Ridley Scott remembers when it seemed like there might not be a tomorrow. All he could do is hope for the best. And sing a song.<\/p>\n
The future Gladiator<\/em> and Alien<\/em> filmmaker was around four years old when the German Luftwaffe bombarded England during The Blitz of World War II, and he remembers that frightening time vividly. \u201cI was a war baby. So in a funny kind of way, that leaves a mark on your DNA,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I was sitting under the stairs, while we were bombed at night by the Nazis, we were singing \u2018Old McDonald Had a Farm\u2019 and hoping we never got a direct hit.\u201d<\/p>\n That long-ago memory surfaced as he talked about adapting author Peter Heller<\/a>\u2019s 2012 post-apocalyptic novel The Dog Stars<\/em>, starring Jacob Elordi<\/a>, Margaret Qualley, and Josh Brolin<\/a> in a story set in the aftermath of global destruction. In this case, it\u2019s not war but a lethal pandemic that has swept most of humanity off the globe. A few stragglers survive, including Elordi\u2019s Hig, a pilot who has a single-engine Cessna he calls The Beast, a loyal blue heeler mutt named Jasper \u2026 and not much else. The dog and the plane are Hig\u2019s version of singing \u201cOld McDonald\u201d\u2014small comforts to keep him going when all seems lost.<\/p>\n The Dog Stars<\/em>, coming to theaters in August, is an unusual end-of-the-world movie in this way. It\u2019s not just about how a handful of people manage to survive, but why they even bother to try. \u201cI think there’ve been rather too many apocalyptic movies,\u201d Scott tells Esquire for this exclusive first look. \u201cAnd I think I started off with a pretty tough one doing Blade Runner<\/em><\/a> years ago. There was no end to the grimness of Blade Runner<\/em>. In this, what I’m so pleased that came off was the strong feeling of hope. \u2018It’ll be okay.\u2019 If you do the right thing, it calls to mind the expression: God helps those who help themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n God. Fate. Circumstance. Call it what you will. The point that Scott sees in Heller\u2019s story is that life only matters when you\u2019re living for more than yourself. The Macguffin in The Dog Stars<\/em>, the thing everyone is seeking, is purpose. Where the characters find it, how they lose it, and what they\u2019ll do to recover it is what sets this tale apart. \u201cI think people will be surprised and engaged actually. I would say, hmm \u2026 charmed<\/em> as well,\u201d Scott adds. \u201cAlthough, there is some violence.\u201d<\/p>\n You can\u2019t have the end of the world without at least a little of that.<\/p>\n Meet Jacob Elordi’s Hig, a pilot who has a single-engine Cessna he calls The Beast. To Hig’s right is Josh Brolin’s Bangley, a gun expert who isn\u2019t big on conversation or sharing about his past.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n The Dog Stars<\/em>‘ title is ambiguous, even for those who read the story. It may refer to the figures that Hig envisions between stars in the night sky. The constellations of antiquity are forgotten or only dimly remembered, so he makes new connections where he can.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s a section, a small fragment of the universe that relates to the dog star, and he explains that one night when he’s lying out with his dog,\u201d Scott explains. There is no end of empty homes now that humanity has died off, but living in one tends to give thieves and killers a target. So, Hig tucks-in out in the wild. \u201cThey don’t like to sleep indoors because it’s dangerous. So they sleep outside in a sleeping bag, and he talks to the dog and points out the star that relates to the dog,\u201d Scott says.<\/p>\n People love a pup, and there were several that helped play the crucial role of Jasper. \u201cI had one dog who would chase an attack, one dog that you could roll on the ground with, and one dog that you could actually just be with, who would sit next to him on a plane, pant in delight and look out the window,\u201d Scott says. \u201cSo I had three doggy characters that I adored. I absolutely loved them.\u201d<\/p>\n Along with the canine handlers and trainers, the filmmaker found a sort of co-director in Elordi when it came to managing the Jaspers. \u201cJacob’s a farm boy who is good with animals anyway. He can drive tractors and shit like that. So he knows how to handle the dog,\u201d Scott says. \u201cI have two dogs, and I’m too kind and too sweet, so they don’t behave whatsoever. But Jacob would go, \u2018Hey, now down, stop.\u2019 And they’d do everything he said.\u201d<\/p>\n For much of the story, Hig\u2019s only human companion is Brolin\u2019s Bangley, a gun expert who isn\u2019t big on conversation or sharing about his past. In Heller\u2019s novel, Hig assesses his terse neighbor as \u201ca rancher clearly, some sort of soldier along the way.” <\/p>\n
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