Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Talks BIOSHOCK and HIGHLANDER Movies
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has given an update on his long gestating Bioshock and Highlander projects. AICN spoke to the director while he was at SXSW doing press for Intruders.
Here is what the director had to say about his love for Bioshock:
Yeah, me too. You know, there’s a problem with the video game… well, it’s not a problem. The thing is, Bioshock is super complicated, it is a very high budget movie. Obviously, the studio doesn’t want to make a big budget movie with an R (rating). And it has to be an R.
The rating is one of the reasons this project is delayed. Fresnadillo stated:
So, that’s the problem, I think, that the video game and the studio are trying to make an agreement about.
The director went on to talk about his continued involvement with the project:
I don’t know, to be honest. It was a very interesting experience to work with Gore Verbinski developing the story a bit and to pitch with the video game. I learned a lot about Hollywood and this kind of project, but I don’t know.
When asked about his plans to create the Bioshock universe, this is what Fresnadillo had to say:
Yeah, me too, but I would say… keeping in mind that the cost was one of the problems I would recommend to combine realism with good and special CGI. The most important thing is to make it feel like a real thing and I think you could do that with a good DP and a very real concept of the camera.
That was something I proposed from the beginning, (for it) to work as an experience, you know? From the very beginning to the very end tracking the point of view of the hero of the story, going with him.
One of the issues with the project is finding a way to create a story around a game where each player becomes the leader:
You have to create a personality and the proper character to track that. But, you know, it’s a project that is on hold right now, so I’m not paying too much attention to that. Right now I’m so keen (for) another project, which could be my next movie, which is Highlander.
I think it’s a very interesting reboot because I think the concept is so solid and very epic, which is something that I really love, so let’s see if we can continue working on that. I think it could be my next movie.
Here is what Fresnadillo had to say about Highlander:
Again, I think it’s about following the character. I would love, if we make the movie, to feel the immortality. Immortality is a curse and I would love to feel that. You are overcoming time, but you see at the same time that the most beautiful things, the things that you love, are dying and you continue this life as a tragedy. You can’t love with anyone because you’re going to lose that person.
I would love to introduce that flavor in a very strong way in the movie and at the same time the big connection with the Universe. “Why am I immortal? Why am I the chosen one?”
In that sense, the movie is an epic. I think it’s some kind of adventure romantic story about somebody who trying to share in his immortality with someone. I don’t want to reveal more than that, but there is a new revelation in the movie that is connecting with that in a very deep and strong way. If we make it, I hope you enjoy it!
It looks as though fans will not see a Bioshock movie anytime soon. Video games that become movies have a lot of problems, so it is good to hear that they are serious about making this a solid film. As far as Highlander goes, I did not like any of the films aside from the original. It will be interesting to see how that movie comes together.
Which of these films are you looking forward to seeing more?