“Atomic Blonde" director David Leitch is a former stunt man and coordinator, but this is his first solo directing effort; Musician Flying Lotus called on British animator David Firth to help him make his debut film, "Kuso"; Film composer Michael Giacchino's current films include “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.” He’s also written scores for every reboot and remake from his childhood, including “Star Trek,” “Star Wars” and “Mission Impossible."
How 'Atomic Blonde's' director worked with Charlize Theron to craft an unapologetic badass protagonist
When producer Kelly McCormick came across the 1989 graphic novel, "Atomic Blonde: The Coldest City," by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, she had the perfect person in mind to direct the movie version: her husband, David Leitch.
McCormick urged Leitch to pitch for the directing job and it paid off. His years of experience as a stuntman, stunt coordinator and second unit director, with credits including "The Matrix" movies, "Captain America: Civil War" and "Jurassic World" helped inform the action-packed fight sequences.
Together with Chad Stahelski, Leitch directed "John Wick" and founded 87 Eleven, a company that trains actors in stunt work.
Theron – who performs a lot of her own stunts – trained there for "Atomic Blonde." In the film, she plays an MI6 agent based in Germany as the Berlin Wall falls in 1989.
When Leitch stopped by The Frame, he talked about working with Theron, who is also a producer on the film.
Well, fortunately, I think [Theron and I] were on the same page pretty quickly in terms of wanting to do a female protagonist who we weren't apologizing for in any way, and was just a badass spy, but didn't need any excuses about how she could beat up men or how she could do her job because she was a woman, or need any sort of more emotional connection or drive to make that happen.
Despite its stylized action sequences, Theron wanted to make sure the film was grounded in reality. Leitch said it was important for her that the audience would "see the bruises, and we would feel the pain."
We set that up in the front end of the movie, when you see [Theron's character] come out of the tub with all the bumps and bruises. And it's sort of shocking to some audiences to see a female portrayed like that. And for us, it was like, Why can't we portray a female like that?
Leitch said his work as a second unit director on big films informs his work as a director today. "Atomic Blonde" is the first feature he's directing on his own and he'll soon be directing "Deadpool 2."
As a second unit director, you're entrusted to shoot the action sequences. On every movie it's slightly different ... You would be handed a sequence and [telling] the lead actors, Okay, you're doing this car sequence from A to B, or, You're doing this fight sequence from A to B. See you guys later. You're ultimately telling a mini-story within the movie.
Leitch says that the audience can learn more about a character in a three-minute fight scene than in 30 minutes of exposition. He explains this using an example from the movie, in a scene that takes place in a stairwell:
You learn about Lorraine Broughton and her will to survive. You learn about her physical prowess and her skill set. You learn about her humanity and her need to save this guy, even though he may be a potential threat. So those three things are defined without one word of dialogue ... They're just defined by her actions. I think as a choreographer and an action designer, you're constantly giving your characters problems to overcome. That's what makes it fun for choreography. But it also makes it fun for the audience to see them solve those puzzles and how they are as a human being.
There's a sex scene in the film including Theron's character and Sofia Boutella's character. Leitch says he planned it the way he would plan a fight sequence, by blocking ideas and shots. And he worked very closely with Theron.
She was 110% included in that conversation. I mean, it's her image up on the screen. It's her body. And kudos to her for being fearless with all the choices we were making in this movie — in terms of the violence, in terms of the sex. You're always opening yourself up to criticism when you explore those things in cinema because there are going to be advocates on one side and the other. But for her, she's like, Can't think about what the critics think, we have to think about what's right for the movie and the material and what are we trying to say. As a producer, she's incredibly supportive.
To hear John Horn's full conversation with David Leitch, click on the player above.
'Kuso': Inside the twisted minds of Flying Lotus and animator David Firth
Musician Steve Ellison, also known as Flying Lotus, released his debut film over the weekend on the online streaming service, Shudder. If you’re not familiar with that don’t worry unless you’re a die-hard horror fan.
But don’t expect to see it pop up at your neighborhood Cineplex. It’s a film that’s definitely NOT for the easily queasy. It’s a visceral horror-slash-comedy film with a very loose plot that centers on the creatures that emerge after a destructive earthquake hits LA.
Flying Lotus called on British Animator David Firth to help him make Kuso. Firth is best known for his own creepy animations, including a character called Salad Fingers:
They’d worked previously on Flying Lotus’s video for his song Ready Err Not. If you’ve seen that, then you have an idea of what Kuso’s all about.
Frame Producer Michelle Lanz sat down with Flying Lotus and Firth to find out how they collaborated on this creeptastic film.
At home with composer Michael Giacchino: Playing with toys to write film scores
Two of the top movies at the box office right now have at least one thing in common: composer Michael Giacchino.
He's scored “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.” He’s also scored just about every reboot and remake of his favorite movies from his childhood – from “Star Trek” to “Star Wars,” from “Mission: Impossible” to the Muppets. He's essentially re-scoring his childhood, which, depending on your age, may mean that he's re-scoring your childhood, too.
I visited with Giacchino in his Los Angeles home to find out how it is that he's become the go-to guy for these, so called, "re-imaginings."
“It’s weird to actually be in a situation where you look around, and that’s really all that’s being made around you, are these giant, sort of recreations of our past, in a way, or things we grew up with,” he said, sitting in his studio in the Valley. The walls are lined with cabinets full of toys and nostalgia. It’s kind of like stepping into the composer’s childhood — which is exactly what he does for a living these days.
"Planet of the Apes" held a special place in his heart.
"It was like one of my first obsessions as a kid and, I mean, I was obsessed. I watched the movies on television whenever I could catch them, because I was too young to see them in the theater. And then I would watch that television series, over and over. I had the action figures, which are still up here in my office, over there. I have sketchbooks where I would just draw the apes over and over and over. And I would follow my dad around in the supermarket walking like an ape, you know. And it was one of those things, I just always wanted to be in that world. I loved it.”
Giacchino scored “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” in 2014. During the scoring sessions for the new one, “War for the Planet of the Apes,” he set up the actual 1968 cardboard playhouse (see below) that he had as a kid.
When writing the scores for both films he got to play with some even cooler “Apes” toys.
“Emil Richards was one of the original percussionists on the very first ‘Planet of the Apes.’ Back, I don’t know, it must have been 1967 or ’68, he found himself in a hardware store, and he saw these mixing bowls on one of the aisles, and he grabbed them and he started just hitting them and going, ‘Oh, that sounds really cool.’ It’s such a distinct sound — you can hear it in the original score for ‘Planet of the Apes.’”
“When I got my job working on ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,’ Emil came to me and said, ‘You know, I still have those mixing bowls. Would you want them?’ And I was like, ‘Yes, I would want them.’ So I put them in the score, we used them, and then when it was over he goes, ‘Here, take these. You can have them.’ And I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’”
“This [ram’s horn] is also from the original ‘Planet of the Apes’ score. And I actually played this on the score.
Giacchino keeps the bowls and ram’s horn in one of the glass cabinets that stretch across an entire wall in his studio — watching over him as he works, filled with his old toys. Giacchino credits his mom with saving everything. He showed me, among other things, his old Kermit the Frog puppet with one of its eyes was missing.
“‘Sesame Street’ and the Muppets were a massive influence on my life as well,” he said. “I think I learned everything about comedy and timing and drama from watching ‘The Muppet Show,’ which was one of the best shows ever produced. I used to do puppet shows as a kid — me and my brother would do them — and then any poor soul who came into the house had to sit and watch our puppet shows.”
He pulled out his “Raiders of the Lost Ark” flip book that he'd made when he was 10 years old, his original “Star Wars” and “Planet of the Apes” action figures, and a whip he used to practice on his brother. Giacchino turns 50 later this year, but in many ways he’s still playing with his old toys — along with the rest of Hollywood.
“When I think back to those days when I was sitting in the backyard with my Captain America action figure — all of those guys... Superman, Batman, Captain America, the Hulk — and now I’m working on ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘Doctor Strange,’ and in some ways it’s literally just a blown-up version of what I did as a kid — creating new adventures and things with these characters. I used to do that all the time, used to love doing that. But then every once in a while I start thinking like, well, but what about the new stuff, too? I would love to still see some new ideas and new characters.”
When I visited him, Giacchino was working on new ideas and new characters, writing music for the upcoming Pixar movie “Coco” — which isn’t a sequel or prequel or reboot or rehash. And as much as he loves playing with his childhood toys, that excites him and gives him a little hope for the future.
“That’s where you’re really sparked,” he said. “Your imagination gets a chance to go off the rails and have some fun. But it’s a balance, and I still feel like the town is trying to figure out the balance. And hopefully it goes a little bit more towards new things as we move forward.”
To hear this story click the play button at the top of the page or get The Frame podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.