Interviews

Alex Buono Discusses Directing a True Story, Hitchcockian Influences, and the Intriguing Cliffhanger

August 24, 2023

3 mins read

Alex Buono Talks Directing Based on a True Story, Hitchcockian Influences & THAT Cliffhanger

The true-crime craze gets a satirical stab in Based on a True Story. The dark comedy thriller series centers on married couple Ava and Nathan, a pregnant realtor and former tennis star struggling to regain some excitement in their lives who find a unique opportunity when they learn the identity of a local serial killer and look to capitalize on it by creating a podcast interviewing him.

Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina lead the ensemble cast of Based on a True Story alongside Tom Bateman, Priscilla Quintana, Liana Liberato, Natalia Dyer, Alex Alomar Akpobome, Aisha Alfa, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, and Li Jun Li. Mixing the satirical bite of Wes Craven’s Scream movies and Prime Video’s The Boys show, from which creator Craig Rosenberg previously worked, the show is a hilarious and thrillingly unique take on the true crime trend.

As the show continues to score strong reviews, FilmmakerFocus spoke exclusively with director and executive producer Alex Buono to discuss Based on a True Story, his collaborative process with Rosenberg, their influences ranging from Hitchcock to Sam Raimi, and the major season 1 cliffhanger.

Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Based on a True Story season 1!

Alex Buono Talks Based on a True Story

FilmmakerFocus: I’m thrilled to continue discussing Based on a True Story with the talented individuals behind it. I was captivated by the film from beginning to end. What aspect of the project initially caught your attention and made you want to take on the roles of director and executive producer?

Alex Buono: It’s funny, you know, I was brought to the project at the pilot stage by Jason Bateman’s company, Roxie Rodriguez at Aggregate. It’s funny, she called me, we set up a general meeting, and it was one of those weird meetings where you have so many general meetings, and they never amount to anything. And this was a case where she’s like, “I’ve got a script called Based on a True Story, we’re not ready to make it, but I’m gonna come back to you in like six or nine months.” I’m like, “All right, sure.”

Then six months later, she calls me up and is like, “Okay, we’re making the show, are you ready to direct the pilot?” and I was like, “What?!” She introduces me to the creator of the show, Craig Rosenberg, this was his brainchild, this whole thing, and I met with Craig and we just got along and kind of saw the show in a similar way. For me, I loved how smart it was, I love the satire of it, it’s the kind of comedy that I’m interested in, coming off of my background, doing pretty, I think, dry, grounded comedy, and pretty visual comedy. I spent a lot of time at SNL, but I didn’t work on the sketches, wasn’t part of the live show, I was part of the film unit, and we were making commercial parodies and short films that were supposed to feel very real and grounded and not jokey, per se.

And Documentary Now! is like that, you know, I just finished a season of Russian Doll where it’s funny, but it’s pretty dramatic as well. So, I really love that tone, I love taking something that is real and grounded and high stakes, but then kind of making it kind of fun. That’s kind of what I saw in this pilot script, because there was a murder in it, there was really straight up a lot of blood and a lot of people that are dying for real, and there were stakes to it, and it was a couple that their marriage was starting to kind of fall apart, and they really did want to save it.

It wasn’t all a big joke, it was real, but yet it had these silly elements, and it was like a very big tonal challenge. Like, “What is the tone of this thing? My God, it’s like stabby and bloody, but it’s also funny and screwball comedy.” For me, that kind of a challenge is really exciting. If I had read it, and I was like, “Oh, I know what this is, I’ve seen this a million times, sure I can do this.” That does not interest me. When it becomes like, “I don’t know how to do this,” immediately, I’m excited, I’m like, “Okay, let’s figure this out.”

Yeah, it just became the challenge of how do you nail this complicated tone, and it can be funny, but it can be bloody, and this screwball couple has got their own rhythm, and yet, when the serial killer is introduced to their rhythm, they become this dynamic trio. It was all a lot, it was fun, and I loved the satire. I thought that the true crime industry was such a ripe target for satire, that all of those elements kind of drew me in.

The murder scenes in this series are incredibly intense and graphic. Did you ever feel like you were pushing the boundaries too far while filming?

Alex Buono: I have to admit, there were moments where we went a bit too far and had to dial it back. [Chuckles] We had versions of the opening scene that were much bloodier and crazier, but we realized it might be too much. We didn’t want to go from a gruesome murder to a scene of Chris Messina on a toilet watching himself play tennis, you know?

It was a delicate balance, and during post-production, we had to refine the footage to find the right tone. But for the opening scene, we knew that the close-up of the knife going into the victim’s body had to be impactful and gruesome.

Craig, the director, was very clear about his vision for the series. He wanted it to be visceral and not hold back on the violence. That’s what drew me to the project – the unique blend of genres and the commitment to creating a pulpy, bloody experience.

If Craig had suggested toning down the violence and making the murders happen off-screen, I don’t think I would have been as interested. The boldness and excitement of the show come from its uncompromising approach to its dark and intense themes.

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I couldn’t agree more. When I talked with Tom and everybody about it, I was mentioning how it feels apart from Only Murders in the Building, even though it shares that similar true crime basis. In taking all of that time to talk with Craig, and really being moved by his vision, I’m curious if there were ever talks of having you direct the entirety of this series. Or if it was always the game plan to have you open and close it, and then have others come in?

Alex Buono: No, actually, I was hired to direct the pilot, and that was it. I was hard to direct the pilot and then it was like a traditional television show, where you bring in other directors to direct all the other episodes, and they’d already lined up other directors to direct the other blocks. They hadn’t nailed down who was going to direct the finale yet, after I directed the pilot, and we looked at first cut of the pilot, Craig shook my hand and said, “I love it, would you like to stay on as the directing producer?”

It just sort of felt like a promotion in a way, like, “Oh, cool, I passed this first test.” Fair enough, I could have totally screwed up the pilot, and he would have said, “No, mate, that’s not quite” — he’s Australian [chuckles] — “but that’s not quite it, I’ll have to fix this, you can go on your way now.” But instead, he said, “No, this is great, will you stay on and help the other directors navigate the tone?” So, I stayed on and helped other directors navigate the tone, and then we were, I want to say, around episode 4 or 5 when he then invited me to direct the finale.

And I think — you’d have to ask him — that some of that was just that I was having a good time, and he was seeing the other episodes shaping up, and that it was all feeling consistent, it was all feeling like the same show. At that point, I had developed a rapport with the actors, and I really understood what the show was, and he and I had spent a lot of time talking about the finale and how to end it, both from a story point of view, and also just from a technical point of view. So then, they invited me to direct the finale about halfway into the season, there was no master plan for me to ever direct all of them, no.

Tom Bateman stands in a cereal aisle with a serious expression on his face.

Well, I’m glad that you, like you said, did get that little promotion and get to work with all of the directors. So, what was that relationship like with the other directors, ensuring that you’re not restricting them and their own visions for the episodes, but still working with them to ensure there’s consistency across all the episodes? rnrn

Alex Buono: It’s funny, I was a directing producer on Russian Doll, but in that case, it was just Natasha Lyonne and I directing all the episodes together. Documentary Now! is a show that I’d direct all the episodes either by myself, or with my directing partner, Rhys Thomas. So, this was the first time that I’ve ever had a job where my job was to kind of help other directors direct the show that we were working on. In particular, these directors I didn’t know, I just was meeting them for the first time.

Also in this case, I mean, I’ve directed a lot of episodes of Documentary Now!, but the directors that they were bringing in are amazing directors who had, I think in many cases, more experience than I did in directing. I mean, Anu Valia was the first director to come in, and she did the second and third episodes, and she had just come off of She-Hulk, and she had done The Big Door Prize, and she had a lot of television [experience].

Jennifer Arnold directed the next block, and she’s like a TV veteran, she’s done so many shows. Then, Francesca Gregorini came in and she had just done The Dropout, I think she was nominated for an Emmy for that. So, for me, it was this cool opportunity you just don’t get that often. As a director, to sit on set and watch other directors direct, and gather what their process is, and what their tricks are, and how they deal with actors, and how they deal with the crew, it was great, I thought it was a really cool, unique experience for me.

I think it made me a better director to pick up tips from what they were doing, and then, simultaneously, my job was to just, I think, help them understand what the show is. When you come into a show as an episodic director, and you just come in to do an episode, it’s not really your show, you’re not there the whole time. All you want is for someone to tell you, “This is the show,” all you want us to get it right. All you want is for everybody to like you, and to think that you did a good job doing their show.

A lot of my job as a directing producer was to be there on set and say, “That’s it, you did it, that’s it, this is the shot, that’s perfect,” or when you’re navigating the performances, being like, “Yes, that’s it, that’s exactly the way that they should be doing it,” or, “I think this might be a little too serious,” or, “I think this should be a little more serious. I think the intention is that this is actually not a really dramatic scene, but more of a funny scene.” That kind of just subtle navigating to help them make sure that we’re all making the same show.

The trick is to make sure that the other directors are not totally accidentally making a different show than what Craig intended. Craig is off writing the other episodes, he’s not on set with us every day, and someone’s got to be there to make sure that Craig’s show and his vision is still happening. My job was to make sure that no matter what happened, his show and his vision was still the thing being made, and we weren’t accidentally veering off into somebody else’s idea for a show.

Priscilla Quintana in Based on a True Story

With a show like this, there are a lot of vulnerabilities to consider. As a directing producer, my role was to assist other directors in bringing the show to life. It was a unique experience for me because I had the opportunity to work with directors I had never met before, who brought a wealth of experience and talent to the table.

For example, Anu Valia, who directed the second and third episodes, had just come off successful projects like She-Hulk and The Big Door Prize. Jennifer Arnold, a seasoned TV veteran, directed the next block, and Francesca Gregorini, who had recently been nominated for an Emmy for her work on The Dropout, also joined the team.

Being able to observe these directors in action and learn from their techniques was invaluable. It not only improved my own directing skills, but it also allowed me to help them understand the vision of the show. As an episodic director, it’s important to grasp the essence of the show and ensure that each episode aligns with the overall vision.

My role onIn the world of this show, and in the realm of great movies and TV shows, casting is everything. It’s like 90 percent of directing. And in the case of this show, the casting was spot on. Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina had an incredible chemistry, even though they had never met before. They seemed like they had known each other their whole lives, like they were a married couple of the past 10 years. Their performances were magic.

On set, they had a blast. They were constantly laughing and joking around. Chris has a process-based acting style, willing to do as many takes as needed. Kaley, on the other hand, is instinctive and intuitive, nailing her lines in the first take. They balanced each other out, bringing levity and grounding to each other’s performances. And it wasn’t just them, the whole cast had a great time together.

As a director, I encouraged a loose performance style. I wanted the actors to play with their lines, to improvise and have fun. It brought a sense of spontaneity and enjoyment to the scenes. Of course, there were serious and dramatic moments too, and I had to remind them of that. But overall, I wanted them to let loose and enjoy themselves.

The result was a cast that truly clicked, that had a natural rapport and chemistry. They made the serious and bloody moments in the show feel lighter, while still maintaining the gravity of the scenes. It was a joy to work with them, and I think that joy translated onto the screen.

Chris Messina as Nathan and Kaley Cuoco as Ava in Based on a True Story

When I talked with Tom, he mentioned that Craig has a multi-season plan for this show, and knows what he wants from season 2. As far as I’ve read, nothing has been confirmed yet, but have you heard anything, have you talked with Craig about what the future can hold for this show?

Alex Buono: I know he has a multi-season plan, I don’t know what it is. We’ve talked about fun ideas for season 2, and this season ends on such a cliffhanger that we’ve talked about, like, “Oh, my God, what happens next?” He’s got multiple versions of what could happen next, and I don’t think he’s decided, but we wanted to create a jumping off point for season 2 that really kind of left it in the audience’s head, “Oh, my God, what could happen?”

I don’t want to spoil it for anybody, but in the final moment of the season, something happens, and it could go a few different ways, and you’re left to imagine, “Holy crap, what’s going to happen next?” Like, literally, “What’s going to happen in the next moment?” That’s where season 2 would begin, I suppose, but again, I don’t know, Craig is, hopefully, dreaming up what season 2 would be, and hopefully we get to season 2.

About Based on a True Story

A dark comedic thriller, Based on a True Story is about a realtor, a plumber, and a former tennis star whose lives unexpectedly collide, exposing America’s obsession with true crime and murder.

Check out our previous Based on a True Story interviews here:

Liana Liberato & Priscilla Quintana
Tom Bateman

Based on a True Story season 1 is streaming in its entirety on Peacock.

Max Hensley

Max, a film journalist and screenwriter originally from Melbourne, Australia, brings a global perspective to his writing. Having studied film at RMIT University, he enjoys exploring the cultural impact of cinema and highlighting the unique storytelling approaches from diverse film industries around the world.