Exclusive: SASQUATCH Director Joshua Rofé on Weed, Murder & Bigfoot
Michelle Swope
|
Director Joshua Rofé has partnered with the Emmy-winning Duplass brothers to create an intoxicating 3-part bigfoot docu-series for Hulu. It’s called Sasquatch and it will appeal to fans of both cryptids and true crime.
Related Article: Top 10 Bigfoot Movies of the 21st Century
The first episode of Sasquatch premiered at SXSW 2021. And that single episode had me hooked on this bizarre story about weed, murder, and Bigfoot.
Sasquatch follows investigative journalist David Holthouse. He was visiting a pot farm in Northern California in 1993 when he heard a chilling story. A vicious Bigfoot attack tore three men limb from limb. 25 years later, Holthouse returns to the Redwoods. Now he’s in search of evidence that could prove what happened that night. And in the process, he conducts some harrowing interviews. And discovers that the truth is more terrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Before directing Sasquatch, Joshua Rofé was the director and executive producer of the acclaimed Amazon docuseries Lorena. Dread Central now shares our talk with Joshua Rofé about the sensational story of the making of Sasquatch. Including some scary situations while working with journalist David Holthouse on the docuseries, cryptids, and a lot more. Read on to find out what we talked about!
The 3-part Bigfoot documentary series Sasquatch premieres on Hulu on April 20th. For more on Sasquatch check out Hulu’s official Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram and join in the conversation using #SasquatchOnHulu.
RELATED: Trailer: Bigfoot vs Pot Farmers in Hulu Docuseries SASQUATCH Produced by The Duplass Brothers
Dread Central: I have seen Sasquatch and I love it! It’s a 3-part docuseries and it covers a really wild story that I had never heard before. I know that Mark and Jay Duplass are executive producers. I wanted to know, who first had the idea for this documentary? How did you become involved with it, and what was it like working with the Duplass brothers?
Joshua Rofé: I guess I’ll start at the beginning, as I’m the crazy person who thought this thing up. So, in February 2018 a friend of mine and I were having dinner, Zach Cregger, he’s one of the executive producers on this project, and he suggested I listen to a podcast called Sasquatch Chronicles, and that’s people calling in with their encounter stories. I wasn’t really interested, but he said, “Trust me, just listen.” So, the next day I listened to my first episode.
Four days later I had listened to eleven episodes. What I was really taken by was there was this sort of through line of visceral fear that felt completely authentic that I was sensing in all of these stories. These people were afraid when they were recounting what they claimed they had seen, so I sort of had a conversation with myself for a week, “Am I going to make a Sasquatch something? Yes, you are, you must, there’s something there.” So, my next thought was, “What if I found a murder/mystery that was somewhat wrapped up in a Sasquatch story?” That could be really special, and I’ve never seen anything like that before.
RELATED: Exclusive Interview: Artist Graham Humphreys Discusses His PSYCHO GOREMAN Poster
So, I reached out to a colleague and friend, who has been an investigative journalist and a gonzo journalist for twenty-five odd years, and his name is David Holthouse. I sent David a text message and my exact words were, “This is the craziest text I’m going to send you for the next five years. I want to find a murder/mystery that’s wrapped up in a Sasquatch story and pursue it as the next project.” He wrote me right back and said, “I love it. I’ve got one. I’ll call you in five.”
He then proceeded to tell me the story that he heard in the fall of 1993 about a triple homicide that was allegedly perpetrated by a Sasquatch, and as soon as he told me that story I was like, “That’s it, the search is over. This is it.” So, the two of us, with Zach Cregger and Steven Berger, my producing partner, we knew we were going to pursue making this, and Steven had known Mark Duplass for a number of years, indie film circles, friends in common, that sort of thing, and Steven and I were talking and thought they would be really good partners for this.
They understand a story can really thrive when it is deeply human but also a bit off kilter, so Steven, Zach, and I went and sat down with Mark. Their office is interesting, it’s this old house and we met in the attic, and the attic is painted black for whatever reason. So, it was basically like sitting out in the woods at night and I was telling Mark this ghost story and you could see his face light up.
RELATED: The Duplass Brothers Explore SASQUATCH In 3-Part Documentary Series on Hulu April 20th
I remember, he couldn’t sit still, and in that moment, we said, “Ok, we’re going to try and do this crazy thing together.” We went through what is referred to as the pitch process, where you pitch a movie or TV show to the networks or studios and then we ultimately went with Hulu. They really got it and seemed to be down to let us go and chase this ghost story and do our thing, and that’s really how it all started.
DC: Wow, that’s almost as crazy as the story itself!
JR: Yeah, I know. The amount of coincidence or pre-ordained Sasquatch murder mysteriousness that was going to be in play here was wild.
DC: You mentioned David Holthouse, who’s a well-known and respected journalist. The docuseries follows him as he’s investigating this story that he first heard in the early nineties. I wanted to ask, what was it like working with him on this. And did you guys already know each other?
JR: Yeah, we actually met on a project that never went forward. We met in the beginning of 2016 and then, prior to this I made a TV docuseries called Lorena, which was the reconceptualization of the Lorena Bobbitt story. David was actually one of the first people I told about it, before I had even started up with Amazon and he told me right then and there it was an incredible story and he’d love to be a part of it.
ALSO READ: JAKOB’S WIFE Interview: Travis Stevens Now Talks Directing Barbara Crampton
I know David is as good as it gets when it comes to investigating and looking for information and so, once I had Lorena set up at Amazon, he was one of the first people I called and said, “Hey, let’s do it!” And he jumped on board and we were actually making Lorena, when this all transpired in February 2018. That conversation with Zach, listening to the podcast and then my conversation with David.
DC: I saw the first episode of Sasquatch. And I kind of dabble in the paranormal. So the idea of Bigfoot being involved in a murder mystery totally got my attention. I like how the story transitions so smoothly from a possible Bigfoot story to a hard-hitting true crime story. I was wondering, how hard was that transition to pull off. And how did you keep it to just three episodes?
JR: That’s such a good question, in terms of how you pull off the transition, because you have these elements and they seem to have nothing in common. And then the criminal underworld, true crime, illegal marijuana growers, the war on drugs, right? The answer is pretty simple actually, and that is you treat both the same way. You treat them both like they are real and with respect. So, I think there’s often an instinct that people have with things like cryptids or the paranormal, which is they need to sort of read into how quirky and weird it is; how absurd it is; or how hard to believe it is; and I think that instinct is wrong.
RELATED: New SASQUATCH Series Coming to Hulu From The Duplass Brothers
What you need to do, and what we knew we needed to do, was to treat everything Sasquatch-related exactly like we would testimony from a witness in a real court case. Give it a serious journalistic treatment and you will arrive at a place that is grounded, and it can illicit something visceral from even the most hardened sceptic. I think that was the key, to just treat everything like it’s real, even if you question that, treat it with respect and dignity and then it will all feel like it’s under the same umbrella, you know, tonally.
DC: I think that’s obvious when you watch this, and that’s something I really like about it. What you just said, you treat everything seriously and I think that’s what makes it work so well. David had to meet with some potentially dangerous sources to get the story. And I wanted to ask, I don’t know if you can answer this or not. But were you present for these meetings? Were you filming it, and if so, are you able to share what that was like?
JR: Sure, I mean, it was really a combination of scenarios. There were times when David was alone, and I was back at the hotel waiting for him to text me that he was out and safe. I could be up until two or three in morning not knowing if he was going to make it out of this place alive, just waiting for that text saying, “I’m out, I’m good, I’m in the car,” whatever it was. These were situations where they would change locations on him multiple times, you know, for the meet up.
RELATED: The Search for Sasquatch Continues When EXPEDITION BIGFOOT Hits Travel Channel January 3rd
There were instances where he had a hidden camera, that was just him, obviously, and then there were times where we were with him for some of these meetings. In an instance like that, say he was meeting someone in a car, you just have the camera person in the car with him so it’s as intimate as possible, and then we’re very close by in another car, with headphones and monitor, listening and watching. But for some of these things, you’re really just trying to stay out of the way and not influence David’s investigative process.
I can tell you that the sort of overwhelming feeling that the crew and I had when we were making this, not all the time but a lot of the time, was let’s not overstay our welcome. You know, some of these places that we’re going to, let’s be really judicious here, let’s get in and out because you could just be on the side of the road and getting a shot of something scenic and then all of a sudden people are popping out of a car and running over and wanting to know what you are doing. And you know, these are tough customers, potentially very dangerous folks, so it was a lot of that.
DC: Yeah, it was really intense, and David seems to have no fear. If he does, he doesn’t show it. I was nervous for him, meeting up with some of those people. I’m not going to give anything away. But the last question I wanted to ask you, aside from this docuseries, do you believe in Bigfoot or Sasquatch? What are your personal thoughts on that?
RELATED: Interview – Director Jess Varley Talks Confronting Her Fears in PHOBIAS & Working with Radio Silence
JR: So, I’ll say this: Going in the answer was no. Going in, I entered as a non-believer for sure but there’s something that David says in the first episode, that when you’re up in those woods long enough, the paranormal and the supernatural, it all sort of runs at a higher vibration up there. All of a sudden, things that you would probably never think about you think about. You’re hearing them, smelling them, you’re thinking you even see them, you know?
There is something about being out in those woods for an extended period of time. Let’s call it your city self, your city self puts away. Now you are experiencing sight, sound, and smell in a way that I think is even tinged with some paranoia. And you don’t feel like you’re alone in those woods. You don’t know what’s out there. I can’t say I believe in Bigfoot unless I see it with my own eyes. But when you’re out in those woods and among these truly prehistoric trees. If a Brontosaurus were to walk by, you’d say, ‘Yeah, that makes sense.‘ That’s the best answer I can give you.
DC: I love that answer, it makes perfect sense. Again, thank you so much for taking time to talk to me for Dread Central! I absolutely love this docuseries and I can’t wait to see more from you.
JR: You’re so kind. Thank you so much!
Are you up for this new Hulu Bigfoot docuseries? Do you believe in Bigfoot? Bigfoot, Bigfoot, Bigfoot? Make sure to let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! I’m always down to talk horror movies or high strangeness and you can find me on Twitter @RedheadfromMars!
Categorized:Interviews News
