Director Gary Ross Talks About OCEAN'S EIGHT, His Continuation of Soderbergh's Heist Trilogy

Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven remake is a great example of breezy summer filmmaking at its best, with an excellent combination of humor, action, and intelligence. The two sequels never quite captured the lightning of that 2001 movie, but now a different director is lining up a different cast for a continuation that could bring back that vibe in a big way.

Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit) is directing Ocean's Eight (formerly known as Ocean's Ocho), a sequel in which Sandra Bullock plays George Clooney's character's ex-con sister who recruits her own team to steal a necklace from the Met Ball and frame a villainous gallery owner. Joining Bullock (so far) are Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter, and Elizabeth Banks, so assuming all of those ladies are on Bullock's team and aren't playing the villain, there are still three slots left to fill.

In a new interview with Slashfilm, Ross spoke about his collaboration with Soderbergh on the new movie:

I think it’s a pretty similar tone. You know, Steven Soderbergh and I are incredibly close friends, and we would not have done this if we weren’t. I don’t think he would’ve wanted anyone to do it if we weren’t. This is very much an extension and a continuation. He’s a producer on the movie. In one way or another, this has been a 20-year conversation between Steven and I, collaborating in ways the whole world doesn’t know about: I helped him on the previous Ocean’s Eleven films; he shot second unit on The Hunger Games; I’ve done ADR lines for him; and he reads all my scripts. It’s a very long, ongoing collaboration. This, I think, is a very seamless process. We’re different filmmakers, obviously, so there will be those differences, but one of the things I’m drawn to is the amazing tone Steven was able to create, and we discuss that a lot. We discuss the cinema a lot, the shooting style, the rhythm, the editing style, and the music. We discuss it all. I’m in no way trying to reinvent the tone, and I’m thrilled and honored to be extending it. It’s really fun to work with.

I wouldn't have really expected it from his filmography, but if he's that close with Soderbergh, maybe he is the perfect guy to try to bring a slight twist to that formula and recapture the tone of that trilogy. What do you think about this movie?