MC: Another thing you talked about is how there are basically only two actors in the film. Was there ever a time where you basically thought, “This is not going to work”?
GE: Yeah all the time. We were given these little cameras to do video diaries, and in the end we were so busy I hardly got to touch them. The first night at the end I did a video diary, and I said how I honestly felt about the film. And, all I was worried about the next day was finding that camera so I could delete that footage, and I found it and deleted it.
The reason why I deleted it was because what I said basically – I can say it now – is that this film is either going to be, I’m not saying the film’s good, but at the time I thought this film is either going to be great or a piece of sh*t. It’s not going to be okay. It’s not the kind of film that’s going to be fine. It’s going to be really good or rubbish. I think the reality is that it’s both those things depending on who you are. Some people will hate this movie, it’s really not for them, it’s not what they want to see, and I think some people will really respond to it. I think the reason why I deleted it was because I felt like if it does go wrong it would be really unprofessional of me to be aware of that at the start and still go ahead and make it the way I wanted to. I think it’s panned out okay.
MC: The thing I noticed in this film was the editing. For a film that you say is guerilla style, it was edited really well. Had I not known all this background information – that none of these people were actors, that it cost under $100,000 that you shot on regular cameras – I would have thought it was a typical Indie film.
GE: I think it was definitely well edited. It was Colin Goudie, the editor.
MC: Did he yell at you for giving him too much footage?
GE: No, no, no. That’s the amazing thing about Colin – this is why it’s such a joy to work with him – I work really hard on a film. I kind of wake up, and I do nothing but the film and go to bed very late. Colin is one of the few people that could compete with the hours that I put into this film. When we were editing, he was there before me, and he would often be there after me. We literally would get in at least at nine in the morning and we wouldn’t go home until midnight, every single day, weekends as well, for eight months. The money didn’t warrant that, not for Colin, he really believed in the film, and he believes in me. It’s like spending eight months with one of your best mates. I really look forward to sitting next to him and chatting nonsense and talking about science fiction and girls, etc. I just really enjoy it.
Editing is my favorite part because writing is hard because you’re trying to pull an idea from nowhere. It’s like alchemy. Filming is incredibly hard because you have this tiny window of opportunity to get everything that you’re ever going to need, and it’s really stressful. But editing is when it’s all calm, and you take as long as you need to scope the best film you can. That’s the fun of it, and you have a partner who takes the sh*t with you. When you’re directing it feels like you’re on your own, but when you’re editing it feels like the two of you, you’re like a double act and you’re like a united front against who has issues with the film or who wants to change things that you don’t agree with.
MC: You said you’re first cut was four and a half hours. What is the one scene that ended up on the cutting room floor that was hardest for you?
GE: It’s not the hardest to hit the cutting room floor because it deserved to go, but the biggest regret was that there was a scene on the train about 15 minutes into the film where there was supposed to be another monster attack, and I think that would have helped pace the film. We shot that scene, and it just got cut out because a) we had to get the film down in size and b) there was this feeling we had to get them into the sh*t the get into faster. We just raced ahead in the early part of the film. I think if we left that bit in, maybe that would have bought us a bit more time because people would have had another creature moment.
But, I’m still very happy. I’ve had to sit and watch this film at least 100 times now, all the festivals, and when you do a version the director has to go and approve it, and just check it was all correct. What I’m just really surprised about is I’m not bored with it. I really like it. I can still watch it and get engrossed with it because I still enjoy the journey, and I enjoy the world. The film doesn’t hang so much on a twist or a reveal or a plot device. The film hangs on the environment and the atmosphere created by being with these two people on this journey, and that’s always true no matter how many times you watch it. It’s about being in that world, and I really like that world. I’d happily go back there for a sequel.
MC: Would you shoot it the same way?
GE: Well you’d have to wouldn’t you?
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