For a movie as mysterious as Longlegs, you would think that whoever wrote and directed the film would be a creepy and enigmatic entity with dark inner demons and ties to the occult. In reality, Osgood Perkins is just a bit of a movie nerd who likes to be spooked, much like those who go to see his films. And much like a movie nerd, he took to Reddit to answer some questions about the movie, but things went off the rails, much like Longlegs itself.
In a recent Reddit AMA, Perkins shared some very helpful information about the most ambiguous parts about the movie. When asked by one fan if Agent Harker doomed herself to hell since “her mother did not finish committing the murder of the entire Carter family?” Perkins replied, “sure.” So…..there’s that. Another gem includes him saying that “the movie was made entirely by google.” This is the man who made the scariest movie of the year.
There were some more informative answers, too, they just aren’t as fun. Perkins revealed that his biggest influences are Eraserhead, The Shining, and Beetlejuice, even going so far as to say “I should be so lucky to lick Lynch’s boot.”
But the real fans want to know the important stuff, like if Nic Cage was really interested in singing. Of the infamous “Let Me In Now” moment, Perkins said, “i wrote the words and cage did the phrasing. just one of those lucky things that happens if you keep showing up to work. so, like, keep showing up to work,” he said, spoken like a true boss.
Perkins claimed that Cage was down for just about anything, saying, “Nick would run into traffic if he thought it would help the movie.” Thankfully, he did not run into traffic to help the movie. He did unpack some major trauma from his childhood, though.
But the real takeaway here is that Perkins hates TV. One fan commented, “I wish this movie was a series. That’s all I want to say. It left me wanting so much more,” but Perkins didn’t agree, replying, “F*ck tv. And thank you!” Hopefully now you can understand just the type of filmmaker Perkins is.
Finally, he shared his favorite way to watch a film: on a plane. But through someone else, “I like watching people watch movies on airplanes. so i hope someone watches someone else watching someone else watching it on an airplane. over an ocean. at night.” And this? This could be how we make Red Eye 2 happen.