A Farewell to Ozark (2022)

[bunniefuu]

It's not very often

where you realize in real-time

how lucky you are

to be getting to do something.

This has stayed really true to what I

always hoped and dreamed that it would be.

More than

any other showI've ever been on,

it's been the most

collaborative environment.

It is a real team sport.

This has been

a glorious experience for everybody.

It changed my life,

not only professionally, but personally,

I met my best friends on this show,

and it's been a ride.

This is all very serendipitous,

and we're quite lucky

to have landed on something

that is so successful and so popular.

I'm not letting go of anything

until I know it's impossible.

If you loved me, you'd do the same.

Bill Dubuque wrote the pilot,

and, uh, Bill grew up

going to the Ozarksin the summers.

But Bill is a feature writer

that lives in St. Louis

and had never done TV,

so they needed somebody

to kind of take the reins.

So that's kind of where-- where I came in.

Chris was

instrumental in getting me in.

It was a good story

about a family struggling

under very desperate circumstances.

And I liked that idea

of, um, the class struggle

with the Byrdes coming

from the North Shoreof Chicago,

very comfortable, very safe life,

and dealing with Langmores

and Snells and all the various people

who ultimately turn out to be a lot wiser

and a lot smarter than them

in a lot of cases.

I remember very vividly it settling

into this incredibly rich world,

which is something

I think you're always looking for

when you're trying to imagine yourself

writing for especially an hour-long drama.

You're looking for a world

where you can project forward

all of these vivid characters.

And I-I remember the dialogue

leaping off of the page

and-- and seeing it as-- as

really exciting but also like a challenge,

you know, as a writer being,

like, "Oh, how am I going to--

to helpcontribute

to this really rich tapestry?"

We hope that it's relatable

to people in their own life.

It's just most people aren't, you know

laundering money

for a Mexican drug cartel.

I'm really, really grateful

that we got to a finish line,

the finish line we wanted to get to.

That-- that we weren't kicked out

of the party

before we could get to an ending

that-- that hopefully is--

is satisfyingfor the audience.

Jason,

they approachedas an actor,

and Jason basically said, "I'd be willing

to act in it if I direct it."

Some of those earliest memories were

getting some

of thoseinitial first steps done,

like talking Laura Linney into doing it,

talking MRC into letting me

direct the whole first season,

and then ultimately not being able

to do that because of time and schedule.

Now we just have to pull off

opening a f*cking casino.

I wasn't looking to do a series. I wasn't.

But it was really just wanting

to-- to see what Jason was gonna do,

and then talking to Chris

and being like, "Oh, he's pretty great."

I was like, "Well, okay."

I remember saying,

"Laura Linney's gonna do our show."

"Like, we cannot suck."

"It's not okay for us to suck

if she's gonna be on our show."

Obviously.

I don't think any of us had any idea

where the sh-- the show was going

or where it could go

or even if it would go.

You don't really perceive

what the show is on the outside,

but it's been special

to seehow many people love it

and how many people choose

to make the show a part of their lives

and love all of these characters.

Everybody knew

that the scripts were amazing,

and the people

that we had lined upwere amazing.

Everything just lined up, and it was

just, like, this magical moment in a way.

That's right.

And if Daddy were here, he would have

hung you out by your b*ll s*ck already.

You want me to tell him

that you're disrespecting me?

Didn't think so.

Probably the biggest tells of a good--

of a good story is the character creation.

It's like creating characters thatfeel

really-- really authentic and natural.

Morning.

I mean,

we're spoiled in the writers' room

because we have Jason and Laura,

I mean, honestly.

If Jason himself wasn't

so incredibly likable,

people might not have even

gone for the ride at all.

So I-I think we just start

with a huge leg up because of that.

Chris alwaystalked about the idea

that the show being

about the Byrdes and the Langmores

and the idea that, obviously, you know,

the-- the sort of the plot engine

of the showis-- is money laundering,

but that that's not

the heartbeat of the show.

It's a show about two families that

come from very different circumstances

and seeing how they work with each other,

how they're rivals of each other,

how they play off of each other.

The Langmore family,

which would be the kind of low-rent

version of the Byrde family.

And they end up always scrapping

to keep their family together,

despite all the difficulty, the violence,

and the crime that's been in their life.

The first season of Ozark

was very hard for me

because I'm not aggressive, you know.

I don't have the confidence that Ruth has.

- Very funny.

- Shut the f*ck up!

I'm working with Martin

so I can learn how to launder for us.

I'm not super tough like that.

Well, how about I pop those t*ts

and squeeze out the silicone?

How'd you feel about that?

But the thing about Ruth that's

interesting that I could connect with her

is she's very sensitive.

In some ways,

the Langmores are cursed.

It's the, sort of, curse of capitalism.

I think people see their families in there

even though we all come from families,

not nearly that screwed-up, in some cases,

but we see elements of people in there.

Gimme some time, then bring 'em here.

You were clear, and you have been patient.

Then you bring in the Snells,

which is another whole story

about those people who were displaced.

I think Darlene's normal

is probably different from all of ours.

I would say, basically,

her life was kind of great

until the Byrdes came to town.

They would still be growing

whatever those subsistence crops

are someplace else

had they not been uprooted.

So the Snells are another family,

screwed-up.

- Hi. Here, come in.

- Hey, Maya.

Charlotte, please, uh,

settle Maya in for me, and, um

It's not how I saw

my maternity leave panning out.

Maya is a workaholic,

but only because she cares so much.

So she's not just doing a job

that is a clock-in and clock-out.

I think that she is on a mission.

Eat something.

Omar Navarro is the head

of the Mexican drug cartel

that Marty and Wendy Byrde

get involved with.

And so Maya Miller was somebody

who Navarro realizes,

"Could this potentially be

someone else who can become an asset?"

And one of the reasons why he's able

to do that is because he trusts Marty.

And when Marty mentions to him

that there's a possibility

for this FBI agent to be an asset to us,

then he starts to become

more curious about her.

Season three really started

as Marty versus Wendy.

And by the end of the season,

it was pretty clear

that nothing could happen

if they weren't completely

on the same page.

You really wanna do this?

You come anywhere near me,

my family, or Ruth again,

the next time you see your son,

he's gonna be hanging

from a bridge in Juarez.You got that?

The whole Byrde family has had

to get a little bit more creative

in the things that

they're able to justify for the ends.

Marty's changed a bit

in that he's a bit more ethically limber.

He's able to justify many more things

that, uh,

perhaps the purer version of Marty

would not in season one.

If Marty was as allergic to breaking

the law now as he was in season one,

he would've turned himself in,

and we wouldn't have had a show.

Love you.

Love you too.

I have a very hard time

talking about characters

in an objectified way

when I'm still doing them.

Maybe in a few years I'll be able

to look back at it and have a better idea.

Wendy, she's complicated. She's loving.

She's angry. She's hungry.

She's scared. She's frustrated.

She's all of those things

that I think many people are.

I started sh**ting

when I was 16, and now I'm 21,

so I think Charlotte and I

have shared a lot of experiences

growing up somewhat together,

but I think

she's stayed consistently herself.

Jonah,

the family memberwho was kind of

most on board starts having problems

with the family.

This business ends updefining their life,

whether they like it or not.

And that's just what he was good at.

In some strange way,

because they've been

through this insanity,

they're the only people

that can understand it.

The important thing is,

if all goes well,

we have a promise that we're free

of our obligation to him, okay?

Six months, we could be

completely out from under this, okay?

One of the things that I think is--

is most fascinating about the show

and what draws people to it

is the fact that nothing is predictable.

Oh, Jesus!

Ozark is a m*rder and mayhem show.

And what more do you want

in a m*rder and mayhem show

besides chaos and excitement?

What the f*ck is that?

There's always something to shock you

and to talk about with your family

and-- and everyone else on the set.

Today's no day to fall apart.

I really miss Buddy.

I still miss Buddy.

I miss the character,

and I miss the actor.

I miss-- I miss Harris Yulin,

and I miss that character.

A big turning point

was k*lling my dear Peter Mullan,

who played Jacob, my first husband.

I love you, Jacob. You just rest.

Ben comes to town,

and it's kind of either save Ben

and we all die,

or get rid of Ben

and everybody else has a chance.

Chris called me a few weeks

before we started filming anything

and told me, basically,

Ben's arc through the show, you know.

He's, like, coming into town,

stop taking the meds,

really start to lose control,

and eventually, you're gonna die.

So I knew it while it was happening.

So I really got-- I feel like I got

to really savor it, you know, in a way.

What beautiful human feeling.

Beautiful. What a beautiful day.

As far as who had it coming, I think

that's gotta-- that's gotta be Helen.

She was just playing

every single party in the Ozarks.

Just completely playing them.

I never

saw you as the Ozark type.

We adapt or die.

I loved playing Helen.

People really liked Helen as a character.

The audiences really liked Helen

as a character,

and I think part of that

was because she was a woman.

I really do think that,

because it's more surprising somehow.

And part of that

because the writing is so fantastic

and she had such incredible lines.

Let's not pretend we both don't know

how badly they f*cked you over.

I knew I was doing one season.

Then they asked if I'd do one more season.

So, as an actor, you know

if you're doing one more season,

you're gonna die.

I mean, what else is gonna happen?

I hope you had a pleasant journey.

I cannot tell you how many times

we rehearsed getting out the camera moves,

the this, the dry runs, as it were.

Endless amounts of times.

And then we did it in one take.

It was crushing to learn

that I was gonna be k*lled,

and yet, I could smell it coming.

I mean, you can't keep someone

like Darlene kicking around forever.

She's gotta get her comeuppance.

I think maybe if we--

And then k*lling Wyatt.

Oh, break my heart.

In a way, he's innocent.

He, um-- I don't wanna say he's

in the wrong place at the wrong time,

but he wasn't posing a threat

to-- to the cartel's business,

but he kind of gets

caught in the crossfire.

When I first learned that Wyatt

and I were-- were gonna become an item

That was awesome.

I thought it was very daring,

a daring thing for them to do.

I've been around long enough

to know what I'm doing.

I called Charlie,

and Charlie laughed

for a solid two minutes

before he said anything.

It just-- he just--

just laughed his a*s off.

Chris Mundy called me and-- and told me,

um, a couple months

before we started sh**ting,

and we were just cracking up.

I think he mentioned it started as kind of

an inside joke in the writers' room,

and they were like,

"What if Darlene and Wyatt went together?"

Chris called me,

and he said, "Hey, I need to talk to you."

And I said, "What?"

And he said, "Uh"

And I said, "Wait, let me guess."

I said, "Am I dying?"

And he said, "Yeah. How'd you know?"

I said, "It is like a Greek tragedy."

She really wanted to get out

of that place that she was in.

And she felt stuck,

and she felt like she was gonna be here

for the rest of her life.

So I think

she always wanted somethingbetter,

but didn't know how to get it.

The decision

to k*ll Ruth was by far

the hardest thing

in the entire course of the show.

There was a point where, all of a sudden,

it's where the story was going.

There couldn't be no consequences.

And in some ways,

the Byrdes had beenthis invasive species.

They came in, and they wiped out--

They-- all the Langmores are gone.

I think it would have been untrue

if-- if Ruth didn't go.

In our world, it's--

it's goodto be one of the smart ones.

Remember that.

The reason our show

is so successfulis three people.

There's Jason Bateman.

There's Patrick Markey.

And there's Chris Mundy.

And the three of them working together

have really been a remarkable trio.

I think the most important thing

in any show, to me, it's the writing.

I've seen how everybody works,

and I watch how hard they work,

and it-- it starts at the top.

Chris Mundy,

not only is he insanely talented,

and everybody knows that,

but he is the nicest person,

and that sets the tone for everything.

He is an actor's dream writer,

which is someone who is open to responses,

is open to suggestion.

He's so clear

about the-- the themes ofthe piece

and where this goes

and how you mislead this and do this.

It's all so clever.

He really has been the architect

of this sense of community

that we've had here on-- onOzark.

I'm just gonna be that cliche

that just says it's like a family,

and it is like a family.

There's just not a person in the crew,

in the cast, the van drivers,

who isn't really a great person.

And, you know, it trickles down.

I can't reiterate enough

how close we all are,

from the top to the bottom.

The showrunners, the producers, the cast,

all the way to grip and electric,

the art department, everyone.

We all just love each other so much,

and we get along so great.

- Nice!

- Yay!

Very nice!

What I always tell

the directors before they come in

is that this is a director's set.

sh**t just the things that you want to see

in your cut, much like a film set runs.

We've had some great directors.

A lot of them I'd worked with in the past.

There are people

we brought in the first couple years,

you kind of try to figure out

what the story's about

by bringing in different directors.

Love working

with all the directors

and getting to meet all of them

and-- and learn their styles

and their critiques on different scenes.

It's-- it's really special

because you learn so much.

I feel very bad for directors,

guest directors, who come into a show

with a community of people

who all know each other well

and know the stories

and have a common history,

and then you're

the new person on the block.

It prompts much more preparation

and-- and much, sort of, finer execution

from behind the camera

and in front of the camera.

And-- and everyone gets

really excited about that, I think.

I knew going into this,

you have to do your homework.

I watched seasons one through three,

I think, 47 million times.

See the different director styles

and see where you can fit your vision in,

while still adhering to what

Jason Bateman and the others created,

the visual aesthetic for the show,

as well as the tone.

The producers of the show

take great care of me as a director.

They take great care of their cast.

They take great care of their crew.

And that just makes my job easier

and more pleasant.

Everybody was just fantastic to work with,

but what an incredible crew.

You feel like your foundation is so thick

to have that many

experienced crew members.

We've been blessed here

in the last year with Robin Wright

and, uh, getting Amanda to come back.

The difference

between acting and directing

on the show here

is nothing more than the obvious.

You know, as a director,

you need to understand all four corners

of-- of every episode

and every scene and every shot,

every character,

all their arcs and their motivations

and all of the stuff that you might

get presented with a question about.

I love working with Jason as a director.

He's the best.

I mean, they're all great,

but I love Jason.

I should f*cking k*ll you.

Come get you some.

He knows what he wants.

Sit tight.

And he's hilarious,

and humor goes a long way.

Stupid b*tch! Come on.

And he's very kind,

and he wants

the best always for his actors.

One of the things that made

working on this show really exciting

is knowing

that he would trust the writing,

and-- and we would trust the directing.

He's incredibly meticulous.

Obviously, he is someone who has been

on set, you know, his whole life.

He has absorbed.

He has soaked up everything.

And he has a great passion for it,

and he obviously brings that

to the directing of Ozark too

in terms of the visual style.

He set the look of it.

He set the feel of it

and then continued

to keep that goingthroughout the seasons.

Like, there's a break in the lyrics there.

Playing the guitar on that cut,

that'll be an easier thing

sound-wise to blend.

Did you have a good time?

From season one, both Jason

and our producer Patrick Markey

had been pushing me to direct.

There were enough of us pushing

and pushing, but she's so prepared.

Actually, it comes out

of theater training.

She's so-- like, there's nothing

she's not prepared for as an actor.

And then she was

exactly the same as a director.

Her taste is undeniable.

And an hour into the first day,

everybody saw that it's just been,

you know, like she's been doing it

for as long as she's been acting.

I did it,

and I'm very, very gladI did it.

I had a wonderful time.

- What?

- Hey, talk to her like that one more time.

I make a single phone call

and have you k*lled.

What the f*ck did you just say?

- You heard me. Want me to repeat it?

- Just get back in your f*cking car.

- f*ck you, b*tch!

- Oh, suck my c*ck, as*h*le!

I blame them completely. I blame them.

I think the show's really

efficient in the way it tells its stories,

and I think it finds its beauty.

The visual cues

of the show are so important

because what you're getting visually

sets the tone for the audience.

You're meant to be unsettled

when you'rewatching

because this family's dealing with stuff

that is not altogether predictable.

We're not a super busy show.

We don't cut a lot.

The tones, especially at the beginning,

were a little cooler.

We always wanted people

to havetolean into the show

just the littlest bit,

and hopefully, it would be worth it.

The low level of light

or the use of a fill side and a key side

and the color timing

and the desaturation and--

all of this stuff comes together,

along with the-- with the score

and the editorial pace of things,

is to create, hopefully,

a little bit of an atmosphere.

My job is

to createa space for the actors

and to create

a space for the--for the script.

And this show is so well written,

so I'm given so much information

from the story and from the script.

The lake is right there.

Right? So it's-- it's

always present in the background.

So you always feel the world,

even in these private family moments.

And I think that that does

an incredible service to the series.

George has been

giving us great,great things

to point the camera at all these years,

and our locations department's

been great in providing

all kinds of tasty,

kind of gritty environments.

Another testament

to this crew, the people

who are able

to put together these sets and everything,

I've never not felt like

I was in a hacienda in Mexico, you know.

The Byrde house

means the most to me.

It became a character unto itself.

We were all so happy when we were there.

It's stunningly beautiful.

This house is everything

that was described in the script.

We were really,

really fortunate to get this.

And our production designer, David Bomba,

has done an incredible job

in maintaining it.

Charlotte's bedroom

we do on stage

and when I go in and look at it

and I'm working on that set,

I'm just reminded

of the first timethat I ever saw it.

For some reason, it really

has stuck with me all these years.

I'll miss the Langmore trailers

more than anything else.

It's just peaceful.

You could just go and spend the day

out there, sit by the water, hang out.

And, like, the most unpeaceful things

happen there in the show.

And especially season one,

there were a lot more

of the Langmore family members around,

and it always kind of felt like a party.

There was lots of fireworks and fishing,

and I have lots of fond memories

from-- from the Langmore trailers.

The Snell property just kills me.

It was just my favorite place to sh**t.

I love the house.

The look is very specific.

Ozark has been able to establish

a signature from the beginning.

The Emmy for supporting actress

in a drama series

You know I have an Oscar.

goes to

Julia Garner!

I feel so lucky and fortunate

that I got cast in this.

And I just love Ruth.

It's always nice to be recognized

by your peers for work that you're doing,

and a lot of those awards come

from people that we know and work with.

I love playing Ruth so much,

and every single day,

I-I just feel so lucky to be doing this.

And, um, yeah, this is-- this is--

this is special, so thank you so much.

I'll remember this forever.

Thank you so much!

Thank you!

The response

and the-- the support,

the encouragement of the critics

is obviously something

that everybody appreciates.

The acknowledgment

for directing on thisshow was,

you know, very humbling and surprising.

And the Emmy

for directing in a drama series goes to

- Jason Bateman!

- Jason Bateman, Ozark!

I can't be holding this

without a whole lot of people

that make this show

I'm so lucky to be a part of, uh, work,

uh, especially as a director.

So, thank you, guys.

That was big for me

because that was what I was

originally attracted to with this job.

Jason Bateman, Ozark.

Thank you to, uh, the writers of Ozark,

the cast, thecrew, who I'm gonna be able

to thank in person tomorrow.

Thank you.

The fact that people actually like

watching itas much as we like making it,

you know, is-- is satisfying, and--

and just feels good. It just feels right.

And the Actor goes to

- Jason Bateman!

- Jason Bateman!

I think we're all realizing

that the end's gonna be tough.

I'm really glad Jason's directing it.

That's where we started.

- coming off her even works better.

- Exactly.

It is a real team sport,

and there's so many moments along

the process where it can go off the rails.

This is like a family

that we've been with for five years,

so there's great memories.

When I first showed up, I thought

the set was gonna be the tone of the show.

And it's the complete opposite.

We're a bunch of knuckleheads.

We made a lot of jokes.

Peter and I were at the craft table

trying to pick out really gassy things

to eat before we shot the scene.

We keep people fed. We keep 'em happy.

Nobody likes to be hangry.

I always like "Shut your f*ck-nugget mouth

and get the hell out."

I always thought that line

was really funny, and I remember doing it.

It was a tongue twister,

so I was like, "I have to get it right

because it's too funny

to, like, not get it right."

Shut your f*ck-nugget mouth

and get the hell out!

All the way back in season one,

it was, like,incredibly hot,

and so flies were coming in

to escape the heat

and were kind of disrupting all the shots.

So Jason offered to pay anybody

who got a fly 20 bucks per fly.

So everyone immediately got to work,

and Jason was like, "Yeah, I'll give you--

I'll give you 100 bucks

if you can catch one completely unharmed."

I just snatched one

right off the top of the syrup bottle.

And I've-- I've yet to see,

like, the 200 or so bucks

that I-I should--

should have earned there,

so, you know,Jason, if you're

if you're seeing this,

pay up, buddy.

The $200 number that I owe Skylar

sounds vaguely familiar.

I'm not saying it didn't happen,

but we'll probably end up settling.

I'm not gonna pay the full 200.

- Lake of the Ozarks?

- Yeah, Lake of the Ozarks.

Southern Missouri,

the redneck Riviera, baby.

So to me,

everything we do in the finale is

in the DNA of the show from the beginning.

It's funny. The first thing we shot

day one of the pilot

was this little piece of him

in the backyard

of the Byrdes' house in Chicago,

leaving a message for his partner Bruce,

and we never used it. We cut it.

And we ended up using it

as a memory in this season.

So it's old footage

that no one's ever seen.

Hey, Bruce. Marty.

Buddy, let's-- let's pull the trigger

on that office, okay?

Let's-- let's-- let's lock that down.

It's actually been a real thrill

for me to be involved in it

and have it be so successful.

And this caught the zeitgeist,

for some reason.

And Laura, obviously, and JB

and little Ruth coming out of nowhere.

Julia Garner kind of blew up on us.

We've been very, very blessed

is what I would say.

We're grateful for the success of it.

After so many seasons

of death and destruction

we should be pretty good

at saying goodbye to cast members

at this point,

but I know

it's still gonna be in-- incredibly sad.

I feel like I've grown up

on this showin so many ways.

I feel like I've been raised

by the best in the business.

I've learned so much from these people,

and I'm so lucky

that it was on this job, on Ozark.

It's been wonderful

to be a part of someone's early years

and to give them an example of,

"This is how you should work.

This is how prepared you should be."

You know, you don't wanna shove it down

a young person's throat,

but you hope that

you're able to give them some tools

that they can then take on,

you know, to the next job.

It's been a great group of people.

It's been

a really talentedgroup of people.

The writers have all been talented.

Our crew is amazing.

The actors, from all of the main actors

to everybody we've brought in

and new people each season,

have been amazing.

It can be very hard as an actor,

if you're coming into

a really established bunch of people.

And so to always kind of,

"Hello, I'm so-and-so"

and "Hey, welcome to the crew."

It doesn't cost a lot, but a lot

of people don't do it, and they did.

It made everyone feel important

and everyone feel wanted and loved.

I've been doing this 22 years.

I have never worked

with a better crew in my entire career.

Everybody's just They're brilliant.

And they take their time to make one

of the best shows that is on right now.

So it's a blessing to watch.

These shows end, and people scatter.

It's like feathers in the wind.

We just all go.

But there is always,

I really believe this, inshows like this,

there's an invisible string

that sort of connects all of us.

Everyone is

so nice and committed.

And it's a wonderful show.

Um, I really love the people.

They're very friendly.

Uh, they make you feel like family.

They treat us nice. They treat us good.

It's been a really,

really good show to work on.

The atmosphere with cast and crew

is very close-knit.

There's something sad

when something like this ends

'cause, you know,

there's some people who you'll see again,

and there are others

who you probably won't.

So you're trying to lock in memories.

You're trying to burn in memories

as-- as deep as they'll go

while you still have the time.

Jason and I talk about,

"Let's recognize it in the moment."

You know what I mean?

"Let's, like, actually enjoy it now."

"Let's not realize it ten years from now."

That's been the best thing,

like, honestly.

If no one was watching,we all

would've been home four years ago.

So everybody is very,

very gratefulfor all of that support.

And I'm really just

so proud of everybody and their ability

to have gotten pretty close to the target.