Why Director Alex Garland HATES Directing - Civil War (2024)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 พ.ค. 2024
- Civil War Director Alex Garland says he wants to quit directing, why would he do that as he's headed towards a hit movie?
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0:00 The Civil War Director Wants To Quit Directing
0:35 Early Life and Writing Career
1:40 Entry into film (28 days later and sunshine)
5:08 Directorial Precursor - Dredd (2012)
7:47 Directorial Debut - Ex Machina (2014)
13:23 Annihilation (2018)
14:53 Men (2022)
16:11 Civil War (2024)
18:41 Alex Garland's Quitting Directing?
19:40 The Cost of Expression
20:42 DUNEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
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#civilwar #alexgarland #FrameVoyager - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
VIDEO NOTE: I want to clarify for the purposes of this video, we are not saying he is "retiring" His follow up video or interview pushing back on the retirement claims came after or right before we released this video. But our video never assumed he was done for good.
Alex Garland is not directing for the "foreseeable future" as we mentioned this in the beginning of the video. He's not retiring and will likely be back in directors chair again. For the conclusion of this video, we show the challenges he's had as a director over the years and has mentioned several times during his career that he might do this. Saying that, "I don’t particularly enjoy it. It’s something I have to force myself to do.”
The "quit" in this video is similar to other TH-camrs who "quit" but have already indicated they will come back to TH-cam eventually. Plenty of people have said he's "retiring" and that's just not true. He honestly just sounds like a creator who's burnt out and needs a break for a bit. Hope that helps!
click bait. your content sucks.
Dredd was a great film, don’t care it failed. It was special in a way
Dredd was better than ex machina or most of the other films he directed by a country mile. Civil war is pretty fantastic though.
Yeah Dredd is fantastic.
@@bubble75204 Willing to bet you have a Funko Pop collection.
It's insane what "bombs" at the box office. Like we live in bizarro world.
Really just comes down to marketing and what studios think people should go see. Hopefully with that starts changing more
exactly, we are definitely in a cultural decline... rarely good movies are a success at the box office these days.
@@paulusandronicus Yeah, Garland makes entertainment for people who're intelligent enough to be situationally aware in an Information Age, during the birth of AI. But this is leaving the majority behind so fast that we might actually get a Civil War, out of shear confusion of the underclasses. It's his sort of thoughtfully provocative style that highlights people actually embracing these exact uncertainties, and shows the way towards what we all must do going forward as we approach "The Singularity", or whatever else happens. Even "Men" broached a timely topic in dire need of some intelligent discourse, otherwise we run the risk of everything spiraling out of control. Feels like humanity is always on the fine edge of barbarism, especially during it's struggle to supersede base instincts. We always seem to lose the best directors early... Stephen Norrington comes to mind as well. I can't even imagine what stories would be possible to tell outside of Capitalism's yoke.
@@FrameVoyager That's somewhat true. If you throw enough money at marketing you can reliably "force" people into the seats, but it is not worth doing if the cost of ads/marketing is more than the return in viewers. Usually the professionals are good at predicting this, but there are always surprise hits and misses because it's not an exact science.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker made a billion dollars.
people have mistook his claims as quitting and Alex Garland later said he just wanted to take a break from the directors chair. He isn't quitting at all.
Well quitting doesn't mean "forever" necessarily. At the beginning and end of the video our conclusion is more of it being a break. He's quitting being a director for now before the right project or opportunity comes along. But honestly, he's talked about hating being a director for a long time. So it's not surprising to see him take a break
He wants to go and do some writing without the pressure of running a whole show.
It makes perfect sense to me. Dude made his name as a writer, hes going to want to take what hes learned back to the writing table and see what hes capable of producing free of other responsibilities as he matures in his career.
Likewise i would expect that once he lets off that steam, he will be hungry to dive back into directing and use that power to bring his writing to life again.
Hes a creative so he's going to chase his different outlets, which is fine because he will only keep growing because of that.
Well, he should.
@@BlueZirnitravery well said sir these are exactly my thoughts as well
yeah this entire video is pointless.
Alex Garland and Jonathan Glazer kickstarted my interest in movies. Hopefully the two directors would keep on making films.
Dame. Exactly the same.
That's interesting. I'm not a conscious fan of Glazer but the few films I've seen of his really stayed with me. Under the Skin is a really uncomfortable movie but also bizarrely beautiful and alluring.
They definitely both share something in common that I like. Maybe we and these directors share a common crazy streak.
Lol. That's unfortunate.
that "Rabbit in Your Headlights" music video is what made me want to make films
Same! And add Robert Eggers and Ari Aster to that list 😊
Devs is probably one of the best things Garland has made.
Can’t be underscored enough; if you’re a fan of sci-fi or you like cerebral stuff, watch Devs!
Sounds like you would love Dark. German engineering at its finest. Far a sand away my favourite show@@bcm5pointer
You forgot Devs...
Alex Garland is the only mind of hard Sci-Fi that I trust among writer/directors (outside Villeneuve, but he's more suited for the larger scale Sci-Fis). Garland is smart, educated and doesn't shy away from really complex philosophical perspectives within Sci-Fi narratives. He's also among the best to continue the Kubrick tradition of letting the atmosphere around technology produce questions about it. "Devs" is a masterclass in such aesthetics; with a poetic sensibility to the subject matter.
The reason he doesn't want to direct is also obvious in a way that he would never say out loud, even if anyone can sense it; he hates the stupid people around a production that focus on these kinds of complex ideas. Anyone who's been inside the film industry knows that there are way too many uneducated, stupid capitalists who have no interest in making something philosophically interesting for intellectual audiences. They either only care for profit, or they simply don't understand the material that's being filmed.
Anyone who's ever tried to explain something complex to someone uneducated or downright stupid knows how frustrating it is, but as a director your movie's existence and maybe even career rests on the ability to explain the complex idea you have to someone in power over the production. For anyone who's interested in making intellectually complex movies like Garland does, it's such an uphill battle that it just doesn't feel worth it. It's either "make something stupid" or "pay for the production yourself" or just quit it.
And the worse thing about it is that it doesn't matter if you reach the reputation and intellectual respect that Garland has gained, each new production will feature more stupid people you have to lower yourself towards in order to reach the goal of finishing it.
And yes, people can say that they won't sell, and there's not enough of an audience for these kinds of movies, but we're still here remembering movies like Ex Machina. It's movies like these that stick around culturally, that are more important than the current year's financial hits.
I much rather involve myself in a movie that has the potential to be remembered and mean something to a few, than some T-Shirt of the week that ends up in the bin of dollar-store movie piles. Movies that down the line end up as obvious parts of people's collection of movies, proud spots in their shelves of physical copies at home.
And through that perspective, I'd say that I agree with Garland about the problems. I've actually felt like there's no point to start directing properly if all you ever get to do are films you don't want to make or changes that just destroys your love for the film your working on.
And actually... it's through this I start to think that maybe all this AI stuff isn't all that doom and gloom. We won't automatically see new masterpieces just because it gets easier to make movies through new advanced tools, we will see a lot more shit. But we will also see a democratization of tools that makes it possible for ideas that aren't commercially viable as big productions to be formed cheaper and under better control of the writer.
We may very well have a future in which lone writers can make their own movies by themselves, much like lone animators working on their passion projects, some of whom can be seen on TH-cam, crafting away without any stupid people tinkering their movies to death. Maybe a form of new type of creator, working as a writer and a kind of animator, being in full control over everything, but releasing stuff that looks like large scale movies. As long as the author and artist is in full control over their creativity, I don't see that as a bad future, it may very well be part of the future landscape of art.
Loved Devs! Just didn't fit in with the overall arc of this story about him as a director of movies. But I've always loved the films Garland has been a part of both as a writer and as a director. It will be sad if he stays away from directing indefinitely
@@FrameVoyager Yes, very sad. He's part of my top favorite writer/directors of all time. It's a great loss to cinema as there's no one quite like him and we need that originality when so much today is cookie-cutter.
I think he'll be back again someday. The man is probably just burnt out from directing back to back films haha
@@FrameVoyager It's always the case when you come to end of a film production. He'll be back.
In Dev's, the soundtrack and and sound design just took that series to the next level
Ex Machina has always been a favourite film of mine. I actually didn't know anything about Garland before this. Appreciate the awesome breakdown as always!
Glad you enjoyed it! Ex Machina is a great film, but a lot of people don't know about Garland which is why I really wanted to showcase his work!
A few details I think you missed (but great video):
Garland’s series DEVS on FX/Hulu, which is a **must watch**. Better to not know anything about it but it’s a very cerebral thriller along the lines of Ex Machina more than any of his other works.
The behind-the-scenes politics were so bad on Annihilation over Ellison wanting to change the ending and reshoot much of the story based on a single test screening, that it came to a massive battle where Scott Rudin stayed in Garland’s corner. You mentioned Paramount dropped them, but the way it happened was that the film got a theatrical screening (with virtually zero marketing) in the US, Canada, and China and went direct to Netflix a week later.
This happened because Paramount had a string of failures including Baywatch, Transformers: The Last Knight, Ben-Hur, Ghost in the Shell, and Downsizing. And for Ellison’s part, he was responsible for the failed attempts to revive Jack Reacher and Jack Ryan and a string of garbage like GI Joe: Retaliation, Terminator: Genisys, Star Trek: Into Darkness and Beyond, LIFE (which didn’t make it’s budget back accounting for marketing and advertising), Baywatch, and Geostorm.
This was the money man that was going to sabotage Annihilation to make it “more accessible” because he thought it was (actual test audience complaints) “too intellectual” and “too complicated”. His only hits were WWZ and Mission Impossible for Paramount, and with Garland refusing to budge and Rudin in his corner, Paramount deliberately sabotaged their OWN film, pulling it from theaters in all but 3 countries and sending it direct to Netflix only to find that people that saw it found it to be haunting and effective. The guy was a f***ing idiot, and if Garland had more than two days in between films to reflect on it, and all the prep work for Civil War wasn’t already done and how it would destroy his career to pull out, it wouldn’t surprise me if he backed out of attempting another big film immediately.
He came up in video games as well, working with Ninja Theory on titles like Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010), which featuring Andy Serkis in a leading role in performance capture and vocal talents (8 years after The Two Towers and the year before the first of the new Planet of the Apes trilogy). He also wrote DmC (2013) for them, exploring new ways to be creative and write while not being in the director’s chair. This was the last project he would do before officially directing his first film, Ex Machina (2015).
As of January this year, there’s a reported deal to reunite Alex Garland with Danny Boyle in which he would write and Boyle would direct a sequel to 28 Days Later. Cillian Murphy, for his part, has said that every time he bumps into Alex or Danny he always mentions the idea, so it’s possible he could return (at least in a producing role if not starring). Imogen Poots, who was a star in the second film has also voiced interest in returning. So it looks like he already has his next project in mind where he’d go back to writing, collaborating, and having Boyle (a safe and trusted Oscar winning director) with a very likely box office draw (particularly if Murphy returns).
Appreciate it! Loved Devs! Was sad it was a limited series, but super interesting. I should have mentioned it but just didn't feel like it fit in right.
Excited to see what he does with Boyle!
@@FrameVoyagerappreciate the response! I was editing in three paragraphs on what happened with Annihilation and David Ellison causing Paramount to sabotage their own film, but you were so quick to respond you probably missed them (though I’m sure you’re aware). Anyhow more than anything, I just wanted to draw attention to DEVS as most people here will be both fans of Garland and also not likely to have heard of the project. It’s like the best kept secret in his filmography.
Men is the one film of his that I just didn’t *like*. But I don’t think ANYONE was supposed to LIKE that film. If you walked out of it with any kind of positive feeling, there’s probably something wrong with you. The final images are seered into my brain forever, haha. I’m also very scared about a film named Civil War coming out in America in 2024, no matter how apolitical it is.
The Twitter discourse of how out of touch the director was for the way he divided the US up into factions (in an attempt to avoid direct Democrat/Republican polarization) just had people becoming more polarized over it, finding it either too “woke” or too “apolitical”. I’m sure it’ll be excellent though. Plemmons asking “What kind of Americans are you?” gives me chills.
Again, great channel, really love your work here.
@@MrJagermeister no problem! And yeah, I liked men but you don't feel good coming out of it. Wildest ending. Never saw that coming 😅
But yeah, civil war is going to be hard to watch. Doing another video on that soon for next week!
@@FrameVoyager I truly hope he reconsiders revisiting Dredd at some point as well. Such a great film. It was hurt by the Dredd 3D marketing bc at that time, 3D was becoming a bit of a gimmick due to how many terrible post-converted films there were instead of ones like Dredd that were conceived of, shot for, and on 3D cameras. The SloMo drug sequences especially are so impressive. If you have a 3D TV or a VR headset, and a copy of Dredd in 3D… it really holds up. All the way down to the ground floor. 🫣
This is why I strongly believe in the classic dynamic of the producer and director having equal power. Let the mad genius creative create and the more pragmatic creator can handle the logistics. Both should still be creatives. The classic model failed when the producers stopped being creatives.
He's not quitting, he's not giving up directing, and he's not hanging up his director's chair. This is all based on a twisted quote of his. He's said in a recent interview that he is going to be tied up and busy with writing two films for other directors and so he won't have time to direct "for the foreseeable future". That is what he meant.
Yeah, we use the "for the foreseeable future" quote in the first 5 seconds of the video. We're not saying "retiring" but "quitting" "stepping down" etc. He's just taking a break from it, but we never say he's "done" being a director. Just explore the reasons throughout his career that have contributed to him having conflicting feelings about being a director. But he's talked for years about not liking being a director
Alex Garland also worked with Andy Serkis on a video game called "Enslaved: Odyssey to the West", which was heavily inspired by the ancient Chinese story Journey to the West. Fantastic game! Also a fantastic play from London that saw Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and Blur fame crafting the music. Anyway, great video!
I had a meeting with Alex and Danny Boyle regarding Sunshine. This was a couple of years before it was greenlit.
My takeaway from the encounter was that Garland is insanely intelligent and you could see he had the chops to direct. We met to talk about VFX and I was impressed that a screenwriter/author understood the challenges of a effects heavy production. I suppose having Danny Boyle as an effective mentor always helps.
By the way, this channel is deserving of way more views. I really appreciate the in-depth research and interviews.
Yeah I love how Garland approaches filmmaking. It's just very different than whatever anyone else is doing at that level and you can see why A24 keeps giving him money for projects.
And appreciate it! I'm sure we will get higher views over time haha
Sunshine is my favorite science fiction movie. I feel emotion every time I watch it,
@@timmeadows970 I love Sunshine, too! It's criminally underrated, if you ask me.
Same generation and same cultural background as Garland and always found his work mines ideas and genres that very much appeal to me.
In a way he is too creative for the modern film market. Cinema does seem a bit lost at the moment, and its going to lose a lot of amazing talent if it cant monetise complex genre work trying to be innovative.
I also relate to his frustration at having his ideas ruined. Its demoralising and the fight wears you out. I admire how long hes kept going, and treasure many films hes worked on.
I don't think people really understand just how painful and taxing on your physical and mental health it is to produce and direct films, specially at this gigantic scale. I have no idea how people like Takashi Miike are pumping out 1-2 long features per year.
I dunno I would consider directors to be insanely ambitious people. I'd rather climb a mountain...
You're box office stats are WAY off for Sunshine. A studio only recoups roughly 50% from the theatre making it a loss of 23 million not even factoring in Print and Advertising!
Unfortunate. I really like this movie.
Have been lucky enough to watch him work on set. He carries a presence with him like no other. Crazy to think none of these have been box office successes like you'd think. Great work as always on this good sir!
Appreciate it! He seems like a really great guy! Hope we get to see him direct again one day. Really kind of seems like he's been burnt out by the process, which you can totally get. Sometimes you just gotta get away from it for a while before the next big idea comes.
@@FrameVoyager Definitely, I think there's no way he stays away. He's scared to say he's a director, but he's a total natural at it, and he still lets others do their job on set, while politely giving his input.
Alex: "I quit!"
Civil War is a hit: "Just when I thought I was out, they PULL ME BACK IN!" 😮
Yeahhhhh, he's kind of all over the place with how he talks about directing. Like he was shocked people thought he was retiring based off of the comments, but he's been saying stuff like that for years.
@@FrameVoyagerJust sounds like a simple case of burnout.
@@JasonOrtiz-ye1do pretty much. We've even touch on that aspect towards the end of the video
Ex-Machina cost $15m, Box office was $38m, revenue is split between distributor/studio and movie theaters 50%/50%, so $19m each. Marketing cost is at least 50% of the production cost added on top, so $15m + $7.5m = §22.5 means Ex-Machina did not even make its money back at the box office. It might have broken even through DVD/Bluray and streaming sales, but this movie was not a success financially.
The percentage share differs in the US compared to Global cinema chains. And the 50% marketing budget holds true to larger scale, tentpole movies…but I doubt they spent $7.5M advertising such a small film. From all the articles I found, it’s said Ex-Machina did turn “a profit”, albeit how large it was…I doubt they’d ever officially say.
Devs was a perfect, anxiety filled show that should have had a mention here. It sort of itches the same vein as Ex-Machina, because I think Alex has a direct connection to our collective Zeitgeist, in a weird way. Super smart and direct.
I love Never Let Me Go, very understated film, I will go look for Andrew Garfield's scream when I'm feeling some way
Man, I didn't really know who Garland was by name, but your videos on him made me realize I'm actually a huge fan of his work. So this was kinda sad to watch. Here's hoping we get more good stuff from him, even if they're not films.
the most underrated channel on youtube
haha appreciate it! 😅😅😅
You forgot Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.
While you touched on his "gamer" aspects, he wasn't just inspired by Resident Evil or games in general, but he worked on them too!
He was a story consultant on a bunch of them, but Enslaved, from Ninja Theory, has his fingerprints all over the place!
It's really cool because it didn't do well commercially but won the hearts of critics and a bunch of awards.
It has become a cult classic, but the "game" aspect was heavily criticized (as is Ninja Theory's tradition) with its redeeming quality being the story, themes, and reinterpretation of the book, Journey to the West, in a sci-fi setting.
You can see how the Horizon series was heavily inspired by it as well.
Amazing video, but not gonna lie, I was pretty sad that you didn't include that :(
For sure! I had some of this in mind for the script, it just didn't fit well in with going more for his time as a director and the narrative direction I was going for. But, in hindsight probably should have mentioned it.
@@FrameVoyager I can see that. Thank you for the clarification! Really appreciate it (:
It's better to be the writer and Then go off and director your OWN stuff because having to make somebody else's movie and have NO final say so it's got to be annoying At that point you're just basically making sure That it gets done And that it looks like a movie
I had ZERO knowledge that Garland had anything to do with Dredd! Absolutely LOVE that film! I apologize for my ignorance lol That said, I enjoyed or loved (Ex Machina) all his films that I've seen. But if he feels like taking a break, by all means he should! All the time he needs or...until (if) he feels the desire to Direct again. Appreciate this video and learning more about the man behind these many fantastic films/stories! Thank you! 😎 👍 edit - Though I would debate that another (/cough current /cough )Presidential figure is a much better example of someone "trashing" our Constitution and Bill of Rights! Just sayin' 😉
This was a great essay, really enjoyed it.
Thank you for all the work you did to bring it to us.
Appreciate it!
could you please tell me the background music you used for the section about his entry to film, it starts around 1:40. i would really appreciate it!
Darude - Sandstorm
@@stellviahohenheim Idiot
Love how this whole thing is edited. Great work.
Appreciate it!
Would you like to see Alex Garland direct another film?
Yes please, i like his way of moviemaking.
How about he writes a Sci-Fi script for Denis Villeneuve? That would be a great combo.
Though I would really love to see Alex Garland continue to direct films due to his amazing talent and willingness to create his true vision (without shortcuts), it is more important for the quality of his films to allow him to do what he wants to do. If he does continue to write, and he does it his way, the films he adapts, will be held at the same standard that he wants.
"I'm not really a film director, I'm a writer who directs out of convenience". I believe he now trusts that he can get the upmost quality with the same results with a team of trusted filmmakers. I will always trust movies that come out with his name behind it because I will know that he cares about what he makes.
Of course, he makes interesting movies that make think, and we need more of that in the world.
Absolutely I would like to see Garland direct again! I love Ex Machina, and have been really looking forward to seeing The Civil War since the first trailer came out. Also, that was a really great run through his career. Thank you! Quite enjoyable. Also btw, I made my first Video Essay, and it's about Fargo Season 5, and the use the supernatural in Coen Brother films: th-cam.com/video/cuVjcH_iZYE/w-d-xo.html
I would love to have you take a look at it and leave me your thoughts? 🙏🤞😁
He’s already stated his comment about retiring was taken out of hand..
Right, he said he was not going to be directing for "the foreseeable future."
Which is why we are not saying retiring. It's the same as a lot of the TH-camrs "quitting" TH-cam. They aren't done with it and will likely come back, but they are doing something else for the time being.
So the video goes more in depth in why he has not enjoyed directing and what led him to taking a break or "quitting" for now
Not to be That Guy, but what is your process for the CRT effects you use? I've done recording off an actual CRT screen but that's so cumbersome and most plugins I've tried look awful, but the CRT effects in this look great.
I have a bunch of crt tvs 😂 key is to just do it through obs and then route your premiere timeline to the screen. Record your section you want and drop it in!.
@@FrameVoyagerGah I was afraid of that lol. Tips for avoiding flicker/refresh rate/shutter speed issues?
Variable frame rate or play around with shutter speed. Honestly I rarely have issues with it. I usually use a Sony FX30 for it and a canon 70-200mm
did any of y'all read The Beach? I never watched the film because I thought it looked kind of dumb, but the novel was an absolute banger.
Oh the TDS... 17:33
Yeah I immediately stopped the video and downvoted it at that point. These lefties are absolutely ridiculous. They throw around fascist like it makes them sound smart. Lol. Pretty sure Biden is the one that's trying to arrest his political opponent.
Sunshine will go down as a sci fi classic in the history books.
Great work, i know some of the movies but i had no idea who was behind them. Almost a short documentary about the man behind the work. Looking forward to his latest movie
Appreciate it! He's actually been behind some other tv series as well like Devs. But going into all that wasn't really what the video was about. Civil War should be an interesting film
I'm glad Garland was able to push back against producer changes with annihilation. That movie is a perfect embodiment of the themes and ideas presented in the book, and is the piece of film that got me interested in cinematography and filmmaking. I love it
amazing after watching your video I see how naturally I was drawn to Garland's work. It speaks for itself with quality and attention to detail. Both the movies he was apart of and the ones he directed, Hollywood needs to learn from him and thats that.
This channel keeps getting better and better. Keep it up. You're doing a wonderful job.
Appreciate it!
I sense his frustration.
His movies are much, much better than the average. He has potential for greatness.
Civil War was a wonderful achievement. Still, I wish it had more depth, dark humor and pathos. Nonetheless, I was engaged.
He just has to step back do the writing thing and come back with a passion project.
Dredd (2012) was one hell of an underrated movie.
Wow, this was well researched! Thanks, really enjoyed it
Appreciate it!
Great video, i've enjoyed most of Garlands work so it was nice to get more context about the man behind the picture.
Glad you enjoyed it
Really great video. Loved Annihilation, and really enjoyed devs and ex machina mainly for their ideas and writing… which is why I was slightly confused by Civil War. Didn’t dislike it but not what I’ve come to expect from a Garland movie.
When is Garland going to remake The Beach? I’ve been a huge fan of his work going back to his very first novel and it’s still one of my favorite books to date. The movie was okay. It started out great but ultimately missed. I’d love to see Garland’s directorial vision based more closely to the material in the novel.
hes a great writer - i love his movies and hope he at least still writes them cause hes written some of my favorites also the beach was one of my favorite books when i was young. judge dredd is such a fucking awesome movie too i wish they would make a sequel or tv show
no way i just found your channel and you immediately uploaded
You arrived at a great time! What video did you find my channel on?
very good video, in my opinion this channel is super underrated. also could you tell what song is playing in the backround in the "MEN" movie section of this video?
Appreciate that! I'd have to go back and check what that exactly was. But I know I usually source like 90% of my music from artlist.
@@FrameVoyager could you please check? that song sounds so magnificent
Darude - Sandstorm
Here is what I find interesting and maybe you could do a video about it. That is that alot of these really talented directors are throwing the towel in recently to list a few Guillermo Del Toro (says he only wants to do animation), Quentin Tarantino says he has one more film left in him, Peter Jackson isn't directing, JJ Abrams isn't directing, Paul Thomas Anderson while still directing has slowed his release of movies, Fincher is still going strong. Todd Phillips and Adam Mckay both said they can't direct comedies anymore. Why do you think some of these guys are hanging up the towel is it they are getting older? The movie business isn't what it once was a combination of both or something else entirely?
He’s a good author. He should occasionally write a novel again from time to time
I wish he didn't go this vague route.his work suffers for it.
He should feel confident in his vision he's always been critically reviewed well
Damn dude, I was really hoping Garland would stick around the director's chair to hopefully pick up the torch for Children and God Emperor of Dune after Villeneuve finishes Dune Messiah. Maybe he'll come back around then?
SO, Alex Garland directed some of my most Fav Films.
I think I'm more fascinated with the Film Gear rather than story telling, all I can see watching a film is, Anamorphic/NonAnamorphic, Lighting, grading, toning & textures. Always trying to understand intentions, do they think every single detail through, or they plan create the setting & some good optics & get the acting on point. I just seems so overwhelming, yet exciting!
I thought you were Badger from Braking Bad and Better Call Sall, and The Elcamino Movie 🎥
It’s rare for me to leave a comment on a TH-cam video but I just wanted to publicly acknowledge how well made this video commentary is and I look forward to more videos on your channel - you have a new fan.
Appreciate it!
I now know why I LOVED Dredd so much! It was a great adaptation that just didn't get the credit it deserves
Thank you so much for the video! I did not know so many awesome movies, actually directed by Alex!!!
I loved Ex Machina and Annihilation, Dredd was fine and definitely didn't deserve to bomb. Men was interesting but not for me. Still haven't seen Civil War but a lot of folks have said it sucks. It's sad to see him step away from directing but I totally get it. Hopefully he finds some time to recharge and comes back better than ever. His more cerebral stuff is always great. Still haven't watched Devs but it certainly sounds up my alley. Maybe I'll go watch that soon.
Every single film I’ve seen in this are some of my favourites and I had no idea about him being the GLUE and reason I love them.
He deserves more recognition
He reminds me of Charlie Kaufman, David Lynch or Sam Esmail. They just have such specificity and authenticity to their thematic interests and creative sensibilities that it makes it strange to think of them as "working for hire" again though I'm sure there's ghost writing and even ghost directing like Dredd.
These are the filmmakers for whom Netflix is such an insanely great value proposition. To have the creative freedom WITHOUT the constraints of a shoestring budget and limited audience reach of small theatrical P&A. Arthouse cinema for the masses as opposed to just snobs near a good programming theater in metropolitan areas in countries that distribute "challenging" films.
10-20x more people around the world saw Roma, Mank, Pinocchio, All Quiet on the Western Front, Bardo, I'm thinking of ending things than they would've in theaters and if ultimately what we want is people to have access to the art work and as many as possible, it's only ego and corporate propaganda that creates this idiotic divide where auteurs would rather quit than opening up their catalog to a different model with a monumentally larger audience reach. To each their own but Fincher got tired of fighting EVERY studio in LA for that kind of control until you know.
Banksy didn't call his movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop" for nothing. It seems like theatrical evangelists and the auteurs of the moment still haven't gotten the memo.
How is Netflix a good value proposition? Netflix is overloaded with crap with stuff coming out all the time that you'll have to compete against. I don't seem much creativity coming from the company and the company doesn't have an appreciation for cinema. If you put your film onto Netflix, you are limiting the reach of it and you are mostly denying the audience of the best way to experience it (i.e. in the theaters).
@@ssssssstssssssss So is the multiplex. We cannot gatekeep consumer choice for EVERYONE in the world we can only do it for ourselves. I go to the theater maybe 10-20 times a year because those are the movies that are genuinely worth it to me. It doesn't matter that more than 200-300 movies are released in NYC for me to see, I'm only interested in what I AM interested in. I don't decry that people prefer to see Madame Web the sane weekend that The Taste of Things premiered, there's NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT THAT and it doesn't affect my choice of what to watch nor does it "dilute" my enjoyment of the movies and artists I love.
Problem is that corporate propaganda created this Us vs Them narrative where one side has to be the greedy capitalists squeezing every customer dry BUT they pretend it's only the streamers. The reality is that retail distribution's only strategy is TO SHAME PEOPLE into buying a more expensive, more exclusionary (as in few filmmakers having equal opportunities AND audiences being physically limited by location) product while keeping the progress elsewhere in check.
People have their choice, and I don't think regressing to a system where the gatekeepers contiinuosly narrow your choices down through their algorigthmic sales funnels and IP driven marketing campaigns (theatrical uses algos and AI too lol) ISN"T the salvation we want, it's just exacerbating the conditions which made Netflix popular in the first place.
Ask yourself why when a streamer raises their monthly sub by 1 dollar you get dozens of articles about the end of streaming and all this negative press but you're damned if you find ONE article over the past 3 years about the insane rise of theatrical prices. Over 40% since 2019. And theaters aren't showing MORE films, or better films, in fact everyone sort of agrees that the bulk of theatrical product is crap so it's wild that people still wanna use the "crap catalog" dismissal with streamers. With platforms you got a little thing called a search function, takes 10 seconds versus having to drive 2-3 hours to an arthouse theater like most people would if they wanna watch a Cuaron, Fincher, Inarritu, Del Toro, Bong, Campion, Kaufman, Campos, Jeunet, Scorsese, Esmail, Johnson, etc. If any regular studio had a catalog with all these auteurs making films for them within the past 5-6 years they would be praised but no, with Netflix there's always caveats, your favorite directors making their "shittiest films" or whatever other disqualifier you give, when you know that half of these films released by Searchlight, A24 or Neon would be top 10s of the decade.
It's time everyone ditched the corporate propaganda and started celebrating cinema again. I fell in love with movies watching 2001 on a 15 inch iMac twenty years ago. I was blown away. Luckily I'm in NYC where I've had the blessing of getting to 70mm screenings of it multiple times and it was equally mind blowing. But I'm in the 0.001% of lucky fans of the movie that CAN have access to a retail screening of it versus those who are still discovering it today, watching on their laptop and falling in love with cinema also. You wanna invalidate THEIR experience because they didn't "get off the couch"?? Why does it affect your experience and your love of movies in the slightest that others consume media differently?
@PanteraRossa Big fan of all the auteur writers and directors you mentioned, and I agree with the viewership numbers on streaming allowing more people to see those films globally than they could in the theater. I adore all the directors you mentioned in your second comment, and also agree that Fincher has been working with Netflix to avoid the money grubbing that comes with “you can make art, if it makes us money” by placing them on a service where it drives engagement and subscription rather than box office.
That said, I think Netflix is making a mistake by not bringing more of these films to wide release in the theater as well, to give people not only the choice of how they wish to see a film (I would have absolutely seen Leave the World Behind in theaters, for example, or showed up for The Killer). Massive fan of Sam Esmail - Mr. Robot is my #1 ranked show (followed by The Leftovers in #2 and Breaking Bad in #3 - I haven’t seen BCS yet).
Leave the World Behind was a really entertaining watch but I would have liked for Garland to have done a final draft on it, to clean up some of the things that don’t make sense in retrospect. Also, off topic, I can’t believe Disney pulled Mr. Robot writer Kyle Bradstreet off of Secret Invasion and gave us *that* instead. It could have been such a better show.
I’m a theater evangelist. I sub to AMC’s A-List. Gets me 12 movies a month, including premium formats like IMAX, Dolby, and 3D, for around $20 a month. I also sub to HBO, Netflix, Prime, Hulu, Disney, Paramount, Peacock, AMC+, Starz, and Apple (though plan to cut out about half of them and just rotate as I’m just throwing money away).
For the cost of an ad-free 4K HBO subscription, you can see these films in Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, or Dolby/IMAX 3D or Real 3D, etc. and 4K and IMAX Laser projection depending on where you live.
I grew up working in VHS rental stores so I’m all for watching movies at home but you can never beat the size of the screen or the volume of the sound and the richness and depth of the sound design (especially in Dolby Atmos in their Dolby theaters) due to how large a theater is and your seated position in it, creating much more space for the sound to travel between all of their overhead speakers. Dolby also has chairs with haptic feedback that kick in with the bass - seeing the opening of Blade Runner 2049 and John Wick 4 were the loudest sound I’ve ever experienced in a theater.
@PanteraRossa I think Netflix owns a theater where they release their films so they’re available for Oscar consideration, but wide release would not only bring in money to help pay for the budget for their shows (3 Body Problem cost a reported $20 million per episode, or $160 total, not counting marketing and advertising) and is extremely likely to get cancelled with no resolution, just like every other Netflix show.
Even ones with buzz and good critical and viewer word of mouth like The OA, 1899, Archive 81, Warrior Nun, etc. get cancelled on cliffhangers, leading people to not want to start a new show until they know it will actually FINISH. And this causes people to wait, so the viewership isn’t high enough, and Netflix cancels yet more shows.
Rather than give them time to find an audience, which they repeatedly discover works when they bring syndicated shows to their platform and failures from Network TV find massive audiences (Evil, for example, while it was on Netflix, or Better Call Saul).
The problem with their model is also their greatest strength - they dub everything in every language possible and show it globally, but if a film or series doesn’t immediately shoot to #1 and remain in the top #10 globally, it’s cancelled. And what works in one market doesn’t always work in another - Hollywood and Bollywood couldn’t be any more different for example. Aiming for the lowest common denominator gives us lazy reality TV series and intelligence insultingly bad content just for the sake of being content.
The one good thing is that it pays for the occasional auteur film, but if people cancel Netflix with all it’s competition because they keep cancelling series on cliffhangers with no resolution, then less people see those auteur films. Having special engagements, even just a one-night showing of a Netflix film, brings in more money than they would have otherwise had to help pay the budget and make more of it.
And it drives conversation and word of mouth towards it. Had they showed two episodes a week of 3 Body Problem in theaters leading up to the full release on streaming would cause people to talk about episodes each week while still allowing a full binge for the Netflix at home crowd.
It’s a mistake to ignore theaters. When Netflix was the only game in town, they could get away with it. But with the dozen or so other competitors I mentioned, people have a choice and I’m definitely in the minority of people that will pay for all of them. Netflix has also stated goals of producing more “second screen entertainment”. As in, shit that isn’t entertaining enough to watch on it’s own but you can put on in the background while you’re doing something else. That’s not anything I **WANT** to watch.
I’ll continue to catch Kaufman, Fincher, Esmail, Innaritu, Cuaron, Scorcese, etc. if their film is on Netflix but I will always prefer to have the **option** to see it in a theater. Especially a film like Leave the World Behind, as the average size TV that users have and the fact that most people play sound from the TV speakers directly really wastes a 4K Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos master of a film like that.
And continuing to raise the price so they don’t cut up my 4K entertainment with ads only has me realizing how many of those 12 films a month I see in the theater are a better experience these days. Especially the A24 and Neon releases that most people probably wouldn’t have gone to see as an individual ticket but as part of a subscription, it’s Netflix in the theater, which is great.
ABSOLUTELY! Garland is one of my favorite directors and he never disappoints me with his movies. My favorite from him was DEVS. I'm still waiting for a 4K Dolby Atmos physical release of that incredible work of art.
I know this video is about his films, but it would have been nice if DEVS was included in your background summary. That show says a lot about how Garland views the world, and life. Great video though.
LOVED Devs! In hindsight, I should have mentioned it. I was just really focused more on the directing I wasn't really sure how to fit it in without going super in depth
Such a shame that both Dredd movies haven't been excellent - although I didn't dislike the second one - since it's such an incredibly rich universe of lore. Also very expansive and profound sometimes. The entire 2000AD franchise should get the same love as the marvel shit.
Alex Garland has the humility to self review and make this decision, personally I disagree with it as his movies continually get more interesting, except for Annihilation personally and I havent seen Men yet. Regardless, I hope he's still involved with films as a writer for example as the world welcomes more of his ideas.
Another filmmaker I wish had this humility is Zack Snyder, he is a visual person and has created very memorable visual scenes but overall movies... not so much. He should not be the main writer nor director anymore. He can still be in those roles but secondary with a team of writers, producers, directors later refining his ideas to what works.
This was such a good video. Well researched and a great deep dive into a great creative mind.
Appreciate it!
ALL HIS FILMS ARE FIRE 🔥 KEEP DOING GREAT FILMS 🎥
I totally feel this. As a writer, I am a director of necessity. I love the process. I love actors wanting to work with me. But god, if it isn't a real job! Writing to me has always continued to keep that organic feeling that directing doesn't give me.
Thanks man, well done!
Agreed. After Civil War, he should quit. He's got zero point of view and tends to suck the life out of otherwise decent ideas.
Headass take.
@@TheOutsider69 what did you like about it?
how did i have no idea garland actually directed dredd one of my favorite action movies ever
I love his storytelling. If that’s text only again I don’t mind. He makes films in my head. If he keeps writing films, I guess we get his stories still, but filtered.
There is that ole saying that is "the best leaders don't ask for the job"... I appreciate the idea of Alex Garland not wanting to be a director, but feeling its necessary. haha
May i suggest an episode about richard williams?Especially his unfinished film thief and cobbler
if he can fund the film 100% by himself then he can do what he wants. he sounds like a talented artist who isn't good at collaborating and is now taking his ball and walking home.
If you go by Matt Damon's insight into production budgets. Sunshine wouldn't have lost $6000 but much much more. You have to quadruple the budget at the box office to break even. (This does not count rentals etc though, which I find strange). 40M budget, double it cause you put the same in Marketing 40M, that puts you at 80M in the hole, now the theater chains take 50% of what you make at the box office. So to break even, Sunshine would have had to make $160M at the box office. Since it only made 36M, this is a major loss for the studio at 18M going to the studio towards their 80M in the hole, resulting in a $62M loss.
And so with Ex Machina (one of my favorite movies of all time) - at 15M, that's 15M for marketing, 30M, it made 37M at the box office, theaters take half, that's 18.5M to the studio's 30M, resulting in a $11.5M loss. But studios can take these hits as long as other movies make up for it.
I saw SUNSHINE twice in theaters. One of my favorite movies, except the 15 last minutes. Happy so learn that Garland didn't want that (I don't know what he first wrote)
This is sad news. Alex Garland is a genius in my book. No mention of his miniseries DEVS here which I thought was absolutely brilliant and includes many of the same cast members in Civil War.
Excellent video. Well done.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Holy mackerel! I never knew Alex Garland wrote The Beach!
theres people out there, who dont do what they do simply for money. thinking Garland is one of these persons. he's made enough to be comfortable for the rest of his life, and i imagine hes probably tired of all the bullsh-t that surrounds the movie business. i dont blame him if he does take a bunch of time off. something about Civil War seems to have upset him. i think hes worried that the film may cause unforeseen problems.
There’s before
Devs..
And after
nice coverage
Appreciate it!
I find it strange that a(primary) writer cannot totally explain why he finds directing unsatisfactory. His 1st role as a writer was satisfactory: he had total control over what he said. In film making you are responsible for thousands of job, getting the film in under budget, making a profit, compromising with all the creative, technical people you work with. It's not just about you or the written word( script). Ex-machina and Annihilation were interesting: one form his own script, one from another writer's set of sci-fi novels. Maybe
he should only direct from another writer's vision or not at all. If he decides to fully go back to writing, he could still benefit from total control: maybe enlist another director to film his novels. I haven't seen Civil War, but will do, as I think it's relevant now in America, full of polarization and division.
Alex rules. Simple as that. I am hyped for next Thursday to see Civil.
Same! Have been for a while. Feel like it's gonna be a hard one to watch, from an "unnerved" perspective.
great video, subscribed :)
Garland should understand how much he could get an Oscar nomination and/or win. Regardless of how we all feel about the Oscars it carry some weight if you do win.
Offtopic but your jacket looks great. May I ask what brand it is?
I wonder if Garland would work with Ninja Theory again. Enslaved is a super cool game, and it would be rad to see him collaborate with them now considering how great the Hellblade games have been.
Maybe they could even get Andy Serkis back on board 👀
Edit: Hmmm, looking at the reveal trailer for Project: MARA and how there was a contemporary horror game they were pitching with Garland back in 2012, the two seem like they match up quite well...
This was a damn good video. Thanks a lot.
Appreciate it!
I'm really surprised DEVS didn't rate discussion here, how come?
Great video, thanks
i would love to know, how he manage to land director job after a bunch of “not profitable movie”. Don’t get me wrong, I respect him very well, but I curious, tho.
Sunshine was so underrated, you could put it back into theatres and the CGI destroys 95% movies in 2024.
Agreed I enjoyed it, I think people give smaller budget space films a harder time-- I can't think of any they are well received besides "Moon"
Never heard his thoughts on making DEVS either, wonder how that experience was?
I think that may have been a better experience, but that aspect of his career didn't fit well within the "film" narrative. Seems like he's pretty committed to film right now
He also wrote and directed a whole TV series, which you didn’t mention. For someone who is a reluctant director, he is certainly prolific. Not much humour either in his demeanour or his scripts, but he is a rare and compelling contemporary voice - I’m glad he’s putting out so much material, whether he directs or not.
Oh no, i was really hoping "Civil War" was going to be insightful... its just another orange-man-bad movie? We've had like 20 of those, and they all ignore the very real problems that have nothing to do with that guy.
I was really looking forward to what Civil War had to say. We've had some unusual political satire in indy circles, and i was hoping this would shake up the Hollywood echo chamber.
Womp womp.
I'm still hopeful. Garland said that the film isn't about good or bad politics, but different ways to run a state. It could be this channel's opinion that the "fascist president" is DJT, and not necessarily the "message" of the film. If you ask folks on either side of the aisle, especially the "extreme/hysterical" ones, they'll both tell you that the other side is the fascist one that disregards The Constitution on a daily basis. I still have hope for the same thing you have/had lol.
@@andrewbeasley8292 I share your even-handed explanation. Let's hope for the best, for both sides (here, not in the movie).
Garland kind of butchered the story of Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation, which should have been a TV series true to the trilogy AREA X, which is kind of ironic since butchering of his scripts is why he got into the director's chair in the first place. Annihilation, Authority & Acceptance have more than enough material to create a three season series, but instead it faded out as a TV movie (with amazing visuals though), which I can't judge objectively since I love the novels so much. I remember reading The Beach when I was thirteen, which is a Generation X pulp masterpiece that put me in a trance of waves and humidity and put me on the road for a decade as a grownup, and I cheer this guy's almost naive approach to literature and film, being a hybrid between Arthaus and Hollywood (or more a mutant?) His return to writing would be exciting, but he was always more a producer of pastiche, with a tendency of ending a story with a deus ex machina ironically. Devs was simply enthralling though and should have been included in his portfolio in this video.
Wow. Well done, John!
Appreciate it!
This will be a VERY consequential movie over the course of the next year. This movie is an inspiration that we, the people, don't serve the government, and we, the people, have the power to replace the government when it takes away our peaceful means of affecting change in the government. That should serve as a warning to institutions of power about the consequences of inciting a civil war. This movie should be a deterrent against what is about to happen, but I'm afraid reality will imitate art, yet again.
Voyager! I love your stuff! But Alex Garland does NOT WANT TO QUIT. Watch Colliders most recent interview with Alex Garland. He specifically addresses this and talks about how unreasonable it is that people assume he’s retiring from directing based on that guardian quote. “For the foreseeable future” is not the same as “retiring from filmmaking” or even “from directing.” Putting that narrative forth is a form of harmful misrepresentation that could have been avoided altogether with more research. Or if you still weren’t sure, a video on the subject called “Does Alex Garland REALLY want to quit?” would still have been good TH-cam, and also have given you more material. You could have made it about all the directors who HAVE quit, and the ones who havent.
Hey! So that's not actually our narrative if you watch the whole video. Even from the first quote in the video, it's clear he's taking an extended break or maybe he's not coming back. We use the "for the foreseeable future" quote in the first 5 seconds. We never indicate that he's "retiring" from directing. The "Quit" aspect does mean a "forever" type thing. Just like a lot of people who have "Quit" doing TH-cam videos, many of them have said they will likely come back to it someday but have still referenced it as "leaving" "quitting" etc. But in reality, Garland has been saying that for a while and not just in that guardian quote.
So in the end the conclusion is to show the difficulties he's had as a director and how it affected him personally. In a way, it's the same for all creatives where you just reach a point where you're burnt out and need to stop or quit what you are doing and change course. Cost of expression can be a lot sometimes. So in the end, it was a look into why Alex Garland feels like he should take a step away from being a director and relating to the pressure, anxieties, and frustrations as a creative that led him down that path.
Appreciate the comment and I'd encourage you to watch the full video!
@@FrameVoyager I did! And before I commented (just to clear that up.) Why it might sound like I didn't -- and in hindsight, what I should have led with first -- is when you use a video title that sounds like this and says blanket statements like "The Civil War Director wants to QUIT" which is clickbait -- it kinda sours the good stuff you have in here (such as the thorough / excellent breakdown of his career, the analysis of his journey as a filmmaker, and especially your discussing Dredd, which is a fantastic way in to understanding him as a director more than a writer, not to mention the use of the Hitchcock quote and the last part of your argument) And to me, that's a bummer and totally unnecessary! Dude look -- I get it, for views -- admittedly, a more sensational clickbait-sounding title, thumbnails, and chapter markers do help, but even then -- you could even keep the same thumbnail and just put quotation marks around "quit" because otherwise, it's still unintentionally contributing to that misconception -- which he specifically answers and sounds somewhat upset about, too -- especially in the Collider interview I mentioned. If Alex Garland and you were talking face to face, would he really be cool with that title as a sentence "The Civil War director wants to quit?" Would he say thats true? I think he would say its absolutely not true. He said he'd never do anything like it again. He said he doesn't want to be in the directors chair for a while. But that's not quit. And I also can't find any interview with him even from before where he says he's going to quit. He says other things. He discusses wanting time off. Wanting a break. Needing time off. Not directing, etc. But it's not the same thing as when QT announced he was retiring from directing, or when Soderbergh did (and subsequently un-retired himself, lol) Look, I am your fan, I watched it right away, but the truth is - a lot of what gets circulated most IS just the clickbait shit. Headlines, titles, chapter markers, thumbnails -- those are what usually get into peoples feeds. Everything's noisy and while the video itSELF on its own, doesn't EXPLICITLY say he wants to quit -- it also doesn't question it or dispel it enough at the end if the goal is as you say -- at least when set up with that title and thumbnail. Not saying you shouldn't have made it or even radically shifted the video's content itself -- just that I don't find it necessary, and you could do without it and not lose anything, and perhaps gain something that maybe your subject would actually not be immediately turned off by without giving it a second chance. But also -- I'm not him. lol. Just making a wild guess, based on his reactions. And you're not making hagiographies either. It's just that you seem to care about doing it better! That's why I commented.
I've been a long-time fan of Danny Boyle. First film of his that I saw was The Beach.
Only recently have I discovered Garland, and his sort of behind the scenes role.
28 Days Later was a brilliant film, and so was Sunshine.
Resident Evil is one of my favorite games, ever. So many zombie films are terrible, but 28 gets it right despite switching up the zombie dynamic.
The other modern zombie film to get it right was the remake of Dawn Of The Dead. I'll never forget seeing that when I was 15 or 16.
Ex Machina, Annihalation. Excellent films.
I look forward to Civil War, and from what I understand it leaves political biases out of it to an extent.
Should be interesting to see. I've already seen people complaining that it didn't take a side, and that makes me hopeful.
Great video!