James Ward Byrkit, Director, Coherence I DePaul VAS

A discussion with award winning screenwriter and director, Jams Ward Byrkit. James is best known for the cult science fiction film COHERENCE and for co-writing and designing the Academy Award-winning animated film RANGO. He’s worked as a conceptual artist on some of Hollywood’s biggest films, including the original three PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movies and THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, while simultaneously creating his own independent projects with friends and family. He is currently developing a science fiction television series with producer David Goyer (BATMAN BEGINS).
Moderated by Ron Eltanal S.

[@jackmiddleton2080]

50k movie 8k wig. Best story ever.

[@EDEEB7]

I can watch this stuff all day. Thanks for sharing. I've seen this movie at least 25 times and each time I pick up something new. It truly is a masterpiece. As I learn more and more about how it was made, I appreciate the film even more. Thanks!

[@ideossl7753]

Maybe you just seen different movies from another reality

[@buffalo369]

So, on that case, could u share your thoughts on the ending...😄 Q1) so who called Kelvin ? Q2) what happened to dead Emily in bathroom / trunk ? Q3) after the comet has left, why is there still two rings ? Q4) where is the rest of the friends, ( we only saw 4 at the end)

[@abhi_morey_04]

Nah, You'd lie

[@taylornoe7201]

Shout out to this guy asking every question I’ve been dying to ask with matched enthusiasm. Real mvp

[@HalfWarrior]

I went to high school with this wonderful, crazy guy JW Byrkit!

[@quiksix25]

Just stumbled across this movie on streaming- what an awesome little film and I love that he's open to talking about the specifics- so many filmmakers like being opaque and it's annoying- talk openly about what you created, especially if it's confusing

[@joshperelson7241]

Why didn’t anyone in the audience ask him about what happened in the last scene of the movie??

[@dylangintherofficial]

Because its obvious what happend in the last scene

[@mithramusic5909]

Why in the world has he still not done anything else!

[@palmereldritch7777]

Yes, we ARE waiting , and i'm not waiting for the next Nolan movie.

[@mithramusic5909]

@@palmereldritch7777 I do love Nolan, too, personally

[@YoutubesaysimCyberbully]

@@mithramusic5909 lmao this is way better than nolan , alternative realities is the shit , i need smth more like that

[@nujivi]

IKR?!! I was so pissed when I found out he never made another movie. We need a GoFundMe!!!

[@agonisgone]

Three years later and he's finally doing a new series. It's called Shatter Belt and it will have 4 episodes it seems. Genuinely can't wait.

[@blitz9196]

One of the most favorite film in my shortest list. Interesting, scientific, thrilled, and how ordinary it is.

[@B3_6]

Shortest list? What’s another great movie that’s like Coherence, or Primer, Inception. A Sci-Fi thriller that makes you think or is interesting any recommendations?

[@allthatremainsx6]

@@B3_6 i always recommend donnie darko.

[@rishabhgautam2723]

@@B3_6 I Origins Mr nobody The endless The man from earth Spectral Triangle

[@rishabhgautam2723]

Hats off to this man's dedication.

[@indianbot0077]

Where is this LEGENDARY SMART director now????

[@wowsew]

amazing interview. would love to see him and Jonathon Glazer make a movie. dream team

[@maulcs]

What a great discussion, this dude is brilliant

[@lycurgushathorion2593]

Mozart in a GoKart... Amazing writing, acting & directing on Coherence. Enjoyed it immensely. I'm looking forward to JWB's future projects. I thought it was going to lead to an (octomation)

[@gainlarreyes5280]

Just re watched this again and realized that the ping pong em is gonna know it all and went to the best reality. There is another Emily beforehand that activates all of this, the one who breaks the window car. The first time they heard someone broke the car is in the same time the last car was broken. There's a delay in the timeline of multiple realities but happening in the same time. Thats why the first em ended up in a reality where everything is okay, then she fvcked it up again.

[@kdogglv]

This is my new favorite director, what a smart way to put together this genius movie!!

[@shuttleship]

Guys, in the end when they go to see the comet, the Em was wearing sweater but then lights came back, Sweaters gone. The original Em ended up with a good ending imo.

[@B3_6]

Love the interview and questions! Such a fantastic movie and what a treat for the class to be able to discuss and hear from the director in person! The teacher has such a genuine love for the film and seems very enthusiastic about the whole process. I bet the students love taking his class!

[@YoutubesaysimCyberbully]

this movie was crazy , never seen anything like it, some new puzzle shit

[@danzig8985]

May I suggest that if you haven’t already, check out Triangle, they’re different but similar vibe. Then there’s Community: s3 ep4 Remedial Chaos Theory.

[@YoutubesaysimCyberbully]

@@danzig8985 seen it lol

[@cryptohalloffame]

coherence is great, and the title kind of sums up the making of the film too!

[@Jboy1988]

Just watched for the first time in 2024. Great movie, loved it! Reminded me of my shroom trip lol . Any recommendations on other mind bending films?

[@tmf7563]

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes

[@Carelmartyn]

Someone said Triangle movie

[@iw3368]

Triangle, Primer, TimeCrimes,

[@onyxxproductions8187]

So, why did no one mention why Emily Prime doesn't have the sweater on toward the end if she is the original Emily? You can't say she's an alternate Emily99 that didn't get the sweater from Emily100 that she put in the trunk and also say she's the original Emily Prime. It suddenly just disappears in between shots. This also begs the question of how the Emily100 she put in the trunk had a working phone and had it with her to make the call. The phone would have either been in the sweater pocket or in the house. If Emily Prime took the sweater, she took the phone. If it was left in the house, how did Emily100 get it to call Kevin100? Emily Prime can only have one reality, not a sweater AND no sweater reality or then she is two different Emilys. This is the question that still lingers for me. It makes more sense that there were multiple Emilys that left multiple unhappy Kevins and went looking for multiple better realities and took the same actions with each better reality being slightly different. We don't even know if that was Emily100 that she put in the trunk. The Emily in the trunk may have been Emily2 who already came and displaced Emily100 who crawled back into the house from the basement. The sweater is a problem that his "only one Emily" explanation doesn't explain.

[@filmsandseriesedits]

Okay, so this is what I think. It is hard to explain, but I'll give it a try. Em1 (the original Emily) went to that good reality where she put Em2 in the trunk and get her sweater. She came back home still with the sweater on, but then there's a black-cut. Then we see Emily has no sweater, that's Em3. Let's say Em3 was Em1 but this time, she didn't take Em2's sweater. So the sweater decision made two realities where Emily choose to take or not take the sweater from Em2. Then we see an Em4 entering the house, and that's the Emily Em3 kills in the bathroom. This Emily was trying to get to a good reality too. So, the next morning, Em3 wakes up. Em4 is gone because she didn't interact with anyone else in the house, so no one knew about her in the actual reality. But as Em2 was from this reality, and Em3 interacted with people from this reality, they both stay. So, Em2 still has her sweater because Em3 didn't take it. That's why she can make the call. But we can say she is in a kind of Schrodinger box. She was alive and dead, because we know she's there, so that's why she was alive, but no one there knew so she was dead, she wasn't supposed to be there. They thought Em3 was their Emily. But now she made that call. So she remains in this reality too.

[@vinxago]

@@filmsandseriesedits but he said that we see Em1 from the first shot to the last shot. So the last shot is not Em3, it must be Em1

[@aslie8268]

@@vinxago this is exactly my confusion too, I agreed with the above theory until I was like wait it can't be a different emily in the ending. The confusion is driving me insane!

[@burbujita0811]

@@filmsandseriesedits i'm almost fully on board with this theory, BUT he does say we follow Em1 till end of the movie. My thoughts are: the moment Em1 puts Em2 into the car trunk generates a new decision: taking the sweater and NOT taking the sweater, which also creates a new branch. Since we know Em1 stays till the end of the movie and after the lights go off she's not wearing the sweater, that makes HER the one who forgot to take the sweater. It makes sense, since it's clear by now Em1 makes bad decisions, she ended up following the very pattern she's trying to get away from. This would make Em3 the one that took the sweater and successfully takes Em2's place and steps into her desired reality, leaving Em1 behind in a new created scenario, which follows after the black cut until the end of the movie.

[@raphaeldeguzman7417]

Still doesn't explain why she's suddenly not wearing the sweater after the blackout. It was her(emily prime) who took the sweater and phone after putting em2 in the trunk though, how could a non-tangible force take that sweater away from her and make her em3? The only logical explanation is that the director is wrong. Emily who fainted after killing bathroom emily, is not emily prime. It cuts to a different version of her after the power outage(because how does it make sense that she's able to remove the sweater while it's dark?). And I'm not even sold on the fact that emily in the trunk was the one who called at the end.

[@shotx333]

Would love to see second part of it

[@palmereldritch7777]

Hands up to anybody who thought this knocked any Chis Nolan Memento/Inception stuff down a couple of notches.

[@jstdun]

Nah they are all good movies.

[@Michael-mh4vr]

Great movie!

[@muscahrine]

Lots of interesting infos in this interview, unfortunately nobody asked why the sweater / no sweater cut :( Trunk Emliy having the phone i think is simply a call back to Schrodinger's box, trunk Emily both has no phone, and has a phone, the inside of the trunk is still decoherent I think the bathroom was too up until Kevin opened it and this is why the only thing he found is the ring If they opened the trunk before the call, trunk Emily and the phone probably would have disappeared too I was already pretty sure we always followed the same Em who arrived at the "wrong house" from the very beginning, but i still can't figure out why she is missing the sweater right after the last power cut I've watched this movie dozens of times in a few years, but i think i'm just not smart enough to grasp that last clue

[@LoveLeigh313]

Read the comments on here

[@vampirica85]

This movie is brilliant

[@crieverytim]

who cares when she leaves the 'ping pong' house. it's not 'the original'. they all got separated when they arrived - she drove through the dark space to get there. "Mike? I lost you", the phone breaks = there is no original ping pong house

[@onyxxproductions8187]

I think they just meant the first house where they opened the box that had the ping pong paddle in it where everyone originally showed up for the dinner. That was the original house or House1. The ping pong paddle came from a different house (House 2) that they never went back to or visited again after Amir and the other guy got the box. Except this Amir and the other guy actually came from House3, which is why they had red glow sticks. They divided into multiple realities when her phone cracked but they are just calling the first house the "ping pong" paddle Emily and house because they opened the box there..

[@crieverytim]

​@@onyxxproductions8187 right, i get that. but the point is, it's important to the internal coherence of the movie, but ultimately, that wasn't her original reality, so its all kind of a moot point.

[@the_endgame]

@@crieverytim Yea i just watched it and reddit sent me here. I was disappointed to hear the director's intention here of the Roswell show question. The whole movie is from a different dimension???? Them all arriving from different dimensions initially is a more relevant concept and less pretentious tbh lol

[@crieverytim]

@@the_endgame yeah, it's a really great, underrated gem. shame he hasn't made more. he did Coherence on 50k budget. crazy. but I didnt realize that til the second watch. and didnt realize what the Roswell exchange meant until maybe the 4th watch. but once you realise the only 'originals' would be mike and lee because everyone came to them...its pretty mind blowing. and then the main girl gets trapped in a reality where she's a freak mutant anomaly...and the comet didnt affect their reality in any way other than to deposit her in a world where shes redundant...its like a cosmological horror

[@Argiriosk]

Greetings from Greece! I enjoyed this movie so very much! Brilliant! Based on the ending, will there be a Coherence 2?

[@WweUploadHDForYou]

this movie gave me ptsd and left me with sleepless nights

[@EdenSgrave]

I just watched it. I'm over here questioning how do I even exist. How is reality existing. When why how r we existing

[@WweUploadHDForYou]

Pirate_Weeb lmao this movie fucked you up even more than me

[@nooneseriously22]

My thought: (Spoiler alert!) Emily with jacket and Emily without are the two that co-exist at the end. Both of them drugged the two Emilys. The first one that took the jacket doesn't have a ring. Look at Emily's right hand when she was thrown at the trunk (the ring she wore was gone). When they watched the comet, Emily was gone. No one can notice her inside the house. The second Emily took that chance to attack another Emily (who presumably went to that house too given she doesn't look horrified anymore when other Emily attacked her. She seems to know what was going on unlike the real Emily to that house that is oblivious to different realities). When she passed out, maybe the other Emily with jacket decided to hide since she has everyone's attention and you know what will happen if they were seen at the same time. Emily with jacket is the only logical person that can call Kevin that morning because she knew where the real Emily's phone is or even has it after she took her things.

[@Guinea54]

there were three EM's in my opinion. Wish someone would have asked.. Two we see, one we don't see but we can safely assume another EM was the one who broke the windshield when the house was confused about why because there was nothing in the car to take. It appears that EM wanted to do the same thing the main character EM did at the end.. What stopped her was the other world Kevin bumping into her by the car.

[@LoveLeigh313]

There’s 4

[@Guinea54]

@@LoveLeigh313 There isn't four because the guy who wrote the movie stated that we follow the original Emma throughout the entire movie from start to finish. So where would the fourth be?

[@marm9649]

Amazing movie

[@B3_6]

Anyone know of any similar movies to Coherence or Primer? I Loved both and am looking for great sci-fiction thrillers! I also loved Interstellar, Arrival, Inception, butterfly effect (had a great premise). Would love some recommendations

[@zoomk8680]

try traingle

[@lorenzocistera3612]

Hi Brian, I have been searching in my short list: Bokeh, Anihilation, Enter the void, probably more that I can't remember. These should satisfy your hunger. If you have any suggestions, I'd be open to explore. Thanks.

[@rufusfrancis9696]

Frequency

[@denisec1126]

The invitation

[@rishabhgautam2723]

Predestination Groundhog Day Frequency The man from earth I Origins Mr nobody The endless Cloud atlas Spectral The incident Triangle Exam Sliding doors

[@APRICEPRODUCTION]

One of the biggest things I hated about this film was the ending, if Prime Emily knocks out the alternate universe Emily puts her in the bathtub, then faints herself. How comes nobody never noticed their Emily in the bathroom later on or when Emily woke up. They would have all known there was two Emily's by this point.

[@joselinen7767]

Since nobody opened the bathroom before the meteor fully passed then she’s stuck in a different universe. Following Schrödingers cat, bathroom Emily is neither dead or live until someone opens the bathrooms then she disappeared. Same thing with trunk Emily. She was able to call at the end because she’s stuck in a box so she’s neither dead or alive until the drunk is opened.

[@joselinen7767]

Plus she didn’t interact with anyone from tht universe so she never existed when the meteor passes

[@mrcool76789]

it's like if a tree falls but no one is there to hear it does it make a sound?

[@okaythisisfuckingrid]

i read it like this: knocked out emily wakes up at some point and flees the scene. she later collects herself and calls boyfriend when we see the phonecall at the end

[@LoveLeigh313]

remember the cat in the box

[@emmi2870]

I don't know about others, but I like the shakiness of this film.

[@paytonphelps3055]

Okay but is the ending explained i dont get it😢

[@kevinhill6854]

I just discovered this movie and found this video to hear him. He starts talking about the opening shot then stops. Is he saying when Em's phone cracks in the opening shot, is that her jumping to another reality?

[@quiksix25]

What happened to the Em that got left in the bathroom?!?!?!

[@tomlogan1531]

Why were the phone screens breaking?

[@VladyslavKL]

🖤

[@ryanl8933]

He didn't answer the roswell question

[@abhi_morey_04]

This movie is a trash and you know it when u completely watch the movie its been 5 minutes I watched the movie and I am literally frustrated with the ending as it leaves u unanswered😢😢😢

[@Juan-zl3fy]

You know? I didn''t like the movie a lot, it's very frustrating how they act kinda dumb the whole night and how they're scared of those people instead of try communicating with them (at least while they think there's only 2 groups)... BUT, it's very nice to see the director talking about it, being excited about his project, even years later. It makes me like the movie more..

[@filmsandseriesedits]

I mean, wouldn't you be scared if you see another you? Haha. I would, definitely. I wouldn't think about sitting down to talk with my other versions of myself.

[@gracielakh]

His name is Jim Not James

[@CorazonLightLife]

He says Em is the same version (the cohesion) throughout the story, but didn’t she go through the dark space and come back to the house a different version?

[@Ramix09]

She came back to a different house, but we followed her the entire time

[@abhi_morey_04]

The good things I found in this movie are Performance, BGM Ending is trash🎉

[@abhi_morey_04]

This is my movie review before watching this interview cause your view can differ after connecting to directors character more than mc of movie😂

[@creationanomaly6026]

It was NOT shaky 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@LoveLeigh313]

Are you crazy? The entire thing was shaky 🤣

[@coyotemoon722]

Dude how did this movie have any coherence at all with all improv...I couldn't tell at all

[@Eleftherios9]

Haha it's a bit frustrating that there wasn't real science, but it's still a good movie.