Gareth Edwards – The Creator: “People say they’re tired of franchises but…”
Meeting with the director of Rogue One, back on screen with an original sci-fi film worth $80 million which is neither an adaptation nor linked to a franchise. An increasingly rare case in Hollywood…
This interview was initially published in issue 544 of Première, available on newsstands and on our online store.
PREMIERE: Gareth, where have you been since Rogue One?
GARETH EDWARDS: Let’s just say I needed a little break. I chained Godzilla And Rogue One without a single day of rest. I needed to stop and think about what I wanted to do next… I wrote three screenplays and developed three different films. Two were left behind, one was funded, The Creator. These three projects, as different as they are, all stemmed from the same desire, the same intellectual journey…
Which ?
It is based on my professional background. I started with a very low-budget sci-fi film, Monsters, then moved on to two big Hollywood productions and although both experiences were exciting, I suddenly had the impression that there was a best way to make cinema. Combining the creative freedom of an independent film and the scale of a major production…
And is it possible?
The answer you will find in The Creator… Let’s say that at this point in my career, the only thing that really excited me was to take on an original project. When I grew up, almost every movie was “original.” For me, it was the very nature of cinema. Later, in the late 80s and early 90s, the sequels started coming in force and now we find ourselves trapped in this universe made of franchises and multiverses. Let me tell you an anecdote. While we had a meeting with Disney (which distributes The Creator) to discuss the release date of the film, someone very high up in the studio asked whether it was better to release in 2024 or 2023. One of the participants then displayed on a large screen all the studio’s releases for 2023 and another said out loud: “Hey, this is our only original film of 2023, the only one of our “big” films not to be based on a book, a film or an intellectual property. » I left this meeting in a state of shock, stunned by this observation.
This “originality” has almost become an advertising argument for the film…
Ah ah ah, sort of, yes. It all depends on the desire of the public. People tell you that they’ve had enough of franchised films but… Let’s say that cinema is like politics, if you complain, go vote. Your vote is the ticket you buy!
It seems that there is almost an activist dimension to your approach.
I wouldn’t go that far, all the same… Afterwards Godzilla, I told myself that I would no longer do franchises. I had made my Hollywood film, and now I wanted to develop my own thing. And then I got a phone call. “What do you mean, a Star Wars?” » It was the one thing I couldn’t refuse… When you’re hired to make a Star Wars film you feel like you’ve finally arrived. You imagine that the sky will open, that there will be a giant rainbow, that you will ride a unicorn, that everyone will clap and that life will be wonderful. Obviously, it doesn’t happen like that. You may have climbed a mountain, but nothing has really changed except the view. We then begin to wonder why we do this. I’m 48 now, how many films do I still have to make? I wanted to put meaning and a little of my sensitivity back into my work, to no longer confront the worlds of others. Create my own world, my personal storytelling. The CreatorI hope, tells a little of this feeling.
The Creator, who has (already) seen will see (review)
The last time we saw John David Washington, who plays the lead role of The Creatorin a big Hollywood film, it was in Tenet, a 100% original film too. Do you think it’s a coincidence?
I don’t want to speak on his behalf, but I would say that John is very careful about the films he chooses. He’s very selective and I think he tastes really good. (Laughs.) Watch his film! And he’s someone very funny, very sincere and a real big fan of science fiction. The first time I met him, we had to mask up because of the pandemic. And I see him show up with a Star Wars mask on his face. I said to myself: “Hey, that’s strange, he did that because I realized Rogue One ? What message is he trying to send me? » Some time later, he admitted to me that he had been horribly hesitant to wear that mask in front of me that day. Except that since the start of the pandemic, he had worn nothing other than Star Wars masks. He had simply chosen to present himself as he was…
