Filmmaker Jay Roach usually has a moment of panic and doubt before production starts on a project.
It鈥檚 something Sydney Pollack, who was a mentor of his, once assured him was normal. He鈥檇 also read something similar about Mike Nichols in Mark Harris鈥檚 biography. Good company to be in, sure, but still not the greatest feeling to be thinking 鈥淚鈥檝e made a horrible mistake and how can I get out of this?鈥�
But for his latest endeavor, 鈥� ,鈥� his first foray into episodic television, he didn鈥檛 have that. Currently five episodes into its eight-episode run on Apple TV+, 鈥淗igh Desert鈥� stars Patricia Arquette as a hustler named Peggy Newman, an ex-addict and dealer scraping by in the Southern California desert, working as a saloon girl in an Old West themed park. Her husband (Matt Dillon) is in jail. Her mother (Bernadette Peters) has recently died. And more strait-laced siblings (Christine Taylor, Keir O鈥橠onnell) are looking to sell the home she lives in. In an attempt to make some extra money to keep her place, she decides to pick up P.I. work on the side. And she鈥檚 not bad at it, though her methods are different from her reluctant Philip Marlowe-styled boss (Brad Garrett).
Peggy, Roach said, was like a 鈥渞ock 鈥榥鈥� roll Lucy Ricardo.鈥� She鈥檚 dysfunctional on one level, but also has a wholly unique swagger and confidence that鈥檚 not unwarranted, which comes to life through Arquette鈥檚 singular performance, partly inspired by Patti Smith and The Runaways.
Roach got the script, written by Nancy Fichman, Jennifer Hoppe (鈥淣urse Jackie鈥�), and Katie Ford (鈥淢iss Congeniality鈥�), from Ben Stiller, a longtime friend who is an executive producer, to see if he鈥檇 consider directing the pilot. Soon, Roach was asking to do all eight.
鈥淚t was heartbreaking and darkly funny,鈥� he said. 鈥淧atricia talked about how people cope and how a character like Peggy might go off to be isolated but then ends up kind of collecting other lost people. I thought that was really moving, this idea of coping with tragedy and grief through a very off-center approach to life.鈥�
Roach has made a career directing features, including the 鈥淎ustin Powers鈥� trilogy, two 鈥淢eet the Parents鈥� movies, 鈥淢ystery, Alaska鈥� and, more recently, 鈥淏ombshell,鈥� as well as acclaimed HBO political dramas like 鈥淩ecount鈥� and 鈥淕ame Change," both of which won him Emmys.
Though he's still developing films, including a glamorous 鈥淥cean's Eleven鈥� movie, set in Monte Carlo in 1962 and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, he鈥檇 been interested in diving into longer-form storytelling.
鈥淵ou get to go much deeper into character and develop more characters in a complicated set of predicaments,鈥� Roach said. 鈥淎s a consumer of a great long-form TV, I love having time to get to know people, to find out what really makes them tick and really get lost in their predicament with them. The empathy factor can be even stronger.鈥�
Plus, the desert is a place he knew well. He grew up on the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The series would be in the Mojave Desert in Yucca Valley, California, a town bordered by the San Bernardino Mountains and the Joshua Tree National Park. It鈥檚 the kind of place where, next to a run-down plywood shack, it鈥檚 not entirely unusual to see a single post with a Tesla charger.
鈥淚n Joshua Tree, everyone is a bit of a rebel and a recluse or, you know, a refugee of some sort,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll types of classes come out there to get away and end up hanging out with each other. There鈥檚 so many contradictions and there is such a strong sense of community because there鈥檚 almost a bonding over facing the challenges of surviving.鈥�
For the series, that meant larger than life characters, who are also doing some genuine soul searching, like Rupert Friend鈥檚 鈥淕uru Bob,鈥� a former local newscaster who had an on-air breakdown and remade himself as a self-styled guru in the desert. He鈥檚 also being hunted by some bad people.
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 so quirky out there so there鈥檚 going to be absurdity, there鈥檚 going to be irony, there鈥檚 going to be comedy,鈥� he said. "The tone is tricky, though. It gets broad and farcical at times but it veers back into something that鈥檚 very, very emotional.鈥�
The cast was key 鈥� a group of actors who are 鈥渃omedy capable,鈥� Roach said, even if they鈥檙e not known for comedy. The music helped enormously, too. From music supervisor Maggie Phillips to the cast, everyone had something to contribute.
Soundtrack choices range from cheeky, Mel Torm茅鈥檚 鈥淣ice Work if You Can Get It鈥� and Frank Sinatra belting 鈥淚鈥檝e Got the World on a String,鈥� to the more sincere and soul searching in Kevin Morby & Waxahatchee鈥檚 cover of 鈥淔arewell Transmission鈥� and Ellen McIlwaine鈥檚 1972 heartbreaker 鈥淐an鈥檛 Find My Way Home.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 a number of songs that are pure irony, that we use as buttons at the end of the episodes,鈥� Roach said. 鈥淥thers give you permission to connect to those emotional zones."
Roach listened to the McIlwaine song every day on his drive to the set. It felt to him like the heart and spirit of the show.
Even with the trickiness of shooting during COVID-19, budget ceilings and the quick pace of television, it was one of his best experiences. The vibes, he said, were just so good. He never even once 鈥渢ried to get out of it.鈥�
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Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
