Interview med Dexter Fletcher – instruktøren bag Elton John-filmen ‘Rocketman’

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INTERVIEW: Hvis du ikke allerede har set den sprudlende film om Elton Johns mindst ligeså sprudlende liv i ‘Rocketman’, så har du muligheden, når filmen udkommer til hjemmebiografen på både dvd, Blu-ray og 4K Ultra HD den 14. oktober.

Som opvarming til filmens udgivelse, bringes her et interview med filmens instruktør Dexter Fletcher, der altså er manden, der fortæller den utrolige historien om Elton John og hans begivenhedsrige liv – fra de tidlige dage til både nedture og musikalsk succes.

Blandt andet er historiens fokus ikke kun på Elton John – der spilles af Taron Egerton – alene, men også hans musikalske partnerskab med Bernie Taupin. Så læs med her, når Dexter Fletcher fortæller om sit arbejde med filmen.

“What I did very early on with Julian Day, the costume designer, and to an even larger extent with Giles Martin, the film’s music producer, was to push back even though I was already happy with what they were doing. I wanted to elevate their work even more because I knew that the story and the character required it. I wanted Taron Egerton, who was personifying Elton, to be larger than life. I needed to set Taron that challenge to rise above.”

“I’ve done some other biopics and we had to create things that were effectively carbon copies. For ‘Rocketman’, we were allowed to have total creative freedom. There are very few projects where you are allowed, and encouraged, to be this creative, especially when you’ve got this larger than life character.”

“When you have a character like Elton, who has this fantastic array of stage garments alone, but then you’re told that they want it to be bigger, bolder, and better and just to go off and do it, to go as far as you can, that is incredible. And no one stops you because of the flamboyance of Elton John.”

“There were times when Taron, dressed as Elton, would walk on set and you’d hear people gasp or you’d see them say ‘Wow.’ I was genuinely quite taken aback how much people liked it.”

“There were several moments that gave me goosebumps when we were filming. When we first see Elton in rehab, he makes his initial speech about being a sex addict, a drug addict, and an alcoholic; it is just one shot that slowly pushes in on him. It’s so strong and so powerful.”

“One of the first things we filmed was the Troubadour scene where Elton’s lifted up in the air, and that was a magic moment. Then there was the big dance sequence for ‘Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)’ which we rehearsed for six weeks, but when you see it for real, it just blows you away. The full version of it is on the Blu-ray and is incredible.”

“Making the movie, we all knew what was unfolding. Audiences have already seen the end result, but the behind-the-scenes stuff adds more layers to that and show it all off, piece by piece. Elton is an incredible performer.”

“When he gets out there in front of an audience, he is taken over by this incredible Elton John-like character, and that’s very much what I think Taron inhabits. He already had this incredible voice and this incredible acting ability. However, I don’t think he understood what the full breadth of his voice was, and he just continued to be more and more and more incredible.”

“Taron proves that when you’re brave, and you take chances, especially with your acting, the rewards are incredible. I think his performance in Rocketman is one-of-a-kind for this generation.”

‘Rocketman’ udkommer på dvd, Blu-ray og 4K Ultra HD den 14. oktober.

Interview med danske David Sakurai fra ’Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’

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Interview: I forbindelse med udgivelsen af ’Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ bringer Filmskribenten.dk hermed et interview med den danske skuespiller David Sakurai, der spiller med i og overfor Johnny Depp den ’Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’.

’Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ udkommer på dvd, Blu-ray og 4K Ultra HD den 1. april.

Interviewer: Fantastisk at møde dig. Det er en ære.

David: I lige måde!

Interviewer: Du har jo en imponerende filmografi bag dig. Både dansk og international. Marvels ‘Iron Fist’, senere Paul W. Andersons ‘Origin’ og naturligvis ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’, fortsættelsen af ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’.

Fantastic Beasts-serien er en del af J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter-univers.

Hvilke følelser beskriver bedst oplevelsen af at blive tilbudt en rolle i en stor franchise som denne?

David: Magisk.. Jeg har altid været dybt betaget af fantasy-genren. Den kan jo noget helt specielt med at for en stund få os væk fra den travle hverdag, transportere os dybt ind i fantasiens univers og samtidig fortælle relevante og rørende menneskelige historier.. En af mine store biograf minder som dreng var at se ‘Den Uendelige Historie’. Den gjorde et kæmpe indtryk på mig og er stadig en af mine favoritter. JK Rowlings’ Wizarding World univers er vel sammen med Star Wars nu en af de største franchises i filmhistorien.

Interviewer: Interessant. ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ er jo spækket med kendte stjerner. Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law og naturligvis din master: Johnny Depp alias Gellert Grindelwald.

Du havde vel flest professionelle oplevelser med Johnny på sættet?

David: Ja, jeg var primært sammen med Johnny og mine “Acolytes”. Johnny var super cool, generøs og meget behagelig at arbejde med!

Interviewer: Hvordan var det at møde ham? Havde du noget forhold til ham før optagelserne begyndte?

David: Jeg har altid været dybt fascineret af Johnnys arbejde. Mange af mine yndlingsfilm er med ham.. ‘Donnie Brasco’, ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’, ‘Ed Wood’. Jeg kan blive ved. På mit teenageværelse i Danmark havde jeg Bruce Lee på en side og Johnny Depp som Edward Saksehånd på den anden side. Jeg har hørt det der med at man ikke skal møde sine idoler.. Det kan jeg så IKKE stå ved.. Johnny var så inspirerende at arbejde samme med og jeg havde en fantastisk tid i hans selskab.

Interviewer: Hvilke andre kendte personligheder mødte du under optagelserne til ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’?

David: Jeg var jo primært sammen med Grindelwald holdet. Men vi sås jo alle for det meste hinanden på settet.. Eddie Redmayne var rigtig sød og kom på min første optagedag over i make-up traileren og bød mig velkommen. Han sætter en god på tone på settet og er jo en fantastisk hovedrolle til den her franchise.

Interviewer: Imponerende! Du spiller jo Krall i filmen. Når man træder ind på sættet i fuld udklædning og med de andre karaktere, samt alle de originale objekter og ting – glider man ikke helt automatisk ind i det magiske univers og den spændende atmosfære?

David: Jo absolut! Det var helt fantastisk at komme over i Colleen Atwood’s kostume afdeling. Alle detaljer var tænkt så godt igennem. De mindste detaljer var der af en grund og det hjalp mig virkelig til at føre mig ind i universet. Ligeledes med Stuart Craigs’ set-design.. Det magiske univers eksisterer virkelig foran en.

Interviewer: Det er fascinerende. Bliver nødt til at spørge dig i den sammenhæng; er det svært at spille med objekter og scener der ikke er der, når man laver skuespillet med grøn skærm. Objekterne og scenerne bliver jo tilført senere via CGI (computer-generated imagery)?

David: Vores instruktør David Yates er simpelthen så god til at guide en igennem den process så det var egentlig ikke så svært. Nu er der heldigvis også en masse film i dette univers at referere til, så man har en ide om hvordan det kommer til at se ud.

Interviewer: Var J.K. Rowling til stede under optagelserne? Havde du chance for at tale med hende?

David: Ja jeg fik snakket med J.K. Hun er dybt inspirerende og jeg føler virkelig en stor ære i at være en del af hendes univers. Hun har jo skrevet manus til denne film, så det var som spiller betryggende at vide at alt vores information kom direkte fra den originale kilde. Hun kom også en del under optagelserne og var ofte i dialog med David Yates.

Interviewer: David, tusinde tak for din tid og for at lade os interview dig. Alt held og lykke med dine nye projekter!

David: Det var en fornøjelse! Mange Tak!

’Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ udkommer på dvd, Blu-ray og 4K Ultra HD den 1. april.

Bohemian Rhapsody: Interview med Gwilym Lee aka Brian May

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Interview: I forbindelse med udgivelsen af ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – filmen om det britiske band Queen og dets forsanger Freddie Murcury bringer vi her stolt et interview med skuespilleren Gwilym Lee, der i filmen spiller bandets legendariske guitarist Brian May.

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ udkommer på dvd, Blu-ray og 4K Ultra HD den 18. marts.

Can you recall your first meeting with Brian May?

“We started with Live Aid. The first day Rami [Malek] came to set was the first day that all four of us were together and Brian decided that he wanted to turn up as well. So we were terrified. We had only just started and at that stage we hadn’t shot anything, so was he going to say that he was not happy, were our jobs safe? But he walked straight in the room and straight up to me and just gave me this big hug and I sensed his excitement.”

Did he show you any of his guitar moves?  

“Yes. He did. We did a pre-record session at Abbey Road before we started filming and we were all there having lunch and he leant over to me and said, ‘Do you want to have a little jam while everyone is eating?’ I was like, ‘Absolutely! Yes, please. Thank you very much.’ So he came in and his tech, Pete, who is a great guy and he had brought the Red Special with him.“

I think he made that guitar when he was about 14…

“Yes, exactly. Remarkable. That guitar sums up so much about the man. He made it with his father who was an electrical engineer. He made it as a teenager with bits he found around the house so the neck is made out of an old mahogany fireplace and the whammy bar is made out of part of an old bike saddle. He and his dad made his own pick ups. I always think that that is the perfect symbol or metaphor for Brian; it is eclectic and it is genius. It’s eccentric, eclectic genius.”

How talented a musician were you prior to this film?


“Wonderwall! Acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, campfire guitar. I certainly hadn’t played any lead and not a huge amount of electric guitars. So that was a challenge, not least to try and master those solos but also to play it in his style. He played with a sixpence, an old coin.“

There is lots of Queen footage to study but what did you to prepare for the Smile peformances?

“That’s a good question. Some of those early concerts there is no footage. In the film we perform as Smile, the pre-concert to Queen with Tim Staffell. There is no footage of that. You can hear the music and the different style of that time. It is a bit more introverted, a little bit more navel-gazy. So you’d listen and try to guess how they performed; you had to do that through your imagination. There are a few photos and talking to Brian helped, but certainly they hadn’t got to that vitriolic, glam rock stage with their physical performance.

Do you remember which album got you into Queen? 

“My older brother was really into Queen and for his birthday he had been given The Miracle, and I happened to be sick and off school on his birthday and so he had to stay at home and look after me, which he wasn’t very pleased about. But we played The Miracle back to back endlessly throughout the day and learnt all the words to I Want It All.“ 

Do you have a favourite era? 

“I love those first two albums, Queen and Queen II, because you hear them trying to find their sound. You hear, particularly on Queen, they sound quite a lot like other bands of the time. They sound a little bit like Led Zeppelin at times. They hadn’t quite discovered their true power yet and I like that rawness to them. They really sound like a young band and then it is just remarkable to think that is the same band that goes on and plays Wembley in 1985 and 1986.” 

Shooting that Live Aid set, did you do it just once or was it something that you had to keep going back to?

“It was the very first thing that we shot and we did it in the first ten days, pretty much. So we approached it one day per song. So day one we did Bohemian Rhapsody. Day two we did Radio Ga Ga and we worked through it like that. By the sixth day we had completed all of it and at that point the producers gave us the opportunity to play the 20-minute set. They set up a load of cranes, a load of cameras in various places and we played it as a real concert, which was amazing because then you realize that it is an accumulative thing.”

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ udkommer på dvd, Blu-ray og 4K Ultra HD den 18. marts.

Interview med Drew Goddard – manden bag ‘Bad Times at The El Royale’

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INTERVIEW: Thrilleren ‘Bad Times at The El Royale’ udkommer nu på både dvd, Blu-ray og 4K her i landet den 14. marts. I den forbindelse bringer vi et interview med filmens instruktør, Drew Goddard.

Why choose to set this film in a location that straddles two places?

It all came out from writing. The movie started with characters, I knew I wanted a hotel but I didn’t have this idea that it would be a bi-state hotel until I started getting into the script. At the beginning the core idea was to show 7 people, from very different backgrounds, arriving to one hotel and probably trying to kill each other. The hotel happened organically. When I was thinking how I wanted to design the film and what were the emotions of the characters, there the theme of duality kept coming up, and very organically arrived the idea of the hotel reflecting that duality.

How important is the era in which this film is set?

I very much wanted to set this film in 1969 for a reason. The 60s were very much a time for turmoil and in rapid success, in just a five year period, Martin Luther King, John Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. Then Nixon signed in. So this movie takes place at the dawn of the Nixon years because I wanted to show the time when the great darkness started to descend after a time of great hope. I wanted to deal with that specific place and time.

We know that there was a certain mood in the 60s in California, but what was the mood in Nevada?

In a weird way those states were the opposite of what they are right now. Nevada in the 60s was very much about hope and opportunity: the idea that you can roll the dices and change your life. There was a swingin vibe, it was the era of the Rat Pack and Frank Sinatra. Whereas California was different. California was a darker place. You had the cults like the Charles Manson’s one coming out in the 60s, you had politicians like Richard Nixon coming out from California. There was a golden seduction of California that is very different from the California of today.

What do you feel audiences at home will take away from this film?

The film is designed to warrant close details. The thing I like when I watch a movie at home is that I can really study the movie, you can really get into the details and the meanings and the nuances by watching the movie in the intimacy of your home. I’m not a purist I love both the theatre and the home experience and I hope the movie does play well in both.

You directed Chris Hemsworth in his first non-heroic role. What was it about him that made him perfect for this role?

That’s good to hear. Yes, I hope that’s true! I’ve known Chris now for like a decade, when we worked on ‘Cabin In The Woods’ it was before he got the role on ‘Thor’, so I’ve seen him evolve as a performer and I know how talented he is and how much range he has. He doesn’t get the chance to do that all the time. Because he’s so busy saving the world you know…

What was the process of creating that long scene of Jon Hamm discovering the secret passage and looking at every guest behind glass? What steps did you take and what were the challenges of that shot?

That shot was the most complicated shot I’ve ever tackled in my career. It took us 8 months of planning, because we had to build the entire set around the shot. Everything that you see happening in that shot is in the set.. You even see outdoors, you see into the parking lot, so we had to build all that as well. We did not use visual effects for all the things you’re seeing, the only visual effects is the wall behind Jon Hamm because that’s where the camera track goes. And we had to hide it. Other than that we’re just doing everything for real, because we wanted the audience to feel that they’re in that moment with Jon Hamm, experiencing the movie.  

With every twist and turn of the film, viewers learn more and more about each character. What was your process in creating characters with such depth and history?

All the story starts from the Jeff Bridges’ priest. He was the first character I thought of, there was something about the idea of a priest who is lying that was sitting right with the drama for me. And so he was the first piece to fall into place, the second was the singer. The movie is much about the two of them: the false spirituality of the priest and the false spirituality of the artist.

‘Bad Times at The El Royale’ udkommer på dvd, Blu-ray og 4K d. 14/3.

Interview med Cailee Spaeny fra ‘Bad Times at The El Royale’

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INTERVIEW: Thrilleren ‘Bad Times at The El Royale’ udkommer nu på både dvd, Blu-ray og 4K her i landet den 14. marts. I den forbindelse bringer vi et interview med Cailee Spaeny fra filmen.

Would you say that Rose is a byproduct of the California culture of that era, in what way?

I think the cool part about the script is that each character is a chunk of that era. For example: music is a characteristic of that era and that’s what Cynthia Erivo’s character shows. Miles, the bellboy, he was in the vietnam war. So each character kind of represents a different aspect of that time.

You did a great job embodying the 60s/Manson-esque cult mentality, did you do any research or reading into that era to inform how you were going to play Rose?

Yes, I did lots of research. I think Chris Hemsworth’s character doesn’t really represent the Manson cult as he has different qualities. He plays a different version of that, but I did research all of the different cults among which there was the Manson’s one. It’s not a super happy thing to spend your time with, still, Drew sent me a list of documentaries that I saw: Children Of God, Jonestown… those kind of things. Almost every night I was researching cults, which is not that nice, but I got to learn a lot of things. I’ve started this movie thinking: “Why would anyone join a cult? How do you get your mind to that point?”.

The saying ‘not everything is as it seems’ rings true for Rose and the audience is quickly proven wrong on their initial assumption of your character. What was it like to evolve in to the Rose we see in the final scenes?

I just tried to stay in the moment as the character. I tried not to get into my head too much, thinking what the audience is thinking. Some actors can do this but for me if I go to work I’m just thinking about what the character has in mind, I don’t think: “Oh this is too much for the audience

Which scene was the biggest challenge to shoot?

The final killing. We wanted something slower than the other deaths. It doesn’t happen as fast as most of the other killings, because that is one of the big final deaths. We’ve fallen in love with Miles and his character and we wanted that to be very brutal, I mean in the way I twist the knife across the stomach. It is very hard to watch even for me, still it got a little silly while filming because me and Lewis Pullman were just: “This is so crazy! What is this scene?.”

Was it always you on the chandelier or a double?

We did have doubles on set but it was me swinging on the chandelier, it was very cool. One covered from my bucket list.

Were there a memorable behind the scenes moment?

So many memorable moments! Because it is such an intense script, it’s an ensemble cast and there aren’t that many people in the movie (except for the 7 main characters), therefore we all got pretty close. There were so many great moments. A lot of times Jeff Bridges would have his panoramic camera on him and right before there the rolling call he would pop into the different rooms and just take pictures of us. That was so fun!

Do these moments help?

Yes for sure, I think it’s just nice to know we’re all there to help each other, we’re all in to make a fun movie, we all had each others backs and knew how delicate for the actors the scenes were and how emotional they were. And so i think the cast, crew and Drew were all having each others back trying to make everyone’s job easier.

The majority of your scenes were shot with Dakota Johnson and Chris Hemsworth. How was it working with them?

For Dakota, thankfully we had a bond offset so the bond was there also during the scenes, there wasn’t too much of work, or acting or even pretending. We were sisters and I felt we already were when we started working, so that was nice.

Every actor learns something new with each movie they star in. What did you learn from this movie?

I just had such a lucky experience working with incredible actors, getting to see their work ethics, their different techniques… Jeff Bridges is such a legend! Getting to watch him and see how he worked was a blessing. Something i really like that he did, was that he never came on set like “Yeah yeah I got this, can we please roll? I’ve been doing this for years!”. Every time we got on set he was always asking questions, there was never anything he already knew, he always wanted to learn more.

‘Bad Times at The El Royale’ udkommer på dvd, Blu-ray og 4K d. 14/3.

Interview med Rebecca Ferguson om blandt andet ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’

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Svenskfødte Rebecca Ferguson har spillet med i adskillige amerikanske og britiske film samt tv-dramaer og har arbejdet med mange af de største Hollywood-stjerner.

Hun fik sit store gennembrud for tre år siden, da hun spillede med Tom Cruise i ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’. Rebecca er endnu engang aktuel som Ilsa Faust i efterfølgeren ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’, der nu er udkommet på dvd, Blu-ray og 4K Ultra HD.

“Jeg elsker Ilsa Faust! siger Rebecca i telefonen fra gæstehuset lige ved siden af sit hjem i Simirishamn. Ilsa er hård, smart, selvsikker, veluddannet og alt, hvad jeg beundrer i en kvindelig filmhelt. Det er en ære at få chancen for at spille hende! Ilsa passer så godt sammen med Ethan Hunt, som spilles af Tom Cruise – og hun redder endda hans liv gentagne gange i filmen.”

I ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ møder vi Ethan Hunt og hans IMF-hold (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg og Ving Rhames), der går sammen med nogle bekendte karakterer (blandt andet Rebecca Ferguson). Målet er at undgå en mislykket mission, men tiden arbejder altid imod dem.

Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett og Vanessa Kirby er også en del af castet og filmskaber Christopher McQuarrie er igen ansvarlig for instruktionen. “Jeg elsker virkelig denne bande”, siger Rebecca. “Vi har det sjovt på sættet. Simon Pegg er min bedste ven! Han er en meget sjov og en flink fyr. Vi deler den samme humor. For nylig så jeg ‘Hot Fuzz’ igen, hvor han er hovedrolleindehaver. En ligeså god oplevelse som første gang jeg så den.”

Hvordan arbejdede Tom Cruise? Det har været rygter om, at han for eksempel ikke tillader nogen at se ham i øjnene under optagelse, samt at være svær at arbejde med.

“Jeg læste også en masse underlige ting om Tom før jeg mødte ham, men jeg tænkte, at nu opfører jeg mig, som jeg altid ville gøre, når jeg møder en ny person”, fortæller Rebecca. “Jeg forsøger ikke at dømme eller skade folk, jeg møder. Jeg må sige, at Tom er lige så langt fra personen, som det medierne gør ham til. Det er muligt, at rygterne er fabrikationer eller, at rygterne opstod i hans yngre dage og har ændret sig over tid. Jeg ved det ikke, og jeg har heller ikke spurgt ham. Den Tom Cruise, som jeg har arbejdet med og lærte at kende, kunne ikke være mere fokuseret og interesseret i sit arbejde. Han elsker, hvad han laver. Han tager sig af sine medskuespillere og resten af crewet. Han er meget sjov og endda drilagtig, når han ikke er foran kameraet – så snart kameraet kører, er han meget alvorlig.”

Der er en masse action i ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’, og selvom Rebecca var højgravid i slutningen af optagelserne, lavede hun alligevel mange af sine egne stunts.

“En scene var særlig mindeværdig at filme”, siger hun og griner. “Jeg skulle sidde på Henry Cavills skuldre og stramme mine ben omkring hans hals. Det var helt absurd, for filmholdet at se en gravid kvinde klatre op på en mand ved hjælp af en stige, for derefter at presse hendes bryster i hans ansigt, mens hun strammede sine ben om halsen. Men det gik fint og da vi var færdige grinede vi alle af det.”

‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ blev filmet i England. Skuespiller-arbejdet har taget Rebecca til masser af spændende locations rundt om i verden. Nogle gange i ganske lange perioder.

“‘The Girl On the Train’ blev filmet i New York, den var vældig sjov at være med i. Min mand og jeg lejede en ejendom i området, så fik vi mulighed for at opleve byen på den helt rigtige måde. Jeg kan godt lide at besøge New York, men jeg vil nok ikke bo der. Det samme med London. Jeg elsker Richmond. Vi har et hus der og bor der, når jeg arbejder i London. Jeg kan godt lide Richmond Park. Her kan du gå ture og cykle. Områderne nær Barnes og Chiswick er også interessante. Derudover er Richmond tæt på filmstudier som Pinewood og Shepperton, hvilket gør det meget bekvemt at bo lige der.”

Rebecca har to børn, Isak på 11, fra et tidligere ægteskab og datteren Saga, født i juni i år.

“Vi bor i Simrishamn i det sydlige Sverige. Jeg elsker min lille “fiskerby”. Havde det ikke været fordi min søn, Isac, skulle gå i skole her, var jeg måske ikke flyttet hertil. Men jeg er glad for, at det blev sådan. Jeg bliver altid trukket tilbage til denne rolige atmosfære. Faderen til Isac, Ludwig, bor desuden i nærheden, og så har vi mulighed for at se hinanden. Vi er som den store familie i filmen ‘Together’.”

Skuepillerinden griner og siger, at når hun er hjemme hos børn og familie, virker det ret uvirkeligt at blive interviewet og tale om ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’. “Det føles som to helt forskellige verdener, uanset hvad det er. Jeg kan godt lide at arbejde og heldigvis bliver jeg ikke hjemme for længe ad gangen, for så begynder jeg at styre hjemmet på en næsten manisk måde. Jeg starter store renoveringsprojekter, som i sig selv er sjovt, men nogle gange kan det blive lidt for meget.”

Rebeccca siger, at hun nyder sit liv lige nu. “Jeg har mange sjove filmprojekter kørende og har det også godt hjemme. Jeg føler mig glad og mener, at jeg har fundet en god balance, selvom jeg ikke helt ved, hvor længe jeg kan holde denne balance. Det er vigtigt at nyde det gode, mens du oplever det. Jeg lever, som jeg sagde, i to forskellige verdener – og jeg elsker dem begge.”

– ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ er ude på dvd, Blu-ray og 4K Ultra HD.

Af: Monika Agorelius
Oversat af: Mathieu R. Lund og Jakob Joergensen

Interview og rejsebeskrivelse: Hvad ville Game of Thrones være uden island?

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Interview og rejsebeskrivelse: Som opvarmning til den længeventede udgivelse af den 7. sæson af den populære serie ‘Game of Thrones’, der udkommer den 11. december, bringer Filmskribenten her en rejsebeskrivelse og interview på svensk skrevet af Gunnar Rehlin.

Vi følger her guiden Einar Sveinn Thordarson, der beskriver hvorledes forskellige egne på Island er brugt som locations til indspilningen af ‘Game of Thrones’ og flere af seriens legendariske scener.

Først lidt om ‘Game of Thrones’ på Blu-ray og dvd: 
Med sine 437 minutter og eksklusivt materiale udkommer Game of Thrones sæson 7 i HD på Blu-ray samt dvd den 11. december. Oplev hele sæson 7 af Game of Thrones fyldt med action, drama og blændende billeder fra start til slut.

game of thrones season 7 interview diverse udgaver

Om de forskellige udgivelser af sæson 7:
Fans og interesserede kan finde sæson 7 af ‘Game of Thrones’ i forskellige formater og udgaver. Den mest prominente og eksklusive af dem alle er Drogon limited edition med sæson 1 til 7 i Blu-ray-format plus en fin detaljeret figurine af dragen Drogon.

En anden limited edition er ‘The Iron Throne’, hvor hele sæson 7 i Blu-ray-format er inkluderet + en figurine af Jerntronen. Af Drogon og ‘The Iron Throne’ limited edition vil der kun være 200 enheder til rådighed i hele norden.

Ydermere vil Game of Thrones kunne findes som bokssæt på Blu-ray og dvd med sæson 1 til 7 samt sæson 7. Der vil også være en Steelbook-udgave af sæson 7.

Både Blu-ray- og dvd-udgaverne af bokssættet indeholder aldrig-før-set historiefortælling af de syv kongedømmer, samt kommentarspor til samtlige episoder. Diskene vil også indholde to helt nye behind the scenes featuretter.

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Om Sæson 7 af ‘Game of Thrones’
Daenerys Targaryen har endelig sat kurs mod Westeros med hendes hære, drager og den nye Tyrion Lannister – ‘Hand of the Queen’. Jon Snow er blevet udnævnt konge af Norden efter at have besejret Ramsay Bolton i ‘Battle of the Bastards’ og har taget Winterfell tilbage til House Stark. I King’s Landing, har Cersei Lannister vundet ‘The Iron Throne’ ved at have brændt High Sparrow, hans følge samt rivalerne i Sept of Baelor. Mens gamle alliancer dør hen og nye opstår, marcherer en hær af døde mænd mod Muren – en hær, der truer at ende de syv kongedømmer for altid…

Interview og rejsebeskrivelse med Einar Sveinn Thordarson på svensk
 af Gunnar Rehlin
När nu säsong sju släpps på dvd och Blu-ray finns det gott om scener att se som helt eller delvis spelats in på den karga lavaön – till exempel den scen där Jon Snow och hans män omringas av The White Walkers.

– Det är en kombination av att filma på plats och att komplettera med specialeffekter, säger Einar Sveinn Thordarson på produktionsbolaget Pegasus Pictures. Han har under åren varit location manager för Game of Thrones-inspelningarna på Island. Tillsammans med seriens producenter har han tillbringat många dagar med att med flyg, jeep och bil leta passande inspelningsplatser.

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photo credit: HBO

Under några dagar gör vi samma sak – med flyg, jeep och bil reser vi runt på Island och tittar på en rad av de platser där man spelat in scener till Game of Thrones. Och om någon tror att det bara handlat om scener med snö och is, så tänk om. Här har man också hittat platser för bland annat landstigningar med båt och massiva klippformationer som den i Thingvellirs nationalpark där Brionne och The Hound hade en kamp till döds.

Under de dagar vi reser runt på ön ser vi allt från klippformationer, vattenfall, grottor – bland annat ingången till den grotta, Groytágjá, där Jon Snow och Ygritte badade nakna – och glaciärer. Det är gott om vattenfall runt de gigantiska glaciärerna; det är mycket vackert men inte ett gott tecken.

– Det betyder att uppvärmningen gör att glaciärerna smälter allt fortare, säger Einar. I en intervju i en brittisk tidning berättade nyligen Kit ”Jon Snow” Harrington om hur han när han återkom till en glaciär efter några år nästan hade svårt att känna igen sig. Så mycket hade smält bort under ett par år.

Många av inspelningsplatserna, som Myvatn-området, når vi med vanliga bilar, men när vi ska ta oss ut mot de rätt otillgängliga glaciärerna några timmars bilfärd från Reykjavik krävs det färd med stora, specialutrustade jeepar. Färden går på primitiva vägar och flera gånger färdas vi genom brusande vattendrag som nästan riskerar att rycka med den jeep vi färdas i.

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photo credit: HBO

Einar berättar om hur naturen kan förändras i princip från en dag till en annan, hur det som idag är en liten ström imorgon kan vara närmast en stor flod, vilket givetvis sätter käppar i hjulet för inspelningsteamet. Man måste därför alltid vara beredda på att improvisera, på att hitta alternativa inspelningsplatser. Vädret på Island kan vara mycket nyckfullt.

Mycket av det vi ser i ”Game of Thrones” skapas med digitala effekter. Denna dag besöker vi bland annat den ravin i Höfðabrekkuheiði-området där Jon Snow och en liten samling män från Castle Black omringades av The White Walkers och där en av drakarna sköts ner i den nu dvd-aktuella säsong sju. Det är en mäktig, hög ravin, med en fors som rinner fram i ena kanten.

– När vi hittade det här området var den där lilla forsen något som mer liknade en flod, men vi insåg att det skulle passa ändå. Vi hade base camp nere på parkeringsplatsen, och satte upp portabla toaletter i närheten av ravinen, säger Einar.

Här filmades skådespelarna, sedan kompletterades detta med de digitala effekter som skapade illusionen av en istäckt sjö – och en drake som skjuts ner och blir zombie.

En jeepfärd uppför en slingrande väg tar oss till Dyrhólaey, en högt belägen fyr med en enastående utsikt både ut över havet och, när vi vänder oss om, över berg och glaciärer.

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photo credit: HBO

Nej, fyrhuset förekommer inte i ”Game of Thrones”, utan här ser vi ut över den långs stranden som ligger långt nedanför. Einar berättar, samtidigt som han varnar oss för att gå för nära kanten:

– Här filmade vi hur Jon Snow och hans män landsteg i en episod i säsong fem. Det var gott om turister, som stod här uppe och tittade på. Det har det för övrigt ofta varit när vi filmat, men det har alltid gått att undvika att få dem med i bild.

Numera är turistindustrin Islands mest inkomstbringande näring och har gått om fiskeindustrin. Det finns gott om företag som sysslar med rundturer, flera med aktiviteter baserade kring ”Game of Thrones” – en officiell rundtur heter ”Myvatn Mystery & Magic: Game of Thrones Themed Tour”.

Turist-boomen har också gjort att fler och fler bygger om sina gårdar till hotell eller bed & breakfasts, allt från superlyx till enkla hotell med våningssängar.

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photo credit: HBO

När ”Game of Thrones” kommit till ön har detta givetvis krävt en mängd hotellrum. Ofta har skådespelare och team fått bo på något mindre luxuösa inkvarteringar.

– Jag är säker på att många skulle ha föredragit att få bo i Reykjavik, men det skulle inte fungerat när vi till exempel filmat uppe i norr. Det har ändå varit långa transportsträckor, så det skulle inte ha gått att varje morgon flyga upp dem från Reykjavik till Aukeyri, säger Einar.

Å andra sidan har de kunnat få möjligheten att avsluta dagen med ett bad i Myvatn Nature Baths – norra Islands svar på den mer berömda Blå lagunen, mindre men inte lika packad med besökare.

För islänningarna har närvaron av ”Game of Thrones” inte bara gjort att de inhemska filmarbetarna fått mer och mer erfarenhet av att arbeta med stora produktioner, utan öns befolkning har också fått erfarenhet av att vara statister. Mestadels har de fått spela vildingar.
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Eksklusivt Interview: Sir Anthony Hopkins om Michael Bays Transformers: The Last Knight

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I forbindelse med udgivelsen af Michael Bays ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ bringer Filmskribenten.dk stolt et interview med Sir Anthony Hopkins, der har rollen som Sir Edmond Burton, en britisk robot-ekspert. Han forbereder i filmen Mark Wahlbergs karakter, Cade Yeager, på menneskehedens ultimative showdown med kæmperobotterne. Her taler han blandt andet om sit samarbejde med Michael Bay, den store produktion og favorit-robot.



- ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ udkommer på 4K Ultra HD, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray og dvd den 9. november.


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What was it that first attracted you to The Transformers?

Michael Bay, really. We met at a hotel for breakfast, way back. And I gathered from that very first meeting that he had the whole film already in his head. I mean, he knows all about that computer stuff and will concentrate for hours just on the reflection of light off their steel to make them look real. I thought, this is going to be interesting.

He then sent me the script and told me he wanted me to play a man called Sir Edmond Burton. I said, “Sir Edmond?” Okay… He said, “Well, you’re a knight.” I said, “Okay… Is he a lord?” He said, “Yeah, an aristocrat.” I said, “Okay…” So I got the script, read it, and it was actually very, very good. I thought, I like this.

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How did you proceed?

Like everything else – learn the part; learn all the lines. But what I do know about directors like Michael Bay… You know, they have reputations for being tough. Like Oliver Stone or any of the great ones. But tough in a good way. They’re experienced and tough about what they want. And I respect that. And therefore you, the actor, you have to know what you’re doing. You have to be there ready to go.

What was the first day of shooting like?

We filmed out at this big country house. Michael came to greet me. “Hi-How-You-Doing-Okay- Great!” He talks really fast – like Speedy Gonzalez… But, you know, I’m not short of intelligence. I’ve got a couple of synapsis still working… I go in and Michael’s there and the whole crew is set up. “Can I call you Tony?” he said, “Yes, call me whatever you want to call me.”… I think he got the message quickly that I’m a team player. I’ll do whatever the director tells me to. And then they begin to trust you.

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What can you tell us about your character?

Well, I can’t tell you much… He’s an English lord, an aristocrat whose lineage goes back a thousand years, ancient families and all that – back to the court of King Arthur. And he knows that the Transformers come from that period in time and that they’re now going to take over the earth. That there’s going to be a battle with the humans.

How does the film compare in scale to your recent projects?

Oh, this is a big, big film. It’s huge. We were at Stonehenge, Blenheim Palace… We were at Downing Street – that’s never been done before. But he can get in there. Down the Mall, outside of Buckingham Palace, racing in a car with a stunt driver… Yes, I think it’s one of the biggest I’ve ever done. It’s a big, big movie.

What was it like working with Mark Wahlberg?

He’s really terrific. Excellent actor. And very quiet, actually. You know, comes on set prepared and does it. He also likes to improvise and I like that too. Honestly, when you have a good script, and this was an excellent script, the rest is easy. If a director doesn’t want you to improvise because he values his writing that much, then fine. Just learn the script. But a really good director has the capacity to say, “Okay, let’s kick this about.”

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What was the biggest challenge making the film?

No challenge. No challenge at all. It’s never a challenge. My philosophy is don’t take yourself so damn seriously. I guess I’m, as they would say today, ‘cool’, about it… I can’t take it too seriously.

Do you have a favorite Transformers movie?

I love the ones with Shia LaBeouf, especially the very first one I saw because I didn’t know what to expect. The others with Mark Wahlberg too. I’ve seen all of them now. But I can’t really pick one. I actually watched them all again before we started filming just to be fresh. I really think they’re terrific.

Do you have a favorite Autobot?

No, not really. But kids would ask me that when we were in London, when we were filming on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace. You know, all these kids were there and they wanted photographs with me. And they would ask me: “Do you know Bumblebee?” I’d say, “Yeah, very well. We had breakfast this morning!” “Yeah?”

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Michael Bay is known for favoring practical stunts over CGI whenever possible. How did you find that aspect of it?

Love it. I remember going down The Mall that day in one of the cars – we had this great American stunt driver. He tells me we’re going to go 75 mph through Admiralty Arch, which was like going through the eye of a needle in a rocket. And I just thought, well, god, I’ve had a good life… They call action. The car roars.  And the camera is on me as we go through the arch. And then we do it again. I just thought, please don’t ask for a third take, that’s pushing your luck…

What kind of film are we ultimately in store for?

I think it could be one of the best ones and one of his best films. It should be good fun.

– ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ udkommer på 4K Ultra HD, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray og dvd den 9. november.

Eksklusivt: Interview med Michael Fassbender om ‘Alien: Covenant’

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I forbindelse med udgivelsen af Ridley Scotts både nervepirrende og blodige ‘Alien: Covenant’ bringer Filmskribenten stolt et interview med Michael Fassbender, der har dobbeltrollen som Walter og David, eksklusivt i Danmark.

Det hele startede tilbage i 1979 med Ridley Scotts egen rumklassiker – den klaustrofobiske og yderst skræmmende ‘Alien’. Den har siden affødt den actionmættede 2’er ‘Aliens’, videre til David Finchers ‘Alien³’ og den spraglede ‘Alien Resurrection’ samt to ‘Alien vs. Predator’-film – samt ikke mindst Ridleys Scotts egne ‘Prometheus’ og nu ‘Alien: Covenant’.

– ‘Alien: Covenant’ er ude på Ultra HD, Blu-ray, dvd og digitalt den 5. oktober.

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In ‘Alien: Covenant’ you have two roles. So who is it you play alongside David?

I also play Walter who is the synthetic on the Covenant ship. He is sort of a different version of what David was, because David was very humanlike and had elements in his programming that allowed him to develop human personality traits that freaked people out. So they built the following synthetics with less of those human design traits. Walter is very much a non-emotional robot.

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Does this mean you get to act with yourself?

Indeed, there are a couple of scenes just between David and Walter. We did some cool stuff there where we filmed it with the camera on a special computerised crane. When we do the David take the movement of the crane is mapped in electronically. So when we do the reverse for Walter it will follow that same electronic path as it did for David. Then they’ll lay me in as Walter into the scene with David. That was pretty cool.

Is he still influenced by Peter O’Toole in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ as he was in ‘Prometheus’?

I am still taking that as a central thing. I don’t want to veer away too much from what people saw in ‘Prometheus’. So there are some elements that will remain constant and that sort of Peter O’Toole influence is still very much there. There is a reference to ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ in a scene that I do where he is singing the song that Lawrence sings where it echoes round the valley.

So there are still those things. I think that is cool, when you do that with any franchise or running series. You can do little hat tips to previous films and have a level of consistency that the audience can anchor themselves down with.

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Playing both Walter and David must be a tremendous challenge as an actor.

It’s helpful to have a clear idea. It’s fun. When I got offered ‘Prometheus’ and went into that, I wanted to make sure that it was going to be fun doing something like this, to be part of this Alien world and work with Ridley Scott. It is really just seeing how far you can push certain things.

David is very clear to me. I understand him very well. It is just trying to find fun things to do. Sometimes they work and sometime they don’t. It was also important to find the comedy in him as well, because the film is going to be really scary. In ‘Prometheus’, even when he got his head ripped off that was kind of funny.

How much have you looked at Ian Holm’s performance as Ash in ‘Alien’ as an inspiration?

For ‘Prometheus’ I didn’t look at him at all. I didn’t look at Bishop in Aliens either. I didn’t look at any of the previous synthetic incarnations. I really rooted it in Peter O’Toole, David Bowie and Olympic diver Greg Louganis — they were my three influences for him. They remain my hook for him. I also watched ‘Blade Runner’ before ‘Prometheus’ to see the Replicants in that. This time, on the plane over to Sydney, I did watch ‘Alien’ and ‘Aliens’. Took a look to see what both robots were doing there.

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Then for Walter there is more Leonard Nimoy in there, sort of a Spock-like influence. I wanted something that was without emotional content, something that was very logical. It’s interesting looking back at Ash, I think he has purposefully played him very human. It is only after the fact, when you watch it again knowing he is a robot, you almost project the idea that he is a robot onto him.

Have you been involved in the development of ‘Alien: Covenant’ with Ridley Scott since ‘Prometheus’?

I have had conversations with Ridley for sure, every now and again, but I didn’t have a great deal of input on the script. We kept in contact. We’re friends and we have had dinners since ‘Prometheus’ and discussed it, but I can’t take any credit for any of the ideas in the script. It is as we are going along and playing I sort of add some ideas.

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Is ‘Alien: Covenant’ a different kind of film to ‘Prometheus’?

I would say that it remains in the universe. We were introduced to the Engineers in ‘Prometheus’, but they will play less of a role in this. In terms of its feel as a film, it is probably harking back more to ‘Alien’ in terms of it being a thriller. I think it will be a lot scarier than ‘Prometheus’. Once it starts, it is relentless. But not in a way that you see with a lot of action films where it is action packed.

This is psychological suspense. The elements of ‘Prometheus’ that are present are in the grandness, the world that we are trying to explore, the planet that we are on. Those things are similar. What really made ‘Alien’ stand alone is that you never left the ship, so it was a very claustrophobic experience.

– ‘Alien: Covenant’ er ude på Ultra HD, Blu-ray, dvd og digitalt den 5. oktober.

Eksklusivt: Interview med Ridley Scott om ‘Alien: Covenant’

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I forbindelse med udgivelsen af Ridley Scotts både nervepirrende og blodige ‘Alien: Covenant’ bringer Filmskribenten stolt et interview med den legendariske filmskaber eksklusivt i Danmark.

Det hele startede tilbage i 1979 med Ridley Scotts egen rumklassiker – den klaustrofobiske og yderst skræmmende ‘Alien’. Den har siden affødt den actionmættede 2’er ‘Aliens’, videre til David Finchers ‘Alien³’ og den spraglede ‘Alien Resurrection’ samt to ‘Alien vs. Predator’-film – samt ikke mindst Ridleys Scotts egne ‘Prometheus’ og nu ‘Alien: Covenant’.

– ‘Alien: Covenant’ er ude på Ultra HD, Blu-ray, dvd og digitalt den 5. oktober.

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Did you have the ‘Alien: Covenant’ concept already in mind while you were making ‘Prometheus’?

I’ve got the whole concept that will lead us back to the original ‘Alien’. I was always surprised by why no one in the subsequent three sequels ever asked who would create this thing and why.

‘Prometheus’ was resurrecting ‘Alien’ off from ground zero, because it was dead, and getting finally to who would do such a thing and for what reason. It touched on mortality and immortality, it touched on the creation of AI. This one really gets to it. This is the next phase.

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Is it fair to say the new film is more reminiscent of ‘Alien’ than ‘Prometheus’?

Yes, only the evolution is way beyond the original ‘Alien’. The original ‘Alien’ was pretty good in the effect that it was a good old basic story of seven people locked in an old dark house and all of them will die. There is nothing more B-movie than that is there? But B-movies have a habit of really playing big when they are done right.

I always thought that ‘Alien’ was a B-movie with an A cast-list and an AA monster. So we evolved and elevated what was fundamentally a horror film to another level and here we are still making them, so the proof is in the pudding.

How would you describe this new planet?

It might feel familiar. Any planet that is going to be the right position from a source of heat like a sun to have life is probably going to get a very similar construction in terms of biology and plant life to Earth. I’m trying to find a reality for the story. NASA now think that by the thousands, millions maybe, aliens are out there.

About 30 years ago, when I made ‘Alien’, I was coming round the fact that we aren’t necessarily biological accidents. To be a biological accident means the forces of nature would had to have made millions or billions of correct decisions randomly, which of course is mathematically ridiculous. Therefore was there anyone in charge? We would call that God, but I look on it as another form of superior life and part of their job was to evolve other planets.

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What did Milford Sound (New Zealand) give you as the location for this new world?

Well, New Zealand is shocking beautiful. The South Island particularly. It is kind of heaven on Earth. Also there are only four-and-a-half million people on the North and South Island. And the South Island is one million people. So it is empty and spectacular.

Did you deliberately want Katherine Waterston’s Daniels to echo Ripley in ‘Alien’?

Yes, we wanted to follow the tradition of having a leading lady but it is no longer that new. I mean, I’ve done GI Jane, I’ve done Thelma and Louise. I’ve done quite a few. I never thought it was particularly remarkable that I had a leading lady in Sigourney Weaver in ‘Alien’. I thought, “Why not? Good idea. Let’s go.” The same with Katherine — it seemed to make sense to follow in the tradition.

How does the crew of the Covenant as a whole compare to the Nostromo in ‘Alien’?

Well, in those days we were talking about the equivalent of a freighter that is going off to planets for their mining capabilities. They will come back with valuable ores; whatever is valuable at that particular point. The crew of the Nostromo were workers, in that respect. The crew of the Covenant are scientists, biologists, builders and electricians. What’s more, they have been chosen to fit in with one another.

Anyone who was taken onboard would have to be like any good pioneer wagon train: very much self-sufficient and part of the overall structure. Because when they get there, as we say in the movie, they are going to be neighbours — and neighbours had better help each other.

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Are you using practical effects to create the various stages of the Alien?

You need everything. I always try and shoot as much as I can. I had to on the original Alien. We had to physically build the Alien. The Alien had to be fitted on a guy as a rubber suit. It was never animatronic. There was no way of doing that kind of thing on that scale. I had a secret studio, I was the only one allowed in there, and every day I would go in there and sit and chat with the actor who was in the suit, Bolaji Badejo, and work with him.

Everything that you saw on the original ‘Alien’ was physical. I filmed it and cut around the dodgy bits. Nevertheless it was hugely successful. So you look to maintain some of that. And the little ones were as bad as the big one. I think one of the mostly ghastly things was the egg and the facehugger.

How do you balance that with computer effects?

It is all about planning. Knowing what you are about. The best thing I did as a filmmaker was go to art school. You learned to draw professionally. I can really draw and really paint. In fact, I do that as a hobby now. I’ve gone back to it. But it has helped me enormously because I have a natural aptitude for it. When I’m reading a script I am already seeing the film.

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How much of the look the new film has been predetermined by the styles of ‘Alien’ and ‘Prometheus’?

Well, I try and keep everything different. So the style of the film, I think, is quite different from the original Alien. Also we are going into a different universe that the original Alien didn’t go into, we’re on a new planet and we’re inside new architecture – the world of the Engineers. So it’s quite different. It’s a much more layered, complex story.

Is it harder to shock an audience now compared to 1979?

It’s much harder. In a funny kind of way it is easier to make people laugh. Most comedians would say, “Fuck you, that’s not true.” But it is, because I have done both. To really, really disturb and scare wilfully as a form of entertainment is tricky, there are so many dark, cruel and weird films now. You’ve got to be careful about that.

You have a responsibility as a director. I used to watch the audience reactions to Alien and realised that you can go only so far with the violence. You’ve got to really think about who you showing this to and is it sick or is it not? I try not to make it sick but scary.

– ‘Alien: Covenant’ er ude på Ultra HD, Blu-ray, dvd og digitalt den 5. oktober.