“‘Killer Heat’ Stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley Talk New Murder Mystery”

Although Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley both admit that they aren’t big fans of true crime podcasts or shows – more on that later – they were both happy to explore the intricacies of the crime genre in their new film Killer heat.

Directed by Philippe Lacôte, Prime Video’s new original film premieres on the streaming service on Thursday.

Gordon Levitt plays the lead role Killer heat as Nick Bali, a private investigator who travels to the Greek island of Crete to investigate the death of shipping magnate Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden), who fell to his death while free-soloing rock climbing. Because the wealthy Vardakis family owns the police force, the authorities insist that Leo’s death was an accident, but his sister-in-law Penelope (Woodley), who is married to Leo’s identical twin Elias (Madden), is convinced that he was murdered.

As Nick investigates the case, he believes he has identified potential suspects. But as the private detective soon finds out, there is much more to the case than meets the eye on the island, which is dominated by violence and blackmail by the Vardakis family.

In a recent Zoom conversation with Gordon-Levitt and Woodley, Gordon-Levitt said he signed on for the lead role Killer heat was easy since he’s such a big fan of crime films.

“Mysteries are fun. There is something undeniable about it. You know, we’ve been making these kinds of films in Hollywood for a hundred years and these stories have been told since before the invention of film,” Gordon-Levitt said. “Then when you can take a crime story and put it in a beautiful setting – we got to go to the island of Crete – I’m so happy we got to do that… (It’s a) fun film experience.”

While Woodley loved the film’s script and her trip to Crete, she was most excited about working on this film Killer heat was a chance to reunite with Gordon-Levitt after they first worked together on film in the fact-based drama in 2016 Snowden.

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“This project was much more serious and a whole different beast in itself,” Woodley said. “So I liked the idea of ​​traveling to Greece and having fun working on a crime story.”

One thing Woodley particularly loved was the opportunity to “shoot back and forth” with Gordon-Levitt. Killer heat because “Film noir has a fun rhythm that you can’t always explore in other films.”

Perhaps the best part of their exchange, Woodley added, was seeing Gordon-Levitt construct Nick right in front of her eyes.

“Watching him create this character, I think he’s so brilliant,” Woodley enthused. “It’s honest and real, but also elevated in a way that’s entertaining, funny and relatable.”

Levitt equally admired Woodley’s approach in Killer Heat

While Joseph Gordon-Levitt was impressed with the way the property was constructed Killer heatHe noted that the most exciting aspect of the film was watching the characters develop as the story progressed.

In fact, Gordon-Levitt says great character development is a hallmark of many of his favorite crime films – including his longtime friend and collaborator Rian Johnson’s recent contributions to the genre.

“Believe it or not, what I enjoy watching about detective films is usually not the plot, it’s always the characters. The ones that really stand out, be it The Maltese Falcon or Knife out. I love the plot of it. “Rian Johnson is a genius when it comes to the clockwork of his actions,” Gordon-Levitt explained. “But what makes these films so special to me are the characters. Rian creates unique, very human and sublime characters. These films have their own unique tone and take on the genre.”

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As for uniqueness Killer heatGordon-Levitt said his favorite part of the experience was watching Shailene Woodley redefine the role of femme fatale in the film.

“She lived up to all the expectations that classical performances meet, but I think she also brought something honest,” the actor said of Woodley. “The femme fatale comes from a chauvinistic tradition, and she’s managed to turn what’s fun about it on its head and say, ‘Here’s a real human being and not your stereotypical femme fatale.’ You see that especially towards the end of the film when you can look beneath the surface of her character.”

Gordon-Levitt and Woodley shared their feelings about the true crime genre Killer heat is as close to murder as they would like.

“I love listening to podcasts, but I’m well aware of the true crime genre… I feel sad when I listen to these,” Gordon-Levitt said. “(I don’t like hearing about) the terrible things that have happened to people… I certainly can’t judge anyone who likes that, but I like my mysteries to be fictional.”

“That’s not my thing,” Woodley added. “Fictionally, I think (crime fiction) is a funny thing. Because it is fictionalized. It’s generally not so cruel, terrible, tragic and terrible.”

Rated R, Killer heat will stream exclusively on Prime Video.

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Note: Some quotes in this interview post have been edited or condensed for clarity.