The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives checklist is reserved for among the most violent and heinous criminals on the earth. Osama bin Laden, Whitey Bulgar Jr., Ted Bundy, and James Earl Ray are among the notable fugitives to have made the checklist. While doing analysis for American Murderer, I realized that the topic of the movie, Jason Derek Brown, occupied a spot on the checklist from December 8, 2007, to September 7, 2022. Upon seeing an image of Jason, who sported a pink hoodie and spiked hair in his mugshot, I mentioned to myself, “This guy was on the list at the same time as bin Laden? What did he do?”

Director Matthew Gentile shared an identical response and determined to heart his first characteristic movie round Brown in American Murderer. Written and directed by Gentile, Tom Pelphrey stars as Brown, a captivating scammer who will do something for a fast buck. When pressed for cash, Brown conducts a scheme that places him on the FBI’s radar as Agent Lance Leising (Ryan Philippe) makes an attempt to seize the con man. American Murderer depicts the occasions earlier than, throughout, and after Brown’s greatest crime as he fights to remain undetected by the authorities.

In an interview with Digital Trends, Gentile talks about turning Brown’s story right into a characteristic movie, why he didn’t attain out to the Brown household, and what he thinks Jason is likely to be as much as nowadays.

Note: This interview has been edited for size and readability. 

Digital Trends: Like lots of people, I didn’t know quite a bit about Jason Derek Brown. How did you first come throughout Jason’s story?

Matthew Gentile: Well, you simply set me up completely to reply your query. I first realized in regards to the case across the time it occurred. I used to be 14 in 2004 when the film is about and the crime befell. Before I wished to be a filmmaker, I wished to be an FBI agent. I used to go on the FBI.gov web site and peruse the fugitives checklist and simply see if I might assist catch a prison for them and get the reward cash. It was actually attention-grabbing.

As I noticed his title, his face actually was what struck me, his mug shot, which we present within the movie that he took at a gun retailer three weeks earlier than the crime was dedicated. Here was this man, a surfer dude with spiky blond hair, frosted ideas, and a pink hoodie. I remembered his face. He resembled Sean Penn from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He resembled Sean Penn a lot that Sean’s physique double has been arrested twice within the 18 years he’s been lacking.

Wow.

As you possibly can think about, the face simply struck me. He stood out since you have a look at the FBI Top 10 checklist and also you’re seeing guys like Osama bin Laden and Whitey Bulger. I imply menacing prison masterminds, after which this surfer dude punk from Southern California. Something about him didn’t match the invoice, you already know? So the face I remembered it.

Cut to 14 years later, I graduated movie faculty at AFI, and I’m making an attempt to determine what my first characteristic movie is. I used to be, on the time, directing a industrial, and I used to be nonetheless in my condominium storyboarding. When I storyboard, I all the time have one thing on within the background. All of a sudden I had CNBC on. American Greed got here on the TV and Jason Derek Brown’s face popped on the tv. I used to be simply instantly introduced again like, “Wait a second. That’s the guy from 14 years [ago]?” I simply remembered him, and I used to be like” He’s nonetheless lacking? What occurred right here?”

That started the rabbit gap. As I began to analysis it and watch an increasing number of stuff about him and skim all the pieces I might get my arms on, I simply requested myself, “Why isn’t this a movie?” I might pay good cash to see that film on Friday night time, a movie about this man. For a very long time, I actually kicked round what the film was, however finally what drew me to it was there was this charismatic con man who meant so many alternative issues to so many alternative folks and dedicated this horrendous crime that he’s remembered for finally. But, what are we left with on the finish of the day? I noticed it actually as a narrative about household and the darkish aspect of the American dream. Naturally, it swept me up.

You have the concept, you write the script, however then, you resolve to make a proof of idea first. Take me by way of the choice to go that route.

Well, what had occurred was I used to be kicking the script round and anybody who works in Los Angeles is aware of that it may be onerous to get your script learn. Before I went to movie faculty, I labored at William Morris Endeavor, which is a large expertise company. I was an assistant, and I used to be the man studying folks’s scripts so I knew how onerous it’s simply to get folks to crack a script open, interval. I used to be sending American Murderer as a script round. It was onerous to get folks [to] decide to studying it. The script can be being labored on.

I noticed, although, that the easiest way to get this film on the market can be to take a scene from it and shoot it as a promoting instrument to get folks to open the script and have a look at it. Do a five-minute scene to essentially present what the tone, the vibe, and the temper seems like. It was completely different from shorts I had finished earlier than. I went to movie faculty on the AFI the place I made two thesis movies, Frontman and Lawman, and people way more had been like conventional shorts that advised a narrative and the narrative.

Whereas the proof of idea quick for American Murderer was only one scene. We shot the SWAT invasion from the movie. A reasonably onerous scene to sort out, however we did it multi function shot. I had Jonathan Groff in it on the time when he was connected to the mission, and he was wonderful. That quick actually helped construct momentum for the script and obtained these two corporations, Traveling Picture Show and Gigi Films, fascinated by taking a shot on a first-time director.

I additionally learn that you didn’t seek the advice of the Brown household throughout this course of. First of all, why did you resolve to not seek the advice of the household, and did they attempt to contact you throughout this course of?

During the method of constructing the film, no they didn’t. My purpose for not contacting the Brown household or actually most people who find themselves portrayed within the movie — it’s not simply them. I didn’t contact Lance Leising both — as a result of I had a lot data. There was a lot on the market about this case and the story. I really feel the movie is fairly compassionate towards the household. That’s my feeling.

But that mentioned, once you had been within the place of being a screenwriter and a director and you are attempting to inform a narrative, I used to be not striving to be correct with this movie. That was by no means an intention of mine. It’s true crime fiction, which is an efficient method to categorize it. It’s not a documentary. Some documentaries blur that line as nicely. I used to be by no means making an attempt to be fully correct. I used to be making an attempt to be truthful from an emotional standpoint.

I selected to not contact them [the Brown family] as a result of I didn’t need them to filter my lens on this character of Jason Derek Brown as a result of this can be a very advanced, layered, contradictory, paradoxical character. And so I wished to have the ability to have a look at him in as unflinching of a means as attainable and the way the nice facets of him and in addition to the dangerous, which there are in all probability extra. I wished to essentially present that in full, and I felt that speaking to household or folks actually, actually near him, might get me taking a look at it a unique means. I wished to remain out of that in order that was my purpose.

Tom Pelphrey is on the heart of the movie as Jason, this boisterous, animated con man. How did you and Tom construct this character collectively, particularly if you happen to weren’t consulting the household?

As I mentioned, there was a ton of analysis that was finished on the mission. There was quite a lot of data on the market. This story was coated very nicely. American Greed, Dateline. There have been books written about it. There had been articles nonstop. I imply there are quite a lot of accounts. I did do interviews with some individuals who I gained’t title as a result of I don’t wish to out them. I did conduct interviews with individuals who knew them [the family] and him. [Interviewees] Gave me some nice tales and anecdotes and analysis. There are composite characters who’re based mostly on these folks.

The script was labored on for a really lengthy time period. Part of what the film’s about too, by the best way, is testimony. One of my favourite movies, [Akira] Kurosawa’s Rashomon, is the place you see a number of folks giving a unique account of the identical factor that occurred. That’s what American Murderer is. It’s all these folks giving their accounts of an individual that’s tough and contradictory as Jason Derek Brown. He meant so many alternative issues to so many alternative folks, and that’s what I believe makes him so attention-grabbing. It was all the time about seeing Jason by way of all these a number of views.

When Tom got here on, and I believe Tom did a very unimaginable job bringing Jason to life and embodying him, it was a difficult efficiency. It’s a tough line you need to stroll, however Tom could be very expert and really nuanced. He understands character rather well and had all the precise issues Jason wanted. He had the charisma, the physicality, the flexibility to be mild, and the flexibility to be sociopathic and scary. That’s why I believe he’s such an amazing actor. Tom actually went with what was within the script. I do know [he] did quite a lot of his personal analysis.

Keep in thoughts, we additionally had quite a lot of stuff on Jason. We had quite a lot of pictures of him. We had quite a lot of video footage, a few of which is recreated within the film, from surveillance, from the boat get together that we recreated. That was an actual video Jason made. Jason put quite a lot of photos of himself on the market into the world. In some ways, he was an Instagram influencer earlier than the factor existed as a result of the movie is about in 2004.

The picture Jason was placing on the market, I believe, gave Tom and me quite a bit to work with. Actually, I simply watched an interview he did selling this film, and he was speaking about how these a number of views on Jason that had been within the script helped him type his character. How his sister noticed him, how his mom noticed him, how his brother noticed him. I by no means knew that till I noticed the interview a day in the past.

Tom actually obtained it. He actually understood Jason on a intestine degree. We labored collectively fairly carefully. We did quite a lot of Zooms. It was shot in the midst of a pandemic so we didn’t have rehearsal house. We did quite a lot of Zooms the place we undergo the script and strip out all of the motion strains. He and I might ask questions and speak about issues and actually query how we had been portraying him. It was vital to him that we weren’t taking a look at Jason, or not less than within the phrases of how he’s taking part in it, as a sociopath the place he’s judging.

I believe he approached this like a wounded immature manchild who miscalculated. In his [Jason] personal thoughts was determined, despite the fact that that mindset was fully improper and horrible and horrendous. So Tom performed it, I believe, in that means. I believe that’s why folks get actually engaged by the efficiency as a result of he’s such an amazing actor, and he understood the way to experience that line very fastidiously.

What do you suppose Jason is as much as nowadays? Is he alive within the states or overseas?

Well Ryan, as he promotes the movie, retains saying, “Let’s go catch this guy because he’s probably still out there.” There’s an excellent likelihood he’s. He has been hidden for a really very long time. It’s been nearly 20 years so I believe we might by no means know as a result of his father additionally stayed in hiding. I imply if sufficient folks see the film and somebody acknowledges him, they are going to.

I believe he’s clearly finished an excellent job of hiding underneath the radar. If he’s round, he’s in all probability dwelling someplace very low profile and in a position to persuade folks that he’s fully another person as a result of he was superb at that. As we all know, he was a really convincing particular person so nothing would actually shock me. [Laughs]

American Murderer is out there on demand and on digital. 

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