This summer…everyone needs a place to escape.
In the suspense thriller A Perfect Getaway, Cliff (STEVE ZAHN of Rescue Dawn, Out of Sight) and Cydney (MILLA JOVOVICH of the Resident Evil trilogy, upcoming The Fourth Kind) are an adventurous young couple celebrating their honeymoon by backpacking to one of the most beautiful, and remote, beaches in Hawaii.  Hiking the wild, secluded trails, they believe they've found paradise.  But when the pair comes across a group of frightened hikers discussing the horrifying murder of another newlywed couple on the islands, they begin to question whether they should turn back. 
Unsure whether to stay or flee, Cliff and Cydney join up with two other couples--Nick (TIMOTHY OLYPHANT of Hitman, Live Free or Die Hard) & Gina (KIELE SANCHEZ of television's Lost, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium) and Kale (CHRIS HEMSWORTH of Star Trek, upcoming Thor) & Cleo (MARLEY SHELTON of W., Grindhouse)--and things begin to go terrifyingly wrong.  Far from civilization or rescue, everyone begins to look like a threat and nobody knows whom to trust.  Paradise becomes hell on earth as a brutal battle for survival begins.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Paradise Gone Bad: A Perfect Getaway is Greenlit
From his screenplays for such blockbusters as The Fugitive and G.I. Jane to his directorial efforts including the sci-fi classics Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick, filmmaker David Twohy has long enjoyed playing with established genres as he designs his signature stories.  For A Perfect Getaway, it was an exotic location that drove both his characters into action and plot into madness. 
While on vacation on the lush island of Kauai, Hawaii, Twohy was inspired to plot his latest project, one that happily breaks the conventional rules of three-act linear storytelling.  As he hiked the switchbacks of Kauai's remote trails, Twohy began imagining an intricate thriller of switchback deceptions about two serial killers who track and eliminate their victims. 
The writer/director begins his story with a raucous wedding reception at the W Hotel in Westwood, Los Angeles.  Well-wishers at a party for Cliff and Cydney pass around a video camera that records the crowd's enthusiasm for blissful newlyweds beginning their life together.  The camcorder tracks Cliff and Cydney's departure for Hanalei and their honeymoon on the legendary hiking trails of Kauai. 
A sightseeing chopper banks to reveal Waimea Canyon, Wai'ale'ale Crater and waterfalls that plunge 3,000 feet.  Pods of whale breach the waters on the Na Pali coast and Kalalau Beach, a golden crescent of sand, is cordoned off from civilization by steep green mountains that dip into the Pacific.  There are only two ways in and out of this paradise--by kayak or by the Kalalau Trail, an 11-mile trek along the island's north shore.  The trail spans from Ke'e Beach to Kalalau Valley and requires up to two days to complete.  The island promises an adventurous beginning to Cydney and Cliff's new life together…until they learn that serial killers are on the loose.
Twohy had no interest in creating a paint-by-numbers thriller and refused pressure from other would-be financiers to make the story more conventional.  "I could see the temptation," he says.  "The story does set up fairly conventionally, like a straight-ahead thriller.  But then halfway through, it kind of explodes in your face as I turn over all the cards, revealing who the killers are.  In doing so, that messes with the audience's sympathies and expectations.  The second half of the movie then goes dark and dire and fairly extreme."   
His wide-eyed city dwellers become fascinated with two new friends they meet on the trail.  Nick and Gina are a rugged pair who hike and hunt together, and Twohy's newlyweds find them exhilarating.  In addition to the tough-but-charming couple, Cliff and Cydney come across two mysterious hitchhikers named Kale and Cleo.  Unfortunately, they can't decide whether their new acquaintances are dangerous or harmless.
When news spreads among the group that there have been a series of tourist murders on the Oahu mainland--and law enforcement believes the psychopaths have come to their tropical paradise of Kauai--the travelers band together for safety in numbers.  The problem is that they begin to suspect the killer is among them.
The director explains the rationale and motivations of his characters: "When we're on vacation, we often do things we otherwise wouldn't.  We talk to people in different ways.  We tell me more about ourselves that maybe we should.  That's one of the key things that allows the serial killers in our midst to keep learning and to keep changing identities."
While the script's arrhythmic structure was initially a roadblock to setting up financing, Twohy remained passionately committed to his story in which the characters' motives dictate the plot.  He found his ideal production partners in Ryan Kavanaugh and Tucker Tooley of Relativity Media.  Of Relativity's interest in his project, Twohy recalls: "Tucker stepped up and said, 'I like the script exactly the way it is.'"
Producer Robbie Brenner, who received the spec story from Twohy's agent, was quickly interested in developing the story with Kavanaugh and Tooley for Relativity.  "David's a fantastic writer," commends Brenner.  "He writes incredible characters that are authentic, and this was something very different than he had done before.  Tucker and I shared the same passion for getting this movie made, and we joined forces early to steamroll it." 
To manage a distant location shoot where unpredictable weather and rough terrain would undoubtedly be factors, the four men turned to producer Mark Canton to complete the core team.  As he had previously worked with Twohy on The Fugitive, Canton understood the director's process.  "David had written the script for Kauai, and because I've been there, I could visualize what he wanted to do," explains Canton.  "While the tax incentives drove the decision to shoot in Puerto Rico, we produced CG shots in Hawaii so it would feel like we're there." 
Production greenlit, it was time to find the group of murderers and innocents who would play a very dangerous game with one another in Hawaii.

Psychopaths and Tourists: Casting the Film
For the three couples that form the heart of A Perfect Getaway, Twohy and the producers looked to cast a seasoned group of action and suspense film veterans, as well as newcomers to the genre.  They found their Cliff & Cydney, Nick & Gina and Kale & Cleo after an extensive search.
When considering the role of the rugged Iraq war veteran Nick, the team asked actor Timothy Olyphant to come aboard.  From Hitman to Live Free or Die Hard, Olyphant has a number of thrillers on his resume and jumped into the role.  It didn't hurt that the native Hawaiian was very familiar with the land about which Twohy had written.
Olyphant enjoyed the complex narrative created for his role; he wasn't sure whether Nick was going to be a victim or the killer.  "Every character has information you assume means one thing and then, when given more information, you realize it means something completely different," the actor offers.  "This movie really challenges the audience at all times."
Survivalist Nick jumps at the opportunity to brag to aspiring screenwriter Cliff about his exploits in the military as a self-proclaimed "American Jedi."  "He is this gregarious, special-op guy who has all kinds of stories to tell," says Twohy.  "Nick's like a drive-by shooter with his stories.  At first you believe this guy, but then you aren't so sure.  You want to start questioning the guy about the legitimacy of his stories, but by then he's on to the next one.  I told Tim: 'Do it fast, almost rat-a-tat-tat, with no breath in between…so everybody is left playing catch-up to your monologue.'"
To play opposite Nick, the production team had to next fill the role of the shy writer Cliff; like his counterpart, he had to fight for his life if he hopes to escape the island alive.  Producer Brenner had previously worked with Steve Zahn on a Western film, so she and Twohy flew to Kentucky to discuss the part with the actor on his latest film set.  The unassuming Cliff was a welcome departure for Zahn.  "Steve's always seen as the funny guy," says Brenner, "so the straight-man role of Cliff gave him an opportunity to do something different."   
Zahn's background made him a disarming choice for Cliff, concurs Twohy.  Indeed, he felt the actor was "scope-locked" on the part as he prepared to film.  "His script was tabulated and indexed; he had everything worked out and was ready to go," recalls the director.  "He was usually the first one on-set, happy to do just about anything I wanted with very little input required." 
Zahn appreciated that A Perfect Getaway was nonlinear and unpredictable.  He describes his reaction upon reading the screenplay: "You have all these characters that are vulnerable and endearing, and you're interested in them.  Then someone kills somebody, and it might be the one you like."  The actor also appreciated that his character struggles with the unforgiving nature of the Hawaiian trails…no matter how much gear he has piled into his pack.  Acknowledges Zahn: "Cliff is a little out of his element."
Cast as Nick's girlfriend, the perky-but-tough Southern girl Gina, was actress Kiele Sanchez.  "Kiele is a revelation, and I have a soft spot in my heart for her," relates Twohy.  "She was simply the best of about a hundred people we read for the role." 
It was several weeks into shooting before the director realized that one of his leading ladies had a secret of her own.  Sanchez had learned her character's spot-on accent not from one of Hollywood's master dialect coaches…but by watching hours of Designing Women to nail Gina's cadence.
The longtime-thriller fan enjoyed attempting to decode Twohy's screenplay upon first read.  "Whenever I read thrillers or murder mysteries, I always think, 'I know who did it,' or 'This is who they want you to think did it,'" says Sanchez.  In this case, the actress admits she didn't foresee what was coming.  "I was really surprised by the ending, which is how I knew it was a good one."   
The final performer to join the ensemble was worldwide action star Milla Jovovich.  Having created unforgettable characters in thrillers from The Fifth Element to the Resident Evil trilogy, Jovovich was no stranger to grueling shoots and treacherous stunts.  Several years ago, producer Tooley had made the crime drama .45 with the actress and was keen to work with her again, so he reached out to get the script in Jovovich's hands.  She responded to the multifaceted Cydney and agreed to the part.
Olyphant, Zahn and Sanchez were not the only members of the troupe affected by the screenplay.  "When I read David's script and realized that everything I thought about the story was completely wrong, I said, 'I have to be involved, because he really pulled one over on me,'" says Jovovich.  She also enjoyed that Cydney is a naive newlywed who is having the time of her life being young and in love in Hawaii.  The performer laughs, "That was fun for me, because it's not every day I get to play a nice girl."
Naturally, Jovovich and Zahn had distinct approaches to their craft, and the director believed that helped the chemistry between them.  Twohy elaborates: "Milla likes rehearsals and wants to hear the other lines before she can understand how she'll respond to them.  She doesn't lock in until the last minute.  Their work approach was so opposite, yet they were so damn funny that they kept each other in stitches and made it all work on the set.  Hopefully, that results in chemistry you see on the screen."
Completing the core group of mysterious hikers are Chris Hemsworth and Marley Shelton, cast to play unpredictable boyfriend and girlfriend Kale and Cleo.  Australian actor Hemsworth's American theatrical debut occurred this summer in Star Trek, while Shelton has been seen in a number of successful films. 
When casting the parts, Twohy knew he needed two actors who could come across as both sane and a little crazy.  He notes: "Cleo and Kale are two hitchhikers that Cliff and Cydney quickly regret stopping for.  As written, the script doesn't give the actors a lot to go on, so I looked for inventive actors who could, with my blessing, co-create the characters.  To that end, I invited both Chris and Marley down to Puerto Rico early, put them in costume, and told them to go out and spend their days together in character.  I even gave them a camera so they could snap photos of themselves that we use in the movie.  They both worked out great."

Treacherous Angles: Design and Camerawork
Twohy imagined an ambitious shooting schedule when he wrote A Perfect Getaway.  From Cliff and Cydney's entry into the reef lagoon of Ke'e Beach to their dangerous walk across a narrow trail aptly named "Crawlers Ledge," re-creating the terrifying island getaway set on the pristine expanse of Pacific would prove challenging to all involved.  To lens the thriller, the production would travel from Puerto Rico to Jamaica and on to Kauai for certain aerial and cover shots. Read more

Design
Originally, Twohy planned a guerilla-style shoot for the film.  Since the majority of his suspense thriller was to be shot in exteriors, he wondered if he even needed a production designer.  But when the production eventually landed in Puerto Rico, production designer Joe Nemec came in to help Twohy re-create Kauai, one of the most beautiful and distinct places on earth.
Puerto Rico's El Yunque National Park was a rich stand-in for the lush Na Pali Coast State Park, home to Kauai's rugged hikes and the crescent-shaped beach that spoons the emerald coastline at the end of the 11-mile trail.  Read more

Camerawork
Twohy felt director of photography Mark Plummer's interest in shooting in a wider format would work well with the story's expansive Hawaiian vistas.  The perspectives they were able to capture are breathtaking.  "I'm happy to see small actors against a big, dangerous backdrop with craggy mountains and great rock formations," says the director.  Read more


Getting in Fighting Shape
The rugged backdrop and the goal that the cast would do much of their own stunts required that the actors be in top physical form for the filming of A Perfect Getaway.  In addition to the tough cardiovascular and anaerobic training prior, they arrived in Puerto Rico to rehearse two weeks before the beginning of principal photography.  They were asked to prepare with serious training and daily kayak lessons. 
"It wasn't the kind of movie where you just prepare before you start," offers Canton.  "They had weapons; there were 20-foot swells out there and we shot in caves.  They had to train every day in order to be ready."
"Tim was a competitive swimmer in college, and both he and Steve were on a serious workout regimen before they came to do this movie," adds Brenner. 
Sanchez, who was well into a rigorous training schedule for an AIDS benefit marathon in San Francisco, felt she was ready aerobically.  But she realized she would need to incorporate weight training into her routine to build muscle and, as she relates, "get through how intense it was going to be physically."
Jovovich trained rigorously in Los Angeles before she came to the islands; she brought her trainer to Puerto Rico and continued working with him during preparation for the shoot.  The actress, who had a baby about six months before filming began, admits that the strenuous shooting conditions "were a great opportunity to get back into the swing of things."   
Her on-screen husband agrees. "Any time you're on location, it's more demanding--physically and mentally," admits Zahn.  "This one was a lot harder because we're in the elements, which I prefer.  The surf, sand, tents, hiking and the waterfalls add a fantastic ruggedness to the film."

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
As both writer and director, DAVID TWOHY (Written and Directed by) has contributed much to the world of adventure, science fiction and fantasy, helping elevate genre films in such a way that Entertainment Weekly named him "one of the 100 most creative people in Hollywood."
Twohy first came to attention with his screenplay for the Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones vehicle The Fugitive (story by and co-writer), nominated in 1993 for a Writers Guild Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published.  Other writing credits include the cult classic Warlock; Terminal Velocity, starring Charlie Sheen and Nastassja Kinski, for which Twohy also served as executive producer; Waterworld (co-writer), starring Kevin Costner; Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane (co-writer), starring Demi Moore; and Impostor (co-writer), starring Gary Sinise and Madeleine Stowe.
As a director, Twohy made his debut in 1992 with the Showtime Original Movie The Grand Tour, which he adapted for the screen from Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore's haunting novella "Vintage Season."  Starring Jeff Daniels, The Grand Tour received the Grand Prix at the Festival International du Film Fantastique and a Golden Scroll nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.  He was honored again in 1996 with a Saturn Award for his feature directorial debut, The Arrival.  Also scripted by Twohy, The Arrival starred Lindsay Crouse and Charlie Sheen and was released by Orion Pictures.
Twohy's next writing/directing venture was Pitch Black, one of the year 2000's most unexpected films.  Released by Universal Pictures, this modestly budgeted movie, shot in the Australian outback, startled critics and audiences alike with its chilling mood and twists and turns of story.  This was also the film that would introduce the world to actor Vin Diesel.
In 2002, Dimension Films released Below.  Directed by Twohy and co-written with Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) and Lucas Sussman, Below follows a series of haunting and inexplicable occurrences on a World War II submarine.  It stars Bruce Greenwood and Olivia Williams.
In 2004, Twohy wrote and directed The Chronicles of Riddick, the follow-up to Pitch Black.  Twohy's cast boasted the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Thandie Newton, Colm Feore and Karl Urban. 
Twohy attended California State University, Long Beach, graduating with a major in radio, television and film and a minor in theater arts.
Twohy attended California State University, Long Beach, graduating with a major in radio, television and film and a minor in theater arts.

THE ART OF ORIGINAL FILMMAKING

HOME