Thematically there are themes that have been explored.
Its not like Im makingHerand the guy falls in love with his operating system.
Thats never been done, you know, which is terribly original and wonderful.
Hopefully we did it, man.
What jumped out at you when you were first given the script?
Well Im a fan of Lucs.
I mean I sawLeon/The Professionalas a seminal movie for me.
It just kind of f**ked me up.
I just really, really loved that film.
Hes a strong guy, man.
It keeps you sharp.
So I dove in.
What are the differences and similarities in the European and American approach to action thrillers?
Like when we test movies in America people want to know everything.
Everything is so literal and I like that, but I also am a huge fan of international cinema.
Its very different and it permeates every element of the filmmaking process.
Hes a stranger in a strange land.
What were the pros and cons of shooting in location in Paris?
Look at that one scene where hes standing on a bridge and hes eating some sushi.
He just saw a child being born.
And the camera just sort of pans around to reveal the Eiffel tower.
I mean thats all in camera.
Its so beautiful it looks fake.
Like theres no way this can even exist.
And it speaks to what the characters going through right there.
That sort of thing.
Im just wired strangely because I wasnt intimidated by that.
So I told him what I think we should do.
Oftentimes he was on the same page.
A couple of times he had some different ideas and we just partnered on it.
I tried to emulate what I would imagine the Coen brothers dynamic would be, you know.
I dont know those guys that well but thats what I want to believe happens on their set.
I made a decision early on to partner with Kevin so it felt good.
Did you fly to France?
All the time, yeah.
Im much better now.
Because I obviously heard about the Superman stories…
Oh yeah.
I mean its just, you know, it sucked.
I got with these two women at UCLA and Ive been working on it ever since.
And I fly back and forth to Europe now every week.
But its something Im always cognizant of and respectful of and I dont want to fall back into it.
I think its great man.
I mean obviously Im a huge Nolan fan.
Im a huge fan of Zacks.
I love what they got up to with Superman.
Its just an incredible story thats becoming more and more relevant, you know.
I mentionedHerHerisTerminatorin a weird way.
Every day that sci-fi nightmare becomes more and more real.
So Im excited by this whole idea ofTerminator Genesisand what theyre gonna get up to.
I learned a lot from making that movie and I loved working with (Sam) Worthington).
So thats part of it.
You put yourself out there and sometimes you get kicked in the head and sometimes you get celebrated.
Not because of me but because of the long history of the character.
I mean hes from Krypton.
There are some things that are gonna be in there no matter whos doing it.
Is there a superhero you would like to tackle now if given the opportunity?
I like Aquaman and I dont think anybodys done this kind of story with water.
I think that that could be interesting, you know.
I mean well see.
Im buddies with the guys at DC.
Im buddies with the guys at Marvel.
Its some of the highest craft you could imagine.
And to be in that genre is amazing.
So my hats off to those guys.
I love what they get up to and its just an exciting time.
Going back to3 Days to Kill, lets talk about the car chase done for real on the streets.
Its hard but theyre very film friendly and they want it to work.
And I just love the challenge of doing the things in camera and not being so reliant upon CG.
I love CG like the next guy, but I just wanted to take on that challenge.
The longer you could hold without a cut, the more authentic it becomes.
Theres a lot going on there.
When you see a guy in between two cars at 80 miles an hour, thats just radical.
And then youve got Kevin Costner wanting to do it himself.
You have to tell him that maybe thats not a good idea.
Yeah, he always wants to do everything.
Im like, Costner, dude, you know, youve got to let this guy do it.
Hes just very immersed in the character.
He really, really is.
I cant state that clearly enough.
Hes just not interested in the trappings and the bulls**t of Hollywood.
Hes interested in the craft of filmmaking.
Hes just aTrue Gritkind of guy.
Never once did I have to go get Costner out of his trailer.
Costner was standing right there, ready to go, thinking about the movie, thinking about whats right.
When he comes to work, he comes to work.
And thats all I can ask for as a director.
Hes the real deal.
Well Im excited that we did Chris Evans first movie as a director,1:30 Train, that he just wrapped.
I havent seen the movie yet but Ive seen a bunch of scenes from it.
It looks really, really good.
I just got back from Berlin and were excited about that.
In the television space, I mean we keep going withSupernaturalwhich is a tremendous source of pride.
We just bought this Israeli series, this thing calledAllenby, which is very sort ofTrue Detective/The Wire.
Were producing movies, producing television and then the films that I direct.
3 Days to Killis out in theaters Friday, February 21.
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