For his theatrical feature debut, director James McTeigue–whose commercialmaking home is Los Angeles-based Right Brain Media–decided to tell a story full of suspense and intrigue in V for Vendetta. Starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving, the film follows the relationship between a vulnerable girl named Evey and a man known only as V.
Based on the graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and illustrator David Lloyd, the movie explores many subjects from personal freedom and inner strength to terrorism and the ability of a government to oppress and deceive citizens. The film weaves together all of the topics in this complex tale and includes large-scale effects that pack a punch.
“The graphic novel was about the Thatcher period of the early ’80s, and, on a broader level, about how things are cyclical– for every step forward as a society, we take a few steps backward. The ideas are still so current, and it resonates,” McTeigue said of why this was his choice for a feature debut. “This was an opportunity to make something political and cinematic. I just felt it was better to do complex material than dull material.”
The film V for Vendetta is set in a futuristic, totalitarian Britain and follows Evey and V through their many harrowing experiences. Andy and Larry Wachowski wrote the script and produced it with Joel Silver.
Though this is the first feature McTeigue has directed, he has had many opportunities to prepare for this project on the set of blockbuster films. He worked as a first assistant director on the three Matrix films and Star Wars: Episode III Attack of the Clones. Those films, he noted, gave him a good foundation in visual effects. “My knowledge base became so broad that when we finished the principal shooting, I went to work on the visual effects for those films,” he related. To him V for Vendetta didn’t seem that complicated, just densely packed with material.
“There were a lot of visual effects, but I think you want to make the digital part of your film seamless,” he explained. “I think in the past, visual effects have shocked you out of a film, and I didn’t want to do that.”
Regarding the stunts, he said they usually get storyboarded first. McTeigue worked on the stunt choreography with Chad Stahelski for this film. From there, Stahelski would tape rehearsals with stunt people, discuss the footage with McTeigue, and then go back to work with the stunt people and try it again. “That the process of refinement,” the helmer remarked.
V FOR VICTORY
In addition to the creating believable effects, directing Weaving as V would seem to be one of the great challenges of making this film work. This character wears a mask when he appears on screen and therefore the actor is rendered expressionless, unless you count the frozen grin of his façade. The helmer pointed out that Weaving’s physicality and powerful voice helped him successfully pull off this role.
McTeigue explained that he put in “fail-safes” to successfully portray V, including having a visually interesting mask and proper lighting. As far as working with Weaving, the director said they had to trust one another to know what was and was not working. “Hugo is such a nuanced actor that he knew very quickly if it was working,” McTeigue said. “It was the little movements of the face and tilts of the head that helped to convey the character and his emotions.”
Of all the challenges he faced while shooting this feature, the greatest was three nights of shooting outside of Trafalgar Square and the House of Parliament in London. The shoot took six months to organize. The director explained that it was a huge undertaking because of the tremendous amount of equipment and many extras, in addition to the fact that they could only shoot from midnight to four in the morning.
Since the movie wrapped, McTeigue has been doing press for the film and is looking forward to getting back into commercial work. Prior to joining Right Brain Media almost three years ago, the helmer shot work through bicoastal/international @radical.media. He has filmed projects for such clients as Heineken, Samsung and Powerade, and he said he likes to direct narrative-driven spots–describing his commercials thus far as “large, effects-driven work that is seamlessly drawn together by narrative.”
Part of what McTeigue likes about spots is that to him, they “are always at the leading edge of filmmaking. A lot of techniques are tried out in commercials and then integrated into feature filmmaking.” He added that he was able to take what he learned from digital work he had done in spots and apply it to V for Vendetta.
Now he is ready to take what he learned on this feature and apply it to commercials. “There is a lot of good material coming across the table, more feature films that are being offered,” he said, “but the truth is, I’ve been looking forward to getting back into commercials with Right Brain, bringing my latest experiences to the form, and doing some new large-scale things in that world.”
