Set and shot north of Barcelona in Manresa, “You Would Do It Too,” from David Victori (“Cross the Line,” “Sky Rojo”), is a lightning-fast eight-part half-hour thriller following a bus heist gone awry. Written and directed by Victori, it is also the first Spanish production resulting from an alliance struck between Legendary Television and Spain’s Espotlight Media.
Victori will travel to Miami and speak at the New Talent Modela panel at Content Americas on Jan. 25 as Legendary Television, who hold worldwide rights, aim to close a deal for Latin America off the Miami conference.
Also created by Victori, the series will debut exclusively on Disney+ in Spain. Anne Thomopoulos (Legendary) and Anxo Rodríguez (Espotlight) co-produce the series, which is a natural next step for a director who has been building a canon of thrillers through the years.
Victori moved waves winning the 2012 YouTube Your Film Festival with short film “The Guilt,” beating out 15,000 submissions to secure a Ridley Scott and Michael Fassbender production budget with the Scott Free production studio.
Before his YouTube win, Victori had already been selected byPvNewat Cannes 2012 as one of Spain’s 10 talents to track. Over the next decade he has written, directed or produced a slew of projects, notably Filmax production “Cross the Line,” Netflix’s “Sky Rojo,” where he directed, and Ikiru Films and 4Cats Pictures horror-thriller “The Pact.”
“You Would Do It Too” then sees an auteur in his wheelhouse, blending a decade of learning into a series with addictive pace and mystery. Detectives and former lovers Rebeca (Ana Polvorosa) and Fran (Pablo Molinero) must reconstruct the truth behind a triple homicide as witnesses give inconsistent timelines. Each character is a misshapen piece of the puzzle in this modern crime drama.
PvNewspoke with Victori ahead of the series’ presentation at Content Americas.
What led you to this project? What is its origin story?
I am always searching for stories where the distinction between right and wrong is blurred. Characters’ conflicts are understandable to the viewer and the audience has a complex relationship with what they are seeing. In this project, I read an article about something that happened in Mexico and used that as inspiration to develop the story in a way where each plot twist makes the ethics of the characters increasingly complex.
In “You Would Do It Too” you drop us right into the mix, using the key witnesses to reveal their versions of what happened during the heist. What was most important in writing these witnesses?
After working on “Sky Rojo” for Netflix, I knew I wanted to replicate the same dynamic narrative style in my next show. I wanted to create a show that kept viewers fully engaged and didn’t have the temptation to check out Instagram or Twitter. I invested a lot of time in character design and during rehearsals, I guided the actors through the essence of each character. I also gave them a lot of creative freedom in the working process.
How do you as a director guide your actors in a series where so much of their performance relies on the viewer questioning the truth of what they’re saying?
It is important for me to work meticulously with actors before filming begins. They need to have a clear understanding of their motivations and the reasons behind the decisions they make in each scene. We also used a different script for them, a chronological script, to ensure they had a clear understanding of the order of events. Rehearsals were also done chronologically to help actors understand the emotional arc of each scene.
This series is very fast paced and filled with action. When writing, How do you approach pace and suspense?
I learned a lot while working with Alex Pina and his team on “Sky Rojo for Netflix. The narrative in the series is split into different time periods and is highly dynamic. This project brings together my experiences and insights gained there, as well as my unconventional approach to working with actors and the camera team on my second film “Cross The Line,” which produced exceptional results. While writing the script, I kept all of this in mind to create the perfect script which allows me to continue exploring my style as a storyteller.
Music plays an important role here, with throbbing beats providing a pulse. Did you approach scoring the series with certain imperatives? How did you view music as a tool in telling this story?
Music is the heartbeat of any story, and in this project, where the pace is crucial, it holds the power to alter the viewer’s perception of time. We invested a lot of time and effort in the soundtrack because it was essential for the final viewing experience.
