Uwe Boll Talks Dungeon Siege, Bloodrayne, and More.
Director Uwe Boll was kind enough to take time away from filming "Dungeon Siege" to answer a few questions about projects, past, present, and future for Skewed and Reviewed.
GVK: You are obviously a big fan of the gaming industry. What games are you playing now when your schedule allows and which ones are you looking forward to the most?
UB: I love to play Postal, Silent Hill and Hitman. I’m excited to do soon "Far Cry."
GVK: How did you get into film and how did you evolve into being the leading director of game-based films? Also, what films and directors inspired you?
UB: I made Super 8 and video movies as kid and I kept doing it. "German Fried Movie" – my first movie – I financed with $40,000 and distributed it on my own in all German theatres. I like a lot of movies and a lot of directors: Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, John Carpenter, and Brian De Palma. I love "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter," "Dances With Wolves," "Raging Bull," "Taxi Driver," "Fargo," "Jaws"...
GVK: What is your preference in the ongoing debate between PC Games and console games?
UB: I like to play with my Xbox.
GVK: What sort of challenges does adapting a game present that are not normally found in, say, adapting a book or television show?
UB: The games are, in a way, like movies and the gamers are looking carefully into every step of the production process.
GVK: What is the background and setting of the film and how much continuity does it have with the events in the games?
UB: The main point is to keep the characters, the mood and a few brand elements of the game and to bring that in the new story.
GVK: Will the film likely be PG-13 or R Rated?
UB: "Bloodrayne" is R. "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" will be PG-13.
GVK: Any truth to the reports that the film will be over three hours in length?
UB: Or longer. Maybe we have to do the "Kill Bill" variation – two parts. Nobody wants to sit so long in the theatre.
GVK: How has it been working with such a large cast with so many name actors and actresses in it and have you had to change your directing style to accommodate a larger cast and what challenges has this presented for filming?
UB: (A) good cast is important. Big names doesn’t matter if they are wrong for the part. In "Bloodrayne" and "Dungeon Siege" I have the right names for the right parts. It is a pleasure to work with all that great actors – and they feel better if the partner is also a well known face and good actor.
GVK: What can you tell us about the upcoming "Far Cry" and "Bloodrayne"? I know many people are very curious as to who will be playing Jack Carver and other aspects of the films.
UB: "Bloodrayne" starts in over 2000 theatres in U.S. and is a classic epic vampire movie with a great cast (Kristanna "Terminator 3" Loken, Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Billy Zane, Meat Loaf, Geraldine Chaplin, Udo Kier, Matt Davis and Michelle Rodriguez). And "Far Cry" – we have a great script and we are scouting right now locations. We are in talks with a few actors right now.
GVK: As a follow up, are there other game based films that you will be working on?
UB: "Hunter: The Reckoning" and "Fear Effect" and (withheld until the formal announcement).
GVK: Also, is there anything you can share with the readers in regards to “Night Claws”?
UB: I will not do it. I don’t know why it is still on IMDB listed.
GVK: With Peter Jackson recently being announced as part of the coming “Halo” film, do you think this will signal a new age for game based films to finally get the respect and support of major studios allowing them to see even more lavish productions?
UB: Hopefully.
GVK: Looking back on “Alone in the Dark”, what sort of changes would you have made or what would you have done differently if you could?
UB: The script needed another few weeks of work. And Tara Reid with a miscast.
GVK: As a follow up, do you think that many critics were unfair in their reviews for the film which in turn hindered its success?
UB: They write what they think. Hopefully they like "Bloodrayne" more.
GVK: If you were given your wish to make any film you wanted, with no restrictions on budget or cast, what would you like to make, and who would you wish to cast in it?
UB: (Answer to be included when the formal announcement of the project is made.).
GVK: Thank you so much, I and the readers really appreciate it.
And thanks to Gareth over at Skewed and Reviewed for giving us our required monthly dose of Uwe Boll.
GVK: You are obviously a big fan of the gaming industry. What games are you playing now when your schedule allows and which ones are you looking forward to the most?
UB: I love to play Postal, Silent Hill and Hitman. I’m excited to do soon "Far Cry."
GVK: How did you get into film and how did you evolve into being the leading director of game-based films? Also, what films and directors inspired you?
UB: I made Super 8 and video movies as kid and I kept doing it. "German Fried Movie" – my first movie – I financed with $40,000 and distributed it on my own in all German theatres. I like a lot of movies and a lot of directors: Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, John Carpenter, and Brian De Palma. I love "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter," "Dances With Wolves," "Raging Bull," "Taxi Driver," "Fargo," "Jaws"...
GVK: What is your preference in the ongoing debate between PC Games and console games?
UB: I like to play with my Xbox.
GVK: What sort of challenges does adapting a game present that are not normally found in, say, adapting a book or television show?
UB: The games are, in a way, like movies and the gamers are looking carefully into every step of the production process.
GVK: What is the background and setting of the film and how much continuity does it have with the events in the games?
UB: The main point is to keep the characters, the mood and a few brand elements of the game and to bring that in the new story.
GVK: Will the film likely be PG-13 or R Rated?
UB: "Bloodrayne" is R. "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" will be PG-13.
GVK: Any truth to the reports that the film will be over three hours in length?
UB: Or longer. Maybe we have to do the "Kill Bill" variation – two parts. Nobody wants to sit so long in the theatre.
GVK: How has it been working with such a large cast with so many name actors and actresses in it and have you had to change your directing style to accommodate a larger cast and what challenges has this presented for filming?
UB: (A) good cast is important. Big names doesn’t matter if they are wrong for the part. In "Bloodrayne" and "Dungeon Siege" I have the right names for the right parts. It is a pleasure to work with all that great actors – and they feel better if the partner is also a well known face and good actor.
GVK: What can you tell us about the upcoming "Far Cry" and "Bloodrayne"? I know many people are very curious as to who will be playing Jack Carver and other aspects of the films.
UB: "Bloodrayne" starts in over 2000 theatres in U.S. and is a classic epic vampire movie with a great cast (Kristanna "Terminator 3" Loken, Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Billy Zane, Meat Loaf, Geraldine Chaplin, Udo Kier, Matt Davis and Michelle Rodriguez). And "Far Cry" – we have a great script and we are scouting right now locations. We are in talks with a few actors right now.
GVK: As a follow up, are there other game based films that you will be working on?
UB: "Hunter: The Reckoning" and "Fear Effect" and (withheld until the formal announcement).
GVK: Also, is there anything you can share with the readers in regards to “Night Claws”?
UB: I will not do it. I don’t know why it is still on IMDB listed.
GVK: With Peter Jackson recently being announced as part of the coming “Halo” film, do you think this will signal a new age for game based films to finally get the respect and support of major studios allowing them to see even more lavish productions?
UB: Hopefully.
GVK: Looking back on “Alone in the Dark”, what sort of changes would you have made or what would you have done differently if you could?
UB: The script needed another few weeks of work. And Tara Reid with a miscast.
GVK: As a follow up, do you think that many critics were unfair in their reviews for the film which in turn hindered its success?
UB: They write what they think. Hopefully they like "Bloodrayne" more.
GVK: If you were given your wish to make any film you wanted, with no restrictions on budget or cast, what would you like to make, and who would you wish to cast in it?
UB: (Answer to be included when the formal announcement of the project is made.).
GVK: Thank you so much, I and the readers really appreciate it.
And thanks to Gareth over at Skewed and Reviewed for giving us our required monthly dose of Uwe Boll.
Related Items
(1-20 of 34 posts) | Reply
 on Oct 10 2005 06:58 AM So is the interviewer actually taking him seriously as a film maker? Also, is the interviewer blaming the poor box office for Alone in the Dark on critics, rather than the fact that it was just a terrible movie? (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 10 2005 08:06 AM [b]Couple of those interview answers were pretty funn[/b] Whoa, that made me laugh: Is it a joke interview or smth? I particularly laughed over the "Kill Bill" option consideration for Dungeon Siege movie. "Postal" being a favorite game explains a lot!... (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 10 2005 10:04 AM You know, I didn't even read the article. I just skipped to the comments because I love hearing people rip that douche a new asshole. (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 10 2005 10:12 AM You always have to show professionalism when you interview no matter how bad you think the work is. I asked him questions, he gave the answers. I am not going to be a jerk and blast the guy to his face for films we have not even seen yet. The focus was not on Alone it was on what is coming. I tell you this, if those are as bad, you can bet I will give them all bad reviews. Some of his early German Language stuff was actually good, it is when he moved to doing games where the issues arose. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 10 2005 10:22 AM I thought Gareth's questions were actually quite good. What was he supposed to do? Interview the guy by talking about how AWFUL he is? Might be good for a cheap laugh, but it wouldn't make for much of an interview. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 10 2005 11:20 AM [b]good interview[/b] he called uwe out on the bad reception the film received... damn, i kinda feel bad for tara reid....she cant even get respect from uwe boll... :falloff: (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 10 2005 12:46 PM Hey, don't shoot the messenger! Its not his fault, he had to do an interview with the WORST direrector in Hollywood. How was he supposed to handle this, "Hey look, its that shit director! Mr. Boll, what inhumanity are you going to unleash to the world this time?"....Oh wait, that would have been much better. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 10 2005 01:23 PM There is more as well, the people who did the introduction for me, and are behind the wait until the announcement part told me some interesting things. They said he does not deserve his reputation as he had some very bad breaks with Alone. I cannot go into details in public but suffice it to say that people were not being very professional and left him with many issues to clean up. That being said, Directors have to deal with this sort of thing often and it is a learning process. The company that is negotiating a film deal think he is talented and that is why they are looking into working with him. He seemed very passionate about his work, and wants to do things right, but as he mentioned Gamer can be a difficult group to please. I thought Alone was bad but we shall see what the others look like. (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 10 2005 01:24 PM [b]Give Boll a chance[/b] OK, I know his movies thus far have been crappier than crap. I get it. But, those movies that he's had to direct have had such terrible scripts and actresses like Tara Reid. It would have been almost impossible for Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott to make a good movie with such poor writing and bad actors. Dungeon Siege will be this guy's chance to show us if he has ANY kind of talent, since it has a $60 mil budget and a decent cast. However, if Boll is announced as the director of Halo, I will personally assassinate him. Then Peter Jackson can direct it and the world will be a happy place. (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 10 2005 01:52 PM Well, Alone in the Dark cannot be blamed on Tara Reid. The movie just sucked plain and simple. I don't think a few weeks or even a few months could have fixed that film. I saw a review for Bloodrayne and it got half a star. Dungeon Siege has a good star cast but Uwe Boll is gonna have to improve a lot to get me to watch one of his films again. The only reason I decided to watch Alone in the Dark was because the trailers didn't look bad. Now that I hear Dungeon Siege will be more than 3 hours, chances are I won't watch it unless it somehow manages good reviews. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 10 2005 02:14 PM [b]I don't understand[/b] Uwe Boll filmography Sanctimony - 20% (only 5 reviews) Blackwoods - 13% Heart of America - 25% (only 4 reviews) House of the Dead - 6% Alone in the Dark -1% Bloodrayne - The early reviews look to be on par with the rest. Who the hell continues to think that giving this guy gobs of money to make movies is a good idea? Must be the same person that seems to think Devon Aoki is pretty and a good actress. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 10 2005 07:33 PM [b]The Uwe Boll Conundrum[/b] In Hollywood, producers and investors award projects to a director based on the critical and box-office performance of his/her previous work. In the case of Uwe Boll, the investors are Germans who actually make more money by claiming his flops as tax write-offs. Tara Reid may be a terrible actress, but any director worth his salt can look at a script and know if it's worth filmimg. According to the journal of one of the original screenwriters of "Alone in the Dark," Boll kept rejecting their script because it was too "cerebral" and needed more mindless action. And truth be told, the only thing the game and the movie actually had in common was the title. Boll has no one to blame for his terrible movies but himself. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 10 2005 07:50 PM Uwe Boll must die of Ghnaria and rot in hell. He IS the next Ed Wood. All of his upcoming movies will be horrible. End of Story. (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 10 2005 10:44 PM [b]Isn't it obvious already?![/b] His movies are for recruiting people into the Nazi party. They contain subliminal messages that leave you with feelings of anger and rage upon viewing. This is why the German government keeps funding and supporting his supposed "flops". (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 10 2005 11:21 PM people who call him the new ed wood say that because of how bad directed his movies are, not because of the script or the actors, there're plenty of awful scripts and amateur performances out there just as bad as those in alone, but the direction is clueless he has no idea how to direct a dramatic scene or how to make a caracter work and since he seems to read IMDB, there're good chances hE's reading these too: uwe: you are embarrasing your self, in a few years you'll look at your films and you'll be horrified, not of how bad they are, but because you make people sit and waste 90 minutes of their lifes and another thing: alone in the dark (the game) is about mood, not action, you moron!!, but on the other hand if you tried to make it about mood it would had been even worse, if that if possible and last, let me give you a little directing lesson for C COL so, now tell me: what did you do wrong on the chase scene in alone in the dark? now you know, good luck (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 11 2005 01:51 PM There has been alot of work and money on Dungeon Siege so I am interested to see how it plays out. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 11 2005 04:02 PM Poor Tara, the E Channel just cancelled her show, 'Taradise'. What's a lush to do now? (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 11 2005 04:15 PM In reply to this comment (#826548) [b]Work and money?[/b] There was a lot of work and money put into WaterWorld as well. Don't hold your breath. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 11 2005 05:08 PM I dont know why people have given him such a hard time. Every director has his/her bad points. I think that once he gets a good script, good actors and a good budget he will make a decent movie. In an early review for Bloorayne, they say that it is actually decent and would have been better if he had a bigger budget. I am looking foward to Dungeon Siege, it has a 60 million budget and alot of good actors. This is his last chance. German Fried Movie and Beauty in America are good movies, other than the lack of some acting. Hey Boll: Keep it up, and dont listen to these jerks who probably havent even seen one of your movies. Just remember, style isn't everything. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 11 2005 05:40 PM [b]Wait, this is the best part of the interview[/b] "GVK: If you were given your wish to make any film you wanted, with no restrictions on budget or cast, what would you like to make, and who would you wish to cast in it? UB: (Answer to be included when the formal announcement of the project is made.). " So what you are telling me, is this guy got to do what 90% of all directors in Hollywood NEVER get to do - make his dream movie? That's awesome. (Reply to this) |
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