Fargo has officially returned with both murder and flatulence after a months-long-delay due to you-know-what. So it’s great that we’re seeing an understated Chris Rock doing his dramatic thing, and the show was one of the first to tiptoe back into production, but that doesn’t mean that those involved weren’t nervous. That’s more than expected, given our current situation, and Hollywood Reporter caught up with creator/showrunner Noah Hawley and Rock to discuss the process, which involved a lot of protocols and a special note from Hawley to inspire cast and crew this summer.
Hawley knew that he needed to invoke a big gun here, so to speak, so he thought about Tom Cruise, who not only called a head of state to help Mission: Impossible 7 resume production but also plans on filming in space at some point before 2022. You had to know things got a little cinematic, right? For sure:
“Someday in the not too distant future Tom Cruise will go to space. He will bring a film crew with him. He will bring a director and actors. They will shoot a film. Now space, as we know, is an airless vacuum where nothing can live. A hostile void where a suit breach or airlock malfunction can kill, where even the simplest tasks must be done methodically, deliberately. Astronauts train for years to prepare. They drill protocols and procedures into their heads. They know that surviving in space will require their full concentration… Now imagine doing all that AND making a movie.”
Well, the note worked, and Fargo kicked back into gear, even with Hawley unable to join the Chicago set once more. The season appeared to finish filming without substantial incident, but Chris Rock did not hold back on how the experience impacted his thoughts. That’s because Fargo is a show with a lot of intense face-offs and some handshakes and, well, all of those things that crime syndicate members do to intimidate each other.
“You got an intimate scene with somebody — and I don’t even mean sex, I mean just an argument,” explained Rock. “And you’re yelling back and forth and you’re like, ‘Okay, I hope this motherf*cker don’t have COVID.’” Hey, no one can ever accuse Chris Rock of holding back on his true feelings.
(Via Hollywood Reporter)