Even growing up in Denmark, director Janus Metz Pedersen heard about the infamous “Unabomber” case, the nickname given to the American terrorist, Ted Kaczynski, who murdered three people and injured 23 more by sending them homemade bombs through the mail.
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who → grow → mail
“It was still on the news when I was a teenager, in Denmark,” Metz told Decider in recent Zoom interview.
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Metz → tell → interview
But what the director didn’t know—and what he’s willing to bet most viewers who watch his new Netflix movie, Unabomber, also don’t know—
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who → know → movie
was that as a young man, Kaczynski was a participant in an unethical psychological study that exposed him to extreme stress.
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that → expose → stress
“He a guinea pig in these experiments in mind control and brainwash at Harvard at very young age,” Metz explained.
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Metz → explain → age
The Unabomber movie, starring Jacob Tremblay as Kaczynski and Russell Crowe as professor Henry Murray, endeavors to tell this story via two timelines.
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movie → star → timelines
The first is set in the early 60s, during a young Kaczynski’s time at Harvard.
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first → set → Harvard
The other is set in the ’90s, during the final days of the Kaczynski manhunt and eventual capture by the FBI.
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other → set → FBI
Shailene Woodley stars as a fictional FBI Agent named Joanne Miller, likely based on real FBI agent Molly Flynn, who received linguistic evidence gathered by a private investigation team.
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who → star → team
But the FBI would have never caught Kaczynski without his brother David, the one who hired the private investigation and tipped off the bureau.
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who → catch → bureau
David Kaczynski has spoken and written about his brother many times over the years, including in the recent Netflix docuseries, Unabomber: In His Own Words.
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Kaczynski → speak → Words
Though David has a small role in the film, played by actor Matthew Kevin Anderson, Metz told Decider the production did not speak to him about the film.
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production → have → film
“We never spoke to David, as such,” Metz said.
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Metz → speak → David
The director spoke to Decider about why that was, as well as why a key part of Kaczynski’s real arrest was left out the film.
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part → speak → film
How much did you know about the Unabomber case before the film?
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you → know → film
What were you surprised to learn?
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you → learn → ?
It’s a very American story, and I grew up in Denmark.
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I → ’ → Denmark
But even though I’m Danish, it was still on the news when I was a teenager, in Denmark.
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I → ’m → Denmark
So I remember it from that time.
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I → remember → time
But what really drew me to the script was the fascination of these Harvard experiences, and how that story was told as a cross-cut narrative between the the manhunt in the 90s, where we find Ted Kaczynski.
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we → draw → Kaczynski
People know how the story ends.
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story → know → ?
You’re building up to that end point by cutting back to the past, and adding, I think, something that isn’t known to most people—that he [Kaczynski] a guinea pig in these experiments in mind control and brainwash at Harvard at very young age.
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that → build → age
Did you watch any particular documentaries or read any particular books?
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you → watch → books
Sam Chelson and Nelson Greaves—who crafted the script and worked on the story for many years before I even got involved—did a very deep dive as part of their script work.
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I → craft → work
When I got involved you know, obviously, I read as much and saw as much as I possibly could.
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I → involve → much
I read the manifesto, everything.
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I → read → manifesto
As a director you need to do to educate yourself and to push the story forwards.
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you → need → story
I looked at every possible thing I could find on Ted Kaczynski.
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I → look → Kaczynski
Ted’s brother David, who’s obviously a huge part of why the Unabomber was caught, has spoken a lot about his brother publicly and written some books.
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Unabomber → ’ → books
I’m wondering, did you guys speak to him at all about this?
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guys → wonder → this
Does he know about the film?
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he → know → film
David has been so outspoken about the story that I think it’s pretty clear what David has to say.
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David → think → what
We’re looking at all of that.
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We → look → that
We never spoke to David, as such, in person.
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We → speak → person
But I think all of [his] reflections on you his relationship to his brother, their childhood, what it meant for him to give him in.
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him → think → him
It’s on the record, and we were obviously taking all that into account, as part of the process.
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we → ’ → process
Jacob Tremblay and Russell Crowe have this wonderful tension that bubbles over in this final debate scene between them.
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that → have → them
Can you talk about kind of casting and working with them.
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you → talk → them
It’s a father-son story, in many ways.
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It → ’ → ways
Ted starts to see Henry Murray as a surrogate father, in a way.
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Ted → start → way
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
