Netflix just dropped a new movie, The Rip, and it's an incredibly intense ride. The story follows a group of Miami cops, led by Matt Damon's Lieutenant Dane Dumars and Ben Affleck's Det Sergeant JD Byrne, who discover a stash house of millions of dollars in cash—a discovery that puts everyone in great danger, and submerges each and every one of them into the deep waters of temptation.
The film, directed by Joe Carnahan, also stars Teyana Taylor, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Kyle Chandler (who is set to star in the upcoming Lanterns DCU show), Steven Yeun, Sasha Calle, and more.
The Direct sat down with The Rip star Catalina Sandino Moreno, who recently starred in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina, plays Detective Lolo Salazar in the film, where the star explained how her character is actually based on a real Miami cop that she was able to speak with and meet ahead of production.
"I have to say that I based my character on a real cop," the actress revealed, adding that "she's from Miami, and she was part of the tactical narcotics team." Morena further detailed that "she's very strong as a person" and is "very determined."
One key element of this real-life figure is that "she was the only woman that graduated in [her] class," having "graduated with men that didn't want her to succeed as much." Morena added how "that's the strength that [she] got from her for Lolo."
On a character level, Morena elaborated that The Rip's Detective Lolo Salazar shares those strong qualities, but she's "a mother to," and "she's aware enough that she cannot die, because she's not gonna leave her kids alone."
The Rip is all about that temptation that each and every character may, or may not, feel about potentially stealing loads of free money sitting there for the taking. For Detective Lolo Salazar, Morena explained that "She is someone who has two kids and is not well paid in her job, and just a little bit of cash would change her life."
Alongside Catalina Sandino Moreno, The Direct also spoke with The Rip director Joe Carnahan. Those interviews can be read and viewed in full below.
The Rip is now streaming on Netflix.
Catalina Sandino Moreno Based Detective Lolo Salazar on a Real Miami Cop
"This Woman, She's Very Strong as a Person, as a Woman, She's Very Determined."
- The Direct: "My first question for you is, I just wanted to start by breaking down Detective Lolo Salazar, just as a detective, what do you think are the core principles that make her a good cop?"
Catalina Sandino Moreno: Well, first of all, she's a good mother. Second of all, she is a good police officer. I have to say that I based my character on a real cop. She's from Miami, and she was part of the tactical narcotics team that I had the luxury of talking to. And this woman, she's very strong as a person, as a woman, she's very determined.
She was one of the top three who graduated. She graduated in 2000—Okay, I can't remember, 2000 something, but she was the only woman that graduated in that class... She graduated with men that didn't want her to succeed as much as, you know, they didn't like that competition. And she did. So, talking to her, that's the strength that I got from her for Lolo.
But then you have to balance that with this is a woman who is going into houses dealing with bad people, not knowing what she's gonna see as soon as she crosses that door, knowing that she has two kids to take care of. So it's a balance of like, Yes, I'm strong, but yes, I'm a mother too. So I think that makes her a good cop, in a sense of like she has the adrenaline to do all that stuff, but she's aware enough that she cannot die, because she's not gonna leave her kids alone.
- The Direct: "We just talked about her strengths, but I want to also address her potential weaknesses, because the film really focuses on the temptation of taking this money from this stash house, because it's just sitting there. What would you say is Lolo's weakness that really drives her to even consider the possibility that that's something she would ever do?"
Moreno: I wouldn't call it weakness. I think I would call it temptation. It's life... She is someone who has two kids and is not well paid in her job, and just a little bit of cash would change her life. So, I [would] think about it. I mean, like, I would think about it. If this money is from the bad guys, then I know that they're gonna come for me and kill me. But it's easy money, right? It's right there in front of you.
It's easy to be like, okay, nobody saw $20,000. It's fine now. But they will know, because they know how much money is in each box or in each bucket, and then they'll come for you, and they'll not just kill you, but they will kill all your family because you're dealing with really awful people. So it's just temptation, and money is very tempting.
- The Direct: "What was it like working with your dog co-star?"
Moreno: Oh, Jesus, great. I mean, like, I always think I'm very good with kids. I love working with children. I'm very good with kids. I am good with animals. I love animals. I own a little dog, and I thought this was going to be great. I need to let this dog play with me, and I want to play with this dog because I want him to look comfortable with me.
And I started doing that when I realized that I was allergic to him. Like I was welting and I was scratching. I'm like, that's weird. I don't know what's happening. And the hair and makeup team was like, maybe you're allergic... I'm like, impossible... But the more I was hanging out with the dog, even [their] licks could just give me a welt. So that was tough.
But listen, the training of the dog was incredible. The dog was awesome. They would tell him to bark, and he would bark on cue. They will tell him to run, and he will. He was the greatest actor ever.
The Rip Director Joe Carnahan on How Paranoia Plays an Integral Part In the Experience
"The Best Movies Always Work When You Start to Imperil People You Care About..."
- The Direct: "Watching it and looking back at the experience, paranoia is so integral to the experience. Can you talk about how you wanted to build that and kind of make it run through every facet of the film?"
Joe Carnahan: I'm glad you feel that way. If it was saturated with paranoia, that's the goal, right? We did a lot of work on the outline stage to kind of figure this out, because it is really, specifically, kind of technical writing [that] I don't know that I'm necessarily that good at. So for me, if you stand in front of 1000 curve balls, you'll start to make contact.
It was that kind of, Michael McGrale and I, sitting down, structuring it in a certain way, figuring out, okay, this goes there, this goes there. You know, the kind of pastiche that Chris Nolan does so brilliantly and effortlessly... Once you do that, I think what you're relying on too, like you have such an interpersonal understanding of those characters when they stew.
The best movies always work when you start to imperil people you care about, and you really feel that dread. And I think the movie does a good job of endangering people that you come to like quite a bit, and you don't want anything to happen to them, as opposed to these movies where they're almost being eaten by a dinosaur, crushed by a robot time and time and time and time again... I don't feel that inherent kind of danger. And this, because it is so intimate, personal, and human beings, I think it takes on a greater measure of that.
- The Direct: "How much research did you guys do in the stash houses, and, you know, actual police busts, and maybe even cases of corruption and people stealing that?"
Carnahan: Well, I spent a lot of time with Miami. PD, I spent a lot of time with Chris Castellan. I went on a couple of raids, which were fascinating, because it's about 15 minutes of legit excitement and then four hours of bureaucratic slog and hell, paperwork, and nonsense. It was wild to see it.
So, I did enough to feel good about it and feel like I could tip my hat in that direction, and it would land with some degree of various multitude. So that was important. And then beyond that, brother, it's like, I think we get too caught up in the—at some point you got to let your hands go dramatically.
You kind of take certain license when you can and expand and expound on things that maybe are not exactly the way they are, but close enough. But I thought there was enough veracity within the story and truth that those things will hold up under scrutiny.
The full interviews can be viewed here:
