Interview: Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab on Crafting the Surreal World of MR. K

Bjorn Sundquist, Jan Gunnar Roise, and Esmee Van Kampen in MR. K | Courtesy of Doppelgänger Releasing

By Shannon McGrew

In MR. K, traveling magician Mr. K (Crispin Glover), is down on his luck. Business is slow, and the few gigs he’s picked up along the road have left him adrift. After spending the night in a remote hotel, he is alarmed when he discovers that he is unable to find the exit. As he explores the maze-like corridors, he hears strange noises and encounters a series of curious inhabitants who have formed their own factions within the hotel's walls. 

Alone and afraid, he starts mapping out the corridors, desperately hoping to get to the bottom of the building’s layout before it is too late. Stuck more hopelessly than ever and about to give up, he makes a bizarre discovery that will change everything.

For the release of MR. K, Creepy Kingdom’s Shannon McGrew spoke to writer/director Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab. During our chat, we discussed everything from the film's unique world and her creative vision to working with the always-fascinating Crispin Glover.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. MR. K is such a distinct and surreal film. What inspired the story, and how did it come together?

Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab: My idea came from 20 years ago, actually. It started with the feeling of being socially inadequate. I’m not very good at conversing or being in social settings. I would always be searching for how things work. What am I supposed to be doing? Everybody else seemed to have the answers to that and did it so naturally, while for me, it was always hard work, concentration, and figuring out how it works here and how it works there, you know? 

Did you always envision Cripsin Glover for the role of Mr. K, or did that casting evolve during production? 

Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab: While I was writing it, I wasn’t thinking of anything other than just the character. When we came to production, we started thinking of who he could be. Crispin Glover, for me, is such a fascinating actor. The first time he really struck me was not Back to the Future, which I had seen, but Wild at Heart. It’s this tiny little role, I’d never seen anybody play a role that way. He’s so fascinating, such a unique person. You don’t know whether he is nice, or weird, or whether he is creepy, or just mad, or totally normal. It’s very difficult to pin him down, and that makes him so fascinating. I thought this was precisely what I needed for Mr. K, so I chose him. I’m glad he wanted to do it because he loves surrealism and weird things.

Bjorn Sundquist and Crispin Glover in MR. K | Courtesy of Doppelgänger Releasing

The character of Mr. K is so distinctive. Did Crispin bring any of his own ideas or interpretations to the role that went beyond what was on the page?

Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab: His personality already makes a lot of difference. Most of the time we were in line, but we had differences and could argue about them. That's how it works when you are working [together]. I think things don’t have to be smooth and easy to be interesting when you both have ideas and you discuss them. I wrote his character more comically, and he played it very straight. Weirdly, he’s almost the most normal person in the whole movie, but he does it with an edge that makes it perfect. 

The film has such a striking visual identity. Can you talk about how your cinematographer and production designer collaborated to achieve that look, and what guided your visual approach?

Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab: My idea was that it should evolve. It had to evolve and become increasingly natural. Almost like the earth inverted. That was the reason for coloring, like the green colors, and the red dress the lady wears, which looks like blood; this is how we thought about it. It was complicated because we wanted it to move. We wanted it to change. We also wanted it to look like it had been standing there forever. All of these things together made it a fascinating process. The great thing was that, because of this, the whole art department almost started acting like the people in the hotel. They wouldn’t leave the set, and they were like a little entity within the whole thing. They loved the set, and they saw it as their place, and they would’ve died for that set [Laughs].

Whether it was through the production design or the acting, were there any questions or emotions you were hoping to provoke in the audience as they were watching the film? 

Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab: One of the things I wanted you to feel was like being in a whirlwind pulled through different worlds, from one to the other, and you’re trying to find your footing and find out how things work here and then before you know it you’re somewhere else, and then you have to try to find out how it works there. That was the idea. 

What were some of the most unexpected challenges you encountered while making the film? And do you have a moment from the movie that’s your favorite? 

Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab: Oh gosh, that’s so difficult because it was for us a challenge to make. The cameraman, Frank Griebe, a fantastic German cameraman, would say in the mornings, as there was always a crisis: "Every day is a new adventure," and it really was. Every day, something was going on, but everyone was together on it, so we always came out on top, which was great. As for my favorite moment, I love the part where the orchestra leader has an almost Mad Hatter scene from “Alice in Wonderland.” I love that part, and the actress was so great and so lovely to work with.  

MR. K is now in theaters.