Video:Louis Leterrier Clash of the Titans Interview

Transcript:Louis Leterrier Clash of the Titans Interview

Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the Los Angeles Premiere of Warner Bros Pictures' Clash of the Titans.

Clash of the Titans Director Louis Leterrier

You were a fan of the original, so was there a weight on your shoulder – an extra one – when you're bringing something like this…

Louis Leterrier: "A chip on my shoulder. Harry Hamlin's standing here – I'm actually very scared."

But is there an extra weight when you're bringing something like this back to life on the screen?

Louis Leterrier: "Yes, certainly. It's really really tough to be a fan and to be willing to reopen the door and remake something that you've loved so much, and still love so much. So I actually didn't want to do a proper remake, meaning like follow the story beat by beat. So I started analyzing why somebody like this would go on a journey, and by changing this, changing the beginning, then it created like a snowball of changes. But we hit certain flagpoles, but most of it's quite different. Casting Sam Worthington over Harry Hamlin is a huge change."

And you put in more backstories of certain characters that we didn't know about in the first movie.

Louis Leterrier: "That was important. For me, it's a band of brothers. Perseus is not an anti-hero; he's not somebody who rejects what he's offered. He could have been a great fisherman but something happens and then he's destroyed, and he's an empty shell. So to reconstruct himself, he has to be surrounded by great brothers and female characters. It's actually…the people around Perseus are as important as Perseus."

I like that the females in this are stronger than they were in the original. That's a nice move.

Louis Leterrier: "Oh good, thanks. I never liked damsel in distress. For me, it's always like…I like strong female characters. Actually, in this movie they're actually stronger than the men. They're the ones that say, 'Don't give up. Come on, go, go, go!'"

What about those rumors that you're going to do The Avengers and Y: The Last Man? What's happening?

Louis Leterrier: "They're just rumors. It's funny. It's like if you ask me, 'Would you like to direct Superman?,' I'd say, 'Oh yeah, I'd love to direct Superman.' Bam! I'm directing Superman. Don't ask me anything because I'll say, 'Yeah, I'd love to do it.' I'm a fan. Before being a filmmaker, I'm a moviegoer. I'm a fan. I read comic books. I read books, I read all that stuff, so I've got stories in my head so when somebody says, 'Would you like to…,' of course I'd like to."

Is there something that you're going to do next that you know for sure?

Louis Leterrier: "I hope. I don't know, you tell me. It depends. After opening weekend we'll be known."

Is this one supposed to be part of a trilogy?

Louis Leterrier: "Well, I was quite frustrated telling [only] this story, analyzing all this Greek mythology just to explore this world. Then I realized, 'Oh man, I want to reopen Greek mythology.' When Warner Bros came to us they said, 'Okay, we'll greenlight the movie if you promise us that you can, in case it's successful, prolong the story.' I said, 'Please. Please let me help you with this.' So we sort of like sketched out with the writers, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, who sketched out the story for two more episodes, maybe a backstory in the beginning. This gives it like a real universe. But, who knows, we might still change that up. It got us excited, we showed it to the actors – Liam Neeson was real excited. Ralph Fiennes loved it. We had some good stuff for Ralph. And yeah, you know, if I have a job after this weekend, maybe I'll do it."

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