Interview with Michael J. Bassett (Reel Film News)Date published: 2012.10.23 Yesterday Reel Film News had an opportunity to speak to writer/director Michael J. Bassett about his upcoming film, SILENT HILL REVELATION 3D, set to open this weekend. Set as a follow-up to 2006 hit, SILENT HILL, the film tells the story of Heather Mason (Adelaide Clemens) and her father (Sean Bean) who have been on the run, always one step ahead of dangerous forces that she doesn’t fully understand. On the eve of her 18th birthday, plagued by horrific nightmares and the disappearance of her father, Heather discovers she’s not who she thinks she is. The revelation leads her deeper into a demonic world that threatens to trap her forever. In the interview, Mr. Bassett and I address the trend of film adaptations being made from videogames, the challenges of creating the world of Silent Hill, as well as a tease to his work on the highly-anticipated STARZ original series, DA VINCI’S DEMONS. Check out what he had to say: RFN: Greetings Mr. Bassett! Thanks for taking the time to speak with Reel Film News! How are you doing? MJB: Good! How are you? RFN: I’m good, I’m good…Now there have been quite a few film adaptations of videogames in the past; however, many would agree that only a handful of them are any good. So I wanted to ask what drew you into the world of Silent Hill? MJB: I have to say, I do agree with most people. Film adaptations of games do seem to fall short for some reason; however, I don’t quite know why that is, because games have such incredibly rich source material… They have great story telling, amazing characters… RFN: Yeah, I love videogames! MJB: So I think the problem (with film adaptations of videogames) is that people believe that a straight adaptation should be easy because they (movies and games) are very similar forms of story telling, but they’re not, a game is a game and movie is a movie. RFN: Right. MJB: For me…For myself, the reason I wanted to make SILENT HILL, was because I was a SILENT HILL fan. I’m a gamer, and I’ve been one for more than 20 years. So I have a history of gaming, and when the first SILENT HILL (film) came out in 2006, I remembered (back when the first game came onto the scene) my friends playing and always talking about this game, because it changed console gaming so much…. RFN: Ok, ok…. MJB: It (the game series) was doing things that nobody had done before, it was using sound design in an incredibly sophisticated way, the monsters were really freaky and had this vaguely twisted subtext, and it had great story telling along with really good visuals…. Also, I really liked the first movie as well, and I worked with the producer of this movie, Samuel Hadida, on a movie I made called SOLOMON KANE, which was a 16th Century sword and sorcery adventure… RFN: Right, right… MJB: So I met with Samuel one night, and he said, “So I want to make a sequel to SILENT HILL,” and I was like, “Oh great! Do you have someone to do it?” He stated that he was in the process of getting someone to tackle it, so I told him, “Well, I’d be interested, if you want someone to take a look at it….” So he responded, “Alright, so what would you do?” So we talked over dinner about what we should do, and he (Samuel) wanted a proper sequel to the first movie, which continued little Sharon’s story (the little girl from the first movie)…We knew that we wanted to adapt some of the third game into the movie, but we also had to make a film that made sense for those who never played the game, so that it works just as a freaky, frightening horror film. Therefore you don’t have to be familiar with the game to enjoy it…However, if you do know SILENT HILL, you (the viewer) will appreciate all the little things (easter eggs) that I put into it, which is apart of the mythology of SILENT HILL. RFN: Ok, great! Now it’s funny that you bring up SOLOMON KANE, because I remember in our interview at Comic Con you stated that you believed in practical, realistic effects. So with that being said, were there any challenges in creating the world of SILENT HILL, a world that’s not necessarily as grounded and is a bit more surreal? MJB: Well, as much possible, I wanted the creatures to be on the set… I mean I’m old school, I like monsters! As much as anything, I like going to workshops where the monsters are being made…I love creature shops; therefore I loved working with Paul Jones and Patrick Tatopoulos, who were the designers. Paul was a builder and Patrick was one of the designers of the creatures, that we’d adapted from the games. If you went to the workshop, you could see the suits being sculpted, and Patrick would then have a performer come in and put the suit (and makeup) on, and they (the performer) would become this twisted, distorted creature, which was fantastic! The important thing though that comes out of that, was that I could put the monster in front of the actors on the set. So when actress Adelaide Clemens, who played Heather Mason, stepped onto the set, she could be in front of a monster, and I could direct that monster. Therefore I didn’t have to worry about all that digital stuff, like green screen, tracking markers, and that other bulls*!t that’s typically done… RFN: (Laughing) MJB: I mean there is one digital monster in the movie, which is a really cool monster; however, there was just no way it of delivering without using digital technology, because it was just too complex a creature. RFN: Ok, ok…So diverting away a bit from SILENT HILL, I have one phrase for you: DA VINCI’S DEMONS. Can you comment at all about working on that STARZ series? MJB: Well, as soon as I finished SILENT HILL, I went on to do a Cinemax show called STRIKE BACK, which is about a couple of soldiers who fight terrorists.. RFN: Right, right… MJB: It has: running, jumping, chasing, cars chases, gunfights…It’s a really energetic, explosive show, which was terrific! Then David Goyer asked me to come down to shoot a couple of episodes of his new show, which is DA VINCI’S DEMONS, and that was a really interesting challenge, because it takes place in 15th Century Florence and it has a kind of metaphysical element to it. There are lots of exciting things happening in that show, but I can’t tell you too much about it since it won’t be out until next year… RFN: Right, right…Well, thank you again Mr. Bassett for time! SILENT HILL REVELATION 3D arrives in theaters this Friday (October 26th)! MJB: Absolutely! This Friday, go see it! |
