A hardened New England detective has his life upended by a new case in Grant Singer’s crime drama, Reptile.
Singer’s film tells the story of Tom Nichols, an unflinching cop who attempts to uncover the truth behind the brutal murder of a young real estate agent, and by doing so, begins to dismantle the illusions in his own life.
On October 1, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Singer discussed the making of Reptile during a Q&A moderated by Director Louis Leterrier (Fast X).
During the conversation, he spoke about the pressure of having only six weeks to prep and not having the time to storyboard the film as he might have originally planned.
“I wanted this to be good so bad because it’s a real gift to be able to make a movie. I worked my whole life for this moment. I wanted to make sure visually that this was the movie. You don’t get a second chance if it’s not good. I think that not shot listing and just sort of submitting to the spontaneity of making a movie, ended up being one of the best things for me as a learning experience. I think some of the best stuff in this film is kind of on the fly.”
Reptile is Singer’s feature directorial debut. He has also directed music videos for Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Lorde and The Weeknd. Singer has been a DGA member since 2016.