This Friday sees the release of the swords-and-sandals epic follow-up to the superb 300. Based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel Xerxes, 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE pits Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes, and Artemisia (Eva Green), vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
Lena Headey (GAME OF THRONES), Callan Mulvey (“ZERO DARK THIRTY), Jack O’Connell (STARRED UP), and Rodrigo Santoro (LOVE ACTUALLY) also star. It is directed by Noam Murro and co-written by Kurt Johnstad, both of whom we caught up with earlier this week to chat about the movie.
Hi guys thanks for taking the time to talk to us.
May I start with Kurt. Kurt, this is the second Frank Miller graphic novel you’ve adapted. Obviously you worked on the first movie. I’m just wondering how you approach such a huge task?
Kurt Johnstad: Well, you sit down with Frank (Miller) and you hear what he’s got to say. One of the great things about working with him is that you get to see his frames as he’s drawing them. When he started drafting Xerxes, the graphic novel, Zack and I would both get frames, hand-written sketches, things that he would be outlining very early on. That was was the driver, that we could look at the direction he was going. He gave us an outline in the beginning, the spine of the story that he saw, and then what Zack an I were able to do is look at what worked in a graphic novel, and look if that would that work cinematically, how can we change things, can we flush out characters, how can we reintroduce characters that we love from the first film, because these stories run on a kind of two parallel tracks. It’s like two trains leaving the station in an historical timeline, so we are able to just pull back and look at these things. Frank has a very specific, stylistic attitude to his drawing, and the muscularity of the drawing, and also the muscularity to his dialogue. The great thing is when he sets you a foundation that you know is that that’s going to be the real drive behind whatever you’re creating. You have to mirror that a little bit, or ride that. Does that make sense?
Absolutely. Noam, you’re the newcomer to the series. Your last film was more of a character piece, but you’re also known for your outstanding commercials. What attracted you to this film?
Noam Murro: You know, when I saw 300 for the first time, it blew my mind, because I think it really redefined operatically and poetically this genre. It’s one of those things that you’ve never seen again. I grew up with heavy classical music and opera, and I always wanted to tackle something like that, and to be able to do that. When I first started talking about it, and the script came in was, you know…. what was so incredible about it is that it wasn’t just another repetition of 300. There were so many imitations over the years that didn’t add up to much, and when I read it, it looked like a second building, or second story to a building. It was a really fresh idea because it added another perspective. We joked as to whether we call it a sequel or a prequel, but it’s actually a kind of equal, because it takes place at the same time, and to me that’s a very fresh idea because you really take an event and instead of telling you the prequel story or whatever, you kind of have a parallel thing that happens at the same time, but you just zoom out. The scope of it, the geography of it from a character point of view; you open it up, and you bring into it a female villain. There’s no great Bond without a great villain and I think that’s what’s so incredible about this. I had an opportunity to take something that really redefined film in many ways and create a second layer to it.
What’s it like to take on a project of this scale compared to say working on a big-budget commercial?
Noam: Well, yes you’re humbled by it, and you become very religious very quickly because you pray all day long (laughs). When Zack and Kurt made 300 I guess they had the same challenge. How do you really go about making this? Every time I freaked out, internally I thought about how they freaked out when they did the first one, but you know they had time and the confidence to go do it.
The film is mostly green screened. I’m kind of baffled as to what it’s like to direct a film in this way. Is it truly as hard as it looks?
Noam: Now I’m sitting here in Century City on the top floor it looks really easy, but no, it was hard and complex and a challenge because it’s green screen, but more so because it’s green screen involving water. You have to imagine quite a bit. Is it easy? No. Is it brain surgery? No. The other thing is that there’s something about green screen that I really like because it’s like being back in the theatre. You can really focus on so much. You can focus on acting, you can focus on character, and the sky is the limit because there is no physical limitations. So, there is something very liberating about it especially when you go and create something that is operatic and visual as that. It really gives you a a tremendous amount of freedom and if you have a sure hand about how to handle it, I think that it’s modern filmmaking at its best.
Kurt, were you involved on set at all?
Kurt: No (laughs). That’s not that I didn’t want to go to Bulgaria for six months, but I knew that the people that Noam surrounded himself with; everyone from production designers, to cinematographer, literally were top tier people, and it was in very good hands. So, you just let go of your darling and let those guys take care of business.
We have relative newcomer Sullivan Stapleton in the lead role. Noam, how did he become known to you and why did you cast him?
Noam: I saw a movie called ANIMAL KINGDOM in Australia, and I was completely blown away by his performance and his character and charisma, but you know this was a tall order. First you had to follow Gerard (Butler), and his role, but the challenge was not just to get a copy of Gerard. His (Stapleton’s) character is not just a warrior, but a politician and he has to have street-cred, warmth, complexity; he has to be one of the people. He grew up on the poor side of Athens, not from the upper echlin, so you need to have somebody that has that charisma and charm, and at the same time can play both sites of that equation. He is a warrior but also a politician, he’s also charming and sexy. So, all of these boxes had to be checked, and we saw a lot of people believe me, but there aren’t that many good men out there (laughs).
Eva Green is also fantastic as one of the only female characters in this entire series, was the casting of that role pivotal?
Noam: Tremendously. I think that she’s one of the most important things about it. I know I said it before but there’s no Bond without a great villain and she is a woman who is unravelling as the movie progresses. You know, there’s something about her that has to be completely strong and charming, and she’s also got to be the ultimate bad-ass that you fall in love with, and I think it was literally from day one when I started thinking about that, and Eva came to mind. I can’t think honestly of anyone else who can really pull that kind of thing off. That combination of danger, sex appeal, wisdom, cunning, all of these things are complex character traits and they need to be found in one person and there aren’t many that can do that.
You have a wonderful British actor amongst your cast in Jack O’Connell. How did he become involved in the project.
Noam: I did a bit of casting in London and he came in. He’s on his way to become a huge star because he grew up on the poor side of London, or England, and you believe in him, because of who he is, his passion, and the rawness to him that is really at the forefront of his character. You can’t have a soft guy in this. This is a son of a warrior that is about to become a warrior himself. He’s a wild animal and the idea that you just photograph that and understand that just gives you a great opportunity. Again, I think it was a no- brainer once we started casting. We saw a lot of good people, but he was right there, up front.
The film, like the first one, is quite graphic in its approach to violence, blood splattering everywhere etc, was there any pressure by the studio to tone it down for the sequel?
Noam: I think if anything, people we’re saying, let’s dial it up. We pulled it off in the first one and people seemed to like it, so we should turn the knob a little higher. Yes, so there’s some splitting heads there. I like it.
Kurt, Do you think there’s room for more movies in this series?
Noam: I’m not sure if there are going to, but is there room? The answer is fuck yes!
Obviously you’ve just finished this, but what are you both working on next?
Noam: I’m doing a bar-mitzvah tape next I think (laughs).
Kurt: I’ve got a couple of things. I’ve got a few things that I’m working with Zack on. I’m working, but I can’t really say.
Noam: I’m the same here, I can’t really tell you, but we are all busy.
Kurt: We are excited to let this one out in the world and let everyone respond to it, and if we are lucky enough to be asked back to the dance… well… Zack and I certainly have been talking about the third and the world, and extending that world further, and as long as people have an interest in supporting it, because it is a fun world to go into and be creative and make films about.
Thanks so much for your time guys, I saw the film the other night and I really liked it. Wish you the very best with it.
300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE is released in the UK and US from Friday 7th March, 2014. Read our review of the film here.
