By Elliot V. Kotek
(Moving Pictures Blockbuster issue, Summer 2007)
MPM: How early on in the project did Kevin come onboard?
James Wan: I worked with the screenwriter on quite a few drafts before we started sending it out to actors and all that. And I think Kevin came in after two or three drafts. We met up at the Chateau Marmont - that was a good excuse for me to go there. Kevin really got into it and I think we hit it off, and that was how it started. MPM: Was there any fear factor to overcome in meeting up with someone who's been in so many of the best films of the last 20 years, and who's become a pop culture icon?
Wan: Well, I have a lot of respect for the guy, so probably more awe than anything else. Even though this is my third movie, I still get pretty stressed when I'm with certain actors, and that's how I felt when I first met Danny Glover on Saw. Kevin's such an easy guy; he is really down to earth, and he's a pretty quiet guy when you get to know him. I think he likes to keep his cards pretty close to his chest, and he just kind of assesses who you are first. But he really liked my ideas, and vice versa. MPM: Having someone on hand who's been on so many sets, does it change the way you direct? Does it make it more collaborative?
Wan: Yeah, exactly. Kevin is a store of experience, right. The guy knows the craft inside out and, plus, he's directed for years as well. I loved that Kevin is a collaborative person, but the thing that I loved best is that, despite him having worked with so many big directors and big actors, he did not treat me any less. It was, "Hey, you're the boss. This is what you want. I'll give it to you." And it was great. He has worked with so many big directors and I think he treated me no different than how he would be with Oliver Stone or Eastwood or Ron Howard. I felt very honored by that, to be honest. MPM: How much could Death Sentence be said to be true to the Death Wish franchise?
Wan: Just that it fits within the realm of revenge. But the reason why I wanted to do it is because I felt, in the climate we're in today, you hear of all of these revenge/suicide bombings and it's so topical in today's climate; it truly is a primal human thing that has been around since the dawn of time. So I felt it was a very contemporary story to tell. But what I wanted to do - and Kevin felt the same way - was that we didn't want it to be just a revenge movie. There's guys going around blowing people away, but there's consequences. Action comes with reaction. So he ends up putting his family in danger for doing what he does; he risks his family. I would describe the film more as a revenge tragedy. And I think it questions one's morals. MPM: Is that something that you're always thinking about: the context of your films within the larger framework of society?
Wan: Definitely. With Death Sentence, I felt it is very important for the moral to be a lot more present, because you are making a story about people taking vengeance. But it truly is a story about challenges, about families from different sides of the track. And not to say that the bad guys are just bad people, but they were brought up in a culture that's different to what we know, and vice versa. So, it's kind of gray in respect to who is right and who is wrong. I try to keep it realistic. I wanted the action to be very intense. I wanted the drama of the story to be really intense. It's a story that could pretty much happen to anyone. Movies imitate the real world, and that was another reason why I was compelled by the characters that were created in the screenplay. This film is kind of saying, "How far would you go to protect your family?" I feel that there is a lot of craziness happening in the world and people do feel insecure, and I think this film is, for me anyway, my subconscious reaction to that stuff happening around us. MPM: Your top Kevin Bacon movie of all time?
Wan: My top Kevin Bacon movie of all time-hmmm... I love Tremors best. -MPM Click for MPM's extensive interview with Kevin Bacon: "Kevin Bacon's Death Wish." |
