Interviews
Comic-Con ’11 [Interview] ‘Attack the Block’ Star John Boyega!
He was the 17-year-old kid plucked from obscurity to carry Joe Cornish’s ghetto alien invasion flick Attack The Block (review). A year older and a little wiser, rising star John Boyega talked all thing Attack The Block with Bloody Disgusting at Comic-Con over the weekend.
Attack The Block follows a teen gang in South London as they try to defend their block from an alien invasion. Written and directed by Joe Cornish, with Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim, Hot Fuzz, Shaun Of The Dead) onboard as executive producer, the genre flick is shaping up to be one of the indie hits of the year. Applauded by critics and audiences alike, Boyega has emerged as one of the film’s breakout stars for his stoic portrayal of gang leader Moses. Below, he talks horror, Hollywood and the pressure to be Bruce Willis.
On the horror and sci-fi genres: “I was a fan of the sci-fi stuff, I like the early Halloween films, they creeped me out. I like the fact that this guy’s a normal human being but he still doesn’t die. I think that’s incredible. I watched E.T and all that, but they weren’t made in my time. My time was Transformers 1 and 3. We’d get that through Channel 5 late at night when you’d come home from church and watch a lil’ bit of Goonies or or The Warriors. It was cool the film was going in that kind of root because urban films back in the UK, you don’t have that sci-fi film with epic shots and orchestral music and scenes where I basically live and walk past everyday. I’m just so happy to be a part of that movement and it’s the first that’s ever done that. It’s going to set the bar for other kinds of genres, it’s great to be a part of it.”
On the audition process: “At the time I was doing my first job as a professional actor on stage in North London. Joe, Nira Park, the producer, and Nina Gold, the casting director, came to see me and I was on stage for 10 minutes. After that it was just recall after recall, it was crazy. I’m came back more that six times and then I got the part. Then Mr Cornish told me I had the part after the first audition, he just wanted to see my chemistry with the others.”
On the urban dialogue: “He (Joe Cornish) wanted to give it a heightened, sci-fi feel. But then at the same time, when kids their age get scared they say the dumbest stuff, like “it’s too much madness for one text.” We had a lot freedom and we worked closely with Joe. It’s the closest urban script I’ve ever read. I’m from South London, but when I’m with my boys and the energy . . . there’s something you just cant explain. It was fun to have that sort of script.”
On Nick Frost: “We call him Uncle Nick. Nick is like your all year round Santa Claus, you know?”
On how his parents view him after the role: “My mum sees me in a different light, she thinks I’m an action superhero. So therefore whenever she hears something creaking downstairs in the kitchen she’s like ‘John, you get it. Do something like you did in the film.’ Dad thinks I’m incredibly cool, but he still wants me to get to the level of Bruce Willis because he’s a big Bruce Willis fan. I asked him the other day, I said ‘dad, do you respect me more than Bruce Willis?’ and he said ‘yeah . . .no.”
On his fellow teenage co-stars: “It’s great, we’ve all kind of shared our first films together and are working on our own films now. The first person I met was Alex Esmail who plays Pest and he was so talkative. He was like yap yap yap yap and he was eating this bacon sandwich or something and then we went into the auditions and responded to each other really well. At one stage we were all in there, the same cast today, and we didn’t know we’d got the roles and we were all like ‘what if we got the roles? That would be sick, wouldn’t it?’ It was fantastic bonding and now we’re just the best of friends.”
On the stunts: “It was crazy. We had stunt doubles for some parts, but most of the stuff we did it ourselves. We did a bike riding course through witches cones, trained with stunt co-coordinators on the dirt bikes, it was mad. On the DVD extras you’re going to see me doing a lot of roly-poly’s on the floor and my BMX going in one direction, me in the other. It was amazing. I knew I was going to run in slow motion with the vest (at the end) so I can’t lie to you, I wasn’t like that before. I went straight to the gym and cried pumping weights. It was such a great experience, we just had such a blast.”
On Edgar Wright: “He’s just like Batman, I don’t think that’s him – it’s just a mask. That’s not who he is, he’s Bruce Wayne. Edgar was fantastic. Although we didn’t get to see him much on set, we knew very much about what he was doing and how his actions were affecting the film because obviously Joe and Edgar have been friends for a long time now and Joe looks up to Edgar and is very inspired by his work. It was very important that Edgar and Joe had that kind of relationship and it pushed Edgar to make the film the best it could be in its own ilk away from Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead and helping Joe get to a good place where he could say I’ve made my own movie and it’s a Joe Cornish movie, but with that magic and wisdom from Edgar Wright.”
On breaking into Hollywood: “I’m an audience member as much as an actor. I would love to do something of the same ilk but a different character. I’m very much into creating other people so that when you watch me on screen and see me in real life, you can say those are two totally different people. That’s the magic of acting. I just got signed by CAA management and the scripts that I’ve been getting have been very, very interesting in terms of people not giving me the same old. The way they want to go is of epic proportions, let me just say that. I may be leading some sort of army again.”
On actors that inspire him: “I love actors who are doing the work and I believe in actors who are creating roles as an audience member. We owe the audience a service and a lot of actors forget that when they reach stardom. (I admire) The actors who haven’t forgotten that like Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Andrew Garfield, Tom Hardy, who are all working at creating different personalities instead of being one actor in just different circumstances. Those actors inspire me and I remember walking through downstairs and I saw Andrew Garfield in the lobby in the Spiderman suit and I felt so proud – I haven’t even met the guy.”
Interviews
The Work ‘Grind’ Is Hell, So Brea Grant & Ed Dougherty Made a Horror Anthology About It [CFF 2026 Interview]
Genre fans rejoice! Chattanooga Film Festival is back for its 13th year in 2026 with a killer lineup and once again offering audiences both in-person and virtual options. After having its World Premiere at SXSW this spring, the horror comedy anthology Grind is playing CFF 2026 opening weekend.
From a screenplay by Brea Grant (Torn Hearts, 12 Hour Shift) and Ed Dougherty (MLM) and segments directed by Grant, Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic), Grind features four interwoven stories that parody the gig economy, hustle culture, and the evils of late-stage capitalism.
The anthology follows weary everyday people juggling side hustles just to survive, while going up against greedy oligarchs, and cleverly uses dark humor and bloody practical effects to portray a world much like our current economic nightmare.
Bloody Disgusting had the pleasure of chatting with Brea Grant and Ed Dougherty about the socioeconomic commentary in Grind, casting Barbara Crampton as a villain, and DIY filmmaking.
Bloody Disgusting: Every segment in this anthology feels relatable because people are actually struggling to survive in the gig economy right now. How did the two of you come up with the idea of creating Grind?
Brea Grant: Like you said, we were trying to come up with a cool idea that seemed relevant right now. The thing that everyone we know is talking about is the economy, the lack of work, and the nightmare hellscape that is late-stage capitalism. It felt like the right time to write something that really featured that as the main horror. As the main thing that people were scared of, this world sort of came to us over the course of a couple of years.
Ed Dougherty: We wanted to make a hit film, and we said, “Let’s make a horror anthology, that’s the most marketable thing there is.” [laughs]
BG: [laughs] Definitely not!
BD: I love anthologies!
ED: We do, too. We feel like it’s kind of an undervalued form of horror film, but it’s a hard sell.
BG: People told us not to make it. They said, “Don’t make an anthology. It’s too hard to sell.” But we did it anyway.
BD: I guess I’m just one of those weirdos who likes anthologies and watches them all.
ED: We believe that there are a lot of weirdos like you out there. It seems like every good horror anthology has a long life, but it’s just getting over the initial hump that’s difficult.
BD: Chelsea Stardust directed some of the segments with the two of you and serves as a producer. How did she first get involved with this project?
BG: The project has a long history. We shot the first segment, which is about multi-level marketing, a couple of years ago. We had decided we wanted to make a full anthology, but it took us about a year after shooting that initial segment to shoot the rest of the movie. When we did that, we knew we needed to bring on a producer aside from Ed and me, since we were directing the bulk of the movie, so that was how she came on board. I’ve been friends with her for a long time, and the one thing I know about her as a friend is that she is very organized, so it felt like a good fit. I just called her one day and said, “Would you want to produce these three segments that we have left to shoot of Grind?” and she came on board.
BD: There are some fun cameos in Grind, but we have to talk about Barbara Crampton. She’s so good as a villainess. Why did you want her for this role, and what was it like working with her on this film?
BG: She’s in her villain era, which is so fun. [laughs] Obviously, we’re huge Barbara Crampton fans, and when we were making MLM, it was a smaller part of the movie that we knew we needed to call on people who could do a good job but were also friendly to us [laughs]. I’m friends with Barbara Crampton, and we’ve done three movies together before this. So, it felt like someone within our reach, but could also really draw a horror crowd. She has a huge fanbase, and she’s also super supportive of all the projects that she’s been in, so that was also really exciting. She’s a great actress, and she’s super funny. I think a lot of these horror actresses, especially those who came up in the eighties and nineties, weren’t given an opportunity to be funny. I think she was ready to jump on an opportunity that was different than what she was used to; it’s not running around and screaming. She is a cult leader, and she is quite funny in it. She just takes the comedy so well and seriously, and she does such an amazing job with it. She has a scene across from Rob Huebel, who is obviously a comedy master, and I feel like the two of them together were hilarious. It’s been fun to watch Barbara go from these iconic roles to a different kind of role at this point in her career. We’re super happy to be a part of that.
ED: And she loves the movie and has been so supportive. Every time she posts about it, I’m like, “I can’t believe this. This is amazing.”
BD: This is an accurate parody of the current socioeconomic situation in this country, as well as our obsession with online culture. It repeatedly asks the question, “What are you willing to do to make money,” in a world with wealth inequality and evil oligarchs. It’s fun, and it’s a horror movie, but it’s thought-provoking. What do you hope audiences take away from Grind, besides having a good time?
ED: I read every review and every Letterboxd review; Brea does not. So, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen some reviews that say, “Good movie but doesn’t propose a solution.” I think we do propose a solution, which is that the power of unions and organizing is the only way that we will be able to fight back against oligarchs. I do think that is the message of the film. Organizing is the only way to defeat these villains. I do think we have a lot to say in the film. I’d want someone to say, “Man, I’ve never seen a horror anthology that had a political message before.” [laughs]
BG: I think the other thing is that what is currently happening is that we live in a world in which people kind of feel alone in this. They’re like, “Well, I’m doing bad, “or “I’m having trouble paying my rent.” We wanted to hang a lantern on the fact that this is happening to everyone, that wealth disparity is at an all-time high. We’re pointing out to people that you aren’t in this alone; you’re not the only person doing side hustles. Every filmmaker friend I have is working a side job of some sort at this point, and that is just in Los Angeles. Outside of this city, I think things are more dire. I think it was about infusing some politics into something that could make people realize that they aren’t alone and that there are ways of fighting back and fighting the system that has been set up against them.
ED: I think the tone of the movie, which is darkly comedic, also really matches the tone of life right now. Everything seems almost at a parody level as far as the disconnect between oligarchs and trying to make a living and reality. The absurdist nature of the film kind of captures the real tone of life.
BD: There are some cool creature effects and makeup effects in this movie. Can you talk a little bit about the practical effects and makeup?
ED: I think especially because of the message of the film, which is pushing back against the current hellscape we’re in, we wanted to use as many practical effects as possible. We used matte paintings, miniatures, and practical creature effects. I’m always afraid of the matte painting because we used the old school matte painter, but they do look a little AI. I heard someone make a noise behind me during one of the shots, and I was like, “I hope that noise wasn’t them using AI because that’s a matte painting.” [laughs] There’s also the fact that it’s pretty DIY. It’s a film that we financed ourselves and shot in our houses as much as possible. We wanted the whole thing to feel handmade and very tactile.
BG: We’re old school horror fans, so we love seeing practical effects. The practical stuff is really fun for us. It’s the stuff that we think is actually cool. [laughs] So, practical stuff made the most sense for us. We both grew up in the punk scene in the nineties, and I think it just kind of comes naturally to us to try to do things ourselves. And we both work on projects for big companies, with smaller companies, but always for other people, so trying to do something ourselves to see what that felt like was also part of the experiment of Grind.
ED: This was our chance to do everything we wanted our way.
Grind screens at the Chattanooga Film Festival on June 20.
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