Even thoughAttack The Blockis his directorial debut, Joe Cornish is far from a newcomer.
Out of those two aspects the sci-fi genre and the setting which came first?
They came simultaneously, really.
You know, I really love low-budget, high-concept movies.
I always have done.
Directors who try and bite off more than they can chew.
And Ive spent my whole life thinking up movie pitches.
So that tagline came to me pretty early.
Those American movies set in suburbia, where fantastic things happen.
So totally central to the idea was that combination of urban realism and fantasy.
I dont know, I dont think theres any simple answer to that.
We just were ambitious.
Just in case I can pull it off.
[Laughs]
It certainly feels that way, even in the design of the aliens themselves.
I knew they had to be practical.
I knew we couldnt afford CGI creatures.
I wanted to use some digital, but with a lightness of touch.
And I was fascinated by how something three dimensional became two dimensional on film.
Whatever it is, film is basically, or was, two dimensional.
And we tested it way in advance of the shoot, six or seven months in advance.
And Tom Townend shot that test, and we were excited by the results.
He worked with Spectral Motion, who do the creature work for Guillermo del Toros films.
So the end result is a combination of practical, with a little bit of digital.
But hopefully it looks unlike anything anyones seen before.
Im a cartooner, you know.
I spent most of my school years not listening, and drawing.
And I used to love drawing stuff from movies.
I was very good at theGhostbusterslogo.
But I think youd have hard work drawing monsters in contemporary movies.
So I wanted my monster to be a little bit graphic and sort of cartoony, and drawable.
This is a very competent, confident film, especially for a first-time feature director.
How important is that interest in films to your filmmaking process?
I think the whole geek thing is an interesting thing, isnt it.
So the whole thing is inseparable for me.
Its all the same, really.
So I wouldnt really separate them.
Which was good for the film, because we love people talking about the film!
But I think in truth it probably wont happen.
The film plays very well to American audiences, and were pretty confident that itll be cool.
And Sony Screen Gems, which picked it up, couldnt be more enthusiastic and behind the film.
We use a limited vocabulary of about 10-15 words that are used repeatedly in different contexts.
So the film is designed to teach you the language as you watch.
We can handle a bit of street slang!
Joe Cornish, thank you very much.
Attack The Blockis released this week.
You canread our review here.
it’s possible for you to follow Michael on Twitterhere, or read his myriad bloggeryhere.
