As a writer, I feel like a female and male: Director James Gunn
Tokyo
May 3, 2017
He is a man as a human being, but 'Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2' helmer James Gunn says he is a 'female and a male' in
spirit when he picks up a pen to jot down his ideas as a writer and director.
There's one thing that ties together Gunn's 'Guardians
of the Galaxy', 'Slither' and 'Dawn of the Dead' --
all of which he wrote. And that is the presence of strong female characters.
Gunn says it's not intentional and comes naturally.
'I think that as a human being, I am male but as a writer
I feel like a female and a male. I have just always been attracted to female
protagonists as a writer, whether in 'Slither' or 'Dawn of the Dead','
Gunn told IANS during an interaction at a Disney press meet for 'Guardians
of the Galaxy Vol. 2' -- which releases in India on Friday -- here in the
Japanese capital.
'I just feel these are natural characters, just like male
characters. And in 'Guardians of the Galaxy', I found this idea of (exploring
the relationship between) two sisters to be something that is not utilised much
in films, especially in superhero movies. They are always about brothers, or
father or son... I think in the first part too, having a movie about a mother
and son was a unique thing for a superhero movie.
'I just like having everybody's point of view. Growing
up feeling like I was an outcast, I always wanted to tell stories of people
who feel like they don't have a voice,' he added.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Gunn has three brothers,
who are also in showbiz, and a sister. His tryst with filmmaking started with
an eight-millimetre camera when he was 12.
Gunn started his career in Hollywood with studio Troma Films
and went on to work on bigger films like writing scripts for 'Scooby-Doo'
movies and 'Dawn of the Dead'. He was first noticed with his screenplay
for 'Tromeo & Juliet' in 1996.
After writing and directing 'Slither' in 2006 and
'Super' in 2010, he made the right noise with superhero film franchise
'Guardians of the Galaxy' -- which he directed and co-wrote.
The second part of the film is raking in big internationally
too. According to deadline.com, the film bagged $106 million in its overseas
opening this past weekend. The third part has already been announced, and 'Guardians
of the Galaxy' and 'Avengers' crossover is also in the pipeline.
'Guardians of the Galaxy' -- starring Chris Pratt,
Zoe Saldana and Asian actress Pom Klementieff with Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper
as voice talent -- is a story of misfits uniting together to save the galaxy.
This time, in volume two, the film will focus on family ties too.
Gunn asserts that he doesn't think about diversity, but definitely
about 'trying to get as many different types of people in a film'.
'I will say that one of the greatest experiences that
I ever had in casting was for the role of Mantis (essayed by Klementieff). She
is an Asian female in the comics and I thought that she should be Asian female
in the film too.'
With a long and gruelling audition process for the role of
Mantis, Gunn unearthed a reality of Hollywood.
'It was a real testament to me that some people aren't
given as many chances as other people.'
Talking about the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' sequel,
Gunn said: 'Everybody gets their piece of pie this time and that is what
made this movie so much fun to me. Because I do come naturally from a place
where I like telling ensemble stories about a bunch of characters as opposed
to just one.'
Tokyo
May 3, 2017
He is a man as a human being, but 'Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2' helmer James Gunn says he is a 'female and a male' in
spirit when he picks up a pen to jot down his ideas as a writer and director.
There's one thing that ties together Gunn's 'Guardians
of the Galaxy', 'Slither' and 'Dawn of the Dead' --
all of which he wrote. And that is the presence of strong female characters.
Gunn says it's not intentional and comes naturally.
'I think that as a human being, I am male but as a writer
I feel like a female and a male. I have just always been attracted to female
protagonists as a writer, whether in 'Slither' or 'Dawn of the Dead','
Gunn told IANS during an interaction at a Disney press meet for 'Guardians
of the Galaxy Vol. 2' -- which releases in India on Friday -- here in the
Japanese capital.
'I just feel these are natural characters, just like male
characters. And in 'Guardians of the Galaxy', I found this idea of (exploring
the relationship between) two sisters to be something that is not utilised much
in films, especially in superhero movies. They are always about brothers, or
father or son... I think in the first part too, having a movie about a mother
and son was a unique thing for a superhero movie.
'I just like having everybody's point of view. Growing
up feeling like I was an outcast, I always wanted to tell stories of people
who feel like they don't have a voice,' he added.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Gunn has three brothers,
who are also in showbiz, and a sister. His tryst with filmmaking started with
an eight-millimetre camera when he was 12.
Gunn started his career in Hollywood with studio Troma Films
and went on to work on bigger films like writing scripts for 'Scooby-Doo'
movies and 'Dawn of the Dead'. He was first noticed with his screenplay
for 'Tromeo & Juliet' in 1996.
After writing and directing 'Slither' in 2006 and
'Super' in 2010, he made the right noise with superhero film franchise
'Guardians of the Galaxy' -- which he directed and co-wrote.
The second part of the film is raking in big internationally
too. According to deadline.com, the film bagged $106 million in its overseas
opening this past weekend. The third part has already been announced, and 'Guardians
of the Galaxy' and 'Avengers' crossover is also in the pipeline.
'Guardians of the Galaxy' -- starring Chris Pratt,
Zoe Saldana and Asian actress Pom Klementieff with Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper
as voice talent -- is a story of misfits uniting together to save the galaxy.
This time, in volume two, the film will focus on family ties too.
Gunn asserts that he doesn't think about diversity, but definitely
about 'trying to get as many different types of people in a film'.
'I will say that one of the greatest experiences that
I ever had in casting was for the role of Mantis (essayed by Klementieff). She
is an Asian female in the comics and I thought that she should be Asian female
in the film too.'
With a long and gruelling audition process for the role of
Mantis, Gunn unearthed a reality of Hollywood.
'It was a real testament to me that some people aren't
given as many chances as other people.'
Talking about the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' sequel,
Gunn said: 'Everybody gets their piece of pie this time and that is what
made this movie so much fun to me. Because I do come naturally from a place
where I like telling ensemble stories about a bunch of characters as opposed
to just one.'
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy