'Eddington' hits theaters: Learn more about the New Mexico-based film by 'Hereditary,' 'Midsommar' writer-director Ari Aster
It was in Santa Fe that Ari Aster began to cultivate his love for film.
A fan of the horror genre, he wrote several screenplays before graduating high school.
While studying film at the College of Santa Fe, where he graduated in 2010, he began sharpening his skills as a filmmaker.
He burst on to the international scene in 2018 with the hit 鈥淗ereditary.鈥�
Aster is back again with 鈥淓ddington鈥� 鈥� which will hit theaters Friday, July 18.
The project 鈥� Aster鈥檚 fourth feature film 鈥� marks the first time Aster has returned to New Mexico.
鈥淓ddington鈥� is a modern Western and paranoid thriller set in the American Southwest 鈥� Eddington, New Mexico, population 2,345 鈥� during the summer of 2020.
The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as small-town sheriff Joe Cross, who runs for mayor when progressive incumbent Ted Garcia, played by Pedro Pascal, attempts to modernize the town by attracting a new artificial intelligence data center.
鈥淲e all know that we鈥檙e in our own echo chambers because we鈥檙e trapped in a system based on feedback,鈥� Aster says. 鈥淭he problem is that people can鈥檛 remember that they know that. 鈥楨诲诲颈苍驳迟辞苍鈥� is about what happens when feedback ramps up beyond control and the bubbles collide.鈥�
The cast is rounded out by Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O鈥機onnell, Micheal Ward, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, Am茅lie Hoeferle, Cameron Mann and Matt Gomez Hidaka.
According to the New Mexico Film Office, the project filmed in Albuquerque, Santa Fe County and Truth or Consequences. The production employed over 300 New Mexicans 鈥� 230 crew members, 59 principal actors and 105 background talent.
Aster says 鈥淓ddington鈥� is set during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and everything that came out of that summer.
鈥淢ake no mistake: I don鈥檛 think anything that鈥檚 happening right now is funny, but it is all absurd,鈥� Aster says. 鈥淎nd the insidious thing about our culture is that it鈥檚 scary and dangerous and catastrophic, and also ridiculous and stupid and impossible to take seriously.鈥�
Despite that absurdity, Aster says, 鈥淚 wanted to make a film that felt like the country we live in without necessarily villainizing anyone or propping anyone up. I hope it鈥檚 democratic in the way that it gives equal weight to every instrument in the cacophony. And in the end, whatever our differences of opinion, we have to find a way to reengage with each other. The powers of tech and finance have kept us frozen and in our individual silos, but we鈥檙e all in the same situation. We all know that something鈥檚 very seriously wrong.鈥�
Aster, who was born in New York but grew up in Santa Fe, had long wanted to make a film in New Mexico. After considering it for his feature debut, he shelved the idea.
Then, when the world went on lockdown, Aster found himself living in New Mexico again with his family just outside of Albuquerque.
It was during this time that the idea for the film began to take shape. But in August 2020, Aster put 鈥淓ddington鈥� on hold to begin filming 鈥淏eau is Afraid鈥� with Phoenix.
When that project wrapped, Aster took a road trip through the Southwest to draw inspiration and to find the perfect town.
As he drove through New Mexico, he was attracted to the intricacies and complexities of the state, including the separateness of the pueblos, Indigenous tribal lands operating like a parallel universe with their own law enforcement and judicial codes.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 care for New Mexico growing up, but I鈥檝e grown to love it as an adult,鈥� Aster says. 鈥淚 did a lot of research going from city to city, town to town, pueblo to pueblo, talking to as many people as I could to get the fullest picture of state and local politics.鈥�
Filmmaker Ari Aster makes his first feature film set in New Mexico 鈥� 'Eddington'
