MATTHEW VAUGHN INTERVIEW 22 MAY 2011 THE DORCHESTER HOTEL, LONDON PART 3 (of 3 Part 1 and Part 2) of the roundtable interview OWF took part in with X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn. The following is the last 12 minutes of our interview where Vaughn spills on the James Bond influence on his film, misogynism in the 60's, which Oscar winning Brit actor he considered to play Sebastian Shaw before choosing Kevin Bacon, how Take That ended up providing the end credits track and a little word on what he might make next. Q: Xaviers quite arrogant at the start of the film at university..
MV: Yeah, cocky
Q: and its the relationship with Erik that does start to mellow him.
MV: Yeah, and I also think when he realises there are other mutants out there, and because of Shaw, realising that the worst that can happen is mutants getting a bad press, being hated, just because Shaws trying to kill everyone.
Q: One of the things I really like is the relationship with Mystique.
MV: Well Mystique is the catalyst between the two of them as well, the way they both treat her differently. You need a third character always. Mystique was a tricky character as well now Ive got daughters the idea of girls not being comfortable in their own skin, and theres that moment where Magneto says does a tiger cover up, and then Xavier saying whoa, put some clothes on. You always try to show different attitudes towards the same thing.
Q: Youve talked about James Bond in how you perceived the character of Erik, did you have a similar archetype in mind for Xavier?
MV: Not really actually. I said to James lets just make this character more fun, so that you slowly see him becoming the Professor X. You see the transition. Its just not as fun, thats the bottom line seeing Magneto become a villain, thats far more interesting than watching a guy sadly becoming a cripple, and becoming a teacher. Ultimately its not quite the arc you want to see as much. I think James did a fabulous job because its the hardest character to make interesting.
Q: You had to juggle the comic book style with the period style because its set in the 60s, and its quite subtle. The girls are all very leggy, which happens in the comics, with that dark under-current of morality.
MV: Well we tried to capture that 60s misogynist vibe. We were doing nods to all those 60s films but we tried to make them feel a bit more real. But at the same its a movie so we tried to heighten it in a way that you just went with it.
Q: A lot of energy is spent is making all the tropes of comic book movies work, did you ever think I wish I didnt have to deal with all of these trappings?
MV: Well no, because I love the X-men world, for me that was fun. It was fun to look at the comics. Look how the characters dressed, give them to the costume designer and say take that blue and yellow... The blue and yellow outfits (from the first films)? No offence to Fox but they kept looking like the Fantastic fucking Four. Theres a lot of great stuff from the early 60s X-Men comics, we had that everywhere, all the panels. How they looked, how they dressed. Sammy (Sammy Sheldon) is a brilliant costume designer, and she just made it fit to the real world.
Q: We even have the CIA agent (Rose Byrne) wearing a miniscule skirt
MV: Yeah its that whole misogynist thing You know theres the line theres no place for women in the CIA, Lauren Shuler Donner (producer) said youve got to get rid of that line, I hate that line, and I was like Lauren I dont believe that, but thats what it was like back then. I said why did she hate that line Laurens very sensitive about her age, shes from that period and then she opened up and said well that is what it was like. I said thats the whole point, if were going to recreate the 60s, we recreate the 60s, and thats how the attitude was and thats why they dressed like that. I was trying to put reality into some pretty silly moments. Im a big believer that if you ground it in a way you can relate too then you can get away with blue murder.
Q: Getting back to the Bond them, I thought Kevin Bacon was wonderful as Sebastian Shaw, and he was very much a Bond villain, was that deliberate on your part?
MV: Totally, You Only Live Twice - I dont know if you guys remember that it was all about trying to create a nuclear war, so You Only Live Twice was very influential in that.
Q: Was Bacon your first choice for Shaw?
MV: There were two actors I was thinking of, either Colin Firth, or Bacon, and theyre best friends which I didnt fucking realise. So they knew about it as well, that I was talking to both of them. But Fox were very nervous about having another Brit in there. I thought it would be really interesting to see Colin Firth playing a villain. This was way before Kings Speech and getting Oscars and shit, but hes a great actor and it would have been interesting to see what he would have done with it. Also Ive been a fan of Kevins a long, long time. Kevin had that bravado that Shaw needed, because Shaws a difficult character, the whole thing about absorbing energy, how do you do that? And the ponytail and dressing up in cravats and all that shit, if we get it wrong I dont want to be like Stormbreaker where you get these villains you cant take seriously. So I just sat down with Kevin and we said lets make him like a Bond villain where hes suave, debonair, and charming. But getting his power right, fucking hell, that was very tough. I mean how do kill someone who absorbs energy? Shaw I think was the hardest character to get right.
Q: Talking of Bond again, the scene in the Argentinian bar where youve got Eriks gun shot to camera, was that a deliberate homage?
MV: Totally, yeah, sort of want the Broccolis to regret never hiring me. No, but I love the Bond movies, and with my son were now watching them all and he loves them so I couldnt help but put a few nods in there.
Q: Gender, and the way women were treated in the 60s was something you thought through but the films also set in the same time that the civil rights movement was starting, what thinking did you have about race issues?
MV: We talked about it because they say X-Men was based on Martin Luther King and Malcolm X but I think I had enough political sub-plot in this movie. We talked about the next one, does the civil rights movement become part of it, if we do a sequel. But thats a real hot potato still. I dont really like talking about sequels, because the film could tank and then thats that.
Q: Back to the casting, youve got Jason Flemyng
MV: My lucky talisman
Q: and actors like Oliver Platt. What made you cast these well-known character actors in the lesser roles and not unknowns?
MV: Well I think people with one line are just as important as people with a thousand lines. You know it takes one bad delivery to remind an audience that theyre watching a film. So if I can get away with casting great actors in smaller roles Ill take it. I remember Flemyng, when he read the script I said come on play Azazel and I had to bullshit him that in the sequel it would be a much bigger role. Because he hated it on Clash (of the Titans) with all the prosthetics, so he said are there prosthetics and I said no itll be fine. And then he signed up and said fuck me Im red. But Azazel, even though he hardly speaks hes still a character and youve got to believe the moments, the looks, and the backgrounds. Look, casting good actors makes movies better. I shocked my casting directors because Id say names for people with two lines, and theyre going well youre never gonna get that, and I was like well theres no harm in asking.
Q: Have you got a role for Dexter Fletcher in the next one?
MV: Actually we were thinking of Dexter playing the Oliver Platt role. It was funny, he came in and auditioned for it, but again Fox said you cant have all these Brits. But, I like working with my friends, its so much easier to turn up with your mates on set, you have a laugh and I dont have to pussy-foot around, they get on with it. So if I can cast my mates in every movie, well I do, and I will.
Q: Speaking of collaborators from previous films, Take That do the end theme I was surprised when they did the one for Stardust and again for this one because you wouldnt think the audiences for Take That and this film would cross over.
MV: I think this movie, out of all the X-Men movies correct me if Im wrong I think theres a lot for women to enjoy in this film. And we had the philosophy remember Armageddon and the Aerosmith song? That got girls who would not have traditionally have gone to see Armageddon thinking oh theres a love song, maybe there is something in the film. And I bumped into Gary in L.A. and we were just talking and I said do you want to come and see a rough cut of it, and he came and then wrote the song, and I listened to it and I said I think itll be a hit. And if we can do a video that gets girls more interested and they were going on tour and playing to like one and a half million people that traditionally might not be interested and we might get them to come and watch it. And I want women to see this film.
Q: How hard was it to get the physical make-up effects right, particularly with Mystique?
MV: Fucking hard. I felt sorry for the actors as well, theyd be sometimes spending eight hours in makeup, and then wed all turn up going god Im knackered lets start filming, and theyre like looking at me going Ive just spent eight hours getting ready for this. And then she had real problems, it kept breaking during filming or shed get rashes. I dont normally have any pity for actors but I did feel sorry because prosthetic work is pretty horrible. And also its very hard to act, for a performance to come through when youre under all this rubber, its very difficult to get emotions through that. I remember I was on set looking at Beast and Mystique talking and I was like fucking hell this is just laughable, I was panicking because youve got two blue people and trying to get that emotion to believe it Thats what Im saying, there were moments on this movie I was panicking, going Christ Im gonna get laughed at. When you show a movie to someone and they laugh when theyre not meant to laugh, you just go eurgh its the worst feeling in the world. So yeah, it was tough, it was a challenge.
Q: You keep bringing Bond up so you must be very keen to direct Bond.
MV: I was very keen to direct Bond, I dont know if I am anymore, now that Ive done this. I really love Daniel so Do you know it might be interesting if they one day decide to cast Fassbender as Bond then maybe
Q: What about that Super Spy thing that Mark Millar was doing
MV: I co-created that with him.
Q: Are we going to hear more soon?
MV: The weird thing is weve come up with a great plot and great characters, and Im telling it to my kids every night. What I do is tell a story to my kids and see whether they react or not. The Super Spy thing, I dont like the name, I dont know why we came up with that shitty name Its the tone I havent figured out yet. I rang up Mark and said what we did for Kick-Ass why dont we do for a spy movie and we both came up with these characters which are cool. The problem is I cant decide which way to go, I could make it like a really great kids film, but I dont want to be Spy Kids; or I could make it really hardcore. You know how Kick-Ass fell between is this kids film or an adults film, and its sort of neither, and thats the problem Im having with the Super Spy thing. But the plot is great and the characters are great, but tone is important and I havent figured out the tone of it yet. But we are working on it.
Q: Could it be next?
MV: Right now I want three or four months of doing nothing, and then Ill start thinking about movies. Im just burned out at the moment. The idea of getting behind a camera right now, for the first time ever, is not exciting me but Im sure that will change very soon.
And with that the interview finally finished, and we tried to re-assure Mr Vaughn that his movie wouldnt tank and that X-Men: First Class would get that Part 2, Part 3 but you guys have to make that happen by seeing the movie over the coming weeks. X-Men: First Class is in theatres in the U.K. now and hits U.S. screens on Friday.