Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: she rides shotgun

She Rides Shotgun – Dir Rowland & Egerton on Crime Thriller's Heart

She Rides Shotgun director Nick Rowland & star Taron Egerton spoke to Bleeding Cool about the Lionsgate crime drama, Ana Sophia Heger & more.

When director Nick Rowland (Floodlights) heard about the Jordan Harper novel She Rides Shotgun, the crime drama about an ex-convict father Nate (Taron Egerton) and his estranged daughter Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) bonding while on the run from not only from the criminals who have it out for Nate, but also corrupt law enforcement, he knew he had to bring the story to life. With a script from Hellraiser (2022) scribes Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, Rowland went to work bringing the Lionsgate film to life. Rowland and Egerton (AppleTV+'s Smoke, 20th Century's The Kingsman franchise) spoke to Bleeding Cool about adapting the heartwarming father-daughter story to life, and the bond they had together while working on this film alongside Egerton's younger co-star, Heger.

She Rides Shotgun: Director Nick Rowland and Star Taron Egerton on Lionsgate Crime Drama

Nick, what intrigued you about 'She Writes Shotgun?'

Rowland: Jordan Harper's book is an incredible novel that blew me away. I was captivated by it, and then, when I read the script, there was a real propulsiveness to the script which sort of hooked me in, and I'm pretty dyslexic. If I read a script in one sitting, that's always a good sign, and ultimately, I was moved by Nate and Polly's story. I'm always attracted to stories where there's real tenderness and heart, especially when it's rubbing up against kind of tension and there's this sort of conflict between brutality, love, and softness.

Taron, what resonated with you about the film? What'd you like about Ben and Luke's script?

Egerton: Well, to be honest, the thing I've responded to the most was Nick. I'm quite an intuitive person, and I felt good about the prospect of us working together and making a film together. I loved the script, Tom. I thought it was the most exciting and moving thing I'd read in a long time. It felt like a different role for me, playing Nate, something that I hadn't done before. It was something that felt like a stretch and challenge, and I found that central relationship between Polly and Nate moved me. It felt very pure and honest.

I admired Nick, and he and I got together probably about two years ago now, and we sat and had lunch. I just liked him, so help me God, and we got on very well. I thought he was charming, kind, and thoughtful. He was quite inscrutable at first and hard to read, but I had such a great feeling from him. I thought it was a wonderful opportunity, and I'm glad I followed my gut, because it has been wonderful.

Can you both speak about working with Ana Sophia Heger, and as far as the on-screen presence she has, and how you guys developed the chemistry between Nathan and Polly throughout the film?

Rowland: What Anna does in this film is really extraordinary. She is the beating heart and the soul of the film. What I found exciting about the script and the story is that it's all seen through the eyes of Polly, and it's a claustrophobic perspective from this 10-year-old girl. That required a huge amount of energy and talent from Ana, because she's almost in every single scene and frame, and she's part of it. When you first fall in love with a story like this and it moves you, that's one thing, but then when you start thinking about, "Well, how are we actually going to bring this to the screen and how do we find our Polly?" There's so much that happens in the story, so many stunts and emotional scenes, and we only had 25 days to make this.

When you're working with someone that young, you can't even do full days of shooting, so we needed someone who had this emotional bravery, stamina, and immense wisdom. Even though she was 10 years old when we made this film, I could work with her as much as I could with any other actor. She was incredibly intelligent and kind. She comes from a wonderful family, she's a superstar, and I can't wait for people to see what she does in this film.

She Rides Shotgun, which also stars Rob Yang, John Carroll Lynch, Odessa A'zion, and David Lyons, is in theaters.

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