One of the hottest directors in Hollywood right now is Matthew Vaughn all off the basis of his directorial debut, Layer Cake. Daniel Craig stars in this British gangster film as a nameless drug dealer who wants to do one last big score then quit the business. So armed with access to a million ecstasy pills he attempts to sell them to some very unsavory characters. Of course then the usual havoc ensues.
Check out the official site for Layer Cake
Daniel Robert Epstein: Do you feel Daniel Craigs character is a hero?
Matthew Vaughn: I think hes more an anti-hero.
DRE: How can he be an anti-hero when all hes doing is trying to stay alive?
MV: Isnt that what an anti-hero is? Thats the whole point hes a hero who shouldnt be. Then he gets killed in the end, so its morally got some substance to it.
DRE: Is he killed?
MV: If its a hit over here there might be a sequel. In the book he doesnt die. He gets shot and at the ending of the book hes got a big metal plate in his head and is now a bit slower.
Its funny you asked that, because I did want to imply that maybe hes not dead, but most people think hes a goner.
DRE: Was directing always in the plan from the beginning, when you got into producing?
MV: No.
DRE: What made you decide to leap into the directors chair?
MV: Guy [Ritchie] decided not to direct Layer Cake. To be honest, I think theres a real mystique about directing and directors and it began to piss me off. Everyone goes Oh, hes a director and sort of bow, and I wanted to try and prove that there are geniuses out there. There are some guys that make a film and you go, wow, and Ill never be one of those. I did this to try and prove to the world that I think anyone given the chance could make it work. To my amazement I really enjoyed it and I want to carry on now. It blows producing away.
DRE: Is it true that you had never looked through a camera lens before?
MV: On a 35 mm camera yeah. I was a right idiot to tell everyone.
DRE: Whats the fascination with the British and crime and gangsters?
MV: There are a lot more romantic comedies.
People just want to watch movies that are entertaining, it doesnt matter what genre it is. I dont know what it is about gangster films, but people say, God its another gangster film! But theres another romantic comedy coming out every week but no one says Oh, its another romantic comedy or Its another action film. For some reason gangster is the only genre where people where you make a gangster movie and people go, Oh no, another gangster film.
DRE: How much did you have to do with writing this screenplay?
MV: Quite a bit. The writer [J.J. Connolly] did the first draft on his own and it was 408 pages.
DRE: How long was the book?
MV: About 390! So I rolled up my sleeves and it took 8 months, which really surprised me. The project Im on we just did the script in 6 days so Ive done both extremes now.
DRE: What's the script that took 6 days?
MV: X-Men which we cant talk about! There was no script and I said, this is crazy; Im not making a movie without a screenplay. So we sat down and wrote something which is pretty good, actually.
DRE: I read that everyone but your wife thought you were mad to direct even though lot of producers have directed.
MV: But how many of them did a good film?
DRE: I dont know.
MV: I can answer that for you probably one that I can think of.
DRE: Other than yourself?
MV: Well, maybe two then. Being a producer is not a good training. If a carbon copy of me came in and said they wanted to direct Layer Cake after being a producer I would kick them out as quick as I could. I would never give myself the job. Although I did.
DRE: Did you make a point of steering away from the Guy Ritchie visual style? I did notice some Guy Ritchie influence in a couple of scenes.
MV: Yeah but they were a little more subtle. They had a reason. The only thing Guy and I used to argue about was the style. Sometimes Id be like, Why the hell are we doing this? Why is the camera flying around? Im more interested in sort of classic storytelling. I think thats what lasts. When we made Lock Stock in England it caused a lot of imitating. A lot of MTV style, with crash zooms, frame cutting which you watch now and be like, ugh. Its like blue light and smoke from the 80s.
I love the movies from the 70s. When I first started watching movies they had a real impact on me. I think with the camera, youve got to try to do things in an interesting way, but if you notice the camerawork too much, youve gone too far.
DRE: Can you talk about some of the musical choices in the film like The Rolling Stones and Scissor Sisters?
MV: Music is half the film. Any movie. I think music is what takes the experience off the screen into your soul, into your head. It ceases to be just there, it comes into you. Music is hugely important.
DRE: What was the rationale for calling the company Ska Films?
MV: It was an off the shelf company. Its been a roller coaster ride beyond belief since Guy and I first met we were told that we needed to have a company, we were that wet behind the ears. Our lawyers said that if you want to own a film so its not just you two walking around, have a company, and the cheapest way is to buy a company off the shelf. There was one called Ska Limited, and we bought it and just put Films in.
Also Guys got a massive scar from here to there [gestures from sideburn to chin] and so we just thought it was funny. Im a big believer that it doesnt matter what you call your company, nobody ever notices.
DRE: So how did you settle in on Daniel and the rest?
MV: Theyre all great actors. In a way theres a great risk for these actors to say yes to working with me as a director. I have no reason. Trying to persuade them why I could direct, theres no reason. I just said they had to take a blind leap of faith. And they were all willing to do so.
DRE: Do you subscribe to Michael Gambons Layer Cake philosophy?
MV: I think Im learning it. I havent gotten to the echelon where I still smell what shit smells like. One day I hope I wont.
DRE: Is it kind of like the movie business?
MV: God, yeah. The problem with the movie business is that the shits at top.
DRE: How was working with Neil Gaiman on A Short Film About John Bolton? Did you do much?
MV: Nothing at all. I put the money into it.
Im doing a feature with Neil at the moment. Neil is a really good friend of mine, a lovely bloke. The way it came about was that there was a book of his that I wanted, called Stardust. Neil and I are making Stardust as a feature together. Neil wanted to make a short so I said I would put the money into it. Were working on the script at the moment; its going to be a good film.
DRE: Whats the status of it?
MV: Thats the thing when I say working on it. Ive written the treatment, and Im not a writer so Im trying to find the right writer. Ive taken the story and changed it a bit, put a new third act on. Its going to be cool, its going to be like Princess Bride meets Midnight Run.
DRE: Are you using Charles Vess illustrations at all?
MV: Yeah, I have some limited editions that Charles sent me. The way he paints is very Victorian and I want it to be is more modern. I think people have a problem where they say, Oh its a fairy tale, lets shoot it in a fairy tale way. I want to shoot it in a far more modern, grittier manner.
DRE: Are you going to direct or produce?
MV: Direct and produce it.
DRE: Youve got a couple of genres going here. Do you like doing genre films?
MV: I dont know yet. Im learning. I always used to argue with directors that make films no one goes to see. I dont get it. I think you should make a movie that has an audience or a potential audience. So I just want to make films that are entertaining.
I like the idea of making big budget films with a heart. Im writing a spy movie with John Hodge, of Trainspotting who is genius. Im reading his stuff and he takes a clich and turns it on its head.
DRE: Do you find that working with the experienced actors that you were overshadowed?
MV: I dont know. We turned up, did the scene and I said that was good or it was shit. I had to stamp a few of them because they got a bit theatrical and I was, Bring it back. Mostly we garnered each others respect in rehearsals. Once you trust one another you can get so much done.
DRE: Are you a comic book fan?
MV: I like comic books but I dont read them like I used to. I like graphic novels more than comic books. Thats how I got to know Neil Gaiman. I like being entertained, I like good stories and I think comics have that. People who write comics take them very seriously, so you get that serious application to a commercial world.
DRE: How do you make that jump from Layer Cake to the big budget X-Men?
MV: Hardly any difference.
DRE: Did you chase them down or did they come to you?
MV: It was a mutual finding. I heard Singer wasnt doing it and I told my agent I would be intrigued, could they get me in a room. They saw Layer Cake and really liked it.
DRE: Because Bryan Singer is gay he comes at it from that angle such as the Iceman coming out scene in X2. But I read in the New York Post that you are not homosexual
MV: Thats right!
DRE: So what angle are you going to come at it?
MV: I think theres a time in your life where you dont feel like you fit in. I think everyone has that, especially when youre a teenager and especially in the society we live in. Theres a high demand that you must like this and look like this, the dogma of modern society is pretty stressful.
Its about minorities. Im not a member of a minority but I can empathize with whats going on. I think Singer treats it in a more simplistic manner than I am going to. There are three or four scenes where I know people are going to be shocked and close to tears.
DRE: So is Vinnie Jones really in X3?
MV: Not officially. Im hoping
DRE: As Juggernaut?
MV: Hes going to play Professor X! No, whats interesting is that Juggernaut is the step-brother of Professor X, and I thought it was interesting to have this English thug opposite Patrick Stewart and theyre sort of similar looking!
DRE: Does he get his powers being trapped under a mountain in Vietnam? Thats how he got his powers in the comic.
MV: Does he? No, Im going another way. Its the war in Falklands [laughs]. In Vietnam, huh? Yeah, there is some stupid shit in X-Men. Ive been looking at some stuff like the Dark Phoenix story, Ive been looking at that a lot and bits of it are great but bits of it youre like ugh.
DRE: What was your favorite run on X-Men?
MV: Joss Whedons pretty cool.
DRE: Chris Claremonts run is broken up by the artists he worked with. What was your favorite run of his?
MV: I wouldnt have a clue.
DRE: What were some of your favorite stories then?
MV: I cant say because theyve become the basis of the film. There is this ridiculous shroud of secrecy. I think the studios are so used to thinking everything is crap that they hide it. I think if somethings good, let everyone talk about it. But there was one comic book when we were going through them and I said, this is it, this is the story were going to tell.
DRE: You said rehearsal is important, but you have such a short pre-production time on X-Men, can you do rehearsals?
MV: The irony is that its even more important because I dont have the luxury of casting most of these guys. I just turn up and say, Hey Hugh get on with your lines. Which is going to be odd, especially if I dont like what theyre doing. Im going to have to take them aside and say, OK, everything you did in the last film? Ignore. Do something new.
DRE: When will Stardust be coming?
MV: You got me at a moment because X-Men has taken me by surprise. One of the reasons Im attracted to it, and one of the reasons Im scared of it is because theres such a short amount of time to get it done. But I thought maybe it would be good to do it and learn. Theres a lot for me to learn, because filmmaking is filmmaking. Its harder for me to make a good movie for 900 grand than for $150 million. Try giving; Im not going to say who, one of those big directors 900 grand for a movie.
DRE: Are you still going to work with Guy Ritchie in the future?
MV: At the moment, no, because I want to direct and he definitely doesnt want to produce. Now I can understand why. It depends, I might suddenly ring him up and say I feel like producing a movie again and Im there but thats hopefully a long way off because I want to direct. But if I couldnt find something to direct, I would produce.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official site for Layer Cake
Daniel Robert Epstein: Do you feel Daniel Craigs character is a hero?
Matthew Vaughn: I think hes more an anti-hero.
DRE: How can he be an anti-hero when all hes doing is trying to stay alive?
MV: Isnt that what an anti-hero is? Thats the whole point hes a hero who shouldnt be. Then he gets killed in the end, so its morally got some substance to it.
DRE: Is he killed?
MV: If its a hit over here there might be a sequel. In the book he doesnt die. He gets shot and at the ending of the book hes got a big metal plate in his head and is now a bit slower.
Its funny you asked that, because I did want to imply that maybe hes not dead, but most people think hes a goner.
DRE: Was directing always in the plan from the beginning, when you got into producing?
MV: No.
DRE: What made you decide to leap into the directors chair?
MV: Guy [Ritchie] decided not to direct Layer Cake. To be honest, I think theres a real mystique about directing and directors and it began to piss me off. Everyone goes Oh, hes a director and sort of bow, and I wanted to try and prove that there are geniuses out there. There are some guys that make a film and you go, wow, and Ill never be one of those. I did this to try and prove to the world that I think anyone given the chance could make it work. To my amazement I really enjoyed it and I want to carry on now. It blows producing away.
DRE: Is it true that you had never looked through a camera lens before?
MV: On a 35 mm camera yeah. I was a right idiot to tell everyone.
DRE: Whats the fascination with the British and crime and gangsters?
MV: There are a lot more romantic comedies.
People just want to watch movies that are entertaining, it doesnt matter what genre it is. I dont know what it is about gangster films, but people say, God its another gangster film! But theres another romantic comedy coming out every week but no one says Oh, its another romantic comedy or Its another action film. For some reason gangster is the only genre where people where you make a gangster movie and people go, Oh no, another gangster film.
DRE: How much did you have to do with writing this screenplay?
MV: Quite a bit. The writer [J.J. Connolly] did the first draft on his own and it was 408 pages.
DRE: How long was the book?
MV: About 390! So I rolled up my sleeves and it took 8 months, which really surprised me. The project Im on we just did the script in 6 days so Ive done both extremes now.
DRE: What's the script that took 6 days?
MV: X-Men which we cant talk about! There was no script and I said, this is crazy; Im not making a movie without a screenplay. So we sat down and wrote something which is pretty good, actually.
DRE: I read that everyone but your wife thought you were mad to direct even though lot of producers have directed.
MV: But how many of them did a good film?
DRE: I dont know.
MV: I can answer that for you probably one that I can think of.
DRE: Other than yourself?
MV: Well, maybe two then. Being a producer is not a good training. If a carbon copy of me came in and said they wanted to direct Layer Cake after being a producer I would kick them out as quick as I could. I would never give myself the job. Although I did.
DRE: Did you make a point of steering away from the Guy Ritchie visual style? I did notice some Guy Ritchie influence in a couple of scenes.
MV: Yeah but they were a little more subtle. They had a reason. The only thing Guy and I used to argue about was the style. Sometimes Id be like, Why the hell are we doing this? Why is the camera flying around? Im more interested in sort of classic storytelling. I think thats what lasts. When we made Lock Stock in England it caused a lot of imitating. A lot of MTV style, with crash zooms, frame cutting which you watch now and be like, ugh. Its like blue light and smoke from the 80s.
I love the movies from the 70s. When I first started watching movies they had a real impact on me. I think with the camera, youve got to try to do things in an interesting way, but if you notice the camerawork too much, youve gone too far.
DRE: Can you talk about some of the musical choices in the film like The Rolling Stones and Scissor Sisters?
MV: Music is half the film. Any movie. I think music is what takes the experience off the screen into your soul, into your head. It ceases to be just there, it comes into you. Music is hugely important.
DRE: What was the rationale for calling the company Ska Films?
MV: It was an off the shelf company. Its been a roller coaster ride beyond belief since Guy and I first met we were told that we needed to have a company, we were that wet behind the ears. Our lawyers said that if you want to own a film so its not just you two walking around, have a company, and the cheapest way is to buy a company off the shelf. There was one called Ska Limited, and we bought it and just put Films in.
Also Guys got a massive scar from here to there [gestures from sideburn to chin] and so we just thought it was funny. Im a big believer that it doesnt matter what you call your company, nobody ever notices.
DRE: So how did you settle in on Daniel and the rest?
MV: Theyre all great actors. In a way theres a great risk for these actors to say yes to working with me as a director. I have no reason. Trying to persuade them why I could direct, theres no reason. I just said they had to take a blind leap of faith. And they were all willing to do so.
DRE: Do you subscribe to Michael Gambons Layer Cake philosophy?
MV: I think Im learning it. I havent gotten to the echelon where I still smell what shit smells like. One day I hope I wont.
DRE: Is it kind of like the movie business?
MV: God, yeah. The problem with the movie business is that the shits at top.
DRE: How was working with Neil Gaiman on A Short Film About John Bolton? Did you do much?
MV: Nothing at all. I put the money into it.
Im doing a feature with Neil at the moment. Neil is a really good friend of mine, a lovely bloke. The way it came about was that there was a book of his that I wanted, called Stardust. Neil and I are making Stardust as a feature together. Neil wanted to make a short so I said I would put the money into it. Were working on the script at the moment; its going to be a good film.
DRE: Whats the status of it?
MV: Thats the thing when I say working on it. Ive written the treatment, and Im not a writer so Im trying to find the right writer. Ive taken the story and changed it a bit, put a new third act on. Its going to be cool, its going to be like Princess Bride meets Midnight Run.
DRE: Are you using Charles Vess illustrations at all?
MV: Yeah, I have some limited editions that Charles sent me. The way he paints is very Victorian and I want it to be is more modern. I think people have a problem where they say, Oh its a fairy tale, lets shoot it in a fairy tale way. I want to shoot it in a far more modern, grittier manner.
DRE: Are you going to direct or produce?
MV: Direct and produce it.
DRE: Youve got a couple of genres going here. Do you like doing genre films?
MV: I dont know yet. Im learning. I always used to argue with directors that make films no one goes to see. I dont get it. I think you should make a movie that has an audience or a potential audience. So I just want to make films that are entertaining.
I like the idea of making big budget films with a heart. Im writing a spy movie with John Hodge, of Trainspotting who is genius. Im reading his stuff and he takes a clich and turns it on its head.
DRE: Do you find that working with the experienced actors that you were overshadowed?
MV: I dont know. We turned up, did the scene and I said that was good or it was shit. I had to stamp a few of them because they got a bit theatrical and I was, Bring it back. Mostly we garnered each others respect in rehearsals. Once you trust one another you can get so much done.
DRE: Are you a comic book fan?
MV: I like comic books but I dont read them like I used to. I like graphic novels more than comic books. Thats how I got to know Neil Gaiman. I like being entertained, I like good stories and I think comics have that. People who write comics take them very seriously, so you get that serious application to a commercial world.
DRE: How do you make that jump from Layer Cake to the big budget X-Men?
MV: Hardly any difference.
DRE: Did you chase them down or did they come to you?
MV: It was a mutual finding. I heard Singer wasnt doing it and I told my agent I would be intrigued, could they get me in a room. They saw Layer Cake and really liked it.
DRE: Because Bryan Singer is gay he comes at it from that angle such as the Iceman coming out scene in X2. But I read in the New York Post that you are not homosexual
MV: Thats right!
DRE: So what angle are you going to come at it?
MV: I think theres a time in your life where you dont feel like you fit in. I think everyone has that, especially when youre a teenager and especially in the society we live in. Theres a high demand that you must like this and look like this, the dogma of modern society is pretty stressful.
Its about minorities. Im not a member of a minority but I can empathize with whats going on. I think Singer treats it in a more simplistic manner than I am going to. There are three or four scenes where I know people are going to be shocked and close to tears.
DRE: So is Vinnie Jones really in X3?
MV: Not officially. Im hoping
DRE: As Juggernaut?
MV: Hes going to play Professor X! No, whats interesting is that Juggernaut is the step-brother of Professor X, and I thought it was interesting to have this English thug opposite Patrick Stewart and theyre sort of similar looking!
DRE: Does he get his powers being trapped under a mountain in Vietnam? Thats how he got his powers in the comic.
MV: Does he? No, Im going another way. Its the war in Falklands [laughs]. In Vietnam, huh? Yeah, there is some stupid shit in X-Men. Ive been looking at some stuff like the Dark Phoenix story, Ive been looking at that a lot and bits of it are great but bits of it youre like ugh.
DRE: What was your favorite run on X-Men?
MV: Joss Whedons pretty cool.
DRE: Chris Claremonts run is broken up by the artists he worked with. What was your favorite run of his?
MV: I wouldnt have a clue.
DRE: What were some of your favorite stories then?
MV: I cant say because theyve become the basis of the film. There is this ridiculous shroud of secrecy. I think the studios are so used to thinking everything is crap that they hide it. I think if somethings good, let everyone talk about it. But there was one comic book when we were going through them and I said, this is it, this is the story were going to tell.
DRE: You said rehearsal is important, but you have such a short pre-production time on X-Men, can you do rehearsals?
MV: The irony is that its even more important because I dont have the luxury of casting most of these guys. I just turn up and say, Hey Hugh get on with your lines. Which is going to be odd, especially if I dont like what theyre doing. Im going to have to take them aside and say, OK, everything you did in the last film? Ignore. Do something new.
DRE: When will Stardust be coming?
MV: You got me at a moment because X-Men has taken me by surprise. One of the reasons Im attracted to it, and one of the reasons Im scared of it is because theres such a short amount of time to get it done. But I thought maybe it would be good to do it and learn. Theres a lot for me to learn, because filmmaking is filmmaking. Its harder for me to make a good movie for 900 grand than for $150 million. Try giving; Im not going to say who, one of those big directors 900 grand for a movie.
DRE: Are you still going to work with Guy Ritchie in the future?
MV: At the moment, no, because I want to direct and he definitely doesnt want to produce. Now I can understand why. It depends, I might suddenly ring him up and say I feel like producing a movie again and Im there but thats hopefully a long way off because I want to direct. But if I couldnt find something to direct, I would produce.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
AndersWolleck said:
aw crap. i meant to put a spoiler alert in there and i forgot, sorry
no worries - i don't get ruffled over that. just thanks for the good interview