THE director of family fantasy film Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, released on DVD and Blu-ray this week, is Chris Columbus.
He directed the first two Harry Potter films – Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets – and also produced the third, Prisoner of Azkaban.
As I noted in my Blu-ray review yesterday, I felt that Lightning Thief has echoes of the Potter films. It’s pretty obvious that Hollywood is looking for the next big children’s fantasy adventure franchise on the big screen.
Here’s what Columbus had to say about his work on Percy Jackson, his thoughts on possible sequels and his view on any perceived parallels with the world of Hogwarts…
Is there any link between Percy Jackson and the Harry Potter movies?
Chris Columbus: All fantasy films are connected in some way, whether it’s Spider-Man or The Lord Of The Rings or Percy Jackson or Potter, they’re connected at their heart by a hero who is sometimes severely flawed, looking to fill this emptiness inside by going on a quest. Potter is more about wizardry whereas this is Greek mythology. I wouldn’t have wanted to get involved in a film that was like Potter but this was something I hadn’t seen before.
How was this different from making Harry Potter?
Well, the schedule was a little more intense for this particular picture. I had actors that were a little more seasoned than the first Potter film where the kids had never acted before. If you see that first film there is a lot of cuts back and forth but it was great to have the experience on those pictures to bring it onto this film in terms of visual effects.
How much has CGI changed since the first Harry Potter movies?
The first three Harry Potter films were like a graduate course in CGI filming for myself. If you notice in the first film it’s a little creaky, it’s OK, then as we subsequently went to picture number two and picture number three it got a lot better. I learned a lot on those films and there was a certain method of just being obsessive about special effects to get them to a point where they are seamless and I think we succeeded.
Are you planning to work on sequels?
I would like to do five. I was going to do seven Potter films – but I got burned out. This is much more spread out so I can see myself doing these.
What made you want to film this story?
My daughter, who happens to be dyslexic like Percy Jackson, was listening to the book on CD and I started listening to it with her and I was really taken by it. If I am going to do a film of this size I wanted it to feel like it was something new and original. What I loved about this story is the idea of Greek mythology and the gods and the monsters living amongst us in modern day America in a contemporary setting. I thought it was a very unique storyline and it allowed me visually as a director to get excited about doing this world and these creatures in a way children today had a chance to see them. They may be able to go back and look at Jason and the Argonauts and the Ray Harryhausen films, but with the way CGI is today we can really create a brand new unique world for these kids. That’s why I fell in love with it.
What can kids learn from this?
They learn the basics of Greek mythology andthese stories have lasted forever. Great stories have been told from generation to generation. They last for centuries because they are great stories and the way we’ve done the film there is not a lot of backstory but there is enough for a basic primer in Greek mythology and if it gets kids interested in Greek mythology than that’s great. There is the kid’s version of Greek mythology and then the very R-rated version which we avoid in this film.
How did you pick Logan Lerman for the lead?
I saw 3:10 to Yuma and I thought his performance was interesting and something I hadn’t seen before from a 14 year old kid, There is a real sense of depth and emotion in that performance. So I kept that in the back of my head in case I was ever casting a young man in a role. Then Percy came along and I brought him into the office and we met and he did a screen test. His performance was so strong and mature and I felt I had the perfect Percy and I feel he is going on to have a great career as an actor like a Matt Damon or Robert DeNiro and I have never said that before about anyone – but he is that good. He is not concerned about fame – he wants to make great movies. He wants to act and write and direct. It’s a great performance in our movie and I’m really proud of him.
You have worked a lot with child actors. What have you learned?
I learnt a big lesson way back when we did Home Alone because when I cast that I wasn’t really looking at the kid’s family life. I was casting a kid who truly had a troubled family life. I don’t think it worked out for him or his family. When I did Potter I realised that you really have to cast the family as well, and look at their parents, and those Potter kids have turned out pretty well. In this film the kids are a little older and they are already on their separate paths but everyone was committed and excited to be in the film. That’s one of the reasons I like to work with younger people – because they are so excited to be there – to have that strong work ethic that I strive for on set.
Do you have a good eye to cast young actors?
I’m lucky enough to say no a lot. Once you set a standard and you say no enough times, the right kid will appear – it’s a matter of never compromising.
Do you think you have a particular gift to direct young actors?
I don’t think it’s a gift. I think I respond to their energy – to that sort of enthusiasm and excitement. If you get a jaded adult they don’t want to give you 200 per cent. To me it’s like a tennis match and younger people tend to really give you more than anyone else.
How do you approach directing – is it from a more visual stance?
First and foremost never loosing sight of the story is the most important. What was exciting to me about this movie is that we could go visually on film to places I hadn’t seen before. The concept that Percy can control water to me was tremendously exciting because for the last year and half, CGI water has been almost impossible to achieve in a realistic way. Now they’ve been able to figure it out so we’ve been able to give Percy this incredible power of controlling water and using it as a weapon and that hasn’t been done before. When I was working with the script we came up with a scene where Percy is fighting Hydra – who is a fire-breathing five-headed dragon – and the concept of the flames mixed with the water was an image that was in my head from day one because Percy creates this incredible wall of water to protect himself. Those kinds of visual images are exciting to me.
What about visualising Medusa?
The idea of creating a Medusa that is very real was also exciting. In the past Medusa was always this hideous, evil, one-dimensional monster. I think Medusa was someone who is incredibly seductive particularly if she has 75 snakes on her head and she gets you to look at her and turn to stone. So the first goal was to cast someone who is seductive but who also had a tough dangerous side because Medusa is extremely deadly, so Uma Thurman was perfect for the role. It was Uma’s idea that these snakes had lived with her for hundreds of years so she knew them, so if she looks at them they will turn. CGI is sometimes accused of being cold and distant but this time they were given a motivation from an actress and it’s based on everything Uma is doing and how she is controlling them. I get excited about the visual aspect and in tandem with the performances.
Which Greek god would you imagine yourself to be?
I was so exhausted after doing this movie, it might be Dionysus, the god of wine.
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