Joel Silver (Speed Racer) Interview
From writer/directors Larry and Andy Wachowski, the creators of the groundbreaking The Matrix trilogy, and producer Joel Silver, comes the live-action, high-octane family adventure Speed Racer, starring Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci.
How did the Wachowskis get involved with this film?
They knew that I had this project for a while, and we talked about it in the past. They loved the show when they were kids. It was the first time they had ever really seen anime. They were aware that it was different than The Flintstones or the Hanna-Barbera stuff that we were growing up with at the time. They realized it was something special. They always loved it; they'd always talk to me about it, and one day they called me. It was after we'd done V for Vendetta and they asked, ‘What are you doing with that Speed Racer thing?’ I told them I was struggling with it. They said, ‘Well, we have an idea.’ I told them to take a shot at it and they went off in their studio.
They put up some dough and they did a pre-visualization of a race. They said, ‘Look, we're going to show you what we want this movie to look like and if you like it, then we should do it. But if you don't like it then let's not do it.’ Actually, there are some shots from that pre-vis, which is about five minutes long, that made it all the way through to the finished movie. They are finished shots but they started out in that initial pre-vis. It was a race like Thunderhead with elements of the Grand Prix. It was just a big race of them creating the look of the movie, which was this weird hyper-real visual effect CGI world with these cars that did things that you'd never seen before.
In Matrix Reloaded, there was a car chase and in that car chase there was part of the scene where Trinity's character is driving against traffic on a motorcycle. Which we really couldn't do with real cars because if somebody made a mistake, that would be the end of her because she was going against the traffic. Virtually all of the cars in that sequence were CGI cars. But they were meant to look photorealistic. You were meant to not realize that they were CGI cars. On this movie they wanted the cars to not be totally realistic [but instead] to be kind of fantasy car, one that looks real but does things and acts in a way that a real car couldn't. So, they showed us that in the pre-vis.
Were you a fan of the Speed Racer cartoons?
Yeah. I acquired the rights almost 20 years ago. I remember the show when it came on the air in the late '60s. I was a little older than my son is now. I've shown him the show. He loves it but I was older than that. I remember it coming on the air and being intrigued by it. Then, when someone brought to my attention that the rights were available, I said ‘Let's take a shot. Let's try to do it.’ Very soon after that it started running again on MTV, which brought it to a whole new audience.
How do you keep your interest in a project for so long?
I believe in it. Sometimes things happen very quickly. The next picture I have is called RocknRolla. It’s directed by Guy Ritchie. He came to me on a Friday and on Monday we said, ‘Let’s make it.’ A month after I met him, we were shooting. So, sometimes it happens real fast. And sometimes they take a long time. V took a long time too. I mean these movies sometimes take a long time to come together.
Was it easier to make a movie in the days before CGI?
We were making Die Hard 2; it was one of the warmest winters in history and we couldn't find snow anywhere. We finally went to Alpena, at the northern tip of Michigan, to finish that movie. There wouldn’t even be a discussion today about that. CGI just makes the process very different. It's a different way of making movies. If you look at really early '30s movies, they would do all close-ups in the stage. They’d shoot the wide shots of the China Seas and Clark Gable on the backlot. But for the close-ups, they would go back to the stage and put a backing up and shoot them.
They wanted complete control, even at that time. They didn't even shoot the close-ups out on the back lot; they shot them on the stage. Then, of course, you went to the level we went to. Lucas didn't have to go to Tatooine to make Star Wars. I mean, there’s no such place as Tatooine, except in his head. But he still made the movie. You can make it sitting in a big green room and make anything you want. And that's how we made this movie.
Do you, as a producer, educate yourself on the techniques or do you just get a primer on it?
I like to know what we're doing. I like to know how it's being done. A lot of these things in this movie we were devising as it went along. They were inventing the processes. There are things in this movie that have never been done before, ever. The idea of how they use the lens, how they use the editorial process, how they use the camera, how they use the backgrounds, how they use focus – a lot of it you're not supposed to realize but a lot of it is meant to draw you into the story and the picture. I like to know how they get there. I think I know about digital effects, but I learn something every day.
This is a more kid-friendly film than you’ve done in years.
It’s a great story with great characters. It’s really exciting. It’s a movie for the whole family. That was the idea, to make a movie that was for the whole family together.
With all of your responsibilities as a producer during the filmmaking process, is there a point where you can just sit back and enjoy the finished film?
Oh, sure I can. It can be a bit nerve wracking the weekend the movie opens, but I love the movie. I love watching it. I really enjoy seeing an audience watch it. It gets me every time. I think it’s emotional. It's a good story; good characters and I think people will love that.
Can you read what an audience is feeling?
We had a screening of the movie at a theatre in Long Beach. And it was a dream come true. The numbers were through the roof. And I mean really high 90s. It's just unbelievable. .
With all of the changes going on with the studios, are you surprised by the state of Hollywood?
Last year was the most successful year in history of the movie industry, so we're in a good time. It's a good time for us all. But the world is changing. We can make different kinds of movies. Speed Racer is a real international movie. There are so many cultures represented in the picture. There is a huge international market out there for movies. The business never was as big as it's been and I think it's an opportunity – the world is all open to us. You have a movie like this where you have actors in it from Australia and Germany and England and the U.S. and Asia. There are so many different cultures represented. I think that is something that is fresh and new and that's never been done before.
Did you cut a lot of scenes out of the movie?
Well, this is the director's cut. We have a few scenes that we did lose that we might include [on the DVD]. They have to be finished because they're all visual effects shots. But we may include some of those scenes in there, just a few. We have a lot of really great features. There's a great feature coming out now that Warner Home Video is putting out through Target. It's a mock documentary about the Racer family, which is really good. It’s available through Target now and then it'll be a feature on the DVD. There will be a longer version on the DVD. It’s cool thing that gives you the back story on the Racer family. Everybody's in it but as their characters, not behind the scenes, talking about their lives and the story.
This is going to be the DVD that everybody buys to show off their new plasma TV, isn't it?
I think that Blu-Ray will really benefit from this movie. When we made The Matrix, they told us that when the film came out in DVD it helped sell DVD players. People were buying DVD players because they wanted to see and feel that movie. And I think that this movie will do that same thing for Blu-Ray.
Will the DVD be a stand-alone or a double disc with all of the features?
I don't know yet. We're just all starting to talk about that. It always depends on how the movie is released. This movie opens all over the world at the same time - within days of each other. Japan is a little later, but every place else it's going to go within the first few days. So, we'll know the response to the picture right away. If the movie has the response that I hope it'll have, that'll push us in one direction with the DVD and if it doesn't then we'll do another.
Are you keeping a Mach 5?
There was only really one Mach 5 built. It had no engine. It really couldn't go anywhere because it was just a prop. You see it in the movie, sitting in the Racer house. We made a few more of them to travel around for publicity, but again, no engine, no driving, nothing. The studio has one around but it’s not very practical as it can't do anything.
How do you like having the film released in IMAX?
I think it's pretty fantastic in IMAX. It's just huge and colorful. I think it's a good idea.
Speed Racer is relased in UK cinemas on 9th May 2008.
