Legion - Director Scott Stewart Interview, Comic Con
Scott Stewart makes his feature film directorial debut with the action thriller, 'Legion,' starring Paul Bettany as the Archangel Michael. Along with his cast, Stewart made the trek to the San Diego Comic Con to talk about Screen Gems' 'Legion.'
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Transcript: Legion - Director Scott Stewart Interview, Comic Con
Screen Gems' Legion at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con.
Legion Writer/Director Scott Stewart
Coming from a special effects background, how do you make that transition? How do you make that leap into directing?
Scott Stewart: "Well actually I have kind of an unusual background in the sense I was a writer before I became a visual effects artist. The visual effects helped, obviously, because people knew that I could handle things visually. But it starts with story and I had written the script. It kind of started with that. You know, I think coming at it as a writer was what sort of started it because there's a lot of people who can do visual effects, and some of them get an opportunity to direct movies. And I think there's a feeling that there's a general over-reliance on visual effects and just the focus on that. For me, it's just about balancing all of that stuff out."
Is it easier for you to balance it out because you're paying more attention to what you're putting in, special effects-wise?
Scott Stewart: "It does help to some degree. One thing, I know what I can afford budgetarily and what I can't afford, and I try to push the boundaries of that. There's a certain comfort that just comes from you know when you're in the heat of the battle and you're shooting and you see something that you feel like, 'Well, as long as I have it like this, I know I can do that later and make this all work.' And so you have the opportunity to do that, and so there's some comfort from that."
Tyrese was saying he believes you actually kept your best effects for this movie hidden away somewhere.
Scott Stewart: "He's my best salesman. What can I say? I think my best visual effect in the movie is Tyrese Gibson. That's what I think. He's kind of shy."
Paul was saying he's like that all the time on the set. Is he easy to direct?
Scott Stewart: "Tyrese? Director's best friend right there. He's my guy."
Are you guys signed up to do two or three more together after this?
Scott Stewart: "I think now we are."
Is going to be in Priest?
Scott Stewart: "He's not in Priest. You know, he's busy making his Transformers movies - those little pictures. He's busy taking over the world, Tyrese."
You must have had a great time with Paul [Bettany] because you're going to work with him again.
Scott Stewart: "I had a great time with Paul. I had a terrific time with everybody. I had the best cast in the world. I mean, Dennis Quaid... To be able to work with Dennis Quaid was like a dream come true. And Paul, what's so fun about working with Paul and was my mission when I tried to convince him to be in the movie was, 'One day we'll be at Comic Con and there'll be a big giant poster of you completely ripped with a machine gun in your hand and wings.' He went, 'Okay, I'll do that.'"
I love that - a machine gun and wings. Was that one of the first things you thought of when you were thinking of the film? Is that an image you had in your head?
Scott Stewart: "Oh, yeah, definitely. Just the idea of an angel that comes down and has to do some serious ass kicking."
How much did this script change from when you first thought of it to when you went into production?
Scott Stewart: "Scripts always do and there's a sort of saying and I don't know who said it, a very wise person much wiser than me, said, 'There's the movie that you write. There's the movie that you shoot. There's the movie that you edit. And then there's the movie people see, and they're not the same.' None of them are the same. So, you know, it has evolved. It evolves through the process of development. It evolves when you're budgeting. It involves in terms of the cast that you bring, and then you tailor the story. It's very organic and it just kind of works out the way it's supposed to. It's hard for me to imagine the movie being any different than it is, and it's just working out great."
When you were writing it were you thinking you were going to direct it?
Scott Stewart: "Originally I wrote it for somebody else. It came back to me and that just worked out great. I kept working on it and it felt like it was mine to do."
[Tyrese puts in an appearance]
Tyrese Gibson: "All you have to do is just keep saying, 'I'm the greatest. I'm the greatest. Hi, my name is Scott. I'm the greatest. I'm the greatest.' 'So tell us about your movie, Scott.' 'I'm the greatest, I'm the greatest, I'm the greatest, I'm the greatest. And I'm the greatest.' That's it."
Scott Stewart: "He's the greatest salesman on the planet."