{"id":3978,"date":"2026-07-21T14:36:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T14:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3978"},"modified":"2026-07-21T14:36:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T14:36:35","slug":"nicolas-winding-refn-reveals-the-chaotic-making-of-drive-most-everyone-hated-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3978","title":{"rendered":"Nicolas Winding Refn Reveals the Chaotic Making of \u2018Drive\u2019: \u201cMost Everyone Hated It\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tFifteen years later, Drive<\/em> is widely regarded as one of the defining films of the 21st century, turning Ryan Gosling into a screen icon and cementing Nicolas Winding Refn as one of contemporary cinema\u2019s boldest auteurs.<\/p>\n

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\n\tAccording to Refn, though, almost nobody believed in it while it was being made. \u201cMost everyone hated it,\u201d Refn tells It Happened in Hollywood<\/em>. \u201cUp until the premiere in Cannes, there were people that wanted their name off the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore revisiting Drive<\/em>, Refn discussed Her Private Hell<\/em>, his first feature in nearly a decade. The film follows a young woman navigating a futuristic, neon-drenched urban landscape and marks the director\u2019s return after a near-fatal medical emergency in which, he says, he was dead for more than 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt made me very aware of time,\u201d Refn says. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to use your time, choose it well because once it\u2019s over, it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRefn described Her Private Hell<\/em> as a reaction against algorithm-driven entertainment, arguing that cinema should challenge audiences rather than simply satisfy them. \u201cCinema, it\u2019s not just a place for entertainment,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a place for sharing dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film drew a sharply divided response at Cannes, something Refn seems to welcome. As he notes on the podcast, even Drive<\/em>, now considered a modern classic, was once dismissed by many of the people making it.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Cannes premiere changed everything. Refn won best director, and Drive<\/em> was on its way to becoming one of the defining films of its era. But getting there involved a collapsed Harrison Ford project, an emotional breakthrough in Ryan Gosling\u2019s car, and a commune-like living situation for cast and crew at a Hollywood house Refn insists was haunted.<\/p>\n

\n\tRefn says Gosling first reached out because he admired his earlier work. At the time, however, the Danish director was developing a Paul Schrader script that would have starred Ford.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019d been working on a movie with Harrison Ford where he was supposed to die,\u201d Refn says. \u201cIt was a beautiful script by Paul Schrader. But while I was developing it, he decided that he didn\u2019t want to die. And it was the whole foundation of the movie.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tRefn\u2019s first meeting with Gosling didn\u2019t seem much more encouraging. Refn says he was battling the flu and \u201chigh as a kite\u201d on American cold medicine.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe had a very peculiar conversation where we didn\u2019t really talk,\u201d he recalls. \u201cWe didn\u2019t look at each other because I couldn\u2019t move my body \u2026 It was like a blind date gone terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter dinner, Gosling drove him back to Santa Monica. Then REO Speedwagon\u2019s \u201cI Can\u2019t Fight This Feeling Anymore\u201d came over the radio.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m a sucker for a great rock ballad,\u201d Refn says. \u201cI start to sing the lyrics \u2026 and I just start crying. Tears are rolling down my cheeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn that instant, everything clicked.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI turned to Ryan and I screamed very loudly, because the music was so loud,\u201d he recalls. \u201c\u2018I got it! I know what we\u2019re going to make! We\u2019re going to make a film about a man who drives around at night in a car listening to music because that\u2019s his emotional relief.\u2019 Ryan looked at me and said, \u2018I\u2019m in.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAlthough James Sallis\u2019 2005 novel Drive<\/em> had already been adapted by screenwriter Hossein Amini, Refn says the version they ultimately made took shape through an unusual live-work process. <\/p>\n

\n\tAmini moved into the Hollywood house Refn was renting while they continued rewriting the script. <\/p>\n

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\n\tCarrie Mulligan stopped by for what was supposed to be a meeting.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe minute she walked through the door, I was like, \u2018It\u2019s you. You are her,’\u201d Refn says. \u201cFor some reason she ended up also living at the house.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tEditor Matt Newman also moved in, cutting the film downstairs while Refn and Amini continued rewriting upstairs.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was like a real, what I would imagine the \u201970s would\u2019ve been like \u2014 without cocaine,\u201d says Refn.<\/p>\n

\n\tRefn eventually became convinced the house where everyone was living and working was haunted. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was super afraid of the house,\u201d he adds. \u201cCertainly. It was haunted.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tSo unnerved was he that producer Adam Siegel would sometimes come over simply so he wouldn\u2019t have to spend the night alone. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe screenplay kept evolving after production had already begun.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI handed in the revised version of the script on the first day of photography,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\tBy then, he\u2019d stripped away dialogue, backstory and much of the conventional crime movie structure. Asked why audiences never really learn who the Driver is, Refn offers a simple answer: \u201cYou\u2019re not supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen executives finally saw what he\u2019d made, they were baffled.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSome people higher up went, \u2018What\u2019s this?’\u201d he recalls. \u201cI said, \u2018Well, it\u2019s a Nicolas Winding Refn film.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMany of Drive<\/em>\u2018s most memorable moments also emerged during production. Refn says the Driver gradually became less of a traditional action hero than a mythic figure. \u201cThe Driver is a kind of alter ego,\u201d he says. \u201cThe Driver is a superhero. He has a mysterious past and he protects innocence.\u201d That realization inspired the now-iconic satin jacket with the gold scorpion on the back, an idea Refn traced to Kenneth Anger\u2019s Scorpio Rising<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI wanted him to have an animal,\u201d he says. \u201cLike a superhero.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film\u2019s unforgettable elevator sequence also wasn\u2019t in the script. Refn says he wanted Gosling and Mulligan to share \u201cthe kiss they never had\u201d before the Driver transforms into the violent figure he was always destined to become.<\/p>\n

\n\tPreparing for the notorious head-crushing scene, he even called filmmaker Gaspar No\u00e9 for advice.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe gave me a long, complicated description of how he made it,\u201d Refn says, referring to No\u00e9\u2019s own crushed head in 2005\u2019s Irreversible<\/em>. \u201cI realized I didn\u2019t have the time nor the money to duplicate that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tToday, Drive<\/em> (and its synth-heavy soundtrack) is considered a modern classic, and Refn says his creative bond with Gosling hasn\u2019t faded. \u201cI felt very much that we were one person,\u201d he says. \u201cI still think, in a way, we are one person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd if he has his way, there is still one chapter left.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe have one more in us together,\u201d Refn says. \u201cWe\u2019ve done two. Now we\u2019ve got to do the third one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tListen to the full conversation on It Happened in Hollywood<\/em> and subscribe to the podcast for more conversations about landmark films with the people who made them.<\/p>\n

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