Dustin Lance Black on a 10-year journey to film ‘Under Heaven’s Flag’: ‘We knew it would never be easy’

when the first episode Under the flag of paradise Finally debuting on FX on Thursday, it will mark the end of the project’s ten-year journey.

The series, an adaptation of John Krakauer’s true detective novel about a Mormon detective investigating the murder of a young woman and her son in a religious community in Salt Lake City, was originally created as a film that has lived that way for the past six years. Final throwback to the limited series. There were so many ups and downs at the April 20 premiere in Los Angeles, said creator, writer and director Dustin Lance Black. hollywood reporter He “wasn’t sure yet” that this would actually come to life and joked, “They can still remove the plugs; “There are still eight days to go.”

Blake recounted how he tried to cast four-year-old detective Jeb Pierre (played by Andrew Garfield) in a feature film before executive producer Brian Graser offered to jump on the limited-edition bandwagon and take a break from the story.

“When I chose this property, I was like a child; “I have a son now, so it’s been so long,” Blake recalled. “My first note taking was in the car, I was driving as fast as my husband [diver Tom Daley] I was in the hospital where our baby was about to be born [EP] Ron Howard on the first draft of the script, which we don’t talk about in the notes for this call; In the end, he gave me my parents’ advice.” (The couple’s son is now 3.) The creator added, “It was a journey, but we knew it would never be easy.”

Howard echoed that sentiment, saying, “There is nothing to consider in this project. I think that’s what attracted us, it was difficult and difficult.”

The story revolves around the 1984 murders of Brenda Wright Lafert (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her daughter, Erika, and the discovery of buried truths about the origins of the LDS religion and the violent consequences of disobedient faith. This story had a personal connection to Black, who grew up in a Mormon church (and has since left).

“It’s a profound test of faith, a faith I grew up with,” Black said. “My question is and will be: tell me, a belief that treats the sexes equally? Not sure if we have one. And why this? And what is this lesson for girls and boys? This is a series that says [those lessons] It can be dangerous and deadly, so I’m not surprised it’s been 10 years. ”

Blake continued, “When a superhero is a man who has the courage to be curious and ask questions of faith, he’s not the kind of curves and masks that characterize Hollywood. We have very different types of characters on this show, two of them, in fact, and one woman who decided she was brave enough, strong enough, and curious enough to dare question the belief that questions should be left on the shelf. ”

Before starring in Garfield, Blake wanted to make sure that “anyone who takes on the role with their eyes wide open understands the responsibilities and the potential challenges and even the dangers of asking these kinds of questions around the world right now. “When people fight for fundamentalism,” something Blake hoped he could deal with after meeting the star. And while Garfield spent time in Utah with current church members, Black himself was also an important resource for actors with his experience as a father.

“What’s interesting is that I’ve often defended the church, which is an unexpected position to be on a show like this,” Black said. “It was the same with me. [a writer] in big Love; This is because people come to the show with misconceptions, stereotypes about who Mormons are, and I said, “Let’s not do that here.” He was often a teacher in the sense that he said, “No, not all Mormon children have three mothers, and there is a difference between fundamentalist Mormonism, cultural Mormonism, and Mormonism.” So I played the role of the teacher.”

Under the flag of paradise The premiere is on FX on Thursday and moves to Hulu the next day.