Returning for the fourthDiary Of A Wimpy Kidfilm and his third as director is British-born director David Bowers.
We started by my asking if hed been to see the film himself since it was finished…
I went on Saturday to watch it.
My mother in law wanted to see it.
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Oh lord.
Your film is much better thanProblem Child!
[Laughs] Well, thank you!
Is that unit a key attraction for you?
We dont have films like this anymore!
In fact, family movies these days are superhero movies which are great or animated movies.
Which are also great.
But they seem to have squeezed live action family movies out of the picture completely.
I thinkEddie The Eaglewas last years, outside of Disney live action fairytales.
I thoughtEddie The Eaglewas great by the way!
But yeah, I thought itd be fun to show a complete family unit stuck in a car.
The characters that Jeff Kinney writes… its nice for kids to have something relatable to see on screen.
Its fun to see yourself, and your family in a movie.
Much of the press ahead of the film centred on the new cast over the last film.
Were you looking for that element of consistency, or did you consider a full reboot?
I wanted that element of consistency.
Whenever I talk to anyone about it, I reference the James Bond films.
When Sean Connery changed to Roger Moore, bless him, the films were quite different in tone.
The James Bonds were different, but they still fitted in the James Bond world.
They werent completely new.
The actors changed, but the characters havent.
So isThe Long HaultheLive And Let Dieof theWimpy Kidfilms?
[Laughs] No, Im just using the example!
But youre talking to a nerd website, so I have to ask.
You know, I likeLive And Let Die.
I think its the best Roger Moore Bond film.
I likeThe Man With The Golden Guntoo!
Can I ask about your relationship with the author of the books, Jeff Kinney then?
But when he comes to Los Angeles, we do get together.
We do chat, and we do email.
Weve kept friendly between the movies, definitely.
I feel very lucky to work with him.
Hes a pleasure to be around, honestly.
Where did the impetus for this film come from?
Because it has been five years since the lastWimpy Kidfilm.
I think we thought it was just time.
Audiences seem really invested in them.
Its the first book he wrote thinking itd be a good story to tell on screen.
The books continue to sell.
I think there are 180 million in print now.
I feel like Ive bought 180 million copies!
[Laughs] You might have done.
But youre the glue here.
Yeah, I mean honestly, the films are such fun to make.
The creative team, the producers Nina and Brad, its like putting the band back together.
These are the kind of films I liked when I was a kid.
And I thought I had something to say about a road trip, having been on a few myself!
It seemed like itd be fun.
Also, I also try and change the movies up.
These one seemed to be an opportunity to be about the whole family for once.
And what its like to be couped up with them, and what family bonds ultimately can mean.
I like road trip movies too.
I think it works well.
We had to move to a new cast, of course.
But I think these guys gel very well.
They feel like a very rounded family to me.
The actual recasting process itself I want to ask you about.
The characters in the book have a very specific voice.
Hes got a Greg side to him.
Hes not selfish in the way Greg is, hes very considerate.
But he knows all the angles, and nothing gets past him!
When it came to Rodrick, Charlie [Wright] is the opposite of him.
Hes got a Keanu Reeves vibe, which I thought was interesting.
Shes a terrific parent, and we needed that nurturing personality to represent Susan.
Tom [Everett Scott] is just fantastically funny, and hes very easy going and laid back.
A terrific actor, with great comic sensibility.
I think the true test will be how good the outtakes are on the discs this time.
The last three films didnt let us down there.
For the DVD these time, Ive incorporated the outtakes into the deleted scenes.
I dont really like deleted scenes.
Why dont you like them?
Usually, I find you watch them and go I can see why those were cut!
Its often extremely boring or a scene you’re free to understand why it wasnt in the movie.
I would like to see the original ending ofWorld War Z, for instance.
I think were all on board there.
Your films come in around the 90 minute mark.
Are you particularly aggressive about targeting that?
Not aggressively, but Im not sure they should be much longer.
Im not sure how long the longest of mine is, but I dont think its 100 minutes.
Its not, not.
I think around 90 minutes is the perfect amount of time for a movie.
Is part of this from your animation background?
Took out scenes, shortened scenes.
With animation, youre in the lucky position where you make your film before you get going animating it.
In live action, you tend to overshoot a little.
The worst you could have is an editors assembly thats 80 minutes!
Thatd be a bit of a disaster.
What did you lose in the 20 minutes or so you took out?
Was there a big sequence you lost?
At the beginning of the movie, we had a longer scene in the restaurant.
There were originally twice as many jokes in the introduction!
Its the same at the end of the movie.
As Billie Wilder said, when the storys over, youre done.
We have a few endings on this one…
… youre hardlyReturn Of The King!
[Laughs] No, no!
But at the same time, the potential was there to have as many endings!
Where do you personally go now?
Youve done a lot of animated work, a lot of live action.
Are you story-driven, or do you deliberately choose which medium you want to work in?
I think its about finding interesting stories, but Id like to do different kinds of movies.
Ive tried to do that throughout my career.
Im not quite sure where thats going to take me.
I have a few things percolating, but nothing ready to go!
David Bowers, thank you very much.
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Long Haulis in UK cinemas from Friday.
