We talk to writer-director David Ayer about his war film Fury, getting it made, and more…

Released in 2012, police thrillerEnd of Watcharguably marked a major turning point in writer-director David Ayers career.

While hed directed films before, they hadnt received this level of critical acclaim or financial success.

Its a pleasure to meet you.

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Wait, Den of Greek?

Were all about smashing plates at weddings.

No, its actually Den of Geek.

So Im not going to get speared or anything, then.

Congratulations on the film.

LikeEnd of Watch,theres a real attention to detail inFury.

What was your approach to researching it?

I looked at thousands of period photographs.

I looked at US army film of the time that army photographers had shot.

I read a lot of reports.

I tried to find as much unfiltered material as I could material that hadnt been editorialized.

I looked for common things.

Everything has its own fingerprint, and youre looking for those.

I did my best to build them up into a visual world.

Is that correct, or am I projecting my own interpretation on it?

No, thats very fair.

Especially with [the Normandy landings].

But in this case, its almost over.

We know the Allies are going to win at this point in the war.

Children are forced to the front to fight tanks with rockets.

Its not unlike the things we see in our current conflicts today.

Is that what you wanted to bring out inFury?

Whether its a policeman whos supposed to protect a neighborhood or a soldier protecting a nation.

What does that responsibility do to a man?

Because theres nothing moral in that very personal moment of being violent towards another human being.

Its only in the larger context.

And what are the effects of that on the soul of the individual?

I was really interested in the way you shotFury.

From the opening shot to the last, it felt apocalyptic, almost hellish.

Oh, thats very intentional.

Thats how I saw this.

Its the Gotterdammerung of Nazi Germany.

For the Nazis, it really was an apocalypse.

They wanted everything destroyed: they didnt think anything should survive of them.

So its a very tired world this world takes place in.

It reminded me of Sam PeckinpahsCross of Iron.

Cross of Iron, yes.

That unvarnished, unromanticised perspective.

Its that genre, the platoon movie.

Its a day in the life of soldiers.

Thats the path of the film.

Youre doingSuicide Squad,arent you?

Its official now, so I can talk about it.

Im just looking forward to trying a new genre.

I love the DC universe.

Its just a big playground and Im going to have a lot of fun in it.

What do you think about the state of filmmaking in Hollywood in general?

Was it difficult to getFurymade?

It was shockingly easy!

I wrote the script and within weeks had it set up and greenlit.

It was very strange how easily it all came together.

I hope I did that.

This was a great adventure, making this movie.

They let me make my movie.

I felt there were two aspects to this film.

The exterior world, where you have these huge, real tanks you used.

Then the interior, with these guys bonding inside the belly of this metal beast.

Which aspect was the most difficult to capture?

For me, I like being outside.

I like being in the mud and the rain.

The most difficult part was going into our tank interior stage.

It took a long time to get that set looking as realistic as possible.

I would just cry in a corner as the hours ticked by!

[Laughs]

The location filming must bring its own challenges, though.

The people were fantastic where we shot very supportive.

The best part of it was being out in this amazing countryside.

I really remember that part fondly.

And with that, our time is sadly up.David Ayer, thank you very much.

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