The feature from theServantfilmmaker is based on the book by A.M. io9 recently spoke to director Ishana Shyamalan and Georgina Campbell, who co-stars as one of the other captives.
What came first for youthe desire to tackle mythology, or the novel the films inspired by?
I thought it was such a cool kind of mythology that I hadnt really seen.
Image: io9/Gizmodo
And just like you, Im obsessed with thinking about folklore and reading it, so it felt perfect.
Were the concepts completed by the shoot or did the cast have to imagine them?
Georgina Campbell: It was imagined.
Image: New Line Cinema
Yeah, it was an imagined thing.
But [I] wanted to sort of keep it as mysterious as possible for them.
So that kind of helped us, I think, keep it in a grounded space.
io9: The ensemble really go through it in the woods and hardly break away from one another.
What was it like crafting the dynamic between these strangers who need to trust each other to survive?
It was very much about the chemistry of the family dynamic.
Campbell: Its all in the script, really.
And then obviously Dakota comes in and shes kind of the outsider.
Shes the new person that comes in.
Building the relationship with her over filming was really interesting.
It was great working with both of them.
Shyamalan: I was really drawn to the sort of Grimms fairy tale structure.
Campbell: Most of the scenes were all together.
So it really was about the ensemble.
Its about all of us whats going on with all of us?
How are we all feeling?
Which was really fun to play with.
[Ishanas] very intelligent, she knew exactly what she wanted.
The Watchers opens this Friday, June 7.
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