Den of Geek was lucky enough to see the first 22 minutes of the film.
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Youve talked about the comic-book setting.
Would you describe this as a comic-book movie or a movie about comic books?
I would say… the goal was a comic book thriller.
That was the goal that it should be like those two genetically fused.
What does a thriller feel like?
That was the goal.
And I think it took a while to get that balance right.
Its set in the real world, obviously, but how referential is it?
Does Marvel, for example, exist within that world?
How meta is it?
[laughs] It feels like were somewhat commenting on the 18 years that has come before us.
How different do you think the film would have been if youd made it in the early 2000s?
I wouldnt have done this meta stuff.
And I think it would have been more straightforward.
Like, pretendUnbreakablemade $500m, and everyone was like, Make the next one!
Is it just two movies?
That might not have popped into my head.
It would have been different.
David would have to be in the second one.
So that would already cost something.
I always wanted it to be David, Kevin and Elijah.
That was always in my head.
And there was always the sense that we were going to end up in a mental institution.
That was always there.
One of the things that youre best-known for is horror, of course.
You know, Im very careful about that.
For me, my only real horror movie Ive ever made and even that was subversive wasThe Visit.
For me, where Im going, I am going to scare you.
Thats what my intention is with that, and that movie has a lot of humour in it.
I dont think anything else is horror that Ive ever made.
So there are very scary elements, and I love that, when I go scary, its frightening.
But I think the thriller mould can handle that.
And yet theyre very close.
[laughs] Isnt that wild?
Its an amazing time for horror, as well as being an amazing time for comic-book movies.
That must have been an interesting climate to be makingGlassin?
I madeSensebecause I really love this art form.
Whenever someone says, Should we do it on all platforms?
Im like, No, thats not what I do.
I make movies for a group of strangers that come together to watch a story.
Thats the art form.
They need each other.
You want to experience revelations and comedy and scares and shocks and suspense together.
[whispers] She shouldnt go in that room.
She shouldnt be in that room.
Why did she go in?
Oh my God, did you see whats on that wall?
You do it together.
Its no fun to just be sitting there like, Im scared… [pause, then laughs]
No?
I have to be inspired.
Thats true, actually.
Hed be a grown man now.
Just throwing that out there.
Are we going to see that in this?
Are we going to see a bit more of the human Kevin for example?
Youre seeing the complexity of everyone.
Thats this version theyre just regular people that happen to have these gifts.
So leaning into the regular people part is really great.
Its why we connect.
You also mentioned were going to see about 20-odd personalities from James, which sounds amazing…
I was like, Ive got to remember her name…
I was doing that this morning.
How do you manage that?
Do you have a great big chart?
Because you’ve got the option to get confused with 20-something personalities.
So I knew it was going to be complicated.
I gave it to James.
I gave it to all my office to confirm everybody knows.
Do you think thats something that audiences might be able to see?
At some point after the film are you likely to release something like that?
At one point, there were 23 personalities in the movie.
How did you come up with all the different personalities?
Were they based on people?
Some of them were based on people.
So for example, youll meet a character whose name is Luke, and thats a friend of ours.
He always tells the endings to movies.
We all scream at him for it.
So theres different people like that.
So youre working on this for Disney, and obviously it is this amazing time for comic book movies.
Would you consider taking on a Marvel movie?
Theyre so good at what they do.
Im just not sure you want me or Wes Anderson… Its an American-indie drama that was done at 4am, recorded… Its just weird.
And I like that weirdness.
I want it to be that way.
And I dont want to fail them at their metrics.
And Im not very interested in CGI.
For me, I would minimise everything.
I would cut everything back.
Its only one part of the third act, and thats the entire movie.
Id pitch those things.
Thats the more important thing.
They have a tone that is Marvel, that honours the source material.
Glassopens in UK cinemas on 18 January 2019.
