In May, X-Men director Brian Singer came to China with Sophie Turner, an actress of the young phoenix version of Chin Gray, and Ivan Peter of Quicksilver, to promote X-Men: Apocalypse. As a super fan of the X-Men series, I talked to the director and the creator on behalf of Tao Tao Film, and this article is mainly a part of communicating with the director. Among them, there are both the content of my interview with the director and the content of the group interview, thank you for your hard work
People who like the X-Men series will certainly not be unfamiliar with the name Brian Singer, who wrote the first and second parts of the X-Men and has also served as a producer since X-Men: First Battle. "X-Men: Reverse Future" is eye-catching, and what kind of surprises are there in "X-Men: Apocalypse" this time?
Q: The protagonist of the comic is Laser Eye, but in the movie, you initially chose to tell the story from the perspective of Wolverine, why?
Singh: To give you a whole new perspective, especially to take care of audiences who are not familiar with comics. Follow a newcomer character to learn about the school and the mutant world. Wolverine doesn't know who he is or what kind of group the X-Men are. So the audience can follow him to understand this group of people from shallow to deep, and slowly understand those characters. That's why I chose Wolverine as my central character.
Q: After filming so many X-Men films, is there a plot that the director wants to add but has not yet realized?
Singh: (As the director pondered, Sophie on the side said mischievously: Tell us your little secret!) I feel like most of my ideas have been implemented in the movies! But there are some others, such as taking the X-Men to a new environment and finding some places that are already in the comics but not covered by the movie. (Ivan and Sophie are in unison: "Outer Space ~~~~", the whole audience laughed) We already have time travel, robots, human gods war... What's next?
Q: The last three X-Men films are all films with a strong sense of age, and X-Men: Apocalypse is set in the 1980s, is there any sign of the 80s besides the costumes and makeup?
Singh: The Cold War, nuclear weapons, and especially the contradictions between the United States and the Soviet Union, are all things that are conveyed in the background. There is also a scene from Cairo. We rebuilt the streets of Cairo in 1983, and the crew had people living in Egypt in the 1980s and felt like the details on set were in place, including the set and the costumes. The design of those scenes is unique and a challenge for us.
Q: The Cuban Missile Crisis was addressed in World War I, Reverse Future was set against the backdrop of the Paris Peace Conference, and Apocalypse referred to nuclear weapons, but there were no specific events. Why?
Singh: The '80s had a special affection for me. I was a child at the time, and as an American, I was alarmed by the cold war, especially when relations between the United States and the former Soviet Union were so tense. At the same time, young people are so smug that everyone's enthusiasm for all kinds of music seems to be a bright color of the eighties, and the emergence of new things such as large shopping malls, video games, arcades and so on. This is the most appropriate time for the diverse characters in Apocalypse to elicit a global threat. Of course, nuclear weapons are only one of them, and they are only mentioned a little, and more of a show of other things. In my opinion, this is the best time to tell the storyline of Apocalypse.
Q: "X-Men: Apocalypse" echoes the previous films in detail, is this the result of your creative flashes or is it a deliberate surprise for old fans?
Singh: Before filming started, I went back to all the films in the X-Men series to see if there were any details I had missed — and although I was involved in the production, I inevitably missed something, after all, I couldn't take down everything, and I can't even remember what I did last night now (laughs). So I looked through it from start to finish, paying attention to the characters and some of the details. The production team also looked back with me for inspiration.
Sigh: So you are really prepared for this movie
Singh: I'm fully prepared before every shot.
Q: The rivalry between Professor X and Magneto has always been the biggest attraction of X-Men, but I feel that this part of the plot has been weakened a lot.
Singh: First of all, and most importantly, to highlight the apocalypse as a villain, it is very powerful. He considered himself God and wanted everyone to worship him. In addition, this time the focus will be on the young X-Men, like a torch relay. The film focuses on the creation of the X-Men team, just like the origin story. So I always say to people: If you haven't seen X-Men before, you can also watch "Apocalypse", because this movie explains the origins of everyone and explains the worldview setting of the show to the audience.
Q: What is the most appealing thing about the apocalypse to you?
Singh: He has all kinds of abilities, but the most interesting of them is his strong persuasiveness. You can see him convincing the knights to follow his ways, to find them, to protect them, to exploit their most vulnerable side, like the Storm Woman, just to fill their stomachs. When the Apocalypse found them, they enhanced their abilities, like angels with more destructive wings. Magneto, on the other hand, was at the trough of his life and had lost everything, and this was a great time to recruit him, so he easily threw himself into the arms of the Apocalypse.
Q: Is Apocalypse genuinely trying to help a mutant in distress?
Singh: No, the Apocalypse simply had to use them. But he was very gentlemanly and polite, making others think that he wanted to come to him. But it's all fake, he just uses other people as tools.
Q: Have you ever asked young actors to go to the previous X-Men and learn from the older casts in order to maintain the consistency of the characters?
Singh: No, I want young actors to perform their own feelings, to play an X-Men without any embellishment. They are not required to learn from Rebecca Romeyn (The Shaped Woman), Famick Jensen (Phoenix), and others. While actors are allowed to use them as inspirations, be sure to perform their own style.
Q: For example, the movements of the piano in "Apocalypse" are made to maintain consistency.
Singh: Well, Ichimi did, like Patrick Stewart. Although I don't quite agree, this time Sophie also used it, after all, it helps people understand the plot: they will not be seen when doing this action. In addition, when the lock is unlocked, the hand is used to turn the handle, which is also to help the audience understand.
Q: A lot of people like to improvise on set, do you support this way of acting?
Singh: I really like improvisation. It's the best way for actors to interpret the character in their own way, and I want them to feel free and have fun while acting. The actors are actually very hard, they are being evaluated all the time, and even criticized, but the actors actually put their own bodies... Dedicate everything to the audience and shoot movies to entertain the audience. If you tie them up, always shout "Stop! "It's like blowing out a burning candle and pouring out the passion and desire for their performance." I don't want my actors to have this happen to me.
Q: Are there any improvisations on set that impressed you?
Singh: Yes, there are actually two, one that is very heartbreaking — in the forest, after shooting Eric after a very unfortunate event. Before the shooting, the French shark told me: Don't shout to stop when shooting. I said no problem. I saw him walk into the camera, completely abandon the script, play freely, cry about God's injustice, and be full of feelings. I watched from the side and unconsciously shed tears... Because it was so touching, I had never done this before. After the shoot was done, I walked over and gave me a hug and said, "Thank you for the amazing show...... But we're going to reshoot it. "Because we were going to shoot this scene from different camera positions, the shark said no problem! So he ran over and shot it several times with the same emotion. All this is his credit, he brought such a moving scene to the audience. And then there's a beauty, a lot of hilarious plots that he came up with, those improvisational lines, especially in the CIA office section.
Q: The special effects part of Quicksilver is particularly difficult.
Singh: A two-minute clip in the movie, Ivan shot for 17 days, the production time was 1 and a half months, using all the visual effects imaginable. In the end, in order to shoot realistically, the crew also blew up the set set. Cameras traveled eighty miles an hour through the set to shoot the explosion, and the actors were standing on the set.
Q: The special effects of X-Men are particularly praised, from the teleportation of nightcrawler to the high-speed movement of Quicksilver, and the expression method is also full of creativity. What other characters who have not appeared are the directors who like and want to perform?
Singh: Jubilee. There's a scene — and unfortunately I had to cut it because it didn't fit the story too well — that was going to be shown on DVD. But personally, I really want to dig deeper into this character and her abilities, and I really appreciate the potential she shows in the film, but unfortunately each film has limited time and can't stuff everything.
Q: Will there be a spin-off movie of Wonder Woman or Magneto?
Singh: Of course, I want Magneto, Magic Woman, any character to have their own movie. They are all very plump characters, and the actors are also very good.
Q: If you could briefly describe X-Men: Apocalypse in three words, which words would you choose?
A: The scale is grand, the appeal is extremely strong, and the climax is repeated.
Before, I always thought that the director was a daunting identity, which would make people feel a sense of distance and be out of reach. But through this round-table interview and the interview after that, I felt that director Singer was approachable, very easy to get along with, answered every question seriously, and there would be no embarrassing moments. The director is particularly cute in private, and before the interview, he asked if he needed to wear glasses to answer the question, and hesitated how to be more photogenic. I said how you look handsome! When the director heard this, he said to the staff present: Did you hear me? Is this passage recorded? (Hahahaha)
When watching X-Men: Apocalypse, you will be thrilled by some details that echo the previous films, and when you hear the director say that this is deliberate, you really feel that the director is prepared for these surprises; in addition, the most impressive thing is his respect for the actors, whether it is respect for their talents or respect for the fruits of their labor, not all directors can do what he does.
As director Brian Singer said, friends who have not seen the "X-Men" series will not be confused when watching "Apocalypse", and those old fans will find surprises when watching "Apocalypse"