The Darkest Hour may not be about Santa Claus and the North Pole, but it is
definitely the holiday movie you should be checking out this December
(release date 12/25). It's part alien invasion flick, part
fish-out-of-water adventure story, and, based on what I've seen, a whole
lot of fun.
Last
year, I got a chance to fly out to Moscow, Russia to visit the set and talk to
the cast and crew, and suffice to say, I was impressed. (Read Part I of my The
Darkest Hour set visit report for interviews with the producers and information
on the aliens.)
The Darkest Hour Set Visit Report Part 2
Part 2 of our The Darkest Hour set visit report features an in-depth interview with director Chris Gorak, scene descriptions and more!
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By Vincent Genovese November 15, 2011 |
Credit: Summit Entertainment
Caviar and Aliens |
While in Moscow for The Darkest Hour set visit, a group of journalists, including myself, were given a tour of the city in all its gothic glory. During the tour we saw the city's famous landmarks (Gorky Park, The Kremlin), as well as specific shooting locations, giving us a firsthand feel of the places the film's characters (Emile Hirsch, Juno's Olivia Thirlby, and The Social Network's Max Minghella) will have to venture through on their journey.
Producers Tom Jacobson and Timur Bekmembatov made it clear that although there will be many scenes that take place in recognizable locations, the film will not be a series of Moscow postcards. The characters will also be traversing through streets and back alleys, getting into the heart of the city while the aliens tear it apart.
Anyone who has seen movies like 2012 or Independence Day knows that beautiful places blow up beautifully, too. Using that logic, it's safe to say that the scene that takes place in Red Square will be like the Mona Lisa of destroyed landmarks in film.
Scenes will also take place in Moscow's beautiful subway stations. Every one one of them is unique, all featuring work of art that seems better suited in a museum, or as desktop wallpaper.
Read on to find out what went down at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and for an in-depth interview with director Chris Gorak.
Credit: Vincent Genovese
Lights Out! |
After our tour, we were taken to the Russian Academy of Sciences for cast interviews (which will be featured in Part III of my set visit) and to witness the shooting of a pivotal scene on the Academy's grounds. There the main characters are on the run from
the electric-alien beings, and are heading to a submarine to take them back
home. A makeshift Russian militia arrives in the nick of time to help them in their escape. These
men have learned how to fight the aliens (electrical devices, flamethrowers,
horseback) and stand up against them amongst the destruction.
Since the aliens are essentially electricity, their
appearance becomes known when a light turns on. The main characters wear a
light bulb around their neck to let them know when danger is near. Going
against the classic horror movie trope, darkness is actually good thing.
In this scene the lights on the Russian Academy of Sciences
begin bursting, indicating trouble. Soon, the electrical devices on the Russian
militia begin lighting up and the fight begins. We were able to watch this
scene on a 3D monitor, and it looked fantastic.
3D when used correctly is an immersive and engrossing
filming technique. In this film it could be used to make the electric aliens
come to life against the backdrop of the dark theater. Used sparingly it will
be a tense viewing experience, overuse it and it will become gimmicky. Luckily,
The Darkest Hour is directed by Chris Gorak, who mastered the art of sparse
filmmaking in his eco-terror indie thriller Right at Your Door.
Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Chris Gorak Interview Part I |
During a filming break, Chris Gorak took the time to speak with us. The bearded, well-mannered director offered insight on how it feels to direct a big budget movie, what he thinks of the films' foreign location and the roots of his sci-fi fandom.
Are you an online
junky? Do you hear what people say [about your films]?
Chris Gorak: In this company, unfortunately not. I
apologize. Not an online junky. I think it's my kids that keep me busy.
Let's just jump into
the easy question of, what was it about this that attracted you?
Chris Gorak: Oh wow. Huge sci-fi fan of, you know, sci-fi
cinema. I always wanted to work as a director on a science-fiction movie, if
not alien invasion. And when I first read this material, it was the concept of
the danger being invisible for most of the film, and the enemy being based on-
I'm not sure how much you guys know.
We know a little bit.
Studio rep: You
can talk about the electricity.
Chris Gorak: The
electricity. How that enemy is seen and not seen and then how we could cinematically
tell that story of being chased by something invisible and now you see it, now
you don't and all the opportunity that gives you in terms of storytelling. For
example, here tonight the alien arrives and turns on all the lights as it
approaches, and I think that is something very unique to this kind of genre.
It's quite a large
step in terms of budget from your first brilliant film—how has that been to
deal with? You obviously have experience on big sets as an art director and
production designer; how is it to be in charge of it as well?
Chris Gorak: It's
been a challenge, it's very exciting. The jump up as a director, it's
definitely a great leap, but having worked in other, larger productions, I
think that helps tremendously in terms of understanding how the film will come
together and what everyone's responsibilities are. How to manage that and
having managed big crews, it's just managing it from a different creative
perspective.
Do you have more
flexibility on a bigger budget in terms of what you can achieve?
Chris Gorak: Oh yeah, you always fill the limits of the budget,
because I think as storytellers we always reach to the limit and are pushed
back by the parameters, financially. You always think you want more, but I
actually enjoy being—not enjoy, but...
I like the challenge of working within the parameters to tell the best
story within the limitations.
How about the 3D? Has
the 3D been any problem for you?
Chris Gorak: When we first started developing this film with
Tom over a year ago, we all had a certain 2D movie in our head, and then this
3D tide turned and we started investigating that possibility of 3D and realized
that so many different elements of this film lended itself to 3D storytelling.
Like, for one, Moscow as a new kind of environment that I don't think the
movie-going audience has experienced on such a scale. The alien itself, the
powers of the alien, the shredding, violence and the lightning, and the alien
electrical-charging, all the different elements really lend itself to 3D
storytelling. But there is an added challenge of all that extra technology,
time set-up, and possibility of more technical difficulties.
How does your design
background influence your choices on this film, and what kind of look can we
expect?
Chris Gorak: Having designed so many different types of films, one thing I've learned through the design process is story comes first. And design is just part of storytelling. So this is very specific to the alien invasion, Moscow, the signs of this danger, so the design—it's form follows function all the time for me. What to expect is something new and exciting and real and gritty; we always talked about it as sort of a war picture, so we're set in a great old historical setting and city with all this grand architecture and hundreds of years of history. All kinds of political history and to have the idea of an invasion here, I think there are so many things that can permeate through that you won't even predict.
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