For many of us, it’s impossible to immediately hear the word “mutation” Think X-Men. Marvel’s more than 60-year-old team of mutants, the subject of comics, movies, TV shows, toys and more, has become so dominant in pop culture, especially in the past few decades, that it’s a valid line of thinking.So when I tell you there are A great new mutants movie Coming out, you might first think I’m talking about Deadpool vs Wolverine. I’m not.
what i said is animal kingdom, A powerful, poetic and uplifting film Directed by Thomas Kelly. Set in a world where certain humans begin to mysteriously transform into hybrids of themselves and animals, the film tells the story of a father and son, a mutant mother, and ultimately much more.The show opens on demand in select theaters Friday and Friday Comes with our highest recommendation, So io9 sat down with Cailley to discuss the issue.
The co-writer and director explained via video chat with the help of a translator why he thinks mutant themes are much more complex than those of the X-Men. We also discuss how he uses this metaphor as a mirror to our humanity, as well as the stunning creature designs, on-location shooting, and how this cohesion adds a realism that movies starring Cyclops, Wolverine, and Storm could never achieve level.
Enjoy the interview with Kelly below and be sure to check it out animal kingdom In theaters and on demand March 15.
Germain Lussier, io9: So Although my review is very goodI guess most of my readers don’t know much about animal kingdom. Please tell me how this idea came about.
Thomas Kelly: I started writing the film in 2019 with co-writer Pauline Munier. And what I liked was this idea of mutation, which on the one hand is looking at what it means to grow up, to become an adult, but also allowed for an exploration of the black box of the parent-child relationship and the theme of Contagion. It also gives us a look at what happens in a society where everything is turned upside down, where suddenly things are changing very quickly and certain instincts are being awakened. The instinct for unconditional love, but also rejection and violence. It’s a way of asking important questions about how we live and relate to each other.
io9: I have to admit, when I first read about this movie at Fantasy Fest, the first thing I thought of when I saw “Mutants” was “X-Men.” I’m sure many people have the same connection. Obviously, it’s not like that, but how much, if any, have you ever watched or thought about the X-Men or any other mutant in pop culture before you turned on them yourself?
Kelly: I think the human-animal hybrid metaphor goes back to comic books, the X-Men, and the Marvel Universe. Prehistoric cave walls feature a mixture of animals and humans. It’s a very, very old story, dating back to a time when we still thought of ourselves as belonging to the vast world we now call nature. Once the movie captures this blend of themes, it basically goes in two directions. The only direction is the monster. Humans become animals and therefore monsters. Another direction is for humans to gain the abilities or powers of animals, which turns them into superheroes like the X-Men. Our goal was to create characters that were neither monsters nor superheroes. This is why once a character takes on animal traits or traits, he or she loses human ones. This makes our characters inherently incomplete, which I think is fundamental to our humanity.
io9: Wow, I love this.I also like this story, although this story could be told on a global scale, kind of like Independence isy, you decided to really focus on telling the global story of the father-son relationship on a personal level. How did you decide to tell the story this way?
Kelly: It’s really this relationship between father and son that makes up the script and the story of the movie. That’s what interests me on the most basic level. This is how parents view their children and how children change. I think this is the most common aspect of this society. Of course, the way the mutation affects Emile is a metaphor for adulthood, maturity. And what the father, François, has to learn in the film is to let his son, his child, be who he has to be, and thus learn to live without him. This is really the centerpiece of the film. And then other parts of the movie go towards thrillers and even body horror, and we’re also trying to really look at the political aspects of the story of the movie. How are these mutants accepted by society. But you’re right in saying that the center of the film is the love between a father and his son, and how that love changes us.
io9: Of the two characters, I was most interested in Emile because of how he personally dealt with the gradual transition from human to animal. It happens in such a smart, logical way, so I’m wondering how you tracked the character’s performance in the movie.
Kelly: To me, it all starts and comes from his mother. When the movie begins, these mutations have been happening for two years, and they’ve changed the world. And Emil’s mother is one of those directly affected by the disease. At the beginning of the film, Emile rejects his mother. I think that’s because he believes he has the right to have a normal adolescence, and that’s why the father and son characters are at odds with each other, which is that the father absolutely wants to keep his family together. He wanted his mother to stay in this home. So we start with Emile rejecting things that are out of character. He refused to accept his mother’s abnormality.
But like fairy tales, the worst nightmares always come true. So when Emil almost wants his mother to disappear, he begins to mutate. In his mutation, he will find positive emotions. His relationship with the young woman in the film is made possible by a mutation. His relationship with Birdman also benefited from his mutation. His mutation makes him truly brave. This makes him grow faster. From that point on, it was like the relationship with his father was reversed, because in the beginning, his father was filled with certainties, while Emile was not. What ended up happening was that Emile knew where he had to go. And the father was unsure about everything. He has no certainty. What I thought was wonderful then was that the son’s courage inspired his father.
io9: Now, I want to talk a little bit about the creature design, because not only is the design beautiful, but the execution is brilliant. Tell me a little bit about that process. Is this an evolution of something traditional like conceptual art? How did you come up with different looks for all the mutants in the movie?
Kelly: Well, we started working with comic creators and character designers based on the script. We did that for a few months, and then we started using things we’d tried on that job in casting. We try to find actors who have strange bodies, unusual bodies, or have specific, unusual ways of using their bodies. And then very quickly, there was a big debate, a big question about how to implement our technology portfolio. I didn’t want to have 100% digital effects or CGI. I wanted the effect of the film to be concrete and organic, so we decided to maximize it on set. We realized that to do this we needed a variety of technologies. So we always rely on acting. There is always an actor in front of the camera. There’s a lot of prosthetics, a lot of practical effects on set, and some digital effects. We also decided to only shoot on location. There is no studio or green screen to make the film as natural and real as possible.
io9: Unfortunately, this leads me to my last question. How has shooting on location changed your approach to special effects and costumes? Of course, this means you can’t hide as much.
Kelly: When shooting in real locations, you have real vegetation and natural light, which gives things a very specific color and contrast. So when you’re shooting real effects in real locations, it helps you find coherence in your film, which means you think about effects and everything else in the same way. They are part of the same image, rather than separate stages of production that may be months apart when effects are created in post-production. So, for me, the fun thing about shooting in real locations is that you’re photographing something live. The forest is a living entity. Wind, light, falling leaves, the ground. All of this raises the standard of realism in the film. In this case, it’s CGI’s job to bring the highest level of believability to the image. And when you shoot with a green screen, CGI sets the standard for believability. If I’m shooting in a real location, then it’s me and my crew who set the standard. That’s what I prefer because it gives me control over what I’m doing.
Trust us, Kelly knows what he’s doing. animal kingdom It will be released in theaters and on demand on Friday, March 15.
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