In September, MaxImage!’s Marty Shindler interviewed director of T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous, Brett Leonard.
You are one of a handful of directors who have directed both conventional and LF films. How did T- Rex, your first LF film, meet your expectations?
Brett Leonard: The [LF] format and what it delivers in terms of a cinematic experience totally goes beyond my expectations. It is a very challenging format to produce in, especially 3D. When you are doing everything new – essentially everything in T-Rex is very innovative – it is about as challenging as you can get in the film and visual effects world. When I saw my rushes in IMAX 3D, I was hooked. It delivers a totally immersive cinematic experience and was the most challenging work I have done.
Would you encourage other mainstream filmmakers to make the leap to LF?
BL: Yes. L-Squared would like to encourage and develop other filmmakers for the medium, whether they are established or new filmmakers. As producers, we would like to bring in other talent, including people who have not been in the medium to this point. It is important, though, that a director be technically astute and willing to make a pioneering effort. It is not for the faint of heart.
The LF marketplace is changing from an institution-dominated environment to one that is more commercial. Does this film advance that transition?
BL: Yes. This is a breakthrough film, one of many [that will] innovate the medium. It delivers a dramatic, feature-film-like experience. The audience has responded to it as though it was a movie, not an IMAX movie. Because it is IMAX, it delivers something above and beyond the 35mm cinematic experience.
It also delivers from a business perspective. The time is now, as the theaters are being built, to make the software to drive the market. The movies will create the market. A film like T-Rex starts to do that. Everest has helped, appealing to a broader demographic, making them aware of IMAX, for those looking for both an entertainment and educational experience.
Is it possible to do good "edutainment?"
Yes. T-rex is an example of that. Any kid that wants to learn about paleontology will be jazzed by this film. You see dig sites and learn how they do that. There are famous paleontologists, and that generates a lot of thinking about dinosaurs.
An LF director asked me a few years ago, "Why can’t I do the things mainstream filmmakers do?" He was referring to various aspects of digital technology not then available for LF films. Is this still a problem today?
BL: There is nothing that can’t be done [in LF] today. T-Rex proves that. The level of photorealism is evident in the film. Compositing in 3D space and the amount of detail required were huge challenges, but we solved them. That’s required when the dinosaurs are in your face.
There will be the inevitable comparisons to Jurassic Park. How do you think T-Rex stands up?
BL: We are over that hump. The level of realism in the dinosaurs is evident and confirmed by the focus groups across the board. We can’t fill the entire film with dinosaurs, yet the proportion of screen time is comparable to Jurassic Park. And in T-Rex you can see them better, since they are not in the rain and dark. They are very up-front and in your face, in daylight. The point is that the film delivers just enough dinosaurs to make the audience want to get back in line.
Will the film be scary to younger children, as Jurassic Park was?
BL: Not as scary, but definitely not for people under five years old. You really have to consider that the T. rex coming to life in the museum – one of the signature effects in the film – is very intense. That dinosaur does not kill anybody, but just the sight of a big dinosaur – a monster – coming out of the screen is scary for little kids. Those over five in the test group audience loved it; they can’t get enough dinosaurs.
Do you foresee the day when a film like Lawnmower Man or Virtuosity can be done in LF?
BL: Absolutely.