Bones and All, the genre-bending romantic horror from Luca Guadagnino, is the next great American road movie, following classics likeThelma and Louise and Little Miss Sunshine among many others. It’s also Guadagnino’s first movie to take place entirely stateside. Set in the late 1980s, the film begins in Maryland and follows stars Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet inward through the middle of the country, passing through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska.
Prior to filming, the Italian director was largely unfamiliar with the American Midwest—and its eccentricities. Fortunately, he had an expert on staff. Production designer Elliot Hostetter hails from Indiana, and as such was more than prepared to guide his director through the singular landscape. We sat down with Hostetter to hear about capturing what makes the Midwest special, filming on the road, and the fast food they ate along the way.
Bones and All is very focused on a particular slice of America—one that covers a lot of ground but is nevertheless rather consistent at the same time. How did you get involved in the production and what was your approach?
I’ve been working with Luca on various projects for many years, so it was kind of a continuation of the work, you know? But I’m from the Midwest, so I especially wanted to do this film because it touched on my world. I’m from Indianapolis.
One of the states that Maren (Taylor Russell) and Lee (Timothée Chalamet) pass through in the film is Indiana. Did you shoot there?
We did a little bit, but not so much. We were based in Cincinnati, which sort of borders Kentucky and Indiana. Most of the film is actually different parts of Ohio, with other states in little bits and pieces.
