In your latest collaboration, the FX series A Murder at the End of the World, out November 14, an eccentric billionaire, played by Clive Owen, summons an eclectic group of strangers to his exclusive enclave in Iceland, where one of them winds up dead. Emma Corrin plays Darby Hart, a writer who investigates that death. Like your series The OA, A Murder at the End of the World combines technology, otherworldliness, and intrigue in a story that takes place in the not-too-distant future. But let’s go backward: How did you two meet?
Zal Batmanglij: I met Brit when we were both at Georgetown University. This was a few decades ago, and the school was having their first-ever film festival. My friend Mike and I had made two short films, and Brit, who was 18 and a freshman, led the standing ovation for our movies. I thought, Who is this magical girl? She was so blonde, like Cosette in Les Misérables coming to life...We became aware, as we got older, that queer folks and women make great creative partnerships. Look at Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, Nan Goldin and David Armstrong. Queer people and women—we inspire each other!
Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij Envision the Future, Interview in W Magazine
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To quote The OA: “We’ve been going about this all wrong”
I feel AMATEOTW episode 6 was a real eye opener for both Darby and us viewers. Just like Darby, fans have more likely than not been caught up in our own “whodunnit” (who is the killer, why etc) and this is partly due to the marketing from FX (which maybe is intentional or maybe a complete misdirect) but this episode really shone light on the narrative and murders (both true and fictional). It’s not about the killer at the end of the day, most of the time, like Bill said, they’re boring, predictable, broken people who break others. A predictable pattern we see repeated countless times. We don’t need to keep shining a light on killers, we don’t need to keep the morbid fascination going with true crime podcasts or glamourise them in biopics. It’s about the victims. Who were they before their life was tragically cut short?
And that is what this story has been about the whole time: Bill, the victim. That is why every episode has had a flashback about him. Showing the puzzle pieces of his character. An artist. A lover. A recovered addict who helped Rohan get sober himself. Who wanted to tell the stories of victims, and stop future victims of both serial predators and greedy capitalists. Someone who wanted to help the world be better.
If the end of this show ends up with an “obvious” killer or doesn’t even bother to show them or they are a nobody I won’t be mad because I understand the commentary B&Z are making now. I still feel like we’re set for a doozy of a finale down the rabbit hole that will either wrap up everything or leave us with a million questions. But episode 6 just had such a simple but beautiful message.
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to exist is to survive unfair choices
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BRIT MARLING
2024 CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS
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