Getting Passengers to the screen has been a prolonged job for producer Neal Moritz.
Now here we are on a huge set.
Can you talk us through that process at all?
Well this is probably some of the biggest sets Ive ever been on.
We have five other sets at another studio, but this is our biggest one.
Theyre normally on location.
Here it kind of feels like were on our own spaceship.
Is it day or night outside?
But in all honesty it wasnt a short prep, it was quite a long one actually.
While the process of greenlighting took longer than usual, we had plenty of time for pre-production.
This set took close to four months to build alone.
In the movie the set will be even larger than the set you see physically here.
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The script has been around since 2007, with several different studios and talent attached.
Why was the timing right now?
Were you attached before?
I literally got involved less than one year from the day we started shooting.
And really the script were shooting is very close to the original one.
Weve made a few little improvements but the heart and soul is all what we were excited about.
What did you love about it?
I thought the idea was so original.
Yes its a sci-fi movie, but not really.
I had seen a movie he had done years before calledHeadhunterswhich I was a huge fan of.
Then when we went to go cast the movie honestly Jennifer and Chris were the two people we wanted.
We gave them the script and like two days later each one of them had said Im in.
We had a brief window and we were able to make it happen.
I couldnt be more thrilled with what Ive seen already.
I think the chemistry between them is unbelievable.
It certainly hasnt hurt us.
In a certain way I like to say this isTitanicmeetsGravity.
So what does the future setting bring to it?
What does it add to the love story?
What it brings to the love story is that deep down its a story about immigrants.
Why would someone decide to leave Earth, and go through 120 years of travel?
What is inside a person to make them do that?
The two of them have very different reasons for why they would undertake this journey.
What has changed to make it more real?
We wanted actors to have an environment to act against, as opposed to green-screen.
We had to build this as it didnt exist.
The only two things we shot on location were a French restaurant and a movie theatre.
I like to think about it as the first time people went on the Queen Elizabeth.
We felt like the ship had to be worthy of that without being unrelatable.
He didnt talk about any of the bells and whistles, it was all about the emotional journey.
That was like boom!
We were all sitting there, and after he talked to us, we were like thats our director.
What made you confident he could handle the effects driven nature of the film considering his previous work?
Well Id seen his commercials as well, and knew he could handle a wide range of story-telling.
Its always a leap of faith but I make all my decisions on my gut-instinct.
But until you get on the floor with a director you dont know.
Well theres a lot of action, theres ship we realise is malfunctioning.
How would you describe the dynamic between Jen and Chriss characters?
But ultimately they have to come back together to save themselves and everyone else.
Youre known for theFast And Furiousfranchise.
Has it been refreshing to make an original picture?
This is a wholly original script and thats whats so exciting in the land of sequels and reboots.
I think the movies that work so well today are the movies that have some original idea to them.
If this was such a fantastic script, why has it taken so long to get it made?
There were a number of fits and starts maybe because casting came together then fell apart.
Honestly I dont care about the past.
But were going for it in a way that suits the movie.
Were not just building big sets to have big sets.
We havent just hired the two biggest actors in the world right now just because we felt like it.
I didnt get them, the script got them.
It got everyone involved.
Can you talk about the budget at all?
For what I think this movie can do, I think this movie will ultimately have a small budget.
It was reported that you asked the director to lower the budget…
I didnt ask anyone to lower the budget.
Someone might have asked me to lower the budget!
I think the budget is 100% appropriate for what this movie is.
I think everyone will look back in December and ask how we made it for this price.
Are you paying Jennifer more than Chris?
All I can say is that shes getting her worth.
I dont want to discuss what shes being paid but I think theyre both getting what theyre worth.
You mentioned that it has half the budget of aFast And Furiousmovie.
Is that partly because its an original idea?
When theres a proven track record its a lot easier for sure.
It validates what youre going to spend.
But theres been a lot of scrutiny on budgets in Hollywood recently, but thats true of every movie.
Im preppingFast And Furiousright now and will be having difficult conversations on that one too.
Aside from the budget, what have been the biggest challenges on the film for you?
But every movie is hard to make.
But every movie presents a set challenges you never expected.
Making movies is glorious and I love it, but its hard.
Every day is a challenge.
You never have enough time or money, no matter how much budget or how long your schedule is.
Yesterday they were shooting 15 hours, but I never heard anyone complain.
Neal Moritz, thank you very much.
Passengers arrives in cinemas on Wednesday 21st December.
