From writer/director Jacob Estes, the Blumhouse Productions film Don’t Let Go is a supernatural thriller that is also a unique exploration of how far we’ll go for those that we love and how the bond of family will teach us what we’re capable of. When LAPD detective Jack Radcliff (David Oyelowo, who is also a producer on the film) gets a shocking phone call from his recently murdered niece Ashley (Storm Reid), they must work together across time to solve her murder and try to save her life.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, actor David Oyelowo talked about the reaction he had to this script, why he also wanted to get involved as a producer and have a hand in the final product, the changes that were made along the way, what most impresses him about the Blumhouse model for filmmaking, why Storm Reid was the perfect co-star, and playing the emotional truth of every moment instead of getting tangled up in the time travel of it all. He also talked about his directorial debut The Water Man, how he connected to that story, and his creative relationship with Oprah Winfrey, who’s producing the film, as well as why he’s looking forward to working with George Clooney on Good Morning, Midnight.

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Image via Blumhouse Productions

Collider:  This is a really interesting and unusual story, in the way that it’s told. When you first read this script, what were the aspects that most appealed to you and most stuck out for you?

DAVID OYELOWO:  Yeah, exactly what you just said was how I felt. In a world of prequels, sequels, remakes, and all of that stuff, it felt like a genuinely new and fresh story. And I felt that me, plus that story, was also gonna be fresh and new, to be able to look at this uncle and niece relationship through the lens of an African-American family. Actually, when the script first came to me, it was set on a farm in Ohio with a white protagonist, but I felt that, if they’re coming to me, there’s a way that we can make this more specific and even more juicy, but without tying it to race. And so, all of those things really interested me. And then, also the very universal theme of, how far would anyone be prepared to go, for those they love?, was something that really resonated with me, as a father myself and someone who has a wife he loves. It was just something that really spoke to me, on so many levels.

How did this film evolve, from the first script that you read to the final cut that we now get to see? Were there major changes that were made, prior to or during the shoot?

OYELOWO: Yeah, there really were. When I came on board, we decided to transpose the narrative from Ohio to Los Angeles. We knew that there needed to be a world in which gunshots fired would not immediately be responded to by the police. That’s why it was on a farm in Ohio, in the middle of nowhere. But if we’re gonna put that in a more urban setting, where would that be? We decided to put in South Central Los Angeles, so that then opens up the casting opportunities, as well. And then, there was the time travel element. Anyone who’s developed or written a time travel movie will tell you that it’s a notoriously difficult thing to make work, not only on the page, but as a film, so we continued to work on that. After we shot the film, and even after we went to Sundance with the film, we learned some things. In fact, after Sundance, we went in and changed the ending. We changed several aspects of the movie because we learned some things from the audiences there. It’s one of those scripts that just kept on being developed, and I now feel we’ve truly arrived at its best version.

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Image via Blumhouse Productions

And it’s really cool that you get to be a part of it, in that sense. As an actor, you do your work and then you’re done, and the finished product is in someone else’s hands. But as a producer, as well, you get more of a say in that.

OYELOWO: Well, with films that I really care about, I can’t help myself. I love the development process. (Writer/director) Jacob Estes and I got on really well, creatively, early on. We just started working, and I didn’t even realize it, but I was working in the capacity of a producer. And Jason Blum recognized that and asked me to come on board as a producer, as a result. Like I said, the ones I really love, it’s not just about shooting the film and moving on. I want to see them have their best chance in the marketplace. Post-production, the marketing and the release, itself, are all things that I want to pay attention to. I have a real eye on representation being something that is reflected in the work that I do, and for that to continue, success has to be a part of the narrative. So, I just try to do everything that I can to afford the projects I do that possibility.

As a producer yourself, what most impresses you about what Blumhouse does with their film projects?

OYELOWO: I’m impressed with the latitude they give the creative people that they are working with. There are very few financiers and production companies that will allow you to go back into the edit, after a film has premiered at Sundance. But they have this model whereby you make the film for not much money, but they give you complete creative latitude and they give the director final cut. That means what you lack in budget, you have in creative control and creative support. So, the Blumhouse film you see will be what the filmmakers intended. And I think that level of empowerment, being something that you very seldom get elsewhere, means that people love working with them, and it makes a better film because, when you have empowered creatives, they get to do things they know they can’t do elsewhere and they work all the more harder because of that opportunity that is afforded them.

And it’s cool that they’re willing to take chances and do different things, too. Even though it all falls under the same model, everything under that, seems to really be its own thing.

OYELOWO:  It does because the individual creative voices are not being forced do something that’s middle of the road. The truth of the matter is, in the studio system, you have a bunch of executives who are consistently trying to force something into whatever they perceive to be something that will succeed. That inherently means that you go into this sausage maker type of thing, as opposed to things feeling distinct and specific. I truly believe that the universal is found in the specific, so someone like Jordan Peele, or Jacob Estes, or Leigh Whannell gets to really go in there and have a distinct auteur voice. But the great thing about Blumhouse is that their distribution goes through a giant studio, the likes of Universal, so you have an indie creative process with a studio release. It’s a perfect model for someone like me, who’s looking to paint outside the lines.

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Image via Blumhouse Productions

There really is such an interesting relationship at the core of this story. We don’t get to see a relationship like this too often, and then you add that dynamic of mostly having a relationship over the phone, and it’s all such an interesting, complex, layered dynamic. What made Storm Reid the right person to play that with? What were the qualities in her that made her right for this?

OYELOWO: The most major quality was someone who had a talent beyond her years. She spends a lot of the film on her own. She’s not necessarily playing opposite me, in close proximity, geographically. We’re on the phone to each other. Actually, while we were filming, we were always on set together, but she has to hold the screen on her own. That is not something every 14-year-old, which is how old she was, at the time, is going to be able to do. I first met her on the set of A Wrinkle in Time. I went to visit my friend Ava DuVernay, as she shooting that film, and saw Storm in action and just thought, “Whoa, this is someone who has a maturity and an emotional intelligence that is way beyond her years, and that’s exactly what we’re gonna need for Don’t Let Go.” I always felt we needed someone the likes of Natalie Portman in The Professional, in order for this film to work. So, Storm came in and read opposite me, and it was pretty instantaneous, that we knew we had someone special.

Because it feels like you could look at it either way, when you shot this, did you think of it as your character in the present day with hers in the past, or did you think about her character being in the present day and your character being in the future?

OYELOWO: That’s exactly right. The conclusion that I arrived at is that I had to just play the emotional truth of every given moment because, if I thought about it too much, I’d find myself in tangles. There were times where, just before a scene, myself, Jacob and Storm would go, “Okay, so where are we at now?” As most people know, you shoot films out of sequence, so that was also another element, when you already have a film that has timelines jumping all over the place, that was a tricky thing to get your head around. I think one of the best things we did with this film was to not try to explain the rules of the time travel element, but to have it be more governed by the emotional thrust. That, therefore, meant that all you had to know was, what is the character after in this given moment? And then, that allowed for a more emotionally clean, moment-to-moment performance, outside of getting yourself tied in knots. The time travel element and the genre element is purely a vehicle to tell this unconventional love story, between an uncle and and his niece. That is the thing that people are going to glom on to and they’re going to be able to identify with, whilst also having this wild ride through the genre of time travel.

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Image via Blumhouse Productions

You’ve also been in Oprah’s orbit for some time now, and now she’s an executive producer on your feature directorial debut, The Water Man. What’s it like to be a part of Oprah’s inner circle and have that creative relationship with her?

OYELOWO: Well, the thing that she has taught me, and that I have been the beneficiary of, is advocacy. She spotted something in me that she felt the need and desire to support, and it changed my life. Her producing my directorial debut, just from an encouragement and confidence point of view, is just huge. And having someone of her experience and wisdom always there to give me advice, and to be there as a protector, to me, just means that I can go out and take bigger creative swings. It began with our relationship on The Butler, when I was playing her son, and we never really broke those roles, of a mother and son relationship. That’s now something that I’m trying to pay forward, with someone like Storm, where I can identify in her, a great talent that needs nurturing, or Lonnie Chavis, who plays the lead in my directorial debut. He’s another brilliant young African-American actor, who I just think is going to have a huge career. That’s what she taught me, and that’s what I now feel very, very keen to do for others, as well.

How long was this whole directing thing lurking around in your brain? Was it something you’d been thinking about doing for a while? Was it finding this script, in particular, that made it seem like now is the right time?

OYELOWO: It had been something I’d been thinking about for awhile, but anyone who’s directed will tell you that it’s very different than just an acting gig. Even just pragmatically, it’s a lot more time dedicated to the endeavor. And so, for me, considering that I have a very nice acting career, it had to be the right thing and it had to be the right moment, but I’d been thinking about it for awhile. I’ve been privileged to work with several great directors, and whilst being directed by them, I was also watching them, to see what works, what doesn’t work, and what would probably be the way I would want to direct, as opposed to not. And then, I had been developing this film, The Water Man, as a producer, for awhile, and we actually had a director, but she fell out. It was actually the writer (Emma Needell), who turned to me and said, “Look, you’ve been developing this thing with me for four years. How do you feel about directing it?” It became the perfect moment to jump in. So, it was serendipitous. It wasn’t actually planned, but I’m so glad it happened the way it did.

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Image via Blumhouse Productions

What was it about the story that you found yourself most deeply connected to?

OYELOWO: It’s one’s about an 11-year-old kid whose mother is very ill. In the town that they’ve moved to, there’s this myth of The Water Man, who has the power of healing. And so, he goes looking for The Water Man, in order to heal his mom. Not unlike Don’t Let Go, the emotional connection I have is to what this kid is prepared to do because of how much he loves his mother. I play his father in the film, and while my son is off trying to find The Water Man, I’m trying to find my son. I guess that’s a big theme in my life. My kids range from the ages of seven up to 17, so I’m in the red hot eye of being parent right now and I’m drawn to stories that can talk about family, but in an expansive and cinematic way.

Because directing a film is so different from acting and even producing, what was it like to actually get on set and do it?

OYELOWO: What was really tricky was directing something that I was also in. I’m so used to disappearing into my characters and staying in the role, for as much as I can. You just can’t do that while you’re also the captain of the ship, in a sense, and needing to be there for anyone and everyone’s needs. So, that was something I really had to get my head around. There were some things that were unexpected, but thankfully, I’m so familiar with what it’s like to be on a set, that it was just another set. I just happened to be the one calling the shots, literally. That was the only thing that was different about it. But the thing I have learned from the great directors that I worked with is to hire great people and empower them to do their job. I was the only newbie on the film, in terms of what I was doing, as a director, and I was very protected and very held up by the great crew that I managed to assemble.

You’re also going to be directed by George Clooney for his next film, Good Morning, Midnight, and he’s become a master at directing and acting in his projects. Is that a project that you’ll likely be doing next?

OYELOWO: Yes, I will be doing George’s next film, and one of the things that I’m most curious about is to see his process, as a director who’s also acting in something. I spent a lot of time talking to friends of mine who had done just that – Nate Parker with Birth of a Nation, Joel Edgerton with Boy Erased and The Gift, and Mel Gibson, masterfully with Braveheart. Those are all people that I sat down with before I embarked on it. You learn so much from other people’s experiences, but to see George at work is something that I’m really looking forward to.

And that’s something really incredible that you can do, that you would never get from going to a film school.

OYELOWO: Yeah. When I spoke to Ava DuVernay about the fact that I was going to direct, she actually said to me something that I hadn’t thought of. She said, “David, you’ve been on more sets than I will probably ever be on.” At this point, I’ve done between 30 and 40 films, and she’s right, as a director, there’s just not enough days in your life to have directed as many films as I’ve been in, at this stage in my life. So much of what you learn is on the job, really, as an actor and a director, so that really allayed some of my fears, when it came to the level of experience that I have. I’m very au fait with what works and what doesn’t, on a set.

Don’t Let Go is out in theaters on August 30th.