Chapter 51 director Tyler Shields and star Abigail Breslin spoke with ComingSoon about the unique murder mystery movie. Framed as a documentary on a troubled film shoot that saw three actresses murdered, it features a talented cast that includes Breslin, Colman Domingo, and more. It’s out now on Digital.
“Chapter 51 follows an elusive serial killer known as the Hollywood Killer, who turns a high-profile film production into a grisly crime scene, murdering three actresses and casting a dark shadow over the troubled project. As fear, speculation, and chaos spread behind the cameras, the production became forever linked to a case that shocks Hollywood and remains unresolved. Years later, former FBI agent Thomas Scott reopens the cold case, revisiting the events surrounding the murders and uncovering secrets that refuse to stay buried,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Tyler, mockumentaries are inherently meta, but this goes a step further with the Hollywood framing. What really spurred you to make this murder mystery in such a fun, meta way?
Tyler Shields: Well, I’m fortunate that I have really incredible, talented friends who I’ve worked with for many years, like Abigail. I knew we obviously couldn’t make a big $500 million movie by ourselves, but I knew we could make pieces of one.
I had so many great friends that I’d never seen get to act in a certain way. Abigail could speak to this, but I’d never gotten to see her like this in any movie. To me, and as her friend, she’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. The idea was to take all of their talent and give them a platform in this way. That was the original idea of how to put it all together.
Abigail, you play an actress named Ava Bergman. Obviously, the obvious touchpoint is Ingrid Bergman. How did you approach this role? You’re shot by Tyler as this larger-than-life figure.
Abigail Breslin: Thank you. I wouldn’t say there was any sort of clear approach that I took because of the way we filmed it, which Tyler can expand on. None of the actors really had a script. There was a script, but none of us really read it. We’d just come to work on days when Tyler would text us and say, “Hey, do you have time on Thursday to shoot?”
So I didn’t have this pre-planned idea for the character. It kind of developed over the four and a half years that we filmed it and just became what the character is now.
I took experiences from different people I’ve met and seen, and maybe a little bit of my own personality, and tried to make it more heightened. There was just a lot of room to play around with it.
Tyler, there are some truly gorgeous shots in this film. I was also reading that you used every type of film available. It’s just this wild technical feat. What was the most difficult piece of equipment to get your hands on for this?
Shields: We used some of the rarest cameras and lenses in the world. I’d say probably one of the rarest was the Ben-Hur lenses from 1959. I think they were only ever really used on Ben-Hur and The Hateful Eight. When we got them, they literally pulled them out of a museum case.
Those were pretty rare. Then there was the anamorphic IMAX lens, which we made just for the movie. That was a one-of-one that had never been done before.
VistaVision cameras were incredibly rare, especially at the time, and even now. IMAX cameras—I think there are only eight of them in the world. So yeah, we used a lot of rare stuff, but that was part of the fun.
Abigail, you worked with Tyler on Final Girl, and you two have a close friendship. What sticks out the most about Tyler compared to the many other directors you’ve worked with? Clearly, he took a very unique approach to this film and really likes to collaborate with his artists.
Abigail Breslin: Tyler and I already have kind of a shorthand with one another because we’ve known each other for almost 16 years now and have worked together on multiple shoots and multiple different things.
What stands out about Tyler the most is that he really trusts the people he’s working with. Every person in the film is a friend of his and has become a friend of mine. He trusts the people that he works with. He specifically chooses people for specific parts, and we all trust him a lot.
I’m never worried that it’s not going to be a good outcome because there’s just this inherent trust that he has with people, and he chooses people so well. Every single person in the movie—I’ve seen it multiple times now—brings something completely unique and different to the story, and they’re all just really good.
He also gives you a lot of creative freedom, but he’ll also let you know if it sucks.
Tyler, you essentially have to make a montage of this fake movie and use it as the background for this mockumentary. How much of that film-within-a-film did you have mapped out? Walk me through that creative process. Because at some point, I feel like you start wondering if you actually wanted to make a film like Dissident.
Tyler Shields: Well, that’s the thing. We have this great scene that I love where Abby’s in the nuclear power plant and she’s like, “I’m not afraid of dying. I’ve already done it.” We loved shooting those scenes from Dissident.
Although I don’t imagine myself ever making one of those movies, my God, the fun of shooting those scenes was incredible. You’re just like, “Okay, cool. We’re going to have this scene where Abby’s talking to this other character, but there just happens to be a plane there for really no reason.”
You’re building out this big franchise action movie, which is so much fun because there’s no pressure of having to deliver on the whole sequence. She can just be in one scene, like you’re saying, in the montage of that movie within the film.
We shot different pieces of the movie with the different actresses, and obviously, we open the film with the fake trailer for Dissident. It’s interesting because Abby’s character dies—spoiler alert. So when we go to do the Dissident trailer, I can’t use any footage of her because, in that real movie, she’s dead. So it’s the actress who lived. Keeping track of all those things and figuring out how to weave them into the story was a lot of fun.
Abigail, my last question. I love The Night Agent. I’m sad it’s coming to an end, but I’m so excited that you’ll be in Season 4. What’s most exciting about getting to help this show come to a close in a really satisfying way?
Abigail Breslin: It’s been so great. We’re filming right now, and I’m a huge fan of the show as well. To be a part of something that you’re also a fan of, getting to tell that story and hopefully bring it to a satisfying conclusion for all the fans, has been an honor.
Everybody I’m working with on it is just so incredible. It’s been really, really exciting.
Thanks to Abigail Breslin and Tyler Shields for taking the time to talk about Chapter 51.
