'Night Patrol' Exclusive Interview: Justin Long

Moviefone speaks with Justin Long about 'Night Patrol'. "The cops who were working on the movie were gracious with their time and helped us every day."

Justin Long in 'Night Patrol'. Photo: RLJE Films/Shudder.

Opening in theaters on January 16th is the new horror thriller ‘Night Patrol’, which was directed by Ryan Prows ('V/H/S/94'), and stars Justin Long (‘Live Free or Die Hard’ and ‘Weapons’), Jermaine Fowler (‘Coming 2 America’), RJ Cyler (‘The Harder They Fall’), Flying Lotus (‘Ash’), Phil Brooks (‘Zootopia 2’), and Dermot Mulroney (‘Scream VI’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Justin Long about his work on ‘Night Patrol’, his first reaction to the screenplay and its twist on the vampire genre, his research into playing a cop, and working with the ensemble cast.

Related Article: Movie Review: 'Weapons'

(L to R) Justin Long and Jermaine Fowler in 'Night Patrol'. Photo: RLJE Films/Shudder.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and its spin on the vampire genre?

Justin Long: I was directing this movie called ‘Fur Babies’, which was a segment in ‘V/H/S/Beyond’. Josh Goldbloom was our producer, and he was just great. I love talking to him about movies and I was asking him what he had going on. He mentioned the script and he had mentioned it as something he was going to do next, something he had been working on for a long time. I thought it was such a wild premise and I loved hearing him talk about it. They had another actor who was attached to it at the time. I thought, “Oh, that's perfect for that actor.” I don't want to say who it is. Nothing scandalous happened, he just had a scheduling thing that he had to drop out to do this other project. So, Josh came to me at the last minute and said, “Hey, remember that movie that I was talking to you about?” I said, of course. Then I met with Ryan Prows, the director, and I saw his movie ‘Lowlife’, which I loved. I was amazed at what he could do with that size budget. That's how I thought maybe this is the thing that they could pull off. I love taking wild swings anyway. But, when he came to me about it, I thought, he's just desperate. I'm not right for this character. It kind of scared me a little bit. I balked at it because on paper I’m not at all right for it. The guy who was going to play it was perfect for it. But that's what it's all about, taking a risk and swinging for the fences. So, I did what I could do to get ready physically. I just found a truth that I could connect to in stuff that I had gone through with my own family and people that I was close to. So, it was a fun, cathartic challenge.

Jermaine Fowler in 'Night Patrol'. Photo: RLJE Films/Shudder.

MF: I know there is a supernatural element to the film, but what kind of research did you do to prepare for playing a police officer?

JL: We did a little bit. Jermaine and I didn't have much time, but the cops who were working on the movie were gracious with their time and they helped us with the everyday stuff. Like, how do you get out of a car? What's the protocol for just approaching the stuff that they probably learned in the first day or two of basic training. They were able to make it look like we could fake it properly. So, they were very helpful. I know that the director and some of the actors who were playing the Bloods, they had some real involvement from gang members. There was a consultant on the movie who runs a program in LA where they try to mend fences between these gangs and try and help with rehabilitation after people get out of gangs, and there is some crossover with the LAPD. So, this program, they were actively involved in the movie and so that helped, and we had approval from actual gang members that the director was in touch with, and they were an active part of the movie. I mean, it was it was quite intense.

Dermot Mulroney in 'Night Patrol'. Photo: RLJE Films/Shudder.

MF: Finally, what was it like working with the cast, including Jermaine Fowler and Dermot Mulroney?

JL: Well, I also loved Freddie Gibbs. Freddie Gibbs has such a great voice, and he kind of stole the show at the table read. I was like, who is this guy? Then I started listening to his music and he's just a poet, but he's also a dynamic performer. I don't know how else to say. He's got a cool voice, he’s just great. And I love Flying Lotus as a person and as a director. But Jermaine, I've always really liked Jermaine's work. I didn't really know him before this, and I didn't really know what to expect. It was just luck that we happen to really connect. I just love being around him. In between takes, I loved hanging out with him. He’s got an encyclopedic knowledge of movies, especially comedies. We really hit it off. We bonded over old ‘70s and ‘80s comedies. We want to make one together. He sent me a script he wrote, which, I think is brilliant. So, we're trying to make that. We just really hit it off. We talked a lot about how much we loved Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder movie, and he's just a great guy. So, that came very naturally. Once we were in that cop car, it was just two buddies and it made it easier for me because the only challenge was playing a more silent type in the movie. My character is much more reserved and he’s somebody who's internalized a lot, and that's not naturally who I am. So, I'm not playing around with Jermaine in the scene. Most of our stuff together is him trying to get under my skin and him trying to punch me, so I couldn't really play back the way I wanted to do. I should say, I love getting to work with people that I grew up watching, and who inspired me to want to be an actor. Dermot Mulroney was in all those movies, and I was a huge ‘Young Guns’ fan. Just getting to hear stories about that movie specifically, and all his other work, I mean, he's been at it for so long and he’s always so good and so believable. But he was very kind with both me and Jermaine to share stories. So, to me, getting to work with people like that is one of the great highlights of this job.