Alex Garland directed, among other things, the award-w inning sci-fi work Ex Machina. Image source: A24/Universal
Even to film fans among you, the name Alex Garland may not mean anything at first. But there’s a good chance you’ve seen one of his films – or at least heard the title – in recent years.
The director already has some worth seeing entries in his filmography, such as the action film Dredd, the Oscar-winning sci-fi gem Ex Machina or the war drama Civil War, which is about to be released in cinemas and which is described in initial reviews as the best film of the year
is applauded.
But this will be his last film – at least for now. Alex Garland no longer wants to sit in the director’s chair in the future and also explains the reason for this decision.
Enormous pressure from people’s trust
In an interview with The Guardian Garland speaks openly about why he no longer wants to make films. But the reason is not money or a lack of recognitionbut something much more human: the pressure of trusting the people with whom he makes films.
The pressure does not come from money. It comes from the fact that I’m asking people to trust something that at first glance doesn’t seem very trustworthy.
What Alex Garland says: Even while making a film, it’s simply impossible to know whether the end result will be good or not – after all, that’s in the hands of the director. The cast and crew always give him a leap of faith that he has to live up to.
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Civil War: The new trailer for Alex Garland’s action thriller is now also available in Europe
The soon-to-be ex-director also gives two examples in the interview linked above:
On the set of Civil War he had to describe to the actors that the blue screen behind them in the finished film would show a night sky lit by mortar fire – but on the set itself they first had to let their imagination run wild in order to give a good performance. A circumstance that has frustrated and disappointed even seasoned actors.
The filming of Ex Machina was about something no less important:
Alicia [Vikander] and Sonoya [Mizuno] had to trust me that their nudity would be treated with care and respect […] [obwohl] the film industry tends not to do exactly that.
Alex Garland has this pressure on him no longer let you sleep at night
. However, it cannot be ruled out that the heated discussions surrounding Civil War in the run-up to the film’s release could have influenced his decision to retire early as a director.
Still involved in films
But there is also a consolation for all fans of Alex Garland’s films. Because he won’t say goodbye to filmmaking completely. In the future, he would like to concentrate more on his work as a screenwriter, which he had been doing for a while before his directorial debut.
In 2002 he wrote the script for the cult apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later. It has now been officially confirmed that Alex Garland will be involved in the script of the fan-awaited sequel 28 Years Later.
Garland also contributed the script for the sci-fi film Sunshine by director Danny Boyle, as well as for his own later works, such as Ex Machina.
If you caught your attention when reading the title 28 Years Later, you should take a look at the article linked above. In it we summarize what is already known about the third part of the series.
If you’d rather like some Game of Thrones, we’ve also linked the right thing for you. And we also have a fantastic sci-fi tip that you can now watch on Disney Plus.
