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May 2017

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www.postmagazine.com 16 POST MAY 2017 DIRECTOR'S CHAIR oug Liman first made his name directing the 1996 low-budget cult hit comedy, Swingers, before pro- ceeding to redefine the action/spy thriller with the hugely successful, The Bourne Identity, which spawned a five-movie, mega-franchise (he stayed on as execu- tive producer for the sequels). The prolific director/producer followed Bourne with another global smash, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the sci-fi thriller Jumper and the Tom Cruise sci-fi hit Edge of Tomorrow. And in between movies, Liman exec-produced such TV shows as Suits, Covert Affairs and Knight Rider. Now, Liman is back with a new psycho- logical thriller, The Wall, that follows two soldiers pinned down by an Iraqi sniper, with nothing but a crumbling wall be- tween them. Their fight becomes as much a battle of will and wits as it is of lethally- accurate marksmanship. It stars Golden Globe winner Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals, Kick-Ass, Avengers: Age of Ultron) and WWE star John Cena (Trainwreck, Daddy's Home), and was written by first-time screenwriter Dwain Worrell. It's produced by Amazon Studios and co-distributed by Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions. Here, in an exclusive interview with Post, Liman, who was still deep in post at press time, talks about making The Wall, his love of post and TV. What was the appeal of this story and what sort of film did you set out to make? "I loved the script. I read it as a writing sample for another project, and it just grabbed me. I couldn't put it down. And I love war movies, and this is a very taut war thriller, but it's also a really interest- ing look at the way war really works, and what it takes to survive. It's very black and white, whereas Vietnam War movies are all about the morality. So it's like a WWII movie where it's good vs. evil. No one's questioning why they're fighting the Nazis, and I like that cleanliness of purpose. And Dwain found a way into Iraq that's clean and entertaining, and I wanted to make a nail-biting movie that's very simple, clean, storytelling. And there's no politics in it because that's not how war works when you're in Iraq and someone's trying to kill you." But I heard you did make some changes to the original script? "Yes, Dwain's story was about just one sol- dier, and I added the second character so the story then opened up, and it became a buddy movie. Their friendship and the jeopardy they face together make the film more entertaining and nail-biting." This was like an indie — what were the main technical challenges of pulling all this together and how tough was the very short shoot? "I believe in the budget matching the scale of the movie, and it helped that I got so lucky with Swingers early in my career, where we had to be really creative as we had no money to do stuff the convention- al way. I always look back on it as such great training, and ever since, I've tried to put my back against the wall creatively, and then figure out the smartest solution, because it's not always about having the biggest budget. So we had a very low budget on this and the shoot was just 14 days. But if we'd had 30 days, I feel it would have been worse for the movie as the conditions were so harsh where we shot, in Lancaster, the high desert outside Los Angeles, in July. It actually looks just like the Iraqi desert. It was 110 degrees and the wind picked up every afternoon, blowing at 60mph. One thing that got us through was knowing it was a short shoot. And July also gave us consistent weath- er, and the wind is also a big element in the film. So to get that real impact of the location, you need either a huge budget with lots of special effects and VFX, or you do it like we did — in just 14 days while Mother Nature's giving you all the effects you need for real." Most directors like to keep a core crew, but you seem happy to work with new people all the time, and this was shot by director of photography Roman Vasyanov, who shot Fury. What did he bring to the mix? "I believe in changing up my crew from movie to movie, as every one is a learning experience and I'm always looking for new teachers. And the DP is a key partner. This may have been my biggest growth experience of any film I've done, thanks to Roman. He showed me a level of restraint that was extraordinary. I began my career as my own DP, and I'd say to Roman, 'Let's move the camera for this shot,' and he'd say, 'Why? How's the story enhanced by moving it?' And I'd say, 'It changes the angle, and I've always moved the camera.' There was just one scene in the whole of Swingers where the camera was on a tripod and locked off. But Roman got me to reflect on what was just second nature to me, a reflex. And he was right. And we ended up only moving the camera once — the exact opposite of Swingers." Why did you and DP Roman Vasyanov decide to shoot 16mm anamorphic? "A bunch of reasons — the harsh weather, the low budget and short shoot, going DOUG LIMAN: THE WALL BY IAIN BLAIR D FROM THE LOW-BUDGET SWINGERS TO A NEW PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER IN 16MM ANAMORPHIC Shooting spanned 14 days Liman (left), on location

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