Milo Ventimiglia and director William Eubank in ‘Land of Bad.’ Photo courtesy of The Avenue.
Filmmaker William Eubank chatted about co-writing and directing the thriller “Land of Bad.”
The cast features Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth, Milo Ventimiglia, Luke Hemsworth and Ricky Whittle.
‘Land of Bad’
The synopsis is: When a Delta Force team is ambushed in enemy territory, a rookie officer (Liam Hemsworth) refuses to abandon them. Their only hope lies with an Air Force drone pilot (Russell Crowe) as the eyes in the sky during a brutal 48-hour battle for survival.
On his experience making this film, Eubank said, “It was pretty exciting. There were lots of crazy stuff going on, but we had a blast doing it.”
“This movie was all about trying to bring the action and the excitement, as well as ask a few questions along the way, and just have fun with it,” he said.
Working with his all-star cast of actors
Eubank opened up about working with this all-star cast of actors.
“Oh my God,” he exclaimed. “What a cool group of guys. We are all still in this group text together. It’s one of those movies where there was a brotherhood between the guys, and that was really cool,” he said.
“Everyone is still talking, and we had such a blast. It was such a fun group of guys to really have that camaraderie with,” he said.
“Russell is a genius, he is so funny, and he has such a zest for life. He truly loves life, and he never wants to stop working. He has such a passion, and it was such a joy and an honor to work with him,” he elaborated.
Lessons learned from making this movie
“Every day teaches me something about myself whether I want to know it or not,” he admitted about the lessons learned from making this movie.
“Every movie teaches me something whether it’s how to work with people or how to find my own enthusiasm when I find it wavering, or how to take a deep breath.
Remember to enjoy your life in general first and foremost. As far as I know, this is the only one we’ve got,” he said.
The digital age
On being a filmmaker in the digital age, Eubank said, “It is interesting. I got to try out the Vision Pro, where I was able to put on gravity in 3-D and the noise cancelling things, and it was an unbelievable experience. That was unreal and so crazy. It was truly mind-blowing.”
“To be able to watch a 3-D movie in it is mindboggling,” he said. You really are in the 3-D vs. being in a theater… it is just amazing.”
AI on the future of the industry
Eubank also shared his thoughts on AI on the future of the industry.
“Who knows? What am I to say? I am just a creator,” he said. “I just love making movies and telling stories. I’m sure there will be changes in my lifetime. I just want to keep making entertaining things and stories.”
“My favorite part is just shooting and getting there on set with a bunch of talented crew and actors. Also, trying hard to make something authentic and fun,” he added.
Advice for young and aspiring filmmakers
For young and aspiring filmmakers, he said, “My best advice for young filmmakers is to truly write what you love. Truly write what you enjoy. There are too many books about plot, and that’s all good. I probably have these books myself in my office somewhere, and that’s all good.”
“There is nothing worse than going to work one day and shooting a scene, and you realize that you don’t really care about that scene,” he said.
Eubank continued, “You want to write and create things that you love with all your heart, and don’t care about the plot. Just write cool stuff that you want to see, and everyday focus on that.”
“I guarantee you that by the time you have a stack of those scenes (whether go together or not), I promise you that people are going to love that. People might find that movie weird as hell, but they would have loved it,” he elaborated.
“So, just write things that you want to see,” he said. “That way, you can get excited, and it shows.”
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Eubank said with a sweet laugh, “Getting older and slower.”
“We have our second baby on the way in April,” he said. “I am turning into a dad, and I am trying to keep the dad bod from happening too quickly but it’s coming.”
“I will keep making movies and keep loving life, and not just too old just yet,” he added.
Success
Regarding his definition of the word success, he shared, “Success is truly loving what you do and loving your life. In writing, you need to write things that you want to shoot. If you are not excited to shoot it, then you shouldn’t be writing it.”
“Don’t write a scene that just takes you from one scene to another,” he said. “Make something awesome, and then, put enough of those awesome things together and you will have a great movie.”
Closing thoughts on the movie
For viewers, he remarked, “I ended the movie without giving too much away on a hopeful note. I wrote this film 15 years ago and we finally got it made.”
“At the end of the day, the theme of hopefulness is important. No matter how crazy something gets, there is always hope and positive sides to things,” he concluded.
To learn more about director and filmmaker William Eubank, follow him on Instagram, and check out his IMDb page.