BY Joseph B. Mauceri

Fears: This past year there were several genre films that were made by Spanish and Latin American Filmmakers. Alfonso Cuarón’s “Children of Men” was set in London and 28 WEEKS LATER continues a story that was set in London. What do you feel makes London a key city/location for these types of film?

Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo on the set of 28 WEEKS LATER

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: First, London is one of the main cities in the world. At the same time, you can find a mixture of the world that we are living in. London has an amazing history on every single street. In those terms, London is an icon for our entire civilization and also in terms of culture. That’s why it’s the perfect landscape to show a futuristic or apocalyptic look to the world that we are living in.

Fears: Good science fiction allows the audiences a skewed looked at reality so we can see life in a different way and possibly learn something new about our human condition. Taking the lead from Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later,” what themes and issues did you want to incorporate into your tale?

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: I would like to first say that the point of view that I tried to take in 28 WEEKS LATER was an important connection to our times. We’re taking about a real infection, or a disease, that could destroy our world. That is something that you can believe can happen if we don’t pay attention.  That’s why, for me, 28 WEEKS LATER is a real movie. It’s an apocalyptic thriller in terms of the structure, but I think it has this documentary look because of all the fears and elements that we developed in the story are so close to our times.

I tried with this film to convey something that everyone in the theater could identify with this kind of horror and terror. It’s something that could happen. That’s why when you work with this kind of real flavor the movie becomes a kind of mirror. You see many elements of our time; war, surviving, and themes about what people have in terms of concern for our planet. I think it’s an actual thing that people are demanding from the movies.

Fears: “28 Days Later” had a unique look. As you worked with your cinematographer to create the look for your film what were some of the key issues in terms of style that you were looking for to tell your story?

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: When I began talking with my director of photography, Enrique Chediak, we knew that we wanted to have a look that was new and fresh, but at the same time we needed to have connections to the first film. We had an honest attitude, which was that when you are faced with a city that you don’t know, London, and your talking about something so big – the repopulation and rebuilding of a country – the best role we could take was that of journalists.  We went there with this idea in mind and we tried to track these characters in the city with this feeling that we were journalists trying to cover what’s happening in this city and these people’s lives. That’s why we used a lot of this handheld style. We used many cameras in the same way that I’ve seen them used in documentaries.

I was trying to deliver this fresh look because it brings to the movie a realism and it adds a valid connection to these characters that the story needs. That’s why I’ve always said that this movie is an apocalyptic vision over this city, and over the world.

London is one of the major cities of our time, but at the same time there is a heart to the story that is based on characters. These are people are trying to start over and survive through this difficult moment.  But that heart is corrupted, infected. At the end you can see the original source is not a proper source. I think the whole country; the whole situation is completely infected by that. I believe in that!  In taking a picture of our time I think the problem is a human problem, and that human problem that we are suffering now is affecting everything. You can apply that on the same level to the story. The beginning of the infection, again, is coming from a human source, which is the family.

Fears: The repopulation element of the film I think touches a nerve. I was recently talking with a group of people about the problem of the decline of European nationals. Countries like Italy and Spain are currently very hard hit by this. Was that an issue that influenced the scope of your film?

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: I realize that this film has a social subtext, and many people will find a political subtext as well. That’s good! When you are making a movie, as I said before, you are creating this kind of mirror and that’s the best thing that you can do. I know there are unconsciously elements of these times we’re living in the story, but my clear intention was to make an intense thriller that was also an apocalyptic, entertaining, movie.

It was key to have a human approach, very human characters, and that means some times you need to deal with the idea that to understand the evil, the bad, or the darkness you need to be there with them. You need to understand the reason for their actions. That is something I intentionally did in this story. That’s why when you see the general executing the code-red you understand why he is doing that. That order is a destructive order, which implies a lot of innocent victims, but you understand. The antagonist in this movie is something that hangs over all of them – an infection. It’s a form of unbridled rage, and I think that is probably the main concept of this movie. That’s part of the reason why I feel the film is so connected to our time.

However, I tried to do this without judging any of these characters. I tired to take this picture of human beings in trouble, from the military to the family. In every level of the story you can see a portrait of all of them. I think my position, as a filmmaker, is to try and show the truth about what I feel. I believe that all of us have a bright side and a dark side, and the combination of those worlds is the human condition. It is something that is both intense and entertaining at the same time.

Fears: I often talk with actors about how a genre films offer them a fuller palate to show the range of their talents. It’s interesting because it seems that at the beginning of their career, directors have a genre film somewhere on their resume. Like a Shakespearean tragedy, do you feel that a genre film gives you the chance to show a broader range of your skills as a director? Is it a bit tougher when you are trying to do that in relation to a sequel?

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: I agree with you about that. I love genre movies where you find all of those things inside the story. It’s fantastic. In one aspect the genre is so tight that it is difficult to move inside, it can be like a jail. If you can find ways to play in that jail, and you break some roles, it can be very satisfying. It’s a difficult thing to do but it’s a great challenge as a filmmaker. It’s not necessarily good to just follow the rules and not take any risks. I got into arguments with a few people about my position when I am trying to create. I think it’s good, apart from being honest with the thing you are talking about. You try to make it in your way, and your way always implies that you are free to break the rules, sometimes. It’s good if you do it without loosing focus of your theme and the structure of the genre. You can deliver a better movie and a more personal film. That’s very exciting!

Fears: One of the interesting things about this project is the exceptional cast. There’s Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Rose Byrne, and Idris Elba, just to name a few. Were you surprised by the caliber of talent attracted to the film and do your consider yourself an actors director or a technical director?

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: I think I’m an actor’s director. I love actors. They are an inspiration to me everyday. I like the technique and I like to talk with my crew about that, but at the end of the day if you want to tell this story you need the actors. You need people who can feel and convey that emotion to the audience. These are people who can with their eyes drag the audience into the world you’ve created. They are your most powerful tools in achieving that. So for me, the decisions you make during casting are the most important decisions you make.

In the case of 28 WEEKS LATER my approach was to bring actors that I love to the movie, but also actors I could find that bring this human dark side. It’s important that you can recognize yourself in them, and that you can feel sympathy and empathy when they are doing something wrong, especially in this film. It’s one of the main challenges of the story. The light in this darkness is the audience’s recognition of why Robert Carlyle’s character is abandoning his wife at the beginning of the story.  Probably you may judge him, but if you understand why he is doing it, and you accept that maybe in life sometimes the survivor instinct is stronger than any other emotion. If you understand that than my mission is done.

Fears: Adding the subtext to the working of your actors is the music. How closely did you work with composer John Murphy to develop the score?

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: It was fantastic and a part of my job that I really love. With the music you are rewriting the story. In working with John, who was the composer on the first film, the idea was that we are trying to add a human element into this crazy and infected world. We talked a lot and I explained to him my ideas about the family. I wanted to add this heart to the movie, this infected blood. John did a fantastic job, especially in terms of the general shape of the music for the movie. It’s like a roller coaster. It gives you the idea of the infection, and the silence that follows. John understood how important the silence was in the movie. It’s the best way, when the music is coming, to see something powerful and disturbing.

Fears: In terms of the anatomy of the scars in 28 WEEKS LATER, with all that is going on in the world is it harder for you to scar an audience? Did some work better than others, and were there some that didn’t payoff like you had hoped?

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: To make a scary film is difficult. When you are sitting in a theater watching a scary movie you have these expectations, and these expectations can be a bad thing. They can destroy the payoff of any type of scare that you are trying to create. For this audience, especially because it is more an apocalyptic thriller than a horror movie, I think they are ready to receive any kind of information and that means you have a very tough audience. It is so difficult to impress and trespass the barrier of the screen to create something the entire audience can believe in.  All my expectations are satisfied because the real flavor of the movie is new and fresh because the scary moments make you sit back and think – My god, I can’t believe this is happening! If you can put yourself in those situations and think what you would do in that situation, I’ve succeeded. I was always playing with the point of view. The best way to get an emotional response is to create a point of view where you are watching what’s happening through the eyes of the characters. That’s the secret to grab the audience and get their reaction.

Fears: Looking forward to your next project, what types of films and stories are you looking to tell?

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: I love stories about real people. At the same time I love stories about people who discover in the real world a kind of door that allows them to see something new and unexpected. I like stories where their reality can turn into a nightmare, a dream, or whatever. I like the idea of opening doors, closing them, and than let’s see what happens. I think that’s my style and I get the feeling that the thriller genre is someplace I’ll be working for a while.

Fears: Is there a project you’ll be taking on next, after you have a chance for a break?

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: I’m going to take a break because I just finished 28 WEEKS LATER six weeks ago. I need it!

Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo & Exec. Prod . Danny Boyle at the London Premier

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