Sophia Banks, director of Black Site, hopes that her new action-packed movie “Black Site” is the small film that can make it happen.
“We’re not trying to be an $80 million action movie, but we want to make the genre accessible to people,” Banks told me. “It’s OK to shoot an indie action movie. As long as you take people on a good trip, that’s all we want. We just want people to have fun and go on a ride.”
In “Black Location,” Michelle Monaghan plays Abby Trent, a CIA agent on a top-secret black location who must hunt down one of their notorious captors (Jason Clark) after he escapes his cell and goes on a killing spree.
I recently got to know Banks and Monaghan on Zoom.
How did it all come about?
Banks: I did a pair of shorts. One of them was first shown on Tribeca called “Proxy” which was sold to Anonymous Content. CAA brought me the “Black Site” written by Jinder Mahal. I looked at it and said, “This might be really cool, but it’s almost impossible to do because it should really be like $30 million.” Then I talked to one of my mentors, Phil Noyce, who introduced me to Jason Clarke and then I talked to amazing Michelle because I wanted someone to kick a kick. We shot during COVID in Australia during quarantine. We had five days to rehearse and we were like, “Let’s show them what two women can do in this space.”
Monaghan: Throughout my career, I have been involved in all different genres, such as comedy, action, and drama. But I’ve never played the female lead, the heroine, in an action movie. I was excited to work with Sophia when I watched Proxy. We knew it was going to be a challenge and that it was going to be really fast. Twenty-six Days for any movie is a challenge, but for a budget as small as ours, there were plenty of warnings.
It’s an action movie, but it also feels like a horror movie because Jason’s character is like a serial killer on the loose.
Banks: We knew he would be killed like an animal when the audience first saw him, or no one would fear him. It was on purpose because we had to make man a monster and he had to kill as he enjoyed it. Jason, the amazing actor that he is, was able to embody that. We kind of put him in the shade and didn’t let him talk much and made sure everything he did was evil.
How much fake blood did you use?
Banks: I don’t like a lot of blood, but it was necessary. It was not to be theatrical. We had to do it for the sake of the story, or else you might not have been afraid of Jason. But yes, there were a lot of them
Michelle, given your career, have there been times when you wouldn’t have imagined having a female director in an action movie?
Monaghan: I’ve been doing this for 20 years now, and if I’m really honest, I can’t even believe I’m still working. I am so grateful, honestly, to have this job. But over the years, the opportunity to work with women of any kind has been very limited. I really had to look for these opportunities and really find these filmmakers. And frankly, some of the experiences I am most proud of have been my collaborations with female filmmakers.
Is this the beginning of a franchise?
Banks: It is interesting for a female to enter this space, because it is very difficult. If I’m being honest, it’s made for Abby to last. And we’d like to work together again and be able to show people what we can do with a bigger budget.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
“Site Black” is available in select theaters, on request and at Redbox kiosks.
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