Meet the creator of John Wick

Derek Kolstad, the writer of Normal, which releases in India today, talks to The Free Press Journal about working with Bob Odenkirk, creating the world of John Wick, and more

Kabir Singh Bhandari

Bob Odenkirk, known for shows such as Better Call Saul (2015–2022) and the movie Nobody (2021), is starring next in the action film Normal, directed by Ben Wheatley, releasing in India today. The film is about a small-town sheriff who uncovers dark mysteries after a local bank robbery.

The writer of the movie, Derek Kolstad, who also happens to be the creator of the John Wick universe, told us about the film, working with Bob, Lena Headey, and more. Excerpts:

How did this project come about?

I’m a big fan of westerns, and when I was on the bus on the first Nobody, I came up with this idea and pitched it to Mark, and he loved it. Six months later, Bob asked me about it, and I pitched it to him. And, to be honest, we didn’t have the bandwidth or time. And then, when the WGA went on strike, Bob called me and said, “I guess we got the time.” And that’s where it came from. We talked about doing something that was a love letter to the Coen brothers, to comedies and thrillers and gangster movies of the 30s and 40s, but something that was self-propelled, that it’s one movie at first, and then it becomes something altogether different.

Tell us a bit about Normal.

The movie is about a substitute sheriff named Ulysses who comes to the small town of Normal, where the sheriff has just died. Ulysses begins to notice that things are a little bit too shiny. And it isn’t until the bank is robbed by a young couple desperate to make ends meet that he realises that the town is actually a bank for the Yakuza (Japanese mafia). What’s unique about his situation is that we’re introduced to a character who’s far beyond his own third act. He’s gone through love, loss, and tragedy, and built himself back up at the beginning of this movie, thinking that he is relegated to a life of drudgery. And then he realizes that he’s going to be the one doing all the saving instead of being saved.

Tell us about working with Bob Odenkirk.

I think what makes Bob perfect for this is he is of that age where the kids have just left home, and he is adjusting to life, basically going through the empty nest syndrome. What I love about that is taking such a person and putting him in a situation like this. What makes Bob such a strong actor is when we work through the script, getting closer and closer to the scene, we take out lines of dialogue instead of adding them.

I would rather prefer that he say something with a look, a wink, or a nod, or a smirk. What he brings to the character is gravitas, this notion of redemption of a character who has never really asked for salvation, but now it is forced upon him, and he accepts it. What I enjoy most about Bob is he remembers people’s names, remembers where the conversation left off last time. And when a line comes out well or an action sequence goes well, he’s the first to chuckle, recognizing in the moment, yeah, “I think we got it.” But his excitement, his energy, his optimism, and his encouragement—it’s not often like this on a movie set. Bob’s a rare one.

On Lena Headey

There is a dangerousness to Lena. There is a femme fatale in the kind of characters that she has done in the past and where she’ll go in the future. But she has that look naturally where, on the one hand, she’s smirking and, on the other hand, she’s looking where to stab you. I love the idea of bringing in a character who could easily become a love interest but, at the same time, could become the one who ends Ulysses before the end of the movie. And, of course, there’s the work she’s done on Game of Thrones, and I loved her in Judge Dredd. I can’t wait to see what she brings to this one.

Lena has that look naturally where, on the one hand, she’s smirking and, on the other hand, she’s looking where to stab you 

— Derek Kolstad

On Ryan Allen

What I love about Ryan is the first thing he said to me when he came up to me. He’s like, “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I love John Wick.” And the way he said it is the way I told Shane Black, “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I love Lethal Weapon.” And we just geeked out about our love of these kinds of movies.