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Louis Leterrier Explains How He Took on Clash of the Titans

by Alex Billington
July 15, 2008
Source: EcranLarge.com

When the Clash of the Titans remake was first announced, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen director Stephen Norrington was attached. Thankfully about a month ago we announced that Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier would be replace Norrington. Since that announcement about Leterrier and since seeing Hulk, I've become increasingly excited for this remake. Clash of the Titans is one of my great childhood memories and a personal favorite and it's one of the few films that could use a well-done remake. For the first time since Leterrier was announced as the new director, he chimes in on his thoughts and plans for the film. The best part of the interview, however, is the story about how he got the gig straight from Norrington and his hopes for the sequel.

The French website EcranLarge.com has posted an interview with Leterrier where he talks about the film. First things first, when asked about the Kraken, his answer was "of course there will be the Kraken!" But he adds that it will be "a different Kraken. There will be much more. In the original film, there was no 'clash' and no 'titans.' Now you will see the Clash of the Titans." Additionally, Leterrier addresses concerns about 300 comparisons. "People say that it will be filmed like 300, that's not true. It will be photorealistic, with a big budget." And as for the genius special effects maven who made the original so memorable: "I want to do an homage to Ray Harryhausen. He's still alive and will be part of the film." Sounds good so far!

Here's the best part of it. Leterrier explains how he got the job, which came straight from Norrington, who didn't know what to do with it. And in turn, Leterrier pitched his idea to Warner Bros and got the job.

"In the beginning, Stephen Norrington was the director of this project. I called him. He had a problem finding a new trick for this remake. He didn't grow up watching Clash of the Titans [like I did]. So I called him, we share the same agent, and I asked him: do you really want to do it? He didn't want to make a new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. So I told him, can I do it? And he said yes. So I told Warner Brothers - Desmond Davis, well, he's not the greatest director, but there was Ray Harryhausen and great actors and this movie is a childhood memory. If I do it, it will be different. It's still Perseus myth, but maybe to begin a franchise of Greek mythology. Because I love that! It's monsters and adventures..."

It doesn't end there... Leterrier adds a bit more, explaining his idea of a remake. "I've just made the remake of Ang Lee's Hulk, but it's not the same film. It will be the same situation for Titans." Hearing that puts a big smile on my face, because if you saw Leterrier's Incredible Hulk this summer, you know that it kicked a lot of ass. And if he can do the same for Clash of the Titans, then I'll be the first in line on opening day. "I don't want to do the same as the original... You have to change the mythology. I want to make adventure films because I want to see them! I want to make them with a new point of view." Listening to Louis Leterrier in this interview has caused me to gain so much more confidence in the guy. I've always loved him, he seems so cheerful and excited all the time, but now I'm thinking he just might be the perfect director for this Clash of the Titans remake.

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REAL6

Hopefully its all British actors!!!!
Garrett.king

why doesn't he just do the God of War film?..same thing.
Omega728

I never understood how Clash of the Titans got it's name. Being somewhat a Greek Mythology fan, as Leterrier stated, there were no Titans in the movie. It should've been called Clash of the Olympians. I've been a fan of this movie ever since childhood, can't wait to see how it'll turn out and which Titans will be in the movie!
REAL6

Remember in the film Omega728 when they went to see the Stingin witches and they took the Eye and Perseus was asking how to kill the Kracken. She said "A TITAN AGAINST A TITAN"!!!! tHAT'S HOW THERE WERE TITANS IN THE MOVIE
Shane

Will he be able to do it without that Transporter slo-mo filming technique he brought to the Hulk?
Omega728

Yeah, but the fact is that Medusa and the Kraken are not Titans. I mean I kinda figure out why they called it Clash of the Titans, but technically they're not Titans.
THERBLIG

You guys are missing the point. It was made in the 80s' when americans were kind of oblivious to anything foreign. I mean look at the herculeus movie, haha thats a funny one. Any one remeber the movie called the Barbarians or Remember RED SONJA.. I really think they should do a remake to Big Trouble in little China.... With Kurt russel and the pork chop express.
TCox

I love this! Leterrier won me over with The Transporter films, and then again with Unleashed (aka Danny the Dog). If you haven't seen that film, you're missing out. The Incredible Hulk was very entertaining, and after watching it, I can see how Leterrier would be a perfect fit for this remake. Now on to the true geek stuff...who will take on the roles of Perseus and Andromeda? If I hear Brad and Angelina I'll freakin lose it.
TCox

#7 - Big Trouble in Little China is one of my all-time favorites. "You know what ol Jack Burton says at a time like this? .....what the hell"
Django

I'd be willing to argue that any immortal within the Greek mythology is a Titan. Harryhausen IS a legend, but really, will either his sculptures or his stop motion animation FLY in today's Cinema? My personal take is that Incredible Hulk PROVED that Letterier should stick to action chase movies, and not really mess with FX driven movies. I'm a Huge, Huge fan of the Hulk, and even I will admit now that the FX - as detailed as they were - seemed like an afterthought of the director. They didn't GEL with the rest of the film. I think if he grew up loving Harryhausen's Clash of the Titans so much, like the rest of us, he would've hired him to do some FX for HULK that looked Photo-believable instead of so "Photo-unrealistic". Photo-realism is a term crappy Modern Painters use when they paint painstaking reproductions of photographs. It's an EXCUSE for not knowing how to actually set up or execute an actual PAINTING! If he's telling us his FX are going to be done photorealistically, all I have to say is WETA does not DO "Photorealistic" work, and that's exactly why their shit's so BELIEVABLE! They recognize the impossibility of CG-Photorealism, and instead go back to a blend of Animatronics, CG-backgrounds, and tried & true Camera Trickery. Based on Letterier's Hulk, I'd say this guy basically knows Nil to Nothing about staging an "Improved" Clash of the Titans.
vu

God damnit, can somebody get Keanu Reeves to do another Matrix sequel. "This bores me" (Prince from Chappelle's Show.)
omega728

#10 Good point, now that you mentioned it, Letterier is more of an action director and I don't know if he's the right person for this job. I would actually like to see someone more like Del toro, or Speilberg who are more story driven directors and uses a mixture of CGI and Creature effects. But then again, everybody had their doubts when Favreau was doing Ironman and it turned out great. On another note, I'm not a Greek Mythology expert or anything but I can tell you that just because you're an immortal doesn't mean that you're a Titan. Titans consists of the earlier "Gods" before Zeus took over, that's why if you look at Greek Mythology there's The War of the Titans. Olympians vs Titans and that's how Zeus came into power. Then again, this is getting more on the technical side.
REAL6

In Greek mythology, the Titans (Greek: ????? T?t??n; plural: ??????? T?tânes) were a race of powerful deities that ruled during the legendary Golden Age. Their role as Elder Gods that were overthrown by a present race of younger gods, the Olympians, was a Greek borrowing from the Ancient Near East.[1] There are twelve Titans[2] from their first literary appearance, in Hesiod, Theogony; Pseudo-Apollodorus, in Bibliotheke, adds a thirteenth Titan Dione, a double of Theia. The six male Titans are known as the Titanes, and the females as the Titanides ("Titanesses"). The Titans were associated with various primal concepts, some of which are simply extrapolated from their names: ocean and fruitful earth, sun and moon, memory and natural law. The twelve first-generation Titans were ruled by the youngest, Kronos, who overthrew their father, Oranos ('Sky'), at the urgings of their mother, Gaia ('Earth'). The Titans later gave birth to other Titans, notably the children of Hyperion (Helios, Eos, and Selene), the daughters of Coeus (Leto and Asteria), and the sons of Iapetus — Prometheus, Epimetheus, Atlas, and Menoetius; all of these descendants in the second generation are also known as "Titans". The Titans preceded the Twelve Olympians, who, led by Zeus, eventually overthrew them in the Titanomachy ('War of the Titans'). The Titans were then imprisoned in Tartarus, the deepest part of the underworld, with the few exceptions being those who didn't fight with Kronos.
omega728

and your point is????
VegasDanny

you guys have too much time on your hands.... You know since ive seen the great Speilberg himself fuck up his own legend by making Indian Jones 4 (the worst movie ive seen in a long time..and believe me ive seen some shit!)..i think all bets are off! I certainly enjoyed the Transporter movies and even though ive not seen it yet ive heard good things about the Hulk reboot. We need to have a little faith in these filmakers...after all there is no "perfect" director for any project. Lets face it you are never gonna beat the original of any movie! Imagine doing "The Goonies" for 2009?....it wouldnt have the same charm as the 80's version and everything would be fucking CGI!!! The point is nothing is ever as good as it used to be when you were a kid...but thats life. The new Clash of the Titans could be fantastic if they used the Weta guys that brought us Lord of The Rings and King Kong..if they use the effects team that worked on those monkeys in Indy 4? then its gonna suck camel dick!
Jeff

Hopefully, there will be no need for camels.
Colin (brother of Mike) Hunt

LXG sucking was not Norrington's fault. You try directing a movie with a gag on and both hands tied behind your back. Norrington directed Blade which is better than anything Leterrier has done.
Colin (brother of Mike) Hunt

Oh yeah, and stop bringing up that hack Del Toro, especially in sentences mentioning better directors. While I like Del Toro's European films, he's done nothing but utter shite in Hollywood.
http://www.myspace.com/kristoferdrakon Kristofer Paul

I love the idea!!! I am so happy he's on board. Also, there are so many of the Greek stories that are filled with action, romance and magick- this could open a flood gate of films, if they could use some of the same actors and link them together, like sequels it would be so cool. The trick would be to bring the GODS to life in a way that really shows their humanity and POWER... Perhaps inspiring other myths from the Vikings, Chinese, or Native American myths?? I just love these ancient stories! Clash of the Titans opened a whole new world to me as a child and my imagination soared! Perseus is kind of like a "DAVID" character in the biblical stories. Perseus takes on the Kraken and Medusa!!! A young boy who is thrown into being the hero and defeating the fears of bigger men with his courage and faith in the GODS!!!! I can't wait! Kudos....
Hyacinth

I actually watched the original version of this. I think a remake would be amazing. With the technology we have now and the stunts filmakers are willing to go for, the time is perfect to bring the myth of Perseus to life. I would happily go to the local theater during opening day for this movie. Can't wait to get more info on it. Sword-And-Sandal flicks are awesome! Actually a great way to get the new generation interested in Greek mythology,
Hanne

The Hulk remake did not kick ass, it sucked said part of the anatomy. The Ang Lee version wasn't great, but at least it had one decent scene, the dialogue between Nolte and Bana on the empty stage. I love the Harryhausen version of Titans, and I fear that this guy is going to ruin it.