Summary
- Disney's Haunted Mansion movie features practical effects and optical illusions, staying true to the ride's origins and adding a unique touch.
- Gareth Edwards received directing advice from Peter Jackson and later invited him to the set of Rogue One during the iconic Darth Vader scene.
- The directors discussed the looming threat of AI and its impact on the entertainment industry, highlighting the importance of human creativity in art.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2023, Collider's Editor-in-chief Steve Weintraub assembled three of the most exciting directors working today: Louis Leterrier, who stepped in to direct Fast X, the latest high-octane installment in the Fast Saga after the departure of the original director; Justin Simien, whose adaptation of the iconic Disney ride Haunted Mansion hits theaters next week; and Gareth Edwards, whose upcoming film The Creator wound up being more topical than anticipated with the rise of AI.
The panel also featured exciting exclusives for those in the room. While it was enough to hear the directors talk and banter for nearly 90 minutes, fans hoping for an early look at some of their work were rewarded with an exclusive clip from Haunted Mansion, and also took home a spooky poster featuring Jared Leto's Hatbox Ghost. Those lucky enough to be in the room also got a special look at a clip from The Creator, scored by the legendary Hans Zimmer. Watch the full video above, or check out the highlights below:
The Power of Practical Effects
While it's been a CGI-heavy summer so far, those headed to see Haunted Mansion next week are in for a treat. As Simien explained, Disney was willing to let him construct the iconic haunted house as a practical set, allowing him to "drag Tiffany Haddish in the chair" down the hallway, among other things. One of the features of the ride is how many of the scares rely on optical illusions and old magician's trick's like Pepper's Ghost, all elements Simien wanted to bring to his own take on the ghost-filled manor.
From Middle Earth to A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Edwards shared that he received valuable lessons on directing from none other than Peter Jackson, when he was invited to visit the latter in New Zealand during the filming of The Hobbit. Jackson advised Edwards on how to save time while filming, specifically by leaving the cameras rolling in between "takes," to prevent the crew from coming in and working, breaking the flow by five to 10 minutes.
Eager to pay Jackson back, Edwards invited him out to the set of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story a few years later, and Jackson's visit could not have been better timed: he arrived on set just in time to watch the now-famous hallway sequence with Darth Vader. Of the moment, Edwards said:
"I texted him saying 'Pete, we're about to film Darth Vader' and he replied saying 'I'll be there in 15 minutes'. And we were setting up the shot, the bit where the lights go down and the lightsaber lights up and Peter walks in and asks what we're doing and I just shh'd him and told him to watch, and said action as the lightsaber ignited. I didn't know what the moment would be, I was more excited that Peter Jackson was there!"
The Threat of AI
The looming threat of AI is present on everyone's mind, and is currently at the forefront of the conversation, with both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA on strike in part due to wanting protections against AI usage in their fields. The topic came up at the panel as well, with Simien acknowledging "AI is extremely important, it is extremely scary too." He added "AI doesn't work without other human people making art, that it basically kinda steals and blends into other things."
What's a Dream IP Without Some Dancing?
While all three of the director's have had the opportunity to direct some impressive IP, from Star Wars to the Fast Saga to Haunted Mansion, Weintraub asked them all what IP they would direct if they could. While Edwards was hesitant to answer, saying he was currently in the process of making this particular dream come true, Simien was ready with his answer: The Wiz. He told the panel "The Wiz was the first movie I ever saw. So by the time I saw The Wizard of Oz, I didn't understand why they had made a white version of The Wiz, like I truly didn't get it."
Simien, however, remained skeptical of this ever happening for him, especially with Wicked coming out soon. Equally skeptical was Leterrier, who voiced his desire to direct a Fortnite movie while adding that it was "never going to happen."
Louis Leterrier's Troubles With Pitching
While nothing in the film industry is ever certain, if you're going to have things go wrong, it might as well go wrong in as funny a way as possible. Weintraub asked the panel if they had ever had a project that fell apart, to which Leterrier launched into an explanation of the one that got away.
"It's called Yellowstone Falls. It's after the fall of of civilization, and every human is a zombie. It's when the zombies have nothing else to eat but animals, they turn on the animals. And it's the story of a wolf pack, the alpha wolf gets killed. It would have been the most complicated movie to direct because it was real wolves. It was like a wolf mother and three pups crossing Yellowstone, chased by a horde of zombies, the lead being Danny McBride. It was a 50 page script. No dialoge. Grunts and Danny McBride. Perfect."
He went on to add that the pitch was rejected by the executives, but that didn't stop producer Erik Feig from approaching Leterrier to ask him to produce the upcoming Strays, a movie Leterrier points out is also about "R-rated dogs."
And then of course there was the time he was ghosted by James Cameron. According to Leterrier, after the two of them put together a pitch for an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Fantastic Voyage, Leterrier went in to pitch....and Cameron wasn't answering his calls. It turns out the director had a good excuse though: He was at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Questions From Hollywood's Finest
Weintraub was not the only one who had questions for the esteemed panel, with some notable names in Hollywood sending in questions of their own. Legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins and his wife James Ellis Deakins asked, predictably, what the directors thought the role of the cinematographer was. Director Edgar Wright asked them what the scariest Disney movie, or alternatively Disney scene was, and followed that up asking what they thought the scariest film of all time was. Joseph Kosinski, who is busy working on his F1 movie in Europe, asked them what their favorite part of directing was, which paired nicely with Weintraub's question of what the most surprising part of directing was. John Wick director Chad Stahelski asked them which movie from their childhood they would make if money were no object, and then asked Leterrier specifically whether Dom Toretto, Nobe, or Frank Martin would win in a fight — with the follow-up queery of how long it would take John Wick to beat up the winner.
Throughout the fascinating panel, Weintraub, Leterrier, Edwards and Simien also discussed whether the Hollywood landscape would shift more towards originals or towards IP, and in the ever-challenging film business, where everyone has an opinion on your project, which of their projects had a detail or decision that they had to fight the hardest for, and that they were proudest of.
For more from these directors, The Haunted Mansion hits theaters on July 28, The Creator hits theaters on July 22, and Fast X is available now on demand.