Greg McLean chats to us about The Belko Experiment, Jungle and Jason Statham…
The Belko Experimentisa brilliant film.
We found it hard to shake the notion that wed copped the raw end of that deal.
Heres how our chat with Greg McLean went.
This is the first film youve directed that you didnt write.
How was that as an experience?
I think the key thing was finding a script that I absolutely adored.
I fell in love with the characters and the actual writing so much.
At that point I was just like how do I get to direct this movie?
It was, yeah.
That was another where I just read a script where the story moved me very strongly.
But again it was just really connecting with the story and the script.
Im basically looking for things to test me out.
you might pick up at the next question.)
Was that in the script?
How did you bring that scene together?
That wasnt in the script.
That scene in the script was basically written as just a fight that happened between the two characters.
So to me there was this concept whereby it was about showing the evil of corporations.
Corporations gone horribly wrong.
Another one of the themes is morality.
I like to approach all the points of view without too much judgement.
Whereas Mike (John Gallagher Jnr.)
So I tried to be fair to both points of view.
I think my favourite character in the film is Wendell, played by John C. McGinley.
laughs Hes so many peoples favourite character.
Cause hes so great as that character!
What I like about him, his character… hes enjoying it too much.
What was he like on set?
Was he able to pop in and out of character or was he quite intense?
John was pretty intense.
He was also a really enjoyable guy to hang out with, really fun.
But hes such a great actor.
I love working with actors.
I love watching people work.
Theres no question this could have been done for more money but less freedom.
and James said Id love to do it.
I dont have time to direct it.
And they said ok.
So it was If you could do it for low budget, you could do it.
If you go over that its going to become a big deal.
Am I right in saying you shot in Colombia?
We shot the whole film in Bogota, Colombia.
We shot in a couple of insurance buildings.
And we took over an unfinished office building and shot in there.
It was probably the toughest shoot Ive ever done.
I think for me, at the time I took the job, I was looking for a challenge.
This is the first time that I chose a film to do where it was an entirely new group.
I knew no one on this project.
Id never met James before, never met Pete before.
I didnt know MGM, I didnt know the actors.
And I basically just said you know what?
It seems like a really cool challenge.
I really adore the script, I think its fantastic, and Id love to see if I could.
That certainly was my challenge as the director.
That is what I was really attracted to in choosing the script.
Whats the state of play withJungleat the moment?
Can we expect to see that soon?
SoJunglewill come out, in the US its being released I think on October 20th by EOne.
Its been sold to every territory in the world.
I went back to Colombia to shootJungle.
That was a challenge.
But we had the wonderful Daniel Radcliffe, who was amazing to work with.
What is your favourite Jason Statham film?
I would have to say my favourite Jason Statham film isLock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.
Take it back to where it all began.
Greg McLean, thank you very much.
The Belko Experimentis available on DVD & Blu-ray now.
