Your new movie Evolution War - in a few words, what is it about?
It’s
what happens when a mysterious race of beings decide to take over the Earth,
and they do it smart… as mankind is reeling from a terrible war, they
drop plague bombs everywhere and wipe out the last of humanity with great
ease. Then they start to terra-form the Earth. I like to think
it’s science-based and character driven, as all good science fiction is.
There is a lot I cannot say at this stage because of heavy spoilers… but it
is quite epic in scope.
What were your inspirations when writing Evolution War? A nd
since this is a science fiction movie, is that a genre at all dear to you?
War
of the Worlds is probably my biggest inspiration, and the connections with
that and this film are rather interesting. Again, I cannot say more
just at this stage. One thing that really inspired me was that this
guy called Thomas Kent Miller wrote a book called Mars in the Movies
– A History - https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786499141
- in
the book, he writes about all the films that feature the planet Mars.
It kind of gets the wheels turning a bit. In Evolution War we go to
Mars, at least for a part of the film. Most of it takes place on the
Earth. I have always had a fascination with giant things…
mountains, killer robots, dinosaurs, Martian tripods, starships, Satan,
A.I., caves, darkness, space.
Doctor
Who was another inspiration. I first saw it in 1970 when I was a
boy, and the episode was about underground creatures – I think they were
Silurians, or
Sea Devils. It scared the living daylights out of me.
I am obsessed with making science fiction films, and that truly is a
curse. Look how the fans carry on about Star
Wars (and Star Trek
back in the day). It is truly embarrassing for me because I embrace
it all with love and enthusiasm. These people are destroying the
very thing they love by being overly critical.
From
what I know, Evolution War is pretty action and effects heavy - so
what can you tell us about that aspect of your movie? Physically
exhausting to shoot. I have taken a lot of risks in this film, more
than anything else I have done. I saw Solo the other day and
absolutely loved it. I was surprised that it cost so much, because a
lot of it didn’t show on the screen - due to the firing of the directors
and the 80% reshoots ate up the budget. Poor Kathleen Kennedy… a
brave person with the weight of the world is on her shoulders. For
me, I can have no complaints. We have more locations than Solo does,
but a much smaller budget and NO STRESS!!! There are a lot of nukes
let off in this film, and a lot of practical explosions. An ass-load
of stunt work. But aside from this, the story is unique. I
really can’t compare it to anything, even though we say it is Pacific
Rim meets Terminator, it really is something else. It’s like a
backwards version of War
of the Worlds. Where
was Evolution War actually filmed, and what were the advantages and
maybe also challenges filming there? A
lot was shot in California. A bit in Los Angeles, quite a bit in
Malibu, and the rest in various deserts. Also there are a number of
caves across the West Coast of the United States, plus a sequence was shot
in Syria (and I really cannot say too much because it involved doing
something technically illegal). Also a lot of the space footage was
shot in outer space for real. This is a combination of getting some
raw footage from NASA, and also a weather balloon with a camera that
actually took photos in space. When you see stars, they actually are
real.
on set with Tracey Birdsall |
What can you tell
us about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand? I
kind of get a little obsessed with pushing my actors. Mostly I got
to punish Tracey Birdsall [Tracey
Birdsall interview - click here] to some big extremes. We worked together
previously in Rogue
Warrior, so I wanted to do something different.
Her character is toned a bit like Xena, but in a more serious (less campy)
way. I spent most of my time setting a tone for the actors, and
pushing them up and pulling them back. I think I manipulated the
actors more in this film, than I have in any other film of my career.
The actors don’t like me as much but I think the results are better in
the end. Evolution
War stars Tracey Birdsall [Tracey
Birdsall interview - click here], and it's not your first science
fiction movie with her in the lead - so what does she bring to the table,
and what's working with her like? And how did the two of you first meet to
begin with?
I
had known about her for years and finally felt I could approach her with
something that she could sink her teeth into, so I asked for a meeting,
and we hit it off creatively from there. I liked that she was very
professional, like a few of the really good actors that I have worked
with, so I knew she would be able to bring “something” to the table.
What I got from her was more than I expected. She has truly
embraced the roles that I have written her, so with this one, I decided to
push her further than before. For her fans, and there’s a lot of
them, this will be a major film in her career.
Working
with her is fun, but she is all work, work, work. I don’t
think there ever has been an off-day with her. She is completely
focused, and loves being directed. So few directors actually direct.
With Tracey, if you put in 100%, you get back 200%. I think
inexperienced directors will have a hard time knowing what to do with her,
but for me, she is a lot of fun to build a character with.
Do talk about the rest of your key cast, and
why exactly these people?
All
except for one I have worked with before. We found a newcomer,
Vishani Miller, who just had something really special. She is very
raw and I look forward to seeing her grow into herself as an actor… I
enjoyed the fact that she came to set completely “on”. Because
she was so on, I had to pull her back, but this made for some truly great
subtle moments. Usually it is an effort to get a performance from
newcomers, but not this time. She plays a Travesty, a geneticist
stranded on Mars.
And
then there is Tony Gibbons, who we worked with previously on Rogue
Warrior in a voice-over capacity. Tony’s command of the voice is truly a
joy to behold and his skill as an actor has been put to proper use.
I’m very interested to see what the audience makes of him by the end of
the film. He plays Cyrus, a southern gentleman with a strange twist.
Marilyn Ghigliotti [Marilyn
Ghigliotti interview - click here], best known for her role in
Clerks, is back in the fold
playing a mysterious character. I really think her best, most
interesting performance was in Rogue
Warrior, so am looking to extend her
wonderfully naturalistic performance in this film. Again, I am
limited with what I can say about her.
Brooke Lewis [Brooke Lewis
interview - click here], who plays SC-4, a clone who carries the weight of humanity on her
shoulders. Brooke is always a joy to have on set, and it
always makes me happy that she is a true professional, and it shows in her
performance. Her stillness and sense of character is amazing.
It’s funny how so many out there claim to be “professional actors”.
Brooke has earned her stripes, not with words and social media
manipulation, but pure hard work as a working professional.
There’s
more to say about so many others, but I will leave this for another time.
A few words about the shoot as
such, and the on-set atmosphere? It’s
nice when you purge the people from your life who want nothing more than
to see your fail, yet they attempt to be your friend when the checkbook is
opened. Hollywood is full of self-obsessed opportunists. This
is not a healthy thing to have on set… it spreads like a cancer.
Stanley Kubrick had a very tiny crew on most of his films and I truly
understand this!!! I still wish I had a bigger crew some days. The
$64-question of course, when and where will Evolution War be
released onto the general public? It
should be finished before September, but beyond that… it’s in the
hands of the distribution gods!!!!! Any future projects
you'd like to share?
Well,
in general…. Film is pretty much dead in its current form. Gone
are the days you can go to the cinema and choose between a few character
dramas, a comedy, a period film, etc. We can get our fill of this
type of material from streaming services like Hulu, Netflix and Amazon.
Commercial television is also dying. We are entering into a new
era… and in 20 years we will look back at this as the era where
traditional cinema died. There will always be exceptions, but
98% of movies are losing money hand over fist. Rather than
mourn, I move along with the times. I wrote my first novel at
the age of ten. I love big epic stories. 2 hours is not
enough to tell an epic tale. Look at how wonderful the extended cuts
of Lord of the Rings are as a viewer. 12 hours of epic story!!!!
We want BIG stories with feature film sensibilities. Storytelling is evolving…
and I am damn happy that I can tell real stories at
last. The Time War is an 8-hour film that I have already shot and
will finish off after Evolution War. Evolution War may be part of a
bigger epic, but I can say no more. I am excited for the evolution of film!
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Be
prepared to see Tracey Birdsall [Tracey
Birdsall interview - click here] punished and tortured emotionally in the
Evolution War… it will be worth your time!!! Maybe I have
said too much.
Thanks for
the interview!
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