Ash marks a big career moment for musician-turned-filmmaker Flying Lotus. “This is my first real movie,” he claimed. Technically, he made his directorial debut with 2017 phantasmagoria Kuso “but this is the first time with a completely pro approach. We had production offices and people had trailers.”
The film is a cosmic trip to a wild planet, where human explorers find alien technologies that make them wish they were alone in the universe. It’s a far remove from Kuso, a microbudget collage of live action, puppets, decoupage, and Claymation made with his friends. This time, he was filming in New Zealand, far away from “my home base infrastructure. I’m from L.A., and I’m used to having access to people that I know, and it’s a pretty diverse address book in my phone, from all types of folks. I wasn’t able to call on people that I’m close to.”
However, Flying Lotus was definitely ready to make the move into larger-scale directing. In selecting Ash, he was guided by some sage advice: “As world-famous director Guillermo del Toro told me, ‘Only direct the films that need you, and not the films that you need.’” That’s what he felt when he read Jonni Remmler’s script for Ash. “I went, ‘OK, It’s almost like a video game. I know this stuff. I know what it needs. It just needs a little bit of that and a little bit of that. That’s kind of how I know something’s for me, where it might not all be on the page but there’s enough there for me to build my own lore, and contribute my universe.”
However, even if this was his first “real” feature as a director, he’s no stranger to the film business. Aside from directing both Kuso and “Ozzy’s Dungeon,” a segment in 2022 horror anthology V/H/S/99, he composed scores, worked as a cinematographer, and even had a few brief onscreen appearances. Ash sees him turn actor in his biggest role yet, but this was no self-indulgent Hitchcockian cameo. “I really didn’t want to be in the movie,” he said, but his hand was forced due to the small number of Black actors in New Zealand. “There was either going to be no Black people in the movie, or I was going to be in it.”
His first day on set was also his first scenes in the part, so now a first-time director’s dream cast of Eiza González (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, Alita: Battle Angel), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), and Iko Uwais (The Raid 2) became this rookie actor’s castmates. “I was terrified,” he said. If he’d known in advance that he’d be appearing onscreen, he added, “I’d have got in Marvel shape.” The self-criticism doesn’t stop there. “If you’ve ever heard the sound of your own voice: ‘Oh my god, I sound like that?’ That’s how I feel all the time.” Yet, in hindsight, he views the experience as another part of his growth as a director. “Being in front of the camera makes you think about what the actor’s going through in their process, so I really do appreciate the exercise of it.”
Ash
Headliner, World Premiere
Tuesday 11, 9:30pm, Paramount Theatre
Wednesday 12, 11am, Hyatt Regency
This article appears in March 7 • 2025.
