Nacho Vigalondo wishes he had a heroic story about how he convinced Anne Hathaway to sign ontoColossal.
I was like, Okay, Ill live in a world where Anne Hathaway has read the script.
When she showed interest I was totally blown away.
And a giant dancing monster.
you’re able to never forget that.
A blockbuster trying to be an indie film.
It came from a lot of places.
He then adds with a laugh, Youre familiar with TV stuff, like thePower Rangersstuff.
When youre young, youre not sure where thats coming from.
An idea that still finds echoes inColossal.
However, the giant monster movie that most affected his youth is one that is fairly universal.
King Kongis part of our language; its a common expression, he says.
I wouldnt say its part of pop culture.
Like something that goes on and destroys everything in its path.
You have to destroy it… butKing Konghas a true nature as a character.
All his motivations are dramatic motivations.
Like drinking too much and then getting a far flung city similarly wrecked.
We needed to make a monster that didnt feel like a comment on the other monsters, Vigalondo explains.
We just wanted to make a monster that felt as part of the tradition.
We didnt want it to be a post-modern kaiju.
Like the earlier interpretations of Godzilla, he hopes his creature could be a hero and villain.
A toy that children would root for.
The script that you see on the screen is the script that we shared.
Its the same one that I wrote, the filmmaker states.
After all, it is the off-the-wall concept that captured Hollywood actors like Hathaway and Sudeikis attention.
We tend to think in a shooting, the dominant figure, the leader, is a director.
Because he knows more than anybody else?
Shes made a ton of those.
Its coming from Anne Hathaway.
Right down to the characters alcoholism.
Then again, the director winces when I mention that word.
To me alcoholism is a really serious word and I never use that in the film, he demurs.
Most of that is [about] a person who is not able to control themselves.
Shes not driving the car shes intoapparently nobodys driving the car, and youre still in the backseat.
The helmer then further explains, Lets say that I felt like that in a time in my life.
If I had to go back to my parents place.
It would be like I was unable to make a career out of this.
So those kind of fears are always there.
