I was in for a special treat a few week ago when I had the pleasure of meeting writer, actor, director and musician James Gunn! He was a very lively character when he entered the room to interview us bloggers while out in Los Angeles. I really loved his big blue eyes, his charisma and charm! He chatted with us about the hottest movie out Guardians of the Galaxy, challenged in directing the film and so much more! Click to find out what he had to say! Happy Hump Day everyone!
(My Question) I wanted to ask you something, do you have a love for dance?
JG : Yeah, I do, yeah. When I say, you know, Kevin Bacon is a great national hero, I mean it. He’s, I love dancing, and I, I love pop music. Uh, and, uh, you know, and I love super heroes and I love space adventures. And I love raccoons. So I have all the things I love in one movie. You know.
You’re a director, producer, and you’re an actor. Is there anything that you don’t do?
JG: Well, filmmaking wise, I could never [STAMMERING] be a DP. I mean, it’s just, uh, it’s — I’m just not able to do it. Yeah, there’s a lot of things I could never do. You know. I think really what I do best is picking other people. Uh, and, and finding what other people are good at, and sort of arranging those in a way that, you know, makes a good movie. And I think that’s really what, uh, a good director is able to do. And then I have a basic knowledge of every, you know, most parts of filmmaking. So that I can have a conversation with those people, just sort of bring a film to the desired place.
What drew you to GUARDIANS?
JG: I think the main thing that drew me to GUARDIANS was the ability to create a whole new wing of the Marvel universe. Uh, I, I would find a very difficult time, uh, say making a, a sequel to another Marvel movie. Or even making another earthbound Marvel movie that’s leading into, directly into The Avengers, because you’re working so much within the world that’s already been created. And with GUARDIANS, [STAMMERING] I was able to create, not just a new world, but new worlds.
Uh, new characters, new species. And I found that to be just the most freeing thing ever. When I was a little boy, I had a box. And this box, I was sort of obsessed with. Uh, and within it I would have, uh, I was obsessed with the solar system and all the different planets. And I would make, uh, drawings for each one of the different planets, of the species that lived on that planet. What their pets were. And what their houses looked like, what their water systems were like. And this box became filled over time with this sort of universe inside of it, that I created. And that is, that’s where my heart was. And that’s still where my heart is. Because that’s what this movie is. So.
Who’s your favorite Guardian and why.
JG : Well, the one I feel the most connected to is Rocket. Uh, because I feel, the outcast in Rocket. And although I think that Rocket is the meanest Guardian, I think he’s the most selfish Guardian. I think he’s probably the Guardian that learns the least at the end of the movie. Uh, he is the saddest. And, uh, [LAUGHS] well, it’s very strange. Very strange I connected ’cause I started to get [LAUGHS] emotional.
But I feel, I feel like he’s like [LAUGHS] — he’s just this little mangled guy that is completely alone in this world. There’s nothing else like him, he’s been torn apart and put back together again. Uh, he was originally an innocent little animal, I love animals to begin with. So he’s just a, you know, I’ve come to love him. And, and I think probably also because, you know, I probably had the greatest [SOUNDS LIKE: time] in creating Rocket over any of the other Guardians. Rocket and Groot both. Because that really, you know, unlike you know, Star-Lord, Chris and I have to be on the same level.
And see that we see things in the same way. I write his dialogue, he says it. I pull this stuff out of him, he adds stuff. We’re creating a character together, with Rocket, and there’s a lot more people involved. It’s, it’s much more like conducting a symphony, within one character. To, to make somebody alive and so they tend — you know, it tends to become more of a real character to me.
What was the most difficult thing to bring to the big screen?
JG : Most difficult thing to bring. Well, definitely the most difficult were the CGI characters, ’cause we had to make them as, as real and believable and as, uh, loveable as the rest of the characters in the movie. And, uh, and I am, uh, beyond a perfectionist when it comes to visual effects. I’m very very hard on visual effects people. Uh, to try to get the most out of them. And my eyes are really difficult and harsh on that stuff. So that was the long road.
Guardians Of The Galaxy in theaters now!
