. Thompson], and he brings a suitcase, and the suitcase unlocks what we’re calling an existential nightmare. The movie itself is an examination of the male gaze, the commodification of relationships, and sort of how the over-sexualisation of our media affects both sides of a relationship.

A+ job without going too far. I’m mighty impressed.

This is your first feature. A very big deal. Two questions about that – can you tell us one thing you did that worked and helped make this movie a reality, but then also can you pinpoint a roadblock that you came across with this being your first film and tell us how you overcame it?

JARDIN: I mean, roadblocks, I think just getting it made – funded. I wrote it back in 2016 and it just had a series of fits and starts, really. Just getting someone to believe in it and then getting it financed. One of our producers, Kate [Andrews], gave it to another producer, Raul [Domingo], who gave it to Colman Domingo, who gave it to another producer, [William] Rosenfield, and that’s ultimately how it got made. But it was just really perseverance and just kind of not giving up, I guess. There were really many times when I really just didn’t think it was gonna happen. Definitely didn’t think we’d be here. And so sorry, I forgot your first question.

That was the roadblock, so something effective you did. Something you might even recommend to another first time feature filmmaker out there.

JARDIN: I think it’s just don’t give up, really. Don’t give up. You go through a lot, or I went through a lot. I feel like most filmmakers go through a lot of rejection in trying to get that first thing made. Maybe people will tell you that they like your script, but they don’t want to make it. In this case, I was told that it was too confusing. It was “very confusing.” So, yeah, you just have to kind of persevere and stick through, I guess.

Image via Photagonist at the Collider Media Studio

I don’t know if you’ll be able to answer this question while avoiding spoilers …

JARDIN: Okay, I’m in. I’m excited now.

Because you brought up that you started working on this in 2016, what would you say is the biggest difference between draft one of this screenplay and the finished film?

JARDIN: Oh, that’s a good question. Um …

If you need to pass, I understand!

JARDIN: I guess I’ll say the biggest difference is the nature of David’s character. Sorry, that’s so vague. [Laughs]

No, I’ll take that tease! I look forward to this getting a distributor at this festival and following you everywhere you go. We’ll have an opportunity to have a spoiler conversation eventually!

JARDIN: Okay, great. I look forward to it.

It is “make Greg blush time.” Again, this is his first feature film. I have very high hopes he’s gonna go on to direct many more. Can each of you tell me something about him as an actor’s director and leader that you appreciated and you’re excited for more actors to experience in the future?

NINA BLOOMGARDEN: We had a week of rehearsal before we started shooting and that’s super rare. And the fact that he factored that in was really, really special and really helpful for what happens in this movie. And also, your vision was so clear, and I think just showing up we all immediately kind of trusted this. Seeing the set, seeing everything come to light, you knew exactly what you were doing, and I feel like that was really, really exciting to work with a director like that.

JAMES MOROSINI: He’s also so supportive in letting us really take risks and big chances, even things that don’t make it into the film. Sometimes he would let us go way further and improvise and take a lot of chances just so we could kind of build this team. He’s just an incredibly supportive, good person that made us all, I think, feel really safe when we were working with him.

DEVON TERRELL: I think also, he really lives the scene with you. You’ll turn around and you’ll finish a scene and he’s like, smiling and beaming, and he’s excited for the next moment. He’s like, “Maybe we could try this, or we could try that!” And as an actor, you never feel like you’re disappointing him. You always feel like there’s more so you’re craving more from yourself to go deeper and to explore. We all fell in love with each other, but it all starts from the top.

MOROSINI: He’s having so much fun when he’s directing! He’s his first audience so he’s so psyched about everything we’re doing. It feels like we’re performing for him the whole time.

‘It’s What’s Inside’ Filmmaker Greg Jardin Becomes a Director to Watch at Sundance 2024
Image via Photagonist at the Collider Media Studio

Does he have a monitor dance? Something he does behind the monitor that signals to you he’s loving a take?

JARDIN: I do a high-pitched yelp, often. Like a “Whoo!”

BRITTANY O’GRADY: Or giggles.

REINA HARDESTY: Yes! You get this crazed look in your eye, and you’re just like, “Yeah, guys!” [Laughs] That’s what I love about Greg. He’s just so enthusiastic and so passionate, and it just brings such a good energy to the set. We’re all just so happy to be there because he’s so happy, you know? It’s magical.

JARDIN: It’s fun. Thank you.

GAVIN LEATHERWOOD: It being such an ensemble piece, too, there’s opportunities where maybe you could get lost in an ensemble, but Greg was always really attentive to everyone. Each of us, I feel like, had one-on-ones that were so crucial to developing our characters and knowing where we were, what we were doing. Long conversations about that. Early on, I didn’t really know how to make sense of the script because there was so much going on, and sitting down with you, I was like, “Oh, this guy really knows what he’s doing,” and it felt that way throughout the whole shoot. You were the North Star where there was always a clear sense [that] we were going in the right direction because you knew, even if we were getting a little delirious at four in the morning. [Laughs]

O’GRADY: I think one thing is, you do your best work when you’re comfortable and you feel safe, just to piggyback off of what everybody is saying. The other thing I think that Greg has done brilliantly was, when we were in the rehearsal process, I think a brilliant director also has trust in their actors and takes a step back and observes. He felt confident enough in our abilities, and we all had to trust each other in this process — without giving anything away — and he gave us direction, he observed. It’s almost like I would describe it as a scientist watching something kind of unfold and knowing you created something, and he allows it to grow. I’m not a scientist …

LEATHERWOOD: Greg is though. Greg’s a mad scientist.

O’GRADY: Greg is in the art and so, I thought that that allowed us to flourish and create these grounded, realistic characters, and to create these bonds. He created a great moment for James and I to create this relationship, and that’s kind of a thread throughout this story. It was so empowering to work with a director like Greg and to work with the people that he chose to be on this film. He has great taste.

DAVID THOMPSON: I also just thought it was really incredible and impressive the way there would be a million things going on. You’d be figuring something out with this big, crazy house we’re in and setting up some insane shot that takes you all across the entire property, and all the while, through all that, you’d still have the time to stop and talk to us about a moment. Or there would be the 3 AM phone calls of like, “Let’s talk about this thing,” or stepping into your office and there’s Hawaiian music playing, and sending us, “Oh, listen to this song!” I just think the fact that you were really able to give everyone the attention that they needed, all the while addressing the million other things going on, I think is a testament to your capabilities as a director.

How you feeling over there?

JARDIN: These guys! Oh, you guys made me blush. She said it would happen, it happened.

Success!

‘It’s What’s Inside’ Director Explains “Good Confusion” vs. “Bad Confusion” in Movies
Image via Sundance 

I’m glad you were all very good at passing the mics around because I have another big group question. Obviously, we don’t want to spoil anything, but I do want to take a moment to tease your characters a little bit. Can each of you tell me your character’s greatest strength at the beginning of the film? But then I also wanna know their greatest weakness. What’s the thing that could do them in in this wild situation that unfolds?

HARDESTY: I’m gonna keep it super vague …

I’m bursting at the seams right now, so eager to shout to the world about all the details that I love! You keep bringing up that some people found it confusing. I feel like it’s so appropriately disorienting for the first half of the movie, and then you start using these visual techniques and everything comes together so seamlessly – and, of course, through your performances as well. It’s important that it has that quality, but you get the balance there.

JARDIN: Yeah, we just tried to juggle what we call “good confusion” versus “bad confusion.” Good confusion is what I refer to as – I’m a huge David Lynch guy. His stuff is confusing in the best way, for me. And then there’s bad confusion where you’re just like, “Man, I’ve disconnected from this experience.” So hopefully it’s not the bad stuff.

Good confusion for sure!

HARDESTY: I think, Brooke, her greatest strength is that she has a lot of energy. [Laughs] The weakness is definitely insecurity. She just really wants to be loved, and she’ll do the wrong things for it.

O’GRADY: I think Shelby’s strength comes through evolution of her ability to observe situations, and I think she grows from a point of weakness where she settles for less than she deserves.

THOMPSON: Forbes’ greatest strength is the love that he carries for all of his friends, and I think he’ll do anything to bring them back into his life. And I think his downfall is his hubris.

JARDIN: That’s good, hubris. That was great. You guys are doing great. [Laughs]

Image via Photagonist at the Collider Media Studio

TERRELL: I would say Reuben’s greatest strength is to be the sun a room, where he can brighten everyone’s day.

That’s a beautiful way to describe him.

TERRELL: Oh, thank you! [Laughs] Not how I would describe myself. But I would say his greatest weakness is also that he feels potentially that his personality is built off the basis of how his mother was and the pressure of living underneath the huge personality of his mother.

JARDIN: Great. Man, you guys are good! Glad no one asked me this question.

LEATHERWOOD: I feel like Dennis’ strength is probably his ego. He’s really built a very strong personality to protect himself from the world and his privilege. And his insecurity is probably that soft jelly center of who he really is that he doesn’t want anyone else to see. He’s a tough guy, but not really.

BLOOMGARDEN: I think Maya’s greatest strength is the acceptance of others. She accepts everyone. She’s super warm. And I think her weakness is she doesn’t quite know who she is. I think she’s on a journey trying to figure it out.

MOROSINI: Oh, man. I don’t know. I mean, what’s his greatest strength? I don’t know necessarily if Cyrus has many strengths.

JARDIN: His ability to stretch out a sentence. [Laughs]

MOROSINI: I mean, I think Cyrus’ greatest strength is that he’s trying to make it work with his relationship with Shelby, but in doing so, he’s extremely dishonest and is never really willing to say what he means, and so that’s his greatest weakness is that he’s always hedging, and he can never commit to what he wants, so he can never really commit to the relationship he’s in. So he’s always kind of half in and half out throughout the whole movie, and he gets his comeuppance for it.

Which Sci-fi Movie Do You Wish You Could Step Into?
Image via Photagonist at the Collider Media Studio

I’ll end with another group question that doesn’t have to stress you out in terms of spoilers. But I will say, those were good descriptions and hopefully everyone out there gets a sense of the pieces on the game board and how they can be shuffled around through all of this.

Greg, a lot of your director’s statement was about the idea of the appeal of being able to escape reality through sci-fi movies and getting the opportunity to experience the impossible through them. For each of you, can you name a sci-fi movie that you would want to step into and experience the impossible that that movie presents?

O’GRADY: Whoa!

HARDESTY: How do you choose one?

I think about this a lot. I learned nothing from Jurassic Park. I wanna walk into that movie and make a dinosaur.

JARDIN: I feel like my go-to answer is Blade Runner.

LEATHERWOOD: Dude, yeah! That’s mine.

MOROSINI: E.T. would be cool because then I’d have a little alien friend, you know? That would be really nice.

O’GRADY: I really like Arrival, piggybacking off of aliens, because I like the whole aspect of the aliens actually being there to bring everyone together, even though it’s terrifying. But it was my first sci-fi movie I actually really connected with because there was that emotional component.

HARDESTY: Spirited Away.

MOROSINI: That would be so cool!

HARDESTY: That’d be so cool.

I didn’t see that coming. I love that answer.

HARDESTY: I would love to just be like Chihiro. That’d be great.

TERRELL: All I’ve got is Attack the Block in my head right now [laughs], because it’s just such a cool world and I just love that film, so I was like, “This is crazy,” but I don’t think I’d want to be in that world. [Laughs]

As deadly as that scenario is, I don’t care. That movie rocks.

TERRELL: It rocks!

I would definitely want to see how I would do against those aliens.

TERRELL: Yep, same!

THOMPSON: I don’t know, I feel like most sci-fi that I can think of right now is, like, it highlights all the worst parts of humanity and how we’re sort of doomed. Not to get gloomy. But I don’t know, maybe Eternal Sunshine [of the Spotless Mind]. That feels like that could be a helpful thing at a couple moments in my life. I’d be like, “Yeah, that’d be great to just put all of that in a bag and get rid of that.”

BLOOMGARDEN: I’m with David. I love movies about dystopian societies. I love that stuff, but I don’t think I’d necessarily want to live there. So I guess any movie where dogs talk.

That’s a very good answer!

LEATHERWOOD: I’m a big Blade Runner fan, too.

JARDIN: I’ll go Blade Runner 2049 so we don’t have the same answer. [Laughs]

Special thanks to our 2024 partners at Sundance, including presenting partner Film.io and supporting partners Pressed Juicery and DragonFly Coffee Roasters.