Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

***Bad Times at the El Royale*** is a 2018 American neo-noir hyperlink thriller film written, directed, and produced by Drew Goddard. It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, and Chris Hemsworth. The plot centers on six strangers and an employee at the El Royale, a hotel located along the California–Nevada border, who arrive with dark personal secrets that eventually intersect on a fateful night in the late 1960s. The film explores themes on morality, faith, and redemption, with the state border and other visual elements symbolizing the concept of right and wrong.

Goddard began writing the spec script for the film in November 2016, and compiled a list of songs into his screenplay. After telling major studios to avoid buying the script if they could not buy the licenses for each piece of music, he sold it to 20th Century Fox in March 2017. Principal photography started in January 2018 with cinematographer Seamus McGarvey and finished in April. The El Royale hotel was built entirely on a studio set in Burnaby, Canada, under the supervision of production designer Martin Whist, who had envisioned designing a perfectly symmetrical hotel. Additional filming took place in the United States. During post-production, editing was completed by Lisa Lassek and the musical score was composed by Michael Giacchino.

*Bad Times at the El Royale*'s marketing efforts included posters, trailers, and television advertisements, stylized to evoke nostalgia of the noir genre and to make the movie stand out against other films in theaters. The film premiered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on September 22, 2018, and released on October 12 in the United States. The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $31.9 million against a $32 million budget. Critics praised its ensemble cast, cinematography, and soundtrack, but criticized its pacing, runtime, character beats, and were mixed on Goddard’s screenplay. It received various awards and nominations, most notably at the 45th Saturn Awards, for its writing, acting, cinematography, and music.

## Shooting

* Filming was from January 29th, 2018 - April 6th, 2018.

## Cast

* Jeff Bridges - Father Daniel Flynn / Dock O'Kelly
* Cynthia Erivo - Darlene Sweet
* Dakota Johnson - Emily Summerspring
* Jon Hamm - Laramie Seymour Sullivan / Dwight Broadbeck
* Chris Hemsworth - Billy Lee
* Cailee Spaeny - Rose Summerspring
* Lewis Pullman - Miles Miller
* Nick Offerman - Felix O'Kelly
* Xavier Dolan - Buddy Sunday
* Shea Whigham - Dr. Woodbury Laurence
* Mark O'Brien - Larsen Rogers
* Charles Halford - Sammy Wilds
* Jim O'Heir - Milton Wyrick
* Gerry Nairn - Reporter Paul Kraemer
* Alvina August - Vesta Shears
* London Morrison - Angela Harris (Vesta's Backup Singer) (as London A. Morrison)
* Bethany Brown - Florence Lemons (Vesta's Backup Singer)
* Rebecca Toolan - Helen Gandy
* Hannah Zirke - Young Emily Summerspring (as Hannah Jane Zirke)
* Billy Wickman - Hutch Summerspring
* Charlotte Mosby - Young Rose Summerspring
* William B. Davis - Judge Gordon Hoffman
* Manny Jacinto - Waring 'Wade' Espiritu
* Tally Rodin - Silvana 'Millie' Melvin
* Sophia Lauchlin Hirt - Annabell Czuchlewski
* Jonathan Whitesell - Chris 'Flicker' Grimes
* Synto D. Misati - Norris 'Roman' Kindel
* Austin A.J. Abell - Young Miles Miller (as Austin Abell)
* Katharine Isabelle - Auntie Ruth Pugh
* Sarah Smyth - Ginger Miller

**Rest of cast listed alphabetically:**

* David Cooke - Motel Proprietor (uncredited)
* Dan Falcone - Elevator Operator (uncredited)
* Simon Farrell - Cult Member (uncredited)
* Kate Gajdosik - Field Reporter (uncredited)
* Jocelyne Gaumond - Keno Girl (uncredited)
* Kimberly L. Jackson - South African Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
* Austin James - Soldier (uncredited)
* Caroline Koziol - Ivona (uncredited)
* Richard Nixon - Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
* Camille Paulmier - Casino Waitress (uncredited)
* James Quach - NVA Captain (uncredited)
* John Specogna - District Attorney (uncredited)
* Stephen Stanton - J. Edgar Hoover (voice only) (uncredited)
* Nick Ventra - Soldier (uncredited)
* Minn Vo - Vietnamese Soldier (uncredited)
* Vincent Washington - Sergeant Renfro (uncredited)