26/02/11
A QUICK Q AND A WITH THE 'MIRRORS' SCREENWRITER AND DIRECTOR
Where did the ideas for the film come from?After THE HILLS HAVE EYES, I wanted to deal with a different subject. I’ve always been attracted to the supernatural. In films, there are two ways to instigate fear: either through realistic survival or slasher films such as DELIVERANCE or THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, or by using the supernatural, where several worlds or dimensions co-exist. It concerns a whole area of genre films that combine fantasy with horror. I did not want to do a déjà vu. Grégory Levasseur, my co-writer, and I received a script called “Into the Mirror”. In fact, it was for a remake of a Korean film, but neither the story nor the characters appealed to me. However, one or two of the mirror scenes really impressed me. The idea of the mirror, an everyday object that everyone takes for granted and hardly notices, stuck with us. How many times a day do we look at ourselves, look at this image which we totally depend upon, in a mirror.... It is a little like checking to see if we are still there! Everyone has a different and particular relationship with the mirror. Some of us are quite narcissistic; others can’t stand the sight of their own reflection. I started observing the way people look at themselves in the mirror: they all do it differently. An everyday element is always the best starting point for a horror film. In general, the kind of fear that is present in all of us and can be brought out by a few images. We told the studio that we did not like the script, although it was based on a wonderful subject, but that the mirror idea could work wonders for a horror film director. We managed to convince Fox to let us take the basic theme, an ex-cop confronted with a mirror, and to turn it into a different story that has nothing to do with the original remake idea.
Did working on this film make you think differently about mirrors?I was terrified. I couldn’t even handle the mirror in my bedroom! Each time I was writing a mirror scene, I managed to frighten myself first before finalising a scene.
How would you describe the film?Kiefer Sutherland plays an ex-NYPD cop whose life has gone downhill. He has become a social outcast. In an attempt to sort his life out, he accepts the job of night watchman in a department store that has suffered a severe fire several years earlier, and where only a few huge mirrors survived the flames. During his night rounds, the “mirror world” contacts him and asks him to do impossible things which put those closest to him in imminent danger.
When did you decide to choose Kiefer Sutherland?As far as I’m concerned the most important part of a film will always be the story. I can’t really see myself writing for an actor, no matter how much I may admire the person. We had a list of three or four actors that had been discussed with the studio bosses, which is standard procedure, and Kiefer was the obvious choice for all of us. His own experience, the sort of fracture that can be felt in his roles only adds to his character. He always goes whole-hog, for better or for worse, as in FLATLINERS, which marked me on a personal level as it did my entire generation. It was one of the numerous reasons that made me choose him. Although his role as Jack Bauer in “24” has increased his fame, Jack is a more contained character who controls emotions well. Kiefer cannot offer as much to a series as he can to a film. His character in MIRRORS brings the dimension and power of his humanity into full focus. Those who have only ever seen him in “24” will be very surprised. When we first met, I found out that he himself had a particular relationship with mirrors. He does not like looking at himself in the mirror, which is pretty rare for an actor. There are no mirrors in his house. He never looks at the monitor.
How did you work with him?Because the script was so complex, so rich, a well-known actor was required to carry the film. Kiefer allowed me to make the film the way I wanted and we worked hand in hand. He is a highly technical actor. He has a capacity and such professionalism and precision that give him such impressive self-control. Working with him is a sheer pleasure. He is the most famous actor I’ve ever directed. Which director hasn’t dreamed of working with an actor he has always admired?
Where did you shoot?Thanks to previous location research, I knew right from when I started writing the script that Bucharest was, and not only for financial reasons, the only place in the world where the film could be shot. Part of the interiors were shot in the heart of Bucharest, in the immense Maison du Peuple and at the Académie des Sciences wanted by Ceausescu and abandoned since 1998. These totally unique gigantic buildings were perfect illustrations of the burnt department store, and impossible to create in a studio. We shot there for eight weeks, and then finished off with the shots on location in New York and Los Angeles in the two remaining weeks of our shooting schedule.
What is the atmosphere like in the film?The story takes place in New York, the city of reflections like no other, due to its incredible skyline of buildings. However, the attention is not focused on New York as a city; it is just a background for this ghost ship of an old abandoned department store. The intensity grows as Kiefer gradually gets caught up in a whirlpool of mystery that he must solve.
Did you use a lot of special effects?There are tons of special effects. The mirror effects are extremely subtle--reflections that stay in the mirror after the person who was looking at themselves has moved away--and required incredible precision. We made about 350 special effects shots. There were two sources of pressure, the special effects and the acting intensity required to create the climate. The story concerns everything that can produce a reflection and we worked with heaps of different elements that made shooting even more complex. Without giving anything away, I would just like to say that nothing was an accident in this film and that every single detail was thoughtfully added to increase the spectators’ fear.
What will you remember about this experience ?On a personal level, I had to leave unexpectedly for the birth of my first child, which came two months earlier than planned. Now that’s something you don’t forget! Regarding the film itself, Greg and I had experimented with all sorts of reflections; we found ourselves dealing with some really complex scenes using water. It was all very exciting, but not all that simple. We tried to include as many of the mirror effects as possible in a film that lasts for less than two hour, and there’s enough material to make several more films there.Apart from Greg himself, I was delighted to work with people I know, people with important jobs such as the editor and the director of photography, who follow me from film to film. I had a wonderful encounter with Javier Navarrete, who composed one and a half hours of music, creating a real voice for the mirrors themselves. It is an orchestral soundtrack, fabulous and magic, which manages to give the mirrors a real presence beyond the images. Javier’s European touch brings an extra sensation to New York.
Where does this film figure in your career?Up until now I’ve been really lucky. Since the success of THE HILLS HAVE EYES, I’ve found myself in increasingly favourable situations. I’ve often taken the risk of imposing my vision to those in America who decide, and run the risk of losing everything. MIRRORS was a long process and I had to defend my point of view but in the end, the film is exactly as I imagined it, totally without compromise. Today, I’m proud of my three made-in-America films – THE HILLS HAVE EYES, P2 and MIRRORS. Apart from that, I’m pleased that Greg and I were able to maintain the possibility of writing the script ourselves, which was essential for me, but not always easy to do in America. We have also become producers. In fact, Greg produced MIRRORS.
And now, do you see yourself coming back to France, or working on something different from genre films? How do you see your future? After making MIRRORS, I can let off some steam with PIRANHA! I’ll be able to do all I’ve ever wanted in horror and gore. Afterwards, I can explore other horizons. It doesn’t matter if those horizons are in America or Europe or who the producer is; finding a good story or concept is all that interests me.