Ahead of the movies release, he spared us some time for a chat about it…
I wrote in my notebook after watching your film, nerd gold!
There are no rules in filmmaking, only sins, and the cardinal sin is dullness.
I cant think of a film Ive seen in recent times thats such a prolonged assault on dullness!
Thats a really good question.
Obviously you want the movie to move, you want it to be ahead of the audience.
A little ahead of where everyones at.
But it takes a lot of time to find the right pace.
Just like theAirplane!movies and theNaked Gunmovies.
We want to tell a lot of jokes, to have jokes for a lot of different audience members.
One jokes for kids, ones for adults, one for people like me, Batman nerds.
I also wanted it to be emotionally true and honest too.
For the movie to be a full buffet, and a lot of fun.
Maybe even a bit of hope!
Hopefully a fun ride.
[Laughs] My favourite one isThe Sure Thing.
Its a pretty fantastic movie, and also very Frank Capra inspired, likeIt Happened One Night.
A road picture like that.The Sure Thing!
I dont know why we threw John Cusack into the movie, to be honest!
BecauseMust Love Dogsdoesnt get enough love!
How does it change for you personally, then.
Theres a lot of pressure, obviously.
The first movie, everyone kind of left us alone.
Warner Bros isnt Pixar.
It isnt DreamWorks or Disney.
Warner Bros doesnt put out a big slate of animated movies.
We were one of only a couple they were working on.
They have Harry Potter movies, they have DC movies, they have LEGO movies.
We are one of three cinematic universes for lack of a better phrase that they are relying on.
So as far as the pressure.
The fact that the first movie was not only successfully financially, but it was successful with the audience.
But we just wanted to make a good movie.
That hole in his heart, that deep hurt, that when he was a kid his parents died.
For us it was more how do you crack that story?
How do you make it as fun, sincere, earnest and emotional as possible.
Is that why it jumped the queue?
Because the original announcement was were going to getThe LEGO Movie 2first, and that you were directing that.
ThenThe LEGO Batman Moviesprung up.
With LEGO, youve just had one film to get that status.
Part of the reason we moved ahead was thatLEGO 2is such an ambitious movie.
Theres a lot of music in it, a lot of songs.
Its a whole other thing.
This story, behind the scenes I was working on both.
We pitchedBatmanandLEGO 2on the same day.
Its definitely one of the most aggressive schedules for an animated movie that theres ever been.
Was that internet chatter, or was there something to it?
I was very lucky.
Chris and Phil were very generous, and I got to be a big part of the first movie.
After that movie came out I went around and met with people, talked to people about stuff.
I got to meet on a bunch of different things.
[Masters Of The Universe] was me literally pitching an idea to Sony about that.
Its one of those things that turned into an article.
I think people have a lot of love for that particular property.
Are you involved inMasters Of The Universeat all now?
Or has that passed?
I think thats passed.
I think McG is working on it.
You are the director who has brought Roald Dahls take onGremlinsto the screen.
How did that come about, and what kind of permissions did you have to get?
Was it any more complex?
We wanted a plan.
And because when I played with toys, Id mash everything together.
The original inspiration forGremlinswas that George MillerTwilight Zoneepisode, where the Gremlin is pulling apart stuff on the plane.
I was mashing up my memories of the history ofGremlinsinto one thing.
To be able to put Agent Smith, Sauron, Voldemort and the Daleks into the movie.
All of these bad guys from my childhood.
It was a lot of fun.
I have to ask about British robots.
Clearly for a start a Dalek isnt a robot, its a Kaled mutant!
The Tom BakerDoctor WhoandMonty Python that was my Sunday night growing up in Chicago, watching those shows.
To me, you want to find characters who are internationally known.
You want to find stuff thats not just US centric.
The Daleks are there for that reason.
Thats where that came from!
Youve referenced so many Batman films, but did you involve the directors of them at any point?
We didnt really get a chance to meet with anybody.
There was never any quid pro quo.
They didnt invite us over to go and see what theyre working on!
Final question, then.
I have to honour a Den Of Geek tradition, and ask you about one of our finest exports.
Chris McKay, whats your favourite Jason Statham movie?
Im a big fan.
I think he is really…
I dont think people think of it as a Jason Staham movie, butThe Italian Job.
I think hes so charming and fun, and a great part of that ensemble cast.
You are only the second person to citeThe Italian Job.
The other was Mark Wahlberg, and he was being ironic!
[Laughs] [Even more]
Chris McKay, thank you very much!
The LEGO Batman Movieis in UK cinemas now.
