Jordan Hoffman: The Executive Producer of your film, James Cameron, is big name attached to this one. I wonder was he involved from the beginning?

Alister Grierson:  Andrew Wight, the producer of the film had been working with Jim for the last 10 years on his underwater documentaries. Andrew had this idea for the film and talked about it with him, and Jim was very excited because he wanted to get 3D in the water and in caves and he thought it was going to be a perfect marriage.

Those two worked together developing the story and the concepts about how to put it all together. And then it came to me when Andrew decided to shoot the picture in Australia and was looking for an Australia director. Jim was very much at arm’s length in terms of creative developments of the picture, because he was in the middle of making Avatar at the time, but he was supervising. For example, I’d work very close with my creative team, and I was putting all of my decisions through a loop with Jim.  He would give feedback whenever he felt like he wanted to give feedback. Which is always the form of, “Have you thought about this?” or “What do you think about this?” When we’re shooting, we are left to our own devices, but Jim really became useful creatively at the end of the project, particularly in the edit. I’d come over to Los Angeles and explain the film to Jim and he could give his feedback and make changes as a result.

Jordan Hoffman: What were some of the notes or suggestions that he gave?

Alister Grierson: The thing is, Jim is a master storyteller. He understood intuitively the whole structural thing with the film that we were struggling with. In the early cut, the intensity of the film was unrelenting. It was just too much to ask the audience to bear with. We realized that we needed to structure it in a way that we could get the audience through moments, and then give them an opportunity to breathe, the same way that the characters stop and breathe. I remember seeing the first assembly and, even having made it, it was just so arduous. I remember thinking, “No one is going to be able to bear it.” You know, it’s a claustrophobic environment. Especially seeing how the 3D and the visual environment work in creating that full effect. It’s a very immersive feeling and, even though you know it’s make-believe, you’re feeling that claustrophobia, your heart’s racing, and we’ve got some great, powerful visual moments where we shock people.