Video:The Book of Eli - Albert, Allen Hughes Interview, Comic Con
with Rebecca MurrayDirectors Albert and Allen Hughes return after nearly a decade since their last film for 'The Book of Eli,' an action drama set in a post-apocalyptic world and starring Oscar-winner Denzel Washington.
Transcript:The Book of Eli - Albert, Allen Hughes Interview, Comic Con
Warner Bros Pictures' The Book of Eli at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con.
The Book of Eli Directors Albert and Allen Hughes
So how come it took you guys so long to do another film?
Albert Hughes: "It was the women, the drugs, the parties...No."
Allen Hughes: "Did he mention the whores?"
He didn't mention that.
Allen Hughes: "Oh, okay. That too. You know, it's hard to find good material. Most filmmakers are a little smarter than us in one area - they jump on the material no matter what condition it's in and they work it, work it, work it, work it. And we are..."
Albert Hughes: "We're picky."
Allen Hughes: "We're very picky."
Albert Hughes: "We'd rather almost stay home and watch movies than make one, unless it's something that gets us going. And there's two people involved now so he has to like it and I have to like it. It's not like one person."
Allen Hughes: "Complicated."
How does that work? Does one overrule the other?
Albert Hughes: "No. I mean we both have to agree on it. He was the first one to read this script. He called me up and at first I was kind of like, 'I don't know.' And then I read it, went to sleep on it, woke up and said, 'I get it now. Yeah.'"
How was it getting this tone? You look at it and it's bleak and kind of depressing. How was it working on that environment?
Albert Hughes: "It was actually fun because you've got Denzel who's actually very funny in person."
Allen Hughes: "As you can hear."
Albert Hughes: "And Gary Oldman who also has a wicked sense of humor. And going in, knowing it's a bleak world, they bring kind of some humor to it, bring some levity to the material. You always have to keep that going so the audience doesn't get down. Because in the end, this story's not bleak. It's not like that. It's more based on what these fans out here are about. It's more based on kind of a comic book, graphic novel world. Even though it didn't come from that, it's very much inspired by that kind of look and feel."
That's why it's perfect for Comic Con.
Albert Hughes: "Oh yeah. Yeah. I mean we used the artists of that world, like Tommy Lee Edwards and Chris Weston and Rodolfo Dimaggio, who these guys all know out here to help set a look for us very early on."