Director Timur Bekmambetov chats about producing Hardcore Henry and doing the Ben-Hur chariot race in 2016 with no CGI.

Timur Bekmambetov is standing near something of a crossroads for onscreen storytelling.

You also previously producedUnfriended,the first horror film to be shot wholly on Skype.

Is it safe to say that youre looking to challenge traditional filmmaking techniques?

Its why we made these two movies.

Its about human beings, its about us, but its also about us living in the 21stcentury.

Yeah, it was important for me when we releasedUnfriendedlast year in theaters.

But it was important to make a statement that it is a movie.

It is not some new jot down of media; its still a movie.

You know the mouse moves, the clicks, and it was so edgy, I think.

Its a statement, you know?

It tells everything about my life, about me, my relationship with the world.

And in this case,Hardcore, its another obsession, yes?

Yeah, I discovered [the interest] when I saw Ilyas music video.

It was just a very experimental, first-person POV story, impression.

What I think is good about Ilya is not that he invented the format or language.

High-concepts are cool for five minutes, for 10 minutes.

For music videos, high-concept works.

Could you describe what that conversation was like and how you first pitched the project to him?

Honestly, I lied to him!

I lied that Im sure this will be a great movie!

And when I spoke with him, I understood that he could do it, he couldpotentially.

No, we shot the chariot race inBen-Hur!

[Laughs] And it will be a very unusual experience for the audience, I hope.

And its crazy, its not CG.

Theirs are like Cadillacs from 1959, you know?

I hope audiences will feel it.

Obviously the titleBen-Hurcomes with some major pedigree.

Did you ever have an affinity or relationship with the William Wyler film while growing up?

As many of usand by many I mean maybe 60 percent of the cinema audienceI remember this movie.

But maybe 70 percent of this [audience] remembers the movie.

And originally, it was a book, the most popular book ever written in this country.

And he wrote it, because he felt guilt-ridden, I think.

He wrote a story about a brother killing brother with a huge idea of forgiveness.

Its the only way we have to survive if we learn how to forgive each other.

And the 1959 movie is a movie about revenge and power, which is a much more commercial concept.

But I hope that we can find a connection with the audience.

What do you think about it being 2016?

What do you think about todays audiences makes it so viable to reinvent now?

Because it was a book in the 19thcentury, and there have been several film adaptations.

But what do you think about the 21stcentury right now makes it so relevant?

Theyre looking to be found; they want to share.

Theyre looking for likes and they want people to recognize them.

Its very different from what weve had.

From what I gather in the trailer, your version of Judah Ben-Hur and Messala are actually brothers.

Are they blood relatives in the movie?

No, theyre not.

But the whole movie they love each other, and they are just forced by circumstances.

There is no good brother and bad brother like there was in the 1959 version.

We love them both, we understand them both.

Its an interesting contrast.

I know screenwriter Gore Vidal insisted for years that his version of the characters were lovers.

I dont suppose youre going down that road with this version?

No, no [Laughs].

Its about how different we are, and how we can learn to understand each other.

The original subtitle for the Ben-Hur novel was A Tale of the Christ.

Yeah, it is.

I dont think its a religious movie.

And I hope this storywere not teaching people, its a very entertaining story.

But our heroes are smart and theyre thinking about big stuff, big questions in the movie.

I think you have such a direct style that is very singular.

I think this story directs the movie, not the movie.

Its why its very different from what Ive done before.

There is not one slow-motion shot in the movie.

There are no tricky visual effect shots and flashy cuts.

Its not about being beautifully beautiful or stagey images, its like a drama.

And its not a four-hour story.

You said earlier that there is no CGI in the chariot race.

How long did that take to film?

Thats a good question.

It was 45 shooting days for just the chariot race and usually thats the whole movie.

It was eight kinds, eight different types, because every driver presents a different culture.

It was one Syrian, Persian, Greek, Egyptian, and every chariot had a different design.

And it was 45 days that we shot it in Rome.

We built a surface almost a thousand feet long with a traditional, historically correct plan and design.

And its crazy, because youre asking them to be very fast like Formula One.

You remember the images with the camera inside the Formula One?

Its an interesting experience.

The people had problems like a broken arm.

My costume designer Varvara Avdyushko, she made authentic, historically correct costumes.

It looks cool, but how do stripes help you?

I dont know why or how, but he survived.

So I know youre in the post-production process right now.

How is the editing bay forBen-Hurgoing for you right now?

Endless, it is an endless process [Laughs].

Its already been nine months, its just endless.

Thank you for being able to talk to me today.

Thank you very much, thank you.