Wilson Touts Thorne & McKenna for IndieWire Wavelength Award
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- Joel Wilson authored a tribute for Jack Thorne and David McKenna ahead of their Wavelength Award at IndieWire Honors Spring 2026, with the ceremony set for June 4 in Los Angeles
- Jack Thorne's adaptation concept sought to get 'inside the heads' of the boys and find 'tenderness' in a William Golding novel most remember for its fatal bludgeoning of Piggy
- David McKenna's performance as Piggy surprised Thorne — his inflection on the lines 'changed his understanding of the character,' including an unexpected moment where Piggy dances
- McKenna delivered an impromptu rendition of 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' at Wilson's home after wrapping production, becoming 'entirely and completely Eva Perón,' followed by Roxie Hart numbers from 'Chicago' with all of her moves
- On set in the Malaysian jungle, McKenna told a young actor asking how to handle mud and bugs mid-take to simply 'Tolerate it' — two words Wilson says capture how McKenna does 'everything. Except musical theatre'
- "Lord of the Flies" is now streaming on Netflix
Why it matters: The Wavelength Award recognizes creative collaborators whose partnership elevated a project, and the anecdotes Wilson shares position Thorne and McKenna as the kind of writer-actor pairing that can reframe a well-known property — Thorne's tenderness-first read of Golding, paired with McKenna's physically committed Piggy, reframed the novel's most tragic figure from victim to something more complex.
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