Link This |
Email this |
Blog This |
Comments (0)
Wolfgang Petersen learns a lesson
October 15, 2007
Having to cut Troy into a shorter, PG-13 version for theaters, due to studio demands, Wolfgang Petersen said he now feels "satisfied" after making his director's cut, which was released on DVD a few weeks ago. But the director of The Perfect Storm, Air Force One and Das Boot said he learned an important lesson with Troy: "I've learned a lot here. Next time there will be a big fight."
Chatting with reporters about the new Troy DVD, Petersen expressed his dislike of the studio demands that were made on the film under the pressures of the film's looming theatrical release—and he said all this while relaxing in Warner's screening room. Of course, that was after Warner spent more than $1 million on the director's cut, which was completely recut, additional scenes processed and music reedited.
"In the case of Troy, I knew there was a much better movie there and I was really asking Warner, begging to do it," he said.
And he's happy with the result: "The film is done with much more confidence than when we had the pressure of the summer release."
The new cut is 3 hours and 15 minutes, but Petersen said it feels shorter than the original because the story works much better. Among some highlights: Peter O'Toole's character's backstory with Hector being sick as a child; opening with a dog searching for his now-dead soldier master (which was in the original script); different feel to the music in many scenes including the pivotal Hector/Achilles battle (which we learned is actually a Danny Elfman sequence he wrote for Planet of the Apes).
The director's cut of Troy is "the way I really wanted it. It is rare to be able to say that," Petersen said.
He also touted the benefits of digital visual effects, which he loves: "You can even give actors a Botox job and no one will know. Did I do it? I will never tell."
What's he working on now? He's looking for a story about America coming together throughout history and developing three sci-fi films: The Graze, Uprising and Ender's Game (from the brilliant Orson Scott Card book, which has been floating around studios for years, much to the impatience of fans. Maybe this will be the time.).
What's Petersen's take on the high-def format war? Well, he has an HD DVD player, but no Blu-ray. Asked if he'll eventually get a Blu-ray, he replied: "Soon. I have to find a little room. I have a lot of machines there." Don't we all.
Posted by Samantha Clark on October 15, 2007 | Comments (0)
