I wanted to start off, if I may, by talking about raccoons.
Was the idea of giving Poe a pet raccoon in the script from the very beginning?
When they got to writing the script, there were all these theories about how Poe died.
And one of these theories is that he died of rabies, amongst many other theories.
If you read about his life, he had a pretty squalid existence.
Yeah, to humanise him.
And Fields stops him at the door.
People hated Fields for it, because they loved the raccoon so much [laughs].
To answer your question more directly, it was to humanise him a little bit.
Because, at some point, Poes put to task about his stories.
Yeah, the script was around for a while, actually.
There are links, I thought, betweenThe RavenandV For Vendetta,visually.
Was that something that attracted you to it?
A lot about the film and the way the murders work, is whats lurking in the shadows?
Whats in the periphery, there?
Stuff from all over the place that spoke to the aesthetic.
It reminded me ofPhantom Of The Operaas well.
I really enjoyed it my father was a big film buff.
How did you go about casting John Cusack?
There arent very many actors who could really play Poe.
I think the great thing about John is the great empathy he brings to his characters.
And Poes tricky hes kind of multi-faceted, very polarising.
Some regard him as just an alcoholic, drug user, womaniser, married his 13-year-old cousin.
We needed to show that, at some point, he was broke, destitute.
In the bar scene, you get to see the microcosm of the macrocosm of Poe.
Hes kind of a confidence trickster, isnt he?
Which is like his stories, which were hoaxes, in some cases.
I mean, hes the precursor to so many genres, whether its detective fiction or science fiction.
So many styles and concerns.
Was that something you had to fight for?
I was pretty adamant that you cant have a movie about Poe without some gore.
OrThe Pit And The Pendulum, occurs entirely in the dark with this huge mechanism.
I was happy to do it.
It was fun to do.
Obviously, youre no stranger to action sequences you madeNinja Assassin,which is all action.
How did it compare as a technical challenge?
But that movie is two hours of talking heads, with about ten minutes of action in it.
So I think you pick your set-pieces, and you have a go at make them work thematically.
Action is always about planning.
I think, for me, I storyboard it out, then Ill get together with the stunt coordinator.
And then Ill tape it.
But I like the planning part of it.
So which film has been the most technically challenging overall?
But [V For Vendetta] was a big piece to bite off.
But I really enjoyed it it was a great experience.
How do you feel about Vs mask being everywhere, worn by Anonymous protesters, for example?
You always hope that when you make something, itll have some sort of cultural impact.
It is getting more difficult.
Whats a freedom fighter?
I thought they did that very deliberately, and its great to see it become such an icon.
How would you say working as first assistant director onThe MatrixandStar Warsaffected your development as a director?
I think assistant directing falls on two sides.
You align yourself with the director or you align yourself with the producer.
So I was proactive in the creative department.
It depends on the people you work with the Wachowskis were super generous.
We spent several years working on thoseMatrixmovies, and they said, Look, were beat.
What do you think about directing it?
Having worked with the Wachowskis, have you ever heard them mention a fourthMatrix?
[Laughs] Never a vague mention.
It was all already there.
Its not likeDie Hardor whatever.
I think, also, people have sequel fatigue at the moment, too.
Its different, tonally as well isnt it?
I thought it was quite brave to make an R-rated action film likeNinja Assassinfor the same reason.
Would you be interested in doing more pure action films like that?
I liked doing it.
Ninja movies are about violence and blood, so I went, Right.
If Im going to do it, Im really going to do it.
And making R-rated action movies?
I must say, it feels like my milieu is R, you know.
So far I dont think Ive ever been drawn to a PG-13 movie.
So many films are being forced down that path, arent they?
TheDie Hardfranchise, perhaps evenPrometheus.
Its a funny thing.
Like Spielberg theres a bunch of his movies that should never have been PG-13.
So making R movies, you cut back on your audience.
I cant believe thatPrometheusis going to be PG-13.
It doesnt seem right to me either.
Ive heard people say thatAlienmight be a PG-13 today, but its still an extremely intense, dark film.
Itd get an R for that chestburster sequence, its pretty graphic.
On the subject of potentially violent popcorn movies, I have to ask you aboutAltered Carbon.
Is that adaptation something youre still involved with?
I was involved with it, actually.
Joel Silver had the option on it.
There was a rewrite done by this guy called Joshua Marston, whos a director also.
Because its a big, expensive thing to make its sci-fi.
Or at least the book was.
Its funny you should say that, because there was an R-rated version and a PG-13 version.
And the PG-13 script was nowhere near as good as the R-rated one.
It just wasnt, nor could it be.
It could be a really good, smart movie.
Maybe if Id said if its a sequel to something, Ill get to make it!
[Laughs] I should have called it Altered Carbon 2 they would have green lit it immediately.
So what are you working on next?
I read about a film calledMessage From The King.
Yes, Ive got that.
In pretty short order, he finds out shes dead, finds her in the morgue.
So he goes through the town to ultimately find out why she was killed.
Its written by two English guys, actually, Stephen Cornwell and Oliver Butcher.
And another thing Im working on is a retelling of the Elliott Ness and Al Capone story for Relativity.
Thats pretty close too its having script revisions going on at the moment.
Is it anything likeThe Untouchables?
Its probably a 180 degree opposite toThe Untouchables.
Less humour based thanThe Untouchables Sean Connery and all that.
Have you got any names attached yet for either of those films?
You know, Id tell you, but Im right in the middle of it.
And if I tell you, I know Ill curse it.
[Laughs]
James McTeigue, thank you very much.
