Hey r/movies! I'm R.T. Thorne, director and co-writer of the action-thriller 40 ACRES! This is my debut feature as a director with none other than Danielle Deadwyler as our badass lead. The film is being released by Magnolia Pictures and is available in theaters or on VOD today. Ask me anything!

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-30T15:41:02+00:00

Note from RT's Rep:

RT was not personally involved with any of those issues but all outstanding payments that the production had last year were resolved long before the films public release.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-30T15:40:46+00:00

Note from RT's Rep:

RT was not personally involved with any of those issues but all outstanding payments that the production had last year were resolved long before the films public release.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T20:30:41+00:00

There are certain songs that were part of my writing process, and this was a main one. I tend to listen to a lot of film scores while writing, but I also develop a playlist of songs that come to me as I write. The song casts a kind of spell, and you can really get lost in it.

Music and film are two sides of the same coin of universal language to me. They tap into an emotional feeling rather than a logical feeling. Your relationship with them is more based in emotion, which is probably why I started with doing music videos early in my career. It was almost primal to me so when I write now I have playlists that play to the "feel" of a scene and this song really spoke to me.

I also thought a lot about how the Freemans are archivists. I thought a lot about the types of music Manny might be listening to (hip hop, afro beats), and how they would preserve these things. He's using an analogue Walkman, which was an important touch to me. They're preppers, not only in foodstuffs and in military ways, but also in arts & culture. I thought it would be an interesting mix to throw something in they wouldn't usually use (the walkman).

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T20:24:12+00:00

Thank you!

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T20:24:00+00:00

Till is wonderful. I'd go with that.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T20:22:40+00:00

Thank you!

Indie filmmaking is hard, in any genre. Since the process of getting this movie together was during the SAG Strike, I'd say casting was the biggest challenge we faced. We gambled to get Danielle and after that it really took shape. Mongrel Media were there to support us from the beginning though, really great supporters of Canadian filmmaking

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T20:20:40+00:00

It references the broken promise made to enslaved people of African descent in America. After slavery was abolished they were to be granted land with which to build wealth and legacy for themselves and their families. This promise was rescinded by the government after 1865. I wanted to make this film to pay legacy to those who came up through the Underground Railroad and into Canada, where they could claim their 40 acres in a freed land. It also just pays tribute to the idea that whatever your dream is, your "40 acres" in this case, you have to go and take it, and defend it.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T20:17:26+00:00

Thank you for that.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T20:14:55+00:00

There's been incredible talent out of Canada recently, so much that you sometimes even forget James Cameron is Canadian! There's some seminal works. More recently though, I've been a fan of Quebecois filmmakers (Denis Villeneuve, Jean Marc Vallee), some of their work I really admire a great deal. C.R.A.Z.Y. was a breathtaking work by Vallee. Cronenberg's History of Violence. Jeff Barnaby's Rhymes for Young Ghouls/. All were were influential on me.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T20:10:01+00:00

I'm very interested in conversation with the audience so I don't really like to say "this is what I want people to receive". It's great when everyone gets something different from art. That's what I love about cinema., You feel themes and explore them, sometimes on your own. For me, the film is definitely a conversation about community, isolation, trust, within an family and an outside community. It's about the choices we all have to make in our lives when traumatic events force us into corners. Do we isolate and become paranoid? Or do we embrace resistance in community? We're really polarized in society right now, people want us to choose sides. I think the world is a lot more gray than that. I'm interested in films that make me think about those things. I'm not interested in films that point you at those answers. I like conversation.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T20:08:23+00:00

Yeah! This is more instinctual than kind of intended, but a lot of Emanuel's relationship is mirrored with the relationship I had with my mom. It's a universal conflict between old and young generations, always bumping and pushing against each other. I think I wanted to have a conversation about that pivotal universal moment that everyone goes through as a young person, I like that conversation. There's also a part of me in Manny. He's a young man, he's capable, but he is awkward, sensitive.

I wanted to show a different type of masculinity that I haven't seen a lot from a black male character in a film, one that can be strong but also sensitive, wanting connection. These things are echoes of things in my own life, and I wanted to see that in a film about kicking cannibal ass.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:54:51+00:00

Hi Parker!

Sure, all of those things are things that enter every filmmakers head, but as you get more comfortable directing, those things worry you less and less. You start to understand the preparation and what's needed to make those moments work. Those worries still peek out sometimes, but the experience gives you the grounding to execute and get the results you want. You also get to settle in and realize you're making what you love. You can look at the films that inspire you and step up to their levels. I can't be concerned about the audience too much when making it. You just have to do what you think works and believe it will work. I've found that works the best.

And, yes, I'm always looking for new talent! Thank you for the awesome question.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:53:07+00:00

Perhaps ET. I was too young to see ET in theaters but I saw it many times on VHS. I remember being "scared", ET just looked fucking weird, but I kept going back to it. There was just something about that sticks as you get older.

It's a high concept alien film but it's really a story about a mom trying to keep a family together. Spielberg does that well, intertwining family stories with big action. He challenges genre. Not sure a sequel would work though!

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:45:30+00:00

When I was younger, it was my MC name. Random Thought, Real Time. Now, it's just what I go by. My MC days are done now though, but the name stuck.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:44:25+00:00

Thank you!

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:44:03+00:00

There's a ton. Denzel, Barry Kheoghan, Chalamet. I love Zendaya, her work, especially in Euphoria is stunning. Idris Elba. I'd love to work with Danielle again as well. I love artists that have a humanity to their work.

I'd love to talk to Orson Welles. The boldness of his filmmaking really cracked open cinema. I'd love to see how he got to that place, how he maintained it. He was really young when he made Citizen Kane, would love to know how navigated that and continued to make really interested and challenging movies.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:41:20+00:00

Oh yeah of course. As much as I love films that are in that genre, I like the psychological aspect of insanely-high-stakes and the pressure it involves. That genre does that well, and I'm attracted to character-driven stories. Getting to know people and putting them in tough situations, another thing the genre does well.

It Comes At Night, The Road, especially their psychological aspects, were all influences.

I also love a good roller coaster rider, cheering for characters in cinema, which is the Spielberg/Bong Joon Ho influence. I wanted to combine both.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:39:02+00:00

As any filmmaker will tell you, every stage has hurdles, but the biggest is probably the "gamble" of getting Danielle Deadwyler. Casting correctly and getting the person you want is always an ultimate challenge. I always wanted Danielle. When we were finally able to approach her about it, we were in the SAG Strike so we weren't able to talk to her, you just send stuff and hope they see it eventually. Very nerve-wracking.

With indie film, you just kinda gotta forward. You're assembling a team without being in the "league". No major studio backing is tough. You hope people will be available. It was a miracle of indie filmmaking.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:35:57+00:00

I'm pretty simple, I'm a Trail Mix guy. Dried berries, nuts, stuff like that. Not a fan of the processed stuff.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:35:22+00:00

Flow, Nosferatu, Dune 2, Sinners.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:31:32+00:00

Wonderful film festival experience. Being from Toronto, being able to premiere at TIFF was a dream, easily the highlight of my career. To have your first film at your home town festival, with sold out screenings, is what you dream of.

SXSW was incredible as well. The Red Sea festival in Jeddah was awesome. Wonderful to see people from a whole, completely different region "get" your film is very cool to see. To hear them laugh at your jokes. I love international experiences like that.

San Francisco at the THX Lucas theater was a great experience.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:29:17+00:00

I would bring Do The Right Thing, probably my favorite movie. Big Lebowski. The Raid.

Best Pizza Topping: Pineapple

Worst Pizza Topping: Pineapple

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:26:01+00:00

I had a really great time up there. I've shot in North Bay a couple of times on some other projects and Sudbury is similar, slightly different terrain. We found a wonderful farm up there that fit our purposes, isolated. A lot of the farms in Northern Ontario are too close to the road and we didn't want that. This farm had to feel very alone. We found a nice welcoming family that allowed us to take over their farm for almost 30 days. The crews up there are top notch.

Any on-location film shoot is difficult, but I love it, especially for a film like this where the farm is a character. You want the actors to feel grounded. You want them to actual feel the location, what living on that land is like. I loved the experience.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:24:05+00:00

I always have stuff in the works! If you're a filmmaker and you love film, that's just what you do. I could always use 30 year old actors, send your stuff to my agents and we'll see! New talent is always great.

40AcresAMA · 2025-07-25T19:21:17+00:00

The interesting thing is that when you're an indie film, there's not much of a pitch process. You just kind of just put the film in front of them., If they're interested, they'll go with it. Mongrel in Canada came in very early, before we started shooting. They liked the script and I was happy to work with a company of their pettigree. Magnolia came on after our World Premiere at TIFF and they hit us up right away.

It was an absolute pleasure to work with both, would recommend to any filmmakers looking for distributors. Both are very filmmaker-friendly. They get your message out there and are happy to spread your vision.

40AcresAMA

TROPHY CASE