#The snake escape at dannemora serial#

And while an actress like Charlize Theron was lauded for her similarly chameleon-like turn as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, this just feels next-level performance art from Arquette, who completely disappears into Tilly without any kind of showboating. Arquette’s physical transformation in the role is nothing short of astounding, and she has rightfully picked up a bunch of awards for her sterling work here. Based upon a real-life prison break back in 2015, Arquette is the frumpy but scheming Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell, an unhappily married prison worker who finds herself embarking upon a torrid affair with two prisoners from neighbouring cells (played by Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano) as she helps orchestrate their escape. The middle child in the third generation of performers, Patricia Arquette has been in steady employment for over thirty years, topped off by last winter’s career-best turn in the Ben Stiller-directed Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora. I was also really taken by Chernobyl.It’s hard for any actor trying to make a career for themselves in the entertainment industry, but it must be even tougher if you‘re competing alongside your siblings in an acting dynasty (just ask Daniel Baldwin). I’m looking forward to crossing paths with the Game of Thrones people. Is there another nominee that you’re looking forward to meeting at the ceremony? We pulled that shot off across our entire seven-month shoot in Dannemora, New York City, Yonkers, Pittsburgh - wherever we could find tunnel sections. The inspiration for the shot was GoPro footage that law enforcement made a few days after the escape, where they retraced Sweat’s escape. Was episode five’s tracking shot the most difficult to produce?ĭefinitely. That made a big difference, especially in re-creating the manhunt. We worked with all locals at locations where things actually happened. We made some really good friends there, such as ex-corrections officers and people in law enforcement.

So I felt it was important that we developed trust and let them know that we were trying to tell the story as truthfully as possible. Some people were definitely a bit wary because when the escape happened, Dannemora was descended upon by the media for about a month - and then everybody left. We didn’t think we were ever going to get it, but luckily, we got to film in some of those places where all this happened.īecause the escape humiliated Dannemora, how did you assure locals that they’d be respected? The New York State Department of Corrections allowed us access through a meeting we had with New York State Gov. How did you end up shooting at Clinton Correctional Facility? I made every attempt to find out what really happened and tell the story as accurately as possible. The fact that it’s true is what’s so interesting about it. Ironically, we find that what people actually do is sometimes more fantastic than something you could make up. When producing a true story, does the pressure of accuracy weigh on you at all times? That report had all of those details of how this relationship developed between this woman, these two inmates and how they were able to escape. They didn’t have that much information, and I initially passed because I felt I didn’t know enough about what went on. It was integral because the first scripts they wrote were an imagining of what happened. THR spoke with the 53-year-old executive producer/director about the intensive research process and how he received permission to shoot at the real prison.Ĭould you have done this project without the inspector general’s report?