David Yates and Lawrence Grey on Pain Hustlers: Podcast

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David Yates and Lawrence Grey join Kyle Meredith to speak about their new film, Pain Hustlers, out now on Netflix.

The movie tells the story of Liza Drake (Emily Blunt), a blue-collar single mom who has just lost her job and is at the end of her rope. When a chance meeting with a pharmaceutical sales rep played by Chris Evans puts her on an upward trajectory economically – but a dubious path ethically – she becomes entangled in a dangerous racketeering scheme. The film also features roles from actors including Andy Garcia as Drake’s boss and Catherine O’Hara as her mother. 

The director and producer discuss why they wanted to take on a story about the fentanyl epidemic and how this movie shows us a look behind the curtain of Big Pharma. Grey, who also produced the Steven Soderbergh-directed The Laundromat, tells us how some of the most outlandish parts of the story came from real life, while Yates talks about directing Blunt as a complicated hero/villain and how her character is already resonating with viewers.

Yates, who famously directed the final four Harry Potter films as well as the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, discusses what it was like to leave the Wizarding World to get back to a more point-and-shoot style of filmmaking. 

“I had been looking to do something in the opioid space, but this felt almost like something completely different, like a peek behind the curtain of the world of pharma,” Grey said about the ideas behind the film. “This world of pharma is incredible, you really haven’t seen it explored vividly. The excess of these pharma salespeople really seems like an incredible lens to be able to tell a larger story about our medical history.”

Listen to David Yates and Lawrence Grey chat about Pain Hustlers and more above, or watch below via YouTube. Please also take a moment to like, review, and subscribe to KMW wherever you get your podcasts, and keep up to date with all our series by following the Consequence Podcast Network.