Video:Wanted - Mark Millar, JG Jones, and Danny Elfman Interviews
with Rebecca MurrayThe creative minds behind the 'Wanted' comic books - Mark Millar and JG Jones - joined the cast of the film and composer Danny Elfman at the Los Angeles Film Festival to talk about the big screen version of their comic book series.
Transcript:Wanted - Mark Millar, JG Jones, and Danny Elfman Interviews
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the Los Angeles Film Festival Special Screening of Wanted.
Mark Millar and JG Jones (Creators of the Wanted Comic Book Series)
What do you guys think of it?
JG Jones: "Mark has seen it. I haven't seen the whole thing."
Mark Millar: "Well, I saw about 90% of it when I was in LA a few months ago and I loved it. There was no music, there was no credits, and a couple of bits weren't quite finished but it was still the best film I've seen for ages. Loved it. I went in prepared to be critical."
But it doesn't completely follow your story.
Mark Millar: "Halfway through it deviates and goes off and does its own thing, and then comes back again for the ending, you know? But I mean, we are producers on it as well and we talked about it beforehand. We understood why they were making changes. The Bourne Identity is nothing like The Bourne Identity book, but sometimes things work better filmically than they do as a comic book, you know? So we said, 'Look, just make it good.' That was our only criteria, and he did."
And James McAvoy was an interesting casting choice.
JG Jones: "A brilliant casting choice."
Mark Millar: "Oh well we insisted on a Scottish lead. Well, Scottish people are the coolest people on the planet, you know? Come on! We knew it was going to make another $100 million if there was a Scottish guy in the lead."
JG Jones: "They'll just keep going back again and again and again."
These guys keep talking about a Wanted 2. What do you think about that?
JG Jones: "It would be nice if it happened."
Mark Millar: "Well, it'd be lovely. We planned the book as one book but obviously the character's set up in a place where he can go off. And Hollywood being Hollywood, this film's going to make a lot of money. You can just smell it when you see this thing."
It's my favorite action movie of the year.
Mark Millar: "Have you seen it already? Genuinely, the action is spectacular, isn't it? Because it's been so long since I've seen a really good action movie. You go and see all these big summer tent poles but it just looks like a lot of CGI and formulaic stuff. And it's stuff we saw in The Matrix six years ago usually. But this is something new. Timur has brought something from another country and given us something new. It's brilliant. I'm very excited."
You are completely satisfied?
Mark Millar: "100%. I couldn't be more satisfied. And honestly, I was ready not to be. I was prepared not to like it, and I came out beaming from the screening room when I saw it a few months ago."
So fans should be happy?
Mark Millar: "Oh, they'll be ecstatic. They'll love it. It's worth 10 bucks. Anything that costs $100 million is worth 10 bucks, and I say that as a Scotsman."
Composer Danny Elfman
How did you capture that mood, that action, that emotion – the whole thing?
Danny Elfman: "Watch the movie and get into Timur's head, and that's just where it took me."
Getting into his head must be a strange trip.
Danny Elfman: "It was a fun trip. Oh yeah, that's what I look forward to most is getting into strange minds and that's why I sought Timur out. I saw his Russian movies Night Watch and Day Watch and said, 'This guy has really got a great sensibility that's his.' And my greatest pleasure in being a composer is finding those…"
How collaborative is he when you're working with him? Is he really into the process the whole time or does he kind of let you do what you do?
Danny Elfman: "It's both. He lets me do what I do, but then he gets really involved and it's very collaborative. He gets lots of ideas. He's got the kind of mind that's working, working, working all the time, always spinning new angles and new ideas."