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INTERVIEWS

Video Interview: 'Monsters' Writer & Director Gareth Edwards

by Alex Billington
October 11, 2010

It makes me very happy to see Gareth Edwards' Monsters getting so much buzz - it's currently ranked #16 on IMDb's MOVIEmeter, which is great to see. After first catching the indie sci-fi film in Cannes and falling completely in love with it, I was hoping it would get the attention it deserves. If you're familiar with the film, you know there's a lot of questions to ask Gareth Edwards. Not only is he a British filmmaker making his first sci-fi feature starring two Americans set mostly in Mexico, but he shot it on a shoestring budget, did the writing & cinematography on his own, and also did all of the visual effects on his own computer. Fire it up!

Watch my full video interview with Monsters writer and director Gareth Edwards:

If you haven't seen a trailer for Monsters yet, you can watch one right here, or you can read my review from Cannes. I had the chance to interview Gareth a month ago when he was in Los Angeles, but I got cut severely short on time, as we barely had 15 minutes to talk, which was definitely not enough time. I asked as many of my questions as I could, but obviously didn't get to ask more about the story (which is one of the best parts of the film) or all of the work he did himself, but we're hoping to setup something extra very soon. Monsters is still one of my favorite films of the year and I hope everyone enjoyed watching our interview with Gareth.

Filed under Feat, Indies, Interview

From around the web:

ryan_34

I don't mean to come off as a 'hater', but I honestly did not enjoy this movie at all. I'm a huge monster and sci-fi fan, but I couldn't get passed the terrible acting, especially from the lead male. The girl was cute, and wasn't as hard to watch...but I don't know. Maybe I'm missing something? I was really excited for this movie, but after I saw it on demand, I was just over it.
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

Wow... Well, I don't know what people were expecting, but I think that's the problem. I feel like it was being oversold a little too much and everyone was expecting District 10 or something, and it's the complete opposite of that. As for the acting, I thought the chemistry and performances from both (and the only two) leads were perfect. In fact, both of them later got married in real life, which just goes to show how authentic their chemistry was!
SkaOreo

@Alex I somewhat agree. I think the two leads were pretty good, though the acting was nothing spectacular. I think the main problem with the movie is that the entire film rests on the growing relationship of these two characters, and I don't think that aspect of the film is strong enough to work on its own. With that said, it's an absolutely gorgeous movie to watch (proving you don't need the money of a Michael Bay or James Cameron to make an eye stunning film), and it's crazy that all of the effects were made my one man's computer. Technology ftw!!!
Ralph

Where can we see this film? I don't see a general release date and the limited release seems to only be LA.
Swordfury

If you have Comcast/Xfinity cable you can watch it on ONDemand
dre

This movie was advertised as one of the best giant monster movies of all time and its not. Yes I was expecting a more cloverfield type movie but i was let down. It was boring.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

You need to watch In Search of a Midnight Kiss if you thought the male actor was weak in this. He gives a phenomenal performance in that film and I hope he gets more offers in the future.
conor

I can understand why a lot of people were let down by this. I went into the Tiff screening expecting lots of effects and mind blowing action for being done by one person. However the film barely can be called Monsters. It is much more an intimate story about two people crossing over a dangerous landscape. If the director like war movies, it could have easily been done over a war landscape. I did really enjoy this movie though once I got into it and realized what it was. I feel that the marketing for this film is all wrong and is just trying to bank in on D9 to get some money. Unfortunately for it that means a lot of people will be alienated because it is not what they were expecting. My advise for anyone wanting to see it: go into it with no expections. This is not a monster movie, nor an action movie. It is a drama between two characters but it is beautifully done. Give it a shot.
Paul

Look, you can have a million effects and produce an overly saturated impact film that just jumps from scene to scene with things blowing up. It takes supreme mastery to allow subtlety to rule the scene and place and emphasis on character development. Also, the monsters were really placed well with very little screen time but amazing impact. The little things were not overlooked in this film down to the crickets stopping during scenes where monsters were present, then starting to chirp after the danger passed. Really amazing film and I can't wait to see more