‘Ripley’ Showrunner on Whether He Feels There’s Still More Story to Tell

(Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Replay.)

From the writer/director steven zillion and is based on the author’s work Patricia HighsmithEight-episode Netflix series Ripley Lone Wolf takes a deep dive into grifter Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott), was living in New York in the early 1960s as he was hired to travel to Italy to convince Dickie Greenleaf (johnny flynn) to give up his promiscuous lifestyle and return home to his wealthy family. Instead of fulfilling that request, Tom works his way into Dickie’s life, but as they spend more time together, it raises red flags for Dickie’s girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (dakota fanning, But so do anyone else who grows increasingly suspicious of what Tom is doing, including Inspector Pietro Ravini (Maurizio Lombardi), finding evidence to prove the incidents of fraud, swindling and murder for which he is clearly responsible, is an elusive task that may prove impossible to achieve.

Ripley It’s a fascinating character study of a complex, lonely deceived man who wants a life other than his own. The beauty of the black and white cinematography paired with the horrific nature of Tom Ripley’s journey is a compelling mix that enhances the storytelling. During this interview with Collider, showrunner Zelian talked about how much of Tom Ripley’s story he was able to explore within a TV series rather than a movie, whether he thinks there could be more episodes, And what made Scott the ideal actor for this iteration of Tom Ripley, while co-stars Fanning and Lombardi talked about their favorite moments with Scott, why Marge is so suspicious of Tom, and How Inspector Ravini wants to catch her man.

‘Replay’ showrunner Steven Zaillian had to dig deeper into the story for a TV series

Collider: Steven, what did you think could be done with this long-form story that couldn’t be done in previous film versions of this story?

Steven Zaillian: I think any story can be told in two hours, and it has been. This is what I am familiar with doing. As far as my career is concerned, I have done mostly films. In television shows, in this particular case, I thought the character was so complex and interesting that it could support an eight-hour presentation. In installments of this story. And it gave me a chance to see things in the book that the movies didn’t have time for. It was clear that he (Inspector Ravini) was also among the things that they would cut for the sake of time. I guess I would say that his character in the films is quite simple, but I love his character. I love the cat and mouse he plays with Tom Ripley. It was something I enjoyed spending time on.

Dakota, what is it about Marge that makes her one of the only people to doubt Tom Ripley, and what did you enjoy most about how that shaped their relationship?

Dakota Fanning: I enjoyed how it shaped their relationship, and I was thrilled to be one of the only characters who doesn’t trust him from the beginning and sees him for who he is. . The way I’ve thought about it, and I’ve been thinking about it lately, is that we’ve learned some things about Marge. He is from Minnesota. She is a small town girl. This may also be their first time to go out of the country. She doesn’t come from the same background as Dickie Greenleaf. And Tom, obviously, doesn’t come from the same background as Dickie Greenleaf. And so, I think strangely They almost see similarities in each other, and this gives them a chance to see each other for who they really are. And distrust each other completely from the beginning. That’s part of it, but more simply, for whatever reason, she doesn’t like the way she looks. He doesn’t trust him at all. This is also a small part of it. And you see how it changes, changes, grows and shrinks over the course of the series. Andrew (Scott) and I had the best time doing those scenes with each other, where you can tell they just hope the other person dies, honestly. It was a lot of fun for us because we got along so well.

Maurizio, how did you see this inspector? Is he a person who trusts Tom Ripley, or does he treat everyone as if they are suspects?

Maurizio Lombardi: I’ll catch Tom, but it’s not easy. In fact, one time I said to Tom, “Are you kidding me? “Maybe you are a murderer, no?” I am determined to catch him. For me, it’s a little frustrating because the killer is in front of me, but I can’t catch him.

Zillian: Whatever her feelings about it, she needs some kind of proof, and she doesn’t really have it. Tom is a big liar, and he’s very good at hiding what he says, so this is difficult.

Lombardi: When we talk about A Boat Full of Blood, it’s like, “Really? come on. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Zelian: Obviously, he’s very suspicious.

LOMBARDI: We don’t have any evidence to pin him down.

Zelian: The irony is that he thinks Dickie did it because he was posing as him at the time.

Andrew Scott is the ‘Real Deal’ as Tom Ripley in Netflix series

Steven, what did you see in Andrew Scott that made him your Tom Ripley? Was it any of his previous projects that particularly made you feel like you could play all the layers of this character?

Zelian: Yes. i was a big fan of Fleabag, I thought he was brilliant in it. i heard them in the movie loke, I didn’t see him inside loke Because he did not come forward. It was just a voice on the phone. But he created an entire character just with his voice, which I thought was extraordinary. And then, there was his Moriarty. Between those things, I just thought, “That’s the real deal, and it’s going to take someone like that to do it.”

Dakota and Maurizio, what were your favorite moments with Andrew Scott? What’s the moment between the two of you that really stands out?

Fanning: We spent a very giddy night together in a gondola at two in the morning in Venice, when we were just happy slapping. There’s this one moment that I can’t tell you about, where we were laughing at something, and we were laughing so hard and it was so cool. It was midnight and we were on this Gondola. In this line of work, that’s the only way you can find yourself in that particular position. I think we’re both very similar in the way we work, we need the light to balance the darkness, and we need play and joy and laughter and all that. So, I think we were able to give each other that when things were challenging or it was a long day. We were always able to find some humor in it, which is sometimes the only thing you can do.

Lombardi: I don’t remember what I said in the scene, but I remember his eyes. I thought, “Oh my God, what a great actor he is. He’s incredible.” That moment is very clear to me.

Zillian: There are some amazing moments in their scenes together because they both know what the other is thinking. Ravini is thinking, “Maybe you are the same man.” And Tom is thinking, “I see you think I’m the same guy, but there’s no way you can prove it.” These little looks between them are amazing.

Lombardy: We played one shot for 20 minutes. (Steve) said cut after 20 minutes. It was a very long scene and a very long shot. It was incredible and beautiful.

Dakota, where do you think the season will end up? Can Tom Ripley ever really be known, and is it okay to leave the audience with the feeling that there may never be a way to fully know the truth about this man?

Fanning: It’s something I think about in life. Is there ever anyone worth knowing? You may know someone intimately inside and out, but people can always surprise you. I don’t know if anyone is ever really worth knowing. You can only truly know yourself. As a human being, I’m thrilled to think about it. And then, in terms of character, I think the audience gets as clear a window into Tom Ripley as possible., in this series. You see, moment by moment, his thought process, and how he does what he does, and the execution of everything, and the effort, but he’s not even professional. He is doing all this work, how will we do this work? It’s all messed up and it’s not right. You can relate, which is a weird word. You are taken on this journey with Tom and you get to understand him as much as you can. But I don’t know if you can ever really know someone. Tom Ripley is no different.

Will there be any more episodes of ‘Replay’?

Steven, would you like to make more episodes of this, or do you feel like you’ve told the story you wanted to tell?

Zillion: There are other books and they’re really good. I would do it again if I was able to, but what I mean by that is, do I have the next five years to do it? I’ll have to think about that aspect of it. But in terms of continuing the character, yes, I think there’s more to Tom Ripley, Tom Ripley goes through a lot of changes over the course of five books, and they’re all interesting, so, yes, absolutely. And films have also been made about other books. So, given the right circumstances, yes.

Ripley Available to stream on Netflix. watch Trailer:

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