I’m one of a lucky few on-set of Jack The Giant Slayer at Elstree Studios just outside of London, and am watching top genre filmmaker Bryan Singer (famed for directing The Usual Suspects, X-Men and Superman Returns) work his magic. In-between directing the actors and navigating the technical side of shooting with state-of-the-art 3D cameras, Singer generously speaks to us about this film, set to be one of the biggest blockbusters this season.
In Jack and The Giant Beanstalk there’s the magic beans, the goose the lays the golden eggs, the giants and their cry of ‘Fee-fi-fo-fum…’ How much are you sticking to the story that we all know?
Well, there’s beans, there’s a beanstalk, there’s not a cow… [Jack The Giant Slayer] is a little bit about how stories like that change over the years, so the fun of it is about the nature of storytelling. The myth of Jack and the Giant Beanstalk is a story from the 1800s, which is kind of a simple fairytale about a kid who goes up a beanstalk and I think it’s an allegory for the plight of the farmer taking back from the fat cats in the form of the goose that lays the golden eggs. So, we’re then merging that with the story of Jack The Giant Slayer, which was a myth in the early 1700s, a kind of bloody series of tales about a character named Jack, who killed giants and sent their heads to King Arthur. That’s not our story, it doesn’t have King Arthur or anything like that, but elements of those are merged into a completely original piece.
Why did you take this project on?
Because I like fairytales and liked the story, but also I liked the opportunity to work with this technology. I’ve never done a film with fully rendered CGI characters (the giants) and performance motion capture, so it’s a new challenge.
So far, the best fairytale that’s been made on film is Princess Bride…
Oh yeah, I agree with that.
Did you take any inspiration from that?
There are some winks and nods to the audience, but that movie is parody really. This film isn’t parody, but there are moments of likeness in the characters and their performance is a very fun movie trying to take the edge off those darker scary parts. We don’t totally cross the parody line, but yes Princess Bride is one of my favourites.
Do you remember your first encounter with 3D, what did you think?
My first encounter with 3D would be pop-up books. I loved pop-up books, especially the ones where you could open them up and actually move things. I was never satisfied with just the print medium, I was never a comic-book reader. I always needed things to be in motion, which is why I made the leap from photography to filmmaking form a very young age.
In what way do you think the new generation will relate to the retelling of Jack…?
I think it’s just a very sweet and romantic [film that’s also about] wish-fulfilment and aspiration. Every time I’ve made a movie with romance in it, it’s been complicated romance, like in X-Men and Superman. This is the first time I’ve dealt with traditional romance. I think it’s nice to be able to do that, I think that appeals to people.
Were you involved with the casting of Nicholas Hoult, did you have him in mind for this role when you were working as producer on X-Men: First Class?
Yeah, I did. I was involved with the casting of him for that movie. I’ve been a fan of his since Skins and A Single Man, and when I saw him perform in that movie [X-Men], I started to think about him in the context of this movie. But, I saw a lot of kids and people [for the lead in Jack The Giant Slayer].
Are you shooting chronologically?
Ha, ha, no I wish! Who am I, Woody Allen? You shoot as chronologically as you can, but we have this location at this time and that location at that time.
Why shoot in England?
It’s British content, you know Fe Fi Fo Fum… it’s a British story. We can get certain cultural rebates that are good, so we can get more bang for our buck moneywise, also the vibe of England feels like the right place to shoot, and also the talent pool is just great. The movie takes place in a fantastic idea of a kingdom in England. It’s not specific to any period really, though it’s around the 1300s, and it’s not specific to any area. It’s around northern England theoretically, but when it came to the accents and customs the last thing I thought about was authenticity, the opposite to [my approach to making] Valkyrie actually!
When you’re making a film, do you think about how it will be received?
In and out, I think about it sometimes. Sometimes I think about the worst case scenario and the best case scenario. I always expect the worst case scenario, so I prepare for it mentally.
Even after all your movies, and all the successes?
Yeah, yeah. I try to be careful about what I’m spending relative to the subject matter. I’ve been really fortunate I’ve never made a movie that’s lost money yet.
BY KELLY GRIFFIN
