When Dito Montiel started shooting “Riff Raff,” he knew it would be unpredictable — but even he was stunned by what happened when Pete Davidson and Bill Murray shared the screen. The director behind classics starring Channing Tatum and “Boulevard” starring Robin Williams called the experience one of the wildest ensembles he’s ever worked with.
“It’s such a weird movie,” Montiel said in our interview. “But it’s got so many people in it that you’d never think would be together. You know, Bill Murray, Ed Harris, Pete Davidson, Jennifer Coolidge — and somehow it all made sense.”
Pete Davidson And Bill Murray Changed The Energy Of “Riff Raff”
In an exclusive interview with EntertainmentNow, Montiel admits he wasn’t sure what to expect when Davidson joined the cast, but he quickly became central to the movie’s rhythm. “Pete was surprising,” Montiel recalled. “You think you know what you’re going to get, and then he hits you with this totally different energy. He’s hilarious, but he’s also vulnerable in ways people don’t give him credit for.” He also added what also surprised him about Davidson, “What a good actor he is, you know? I’m always surprised. I know it sounds corny to have a director talk about how much they love actors, but I do. And when it’s good, I’m kind of amazed.”
“They (Davidson and Murray) probably have that weird connection because of maybe ‘Saturday Night Live’ or something like that. But I don’t know, great stuff just seems to blend. If you’re special, you’re special, you know? And both those guys seem pretty special. They seemed to have their own strange connection, aside from whatever they need to have with me”, said Montiel.
And then there was Bill Murray. “I mean, it’s Bill Murray,” Montiel said. “He can just sit there and it’s funny. But at the same time, he’ll do something that suddenly breaks your heart. That’s what he does — he can make you laugh and cry in the same beat.”
What shocked Montiel was how those two energies collided. “You throw Pete in there, and you’ve got Bill doing his thing, and suddenly the scene takes on this life you couldn’t plan. That’s what I love — it’s not in the script, it’s just them. It’s real.”
Why “Riff Raff” Became Montiel’s Wildest Film Yet
GettyThe ensemble didn’t stop with Davidson and Murray. Ed Harris, Jennifer Coolidge, and Gabrielle Union rounded out the cast — each bringing their own unpredictable spark. “Jennifer’s incredible,” Montiel said. “She can do something where you don’t know whether to laugh or cry, because she flips it on you in a second. And Ed Harris just grounds everything. He walks in and suddenly it feels heavy and real.”
That combination made “Riff Raff” unlike anything Montiel had done before. “The title says it all,” he said. “It’s about people who don’t belong, or maybe they do, but they’re a mess. And when you throw them together, you get this crazy story that’s funny, sad, and kind of beautiful.”
Montiel described the shoot as chaos — the kind he thrives on. “You can’t storyboard that,” he said. “You just let them go and you try to catch the moment. With this cast, there was always a moment worth catching.”
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