We chatted to the writer behind Passengers, which is on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray now… Heres how our natted with Jon Spaihts went…
When did you first write this?
It was on the Black List in 2007…
Initially Keanu Reeves was attached to it, the Weinstein Company were going to do it, then Universal.
So youve had some real up and downs.
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The movies been about to get made ever since it was written.
This is is a particularly challenging film on a coupe of fronts.
Its set entirely on a luxury starship which is unlike anything thats been done before.
There are not many inexpensive ways of making that movie.
It is also a movie that straddles genres.
So its not like anything thats been done before, and thats disconcerting to major motion picture studios.
Where did the inspiration for the film come from?
What did you want to explore?
I was interested in stories of isolation.
It felt like a potent metaphor for an experience many of us have internally.
So I think that this idea worked for that reason.
None of us have ever been in suspended animation on a starship.
So as much as its an unreal story, the emotional stakes are immediately accessible to everyone.
We can all relate to this.
You talk about survival in space.
Recently theres been several of these films, such asGravityandThe Martian, which have found a large audience.
Why do you think it is resonating so much with audiences at the moment?
Thats a good question.
Some of that is about technology.
Spaceflight is beginning to get very interesting in the real world.
Were really starting to talk not just about extended habitation in orbit but journeying to other planets.
But astronauts are starting to be in the media more.
A lot of that is actually about information technology rather than rocket science.
Some people say this film isGravitymeetsTitanic.
Would you be happy with that description?
Well they are two wonderful and very successful films so I cant be too unhappy with it!
I think there is some shared dramatic DNA with both those films.
Its not exactly like either but I can understand why the comparison would be made.
In the years since you wrote the first version of the script has much changed?
The spine of the story has never changed much.
At its heart the story has changed very little.
In small ways its changed a lot.
The greatest point of change is the third act, the resolution of the story.
I think weve really lifted the story over the course of developing it.
Did that come from the studio or yourself?
It was very much internal to the little development team that have nursed the story.
What did Keanu bring to those early stages?
At one point he was also attached to star in it?
Hes got a wonderful head for story, and if I may say a great bullshit detector.
With his producing partner Stephen Hamel they were also driving towards honesty and a spare cinematic language.
Jennifer Lawrence too, as I know there were several different actresses attached.
Did you temper the script once you knew you had these two in the roles?
I think there are different answers to that in different films depending on the genre.
If youre doing a free-form improvisational comedy then bringing in a new lead actor may transfer the story fundamentally.
I mean theyre some of best actors working today, and obviously two of the most popular.
But that said, theyve brought their own creative energy to the roles.
Theyve given scenes new life.
How much did the good reception of this script in 2007 lead to you putting ideas intoPrometheus?
As they have several similarities, including a character in isolation as a dramatic fulcrum.
And how did the reception ofPrometheusthen influencePassengerswhen it finally went into production?
CertainlyPassengerswas a large part of the reason I was brought into the room onPrometheus.
Ridley Scott was a very active creative partner in the development ofPrometheus story.
We spent many months on it fleshing it out.
I had not been prepared for that question as I thought I was taking a general meeting.
But I found I had an opinion on it!
Were these reference points and inspiration for you?
I think my inspirations for this are probably more literary than cinematic.
But film-wise obviously Kubricks2001casts a long shadow over all subsequent science-fiction films.
If you ask a scientist to name a scientifically rigorous film they can stand behind they all say2001immediately.
I know this because Ive tried this!
That is the movie where art and science met and fell in love.
Well youll see a through-line in the science-fiction that I write that trends in that direction.
We are still looking at blue tinted films with dripping water on walls that represents the future.
Do the two leads only fall in love because theyre the only people on the spaceship?
Well there you ask the central question of the film.
We found true love.
I dont claim to understand that paradox in the human understanding of love, but I think its universal.
How does writing this original story compare to all the work on existing properties youre known for?
Theres a wide spectrum.
Sometimes as a screenwriter Ive been brought in to polish a story thats sound.
In that case Im essentially a craftsman, and I come in to sand and lay new tile.
Then Im nearly writing an original story.
I may start from a few characters or ideas but Ive been given a free hand.
There are things Ive written that are adaptations or re-writes that to me feel like new stories.
Can you give any examples?
Really long pause)…. No…..
But trust me theyre there!
That said there is nothing quite like inventing your own story and world, and how it unfolds.
That for me is the highest and most beautiful art.
There is nothing like a first draft for a screenwriter.
Weve heard that youre on the set everyday.
Do you alter the script at all?
As films go, and they vary widely, this has been a very faithful production.
The script going into shooting is very much the script each day weve shot.
There have been tiny adjustments by actors.
Can you describe the qualities that Jim and Aurora have as individuals?
What makes them interesting as lead characters?
A lot of us have had that experience.
It goes without saying that there are people who would do it.
What were the main challenges of the script?
For me it was telling a story that happens over a long period of time.
How do you convey the long passages of isolation and boredom in exciting and interesting ways?
How do you make it fast moving and entertaining?
Threading that needle was incredibly tough.
Did you have to do much research on the effects of isolation?
Perhaps I should have!
But because I believe the experience is so relatable I felt I could write it.
Ive never been stranded on a spaceship but Ive moved to a new city and been poor and alone.
Neal Moritz (the producer) talked about the film having elements of a disaster movie?
Can you talk more about that?
In the end the premise of the film obliged me to have something like that.
Yet this terrible thing has gone wrong to strand these people together.
What went wrong on the ship, and how much more wrong can it go?
Was it difficult to write a story without a human antagonist?
For me it would have been more difficult to supply a human antagonist.
Space is so hard to survive in.
Its amazing we even contemplate it at all.
The moment youre a spaceship and something might be wrong, you have all the danger you need.
Youre surrounded by peril.
A human antagonist becomes completely unnecessary.
Its amazing you managed to get both Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt on this movie.
Have they discussed with you what they loved about the script so much?
I think they liked it aspired to be an artistic movie rather than a commercial one.
I think that was drew Chris and Jennifer to the project.
How much did the script change your career?
It changed my career a lot I think.
It travelled laterally through Hollywood.
But I would also say that the average persons interest in Hollywood has grown.
Some bad, were far too interested in box office, but were also far more interested in screen-writing.
Isnt that a bad thing?
Youre the only writer on this.
Given something thats been around for almost 10 years, that never happens.
How has that happened?
I think to some extent its good fortune.
To some extent its been protected by various creative partners along the way.
Jon Spaihts, thank you very much!
Paseengers is available on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and on demand now.
