This Christmas, there are plenty of options at a movie theater near you, including lions. porcupinewitch, demigodAnd many more, but the coolest options And the sexiest is this week's vampires. Filmmaker Robert Eggers liberate NosferatuIt is a long-awaited and highly anticipated film. Inspired by the famous 1922 film by FW Murnau, Bill Skarsgård plays the villainous Count Orlock. who creeps in The lives of newlyweds Thomas and Ellen (Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp).
It's a dark, atmospheric, but entertaining film from a filmmaker who even has just three films under his belt. But it has developed a well-deserved reputation. Wisdom witch,lighthouseand northernerEggers cements himself as a meticulous visual filmmaker with a historical and Gothic flair. Nosferatu “Eggers” may be his most dramatic film yet. But it's also scheduled to be released during Christmas, which is a commercial time period.
io9 spoke with Eggers via video chat a few weeks ago. And the battle between art and product is where our conversation begins.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Germain Lussier, io9: I love your movies because they are not only entertaining. But it's also meticulous, beautiful and often bizarre. I wonder at what point in the process did you struggle between artistic impulses and commercial viability?
Robert Eggers: This film from the beginning was intended to be My “most accessible movies” Maybe you know this. And maybe you don't know. But the main creative producer on the film is Chris Columbus of stay home alone and Harry Potter Fame. And Chris has been a mentor to me since we met during post-production. witch– but he knew we were very different filmmakers and that was part of why we got along creatively. And I think it was a really good pairing, and Jarin Blaschke, my DP and I, we storyboarded the film very carefully. We work with storyboard artists. But we planned all the shots meticulously. And Chris is looking through various storyboards. and looked carefully at all the storyboards. and sometimes will say “What rhythm does the story have in your script? You need this here.” Just like I want Because he was there to make this Robert Eggers film the best it could be. Not for Chris Columbus, but for this movie. I had incredible support from Focus Features, which gave me a lot of creative control.
io9: And I think we got a hint that this was meant to be more commercial. Because last year when this movie was released Focus is like Robert Eggers. NosferatuIt comes out on Christmas,” and that was always a big deal. Christmas release Are you part of that conversation? And does such an important release date change your mind at all?
egg: Yes, I mean I was part of the conversation. But in the end That was the date they offered it to me. And I accepted it with great excitement. Of course, this movie takes place midway through the Christmas period. There is a Christmas tree. And have a conversation about Christmas. And there's a scene where there's a music box that plays “O Tannenbaum,” and it originally played like Mozart. And when we got the release date for Christmas, I was like, “Let's put 'O Tannenbaum' in there.”
io9: Great, now Willem Dafoe is in a movie you've worked on before. He was obviously incredible. But he also has some history with this world. Shadow of the Vampire– Have you guys talked about this before? And how much of that dialogue went into the movie?
egg: I like that movie. And it's a great movie. But they are not very related. But obviously we both realized that it would be really cool for the audience to know that he was chasing himself in this movie.
io9: Is there anything in this movie that you were able to accomplish that you're especially proud of? or especially difficult Is it both technical in terms of story and tone?
egg: I mean there are many things. One thing for me personally. I don't know how the audience will experience it. But I feel like the “owner” in this movie takes a long time to connect. A little less overwhelming and a little more invisible. That's my impression. Maybe I'm wrong I am very proud of the atmosphere of the cemetery. That's what I really want. One of the few things that Focus forced their hand on was my insistence on not shooting in gloomy weather because we were standing around waiting for cloud cover and that can be very stressful. But the cemetery is one example of the need for such work. And the Transylvanian village setting was incredibly complicated to cast. clothing and blocking There are some actors Most of whom are not actors. professional dancer And everyone speaks different languages from other countries. It's very complicated. But I like how it happened.
io9: That's really cool. I also know you like research. And that plays a big part in all your films. How much did you delve into the Count's backstory for yourself and Bill? Do you know how and when he changed? How did he develop his powers? Or is that superfluous?
egg: No, no, in trying to make this story my own. A story that has been told many times. I wrote the novella when I was trying to break up the chapters. And the novella has a lot of backstory to learn about the characters. And this epilogue is Orlok's long backstory that I gave to Bill as part of his preparation. That will never be revealed because the mystery of the mystery is better for the viewer. But it was important for Bill to have that history.
io9: Never thought of wearing that?
egg: No. I mean, as long as it gives things that aren't revealed in Murnau's film a certain level of mystery, it's important.
io9: This is a story you've wanted to tell for a long time and you're getting close to it. So how will this version now be different from the version you create later? witch Or earlier in your career?
egg: You know, my intentions didn't change when I wrote that novella and when I tore up that chapter. The script is tighter and sharper, but my “vision” of what the film is will not change. But I'm glad it took me so long. I've grown a lot as a person, certainly as a filmmaker. My collaboration with the creative head has become more fluid and we amplify each other. And I ended up with this great cast.
io9: Oh what an amazing actor. This is what makes every vampire movie unique. It is also one of those genres. We have vampire comedy. We have vampire horror. vampire drama We have everything What is it about the genre that makes it so malleable? And what do you like about it?
egg: Yeah, I mean, it's crazy how adaptable vampires are. And there's room for Anne Rice and room for Blade. and room for Count Chocula. And there's room for all of this. But I get asked this question a lot. But the best I can think of is sex and death. It's a combination of sex and death.
io9: One last thing, a recent focus. $20,000 Nosferatu coffin bed revealedWhich I'm sure you know. Do you have one? Do you want one? What would you say to the person who bought it? What do you think?
egg: Um (laughs, thinks, stops) “Congratulations.”
io9: (laughs) That's right, congratulations to you on a wonderful, beautiful film.
Nosferatu Releases December 25th in theaters.
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