::: BREGNA 2415 :::

Writer/Producer/Director Phil Hay has worked on films such as 'Bug' and 'Crazy/Beautiful' and was part of the writing team for Æon Flux.  Phil Hay was kind enough to offer some helpful insight into the filmmaking process, and his experience while working on Æon Flux...

B2415:  First of all, could you please tell us how you got into writing?  Was it something you’ve always wanted to do or was it something that slowly grew on you?

Phil Hay:  I think I always wanted to write, but I didn't always know what form it would take. I wrote bizarre song lyrics for my high school band, in college started writing experimental fiction, went to UC  Irvine's graduate program in fiction, wrote a novel and a bunch of short stories... but movies are my first love.  I came from a small town in Ohio, so it was almost impossible for me to imagine actually writing movies for a living. It was hard to see how I was going to get "there" from "here."

B2415:  Did you study somewhere, and if so, where did you do your studies?  And for anybody interested in filmmaking (writing, directing etc.), what are the common requirements to get into a film school?

Phil Hay:  I went to Brown University and studied English Lit, then went to UC Irvine, where I was in the MFA fiction workshop. I met some great friends and amazing writers there. I did a lot of theatre and improve comedy at Brown (my writing partner Matt was also in that comedy group). There wasn't any formal film program at Brown, but my friends and I were always wrapped up in some kind of project: putting on plays or shooting weird videos. A lot of those people are making movies now.

Matt went to the AFI in the screenwriting program.  Film school can be great if you approach it in the right way-- it's a chance to meet other people doing the same thing and make friends that will become colleagues, while giving yourself the time to write and/or make a movie. What it will not give you is a magic "in" to the business.

Most of the well known film programs (AFI, USC, UCLA, NYU, Columbia, Texas) are graduate programs-- though all but AFI have an undergrad track as well.

B2415:  When were you approached regarding the Æon Flux project?

Phil Hay:  Matt and I were approached by an executive at MTV films in, I think, 2000 (!). She asked if we had heard of this bizarre show AEON FLUX—we were fans. We took the opportunity to really go for it-- we knew we wouldn't get the job unless we pulled out all the stops. Gale Anne Hurd got behind us and our take and off we went...

B2415:  A lot of fans are curious about the Director’s Cut of the film.  Will an Æon Flux Director’s Cut be released?  And if so, is there any release date we can look forward to?

Phil Hay:  I really hope so. The regular DVD has done very well, so that increases our chances. We and Karyn are doing everything we can to get that out there, as it is quite different and would provide a much richer experience.

I think it's a matter of a year or two, at the least.  But I fully believe it will happen.

B2415:  The Director’s Cut is rumoured to be around 30 minutes longer than the theatrical cut.  Could you please give us detailed insight as to what was cut from the Director’s Cut, for the theatrical release – both major scenes and small parts that were added to the film?

Phil Hay:  Absolutely. First, there's the matter of style and tone. The DC is a much more serious, much more epic-feeling, much more romantic effort than the theatrical cut. Unfortunately, all of the above were things the powers that be at the time wanted no part of. It's more ambitious in what it is trying to do. We spend time lingering on the beauty of the visual world, because it tells us something about the characters, as well. The dialogue plays differently-- there are fewer "quippy" bits, and those that exist are played more drily.

The action is cut in a very different way than the fast-fast-fast close-close-close of the theatrical cut. It's longer shots, longer cuts, allowing you to see more.

The voiceover at the beginning was very, very different. There was no title card bluntly announcing the situation. It was originally a really moody introduction to the world, with shifting images and Aeon's voice guiding us through.

I'll mention below a lot of the character-oriented changes and cuts; there were many.

A couple more specifics: the introduction of the pill and the Handler don't happen until after Una's death, and a year has passed, in the director's cut. The council scenes were both longer and much more revealing of the characters involved. The present day and historical romance between Aeon and Trevor was given much more weight—there’s a beautiful (in my opinion) and operatic shot when Trevor reveals their past, as well as a kiss before Aeon goes to the Relical, that were both removed.

And the big one-- Aeon, in the Cherry Grove, has a vision that she is pregnant.  To us, it felt like the ultimate strange thing that could happen to Aeon and the world. It was also evidence that she should destroy the Relical-- what was once a symbolic gesture, a nihilistic one, was now necessary. That was, needless to say, fought over to the bitter end.

Finally, the DC ends, I think, much more elegantly. The entire sequence where Aeon rides the Relical into the ground was tacked on to provide more "action"-- to me (and Karyn) it seemed superfluous. In the DC, the point is that she gets out and we move to the emotional stuff, which is what is really important.

Again, there’s probably something in almost every scene-- a line, a shot, a reaction, a pause-- that changes the feel and the context.

B2415:  Which secondary character/s do you think suffered the most in terms of character development when certain scenes were cut?

Phil Hay:  First of all, Trevor's character reads differently after the cuts. In the DC, he has more of a malevolent and ambiguous edge.  We introduce him as quite morally compromised-- when you first see him, you can easily imagine that he is the villain of the movie.

I think, in terms of the secondary characters, we lost a lot of Oren's torment and tragic nature, a lot of the dimensions of Jonny's performance. He really made you feel sorry for Oren-- it was clear his horrible actions came from a desperate and sad need. Of course, the studio was afraid that people wouldn't "get" him as a villain if he was too vulnerable. So he was forced, by the cuts, into a much more simplistic box.

Giroux was quite an important character to us, and with limited scenes was actually quite instrumental. His arc is still there, but super truncated. In the DC, it's clear that he's Trevor's most trusted friend, 3rd in line of succession, and that he's kind of Trevor's moral compass. In their first scene together, Trevor stands by and approves as Oren basically sentences Giroux's lover, who has been discovered as a Monican, to death.  So Giroux is very angry with Trevor, to say the least. But he's got a real sense of morality-- he is suspicious of Oren's takeover, and in the end, he leads the counter-revolution. I'd say half of his material was cut (but exists in the director's cut.)

Freya was cut less, but we lost some of the tension and romance between her and Trevor. It's much more a thing in the DC that she and Trevor have been-- um, "intimate"-- and that she's jealous and enraged at Aeon.

And, unfortunately, we have to include Aeon on the list as well.  Charlize created so many subtle moments of internal conflict, so many wordless gestures of torment or longing-- and many of them were forced out of the film. There was no patience for the ambiguous and the weird by the end of the process.

Tragically, a character played by yours truly was completely cut. His name was Lt. Links and he had two lines-- he was a brave (scared), heroic (hiding behind a wall), and ultimately unsuccessful (though he survived) pursuer of Aeon. It was some damn fine acting, in my completely unbiased opinion.

B2415:  And on a different note, were there any ideas you and Matt had while working on the script that were eventually omitted?

Phil Hay:  Many! Some for very good reason, too.  It ain't all gold.

Seriously, some things were changed because of budget (the original garden crossing involved these huge, swaying, tendrilly towers) or because the vision evolved (there was a vehicle chase component that fell out because Karyn felt that Bregna would have no need for personal vehicles. There was to be much more use of the pod-like monorail cars, a vision of how they would work through the whole city.  The assault on the house where the baby lives changed many times-- it went from a traditional raid, to them using a fuel-air explosive and completely wiping out the house, to the sonic weapon we ended up with in the film.

There was also an appearance of the Nargyle at one point-- a bizarre creature from the show, just as a grace note, but that ended up not fitting in for several reasons.

B2415:  The marketing of Æon Flux was possibly the film’s biggest downfall, mostly because it was marketed as an action film with an (exaggerated) emphasis on the whole revenge motive.  The trailer and the TV spots were all quite deceiving.  An audience expecting an action film were mostly disappointed, whereas the audience looking for a more intelligent sci-fi plot seemed to be satisfied but were unfortunately not the target audience in the marketing campaign.  Who is responsible for the trailers for a film and who has the most power when it comes to influencing the way a trailer looks?  Would a director be in more control of the marketing aspect if it were an indie film for example?

Phil Hay:  I have to agree with you there.

There was so much hostility toward the director's cut (the "arty" version) at the studio, that then translated into a desire, even after they had forced the action-action-action version into being, to really dismiss it. It's hard to explain why there was so much ill will surrounding the project at that point-- except that there were major internal politics going on within the studio and we were one of the first films to bear the brunt of the "new regime."

The marketing, and especially, the refusal to screen it for the critics, created a context where it was really hard for anyone to take it seriously. But those are the people who like the movie-- people who see the more imaginative/intelligent version as they watch.

The trailers come from the studio marketing department. They may do things internally, they may hire the job out to a trailer house, but they retain control over the campaign. The director usually has some influence, but at this point Karyn was fighting an uphill battle on everything. Even in an indie film, the director doesn't get the final say. There's always a distributor (well, if you're lucky) to deal with.

In terms of our marketing, it's an illustration of some of the problems with testing and marketing movies today-- there's this desire to make the movie into something it isn't to lure in a big audience-- of people who will never like the movie. There's a tendency to do this, casting a huge net, instead of focusing on appealing to people who don't need to be tricked-- people who actually will like the movie and will spread positive word of mouth.

I think in the end, it’s pretty simple: the movie was orphaned, as so many are, when studio leadership changes. Then it becomes something to get off their plate as quickly as possible.

B2415:  There are a lot of fresh ideas/concepts in this film when it came to the technology and all of them seemed interesting and logical.  However, there’s one moment where I wasn’t quite sure what something was – could you please explain what that solution was that Aeon poured into the glass in the bedroom scene?  Is it just something to showcase the development of foods/beverages in Bregna?  Or does it have a more specific explanation – such as a medicinal solution?

Phil Hay:  The solution was an idea of Karyn's (and by the way, it isn't a special effect-- it's a real chemical compound) creating a kind of liquid/solid food. The point is that Aeon is denying herself the pleasure of all the real delicious food Bregna has to offer. She just has no desire to enjoy life at this point in the story-- the food she eats is for sustenance only.

B2415:  Even after recovering from her injury on set, Charlize performed almost all of the stunts.  For interest’s sake, could you please fill us in as to which stunt/s Charlize did not perform herself?  I know they used a CG Charlize for some of the Relical exterior stunt work, but I was wandering if there were any other stunts which were not performed by Charlize?

Phil Hay:  I'm not sure, but I think she ended up doing all of them. She was pretty insistent about it-- they were all made to be safe by the stunt team (and the insurance people, at that point!). She's a pretty tremendous athlete, and it became one of those points of pride—she didn't want to sit on the sidelines.

B2415:  You had the opportunity to be on set during the filming of Æon Flux – what was it like seeing how ink translated into live-action film?

Phil Hay:  It was really great. Writers should be on the set more often-- if the director is confident and secure, the writer can be a real ally and help as things evolve on the day. And it is a thrill to see the words become real, it really is.

B2415:  Being on the set of a film such as this one must be pretty exciting – do you have some on-set stories to share with us?

Phil Hay:  Well, first of all, it was fun to be in Berlin with a film production. We all had a blast. The crew was awesome, and we all got along very well, and it's one of my all-time favorite cities. I have some pretty incredible memories.

Here's something that happened on set: we had this contest every Friday where the crew would write their name on a 5 Euro note and put it in a raffle bucket. At wrap, someone would draw -- and whoever's name was on the note won the whole pot. Because usually one of the producers, or the director, or writers, or Charlize would kick in a sizable bonus, the pot could get to 1000 or 1500 Euros or more. One week, one of our PA's had been hit by a car and was in the hospital, unable to work. A bunch of people put his name on their entries and he ended up taking home a much-needed bonus. All that to say, the crew were really cool people.

B2415:  Germany presented some beautiful locations, but if you had to choose, which real life location would you say was your favourite during the filming of Æon Flux?

Phil Hay:  I'd say the Tierheim, which was the site of the climax but it was so cold when we were there that I am scarred by the experience. The Crematorium was also a really special place.

B2415:  And which Studio Babelsberg set did you favour most?

Phil Hay:  I loved Trevor's chambers. Beautiful, beautiful set design by Andrew McAlpine.

B2415:  Could you please tell me where the monorail escape sequence was filmed?  From the time Aeon & Trevor enter the subway, to the point where they climb up the ladder leading outside.

Phil Hay:  All of that sequence is shot in the Velodrome-- the main monorail station and the ladder escape. The interior of the car was on a stage at Babelsberg. Another point of difference in the Director's Cut—the monorail attack and its aftermath were  much more brutal and bloody. The following scene where they recover and Aeon pulls the bullets out of Trevor was shot at the Wind Canal. Again, it was freezing cold.

B2415:  I think the cherry orchard scene towards the end of the film was beautiful and possibly my favourite scene.  Do you have a scene which you favour the most in this film?

Phil Hay:  I love that scene as well. I think, for me, the scene I gravitate toward is the confrontation/seduction scene between Trevor and Aeon in his chambers-- I think it embodies all the contradictions and weirdness of Aeon and Trevor's relationship.

B2415:  Theodore Shapiro was originally attached as the composer for Æon Flux and his music can be heard in earlier released clips such as the original ‘Jailbreak’ clip and the ‘Storming the Complex’ clip.  Do you perhaps know why he did not continue working on this film?  I heard he was dropped due to lack of material but I wanted to clear this up with somebody working on Æon Flux.

Phil Hay:  Well, it certainly wasn't for lack of beautiful music. In all of the controversy and struggle over the direction and identity of the film, I believe Teddy's musical direction was seen as "too serious," "too dramatic," and "too epic." (!)  The studio was looking for the movie to be much more popcorny, and the music was one of the main battlegrounds. It's becoming more and more common, unfortunately, that composers get thrown under the bus when studios are looking for big changes. His music was incredible music for the elevated version of the film. Teddy's a tremendous composer, his work on "Flux" was awesome, and we'll definitely work together in the future.

I should mention that Graeme Revell did a wonderful job under tremendous pressure. His closing theme ("Aeon Flux" on the soundtrack) is, to me, really stirring and exactly what I was hoping for.

B2415:  Is it true that you and Matt are working on another film with Karyn Kusama?  If so, could you please tell us a little bit more about it, and any other projects you’re working on?  Do any of them contain burlap-wearing citizens huddled around burning trash cans or sector 7 moments?  Because I know you like those…

Phil Hay:  Oh, yes. Sector 7 or even potentially Sector 8 moments, if we really want to blow people's minds.

We are working on another film with Karyn. It's a war movie, set in the very near future-- we're very excited about it. We're also doing two studio projects for Universal right now with directors we love, RIPD with David Dobkin and The Talent Thief with Shawn Levy. We're also finishing a horror script that we want to direct. So, thankfully, pretty busy.

B2415:  Well, this could be seen as a shameless plug or a question based on pure interest’s sake (I would say it’s the latter) – do you visit Bregna 2415 once in a while?  And do you know if any other people attached to Æon Flux have seen it?

Phil Hay:  Oh, yeah!  I love it, man. It's moving to me to see it.  I sent Karyn the link and I know she's seen it. It's really cool that you've created such a place-- makes it feel worthwhile after all the struggles to know that there are people out there who get it and love it.

B2415:  According to an interview chud.com conducted with you and David Gale, Charlize Theron is signed on for more than one Æon Flux film.  Does this mean we could expect to see a sequel sometime or are the chances of a sequel at this stage not that great?

Phil Hay:  I wish there would be, but realistically the chances of that are nearly zero. It's too bad, because Matt and I had a pretty deeply worked-out concept of where we could go from here-- it involved the seed of something Oren planted generations ago that has outlived him, and what is going on outside the walls of Bregna, and the fact that all of Bregna’s problems were not solved by the destruction of the Relical and the return to natural pregnancies.

B2415:  Thanks for your time Phil.  I wish you all the best with your future projects.

Phil Hay:  Thanks, Dwayne. I appreciate it. Hopefully soon, I'll get to talk to you about the Director's Cut release. And thanks for all of you who are interested. I really appreciate it.

*** EXCLUSIVE TO BREGNA 2415 ***
21 JANUARY 2007

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY DWAYNE

Still Photographer, Jasin Boland has worked on films such as ‘The Bourne Identity’, ‘The Matrix’ and ‘Peter Pan’ among many others.  He is the man behind all those great Æon Flux stills and on-set photographs, and some of his work on ‘Æon Flux’ can be seen in the B2415 Gallery.  Jasin was kind enough to answer some of my questions, giving us insight into his career and sharing some cool information regarding ‘Æon Flux’…

B2415:  First of all, for those who haven't seen your featurette (Craft of the Set Photographer) on the 'Æon Flux' DVD, which brand of equipment do you use?  And which model in that range is your favourite to work with?
Jasin Boland:  I shoot exclusively Nikon, on Aeon I was using the D1x which was basically the 2nd generation of Nikon profession DSLR's.  I now shoot with the D2x which is the closest thing to a film camera ever made, it has an incredibly fast frame rate and also has the added bonus of a high speed crop which when actuated means that the length of my lens is doubled, I am the action guy so this is perfect for me.  The D2x also has much better low light capability, much better than you could ever get out of film.  Personally the D2x is my dream camera and digital has revolutionised the way I shoot!  With film at times you had to err on the safe side and when I was shooting a big action scene I wasn't able to push the limits in the same way that I can with Digital.  When I shot film it was always transparency so I never had the luxury of messing with exposure it had to be spot on every time whereas with the Digi I can force a bit more from the camera and retain detail with that added latitude.  Incidentally when I travel on holiday the only slr camera I take is a 1965 Nikomat and a 50mm lens, I leave a red filter on permanently and shoot B&W film TCN 400.  I was also born in 1965 so we are almost twins!

B2415:  How did you get into photography?  Was it something you've always wanted to do, or was it a passion that slowly grew on you?
Jasin Boland:  I did the mandatory school year book and my work was horrendous we actually used to go to the dark room switch on the ‘do not enter’ sign then nick off from school to go surfing.  No one ever clicked – I think the teachers were just glad they didn't have to deal with me, I was constantly in trouble for not conforming and when I left I had 5 Saturday detentions stored up, they even tried to make me complete them.  Anyhow I come from a newspaper family and they all thought I had this huge interest in photography so they helped get me a part time job on the local Sunday Newspaper as a darkroom tech.  I knew absolutely nothing but I worked it out and was given a cadetship.  What I loved about photography in school was it allowed me to do things others couldn't like go surfing when everyone else was in class, now that I do this professionally I have a more complex list of things were photography can take me.  When I was a kid I told Mum I wanted to be in the circus, she told me I couldn't, she was wrong!  Photography definitely grew on me but as mentioned earlier I suspect I had ulterior motives.  Now of course it is my whole life, the old every breath you take syndrome!

B2415:  Where did you study photography and for how long?
Jasin Boland:  I had a cadetship which is basically a trainee, part of the deal is you have to do a study course, I lasted about 45 minutes - on my first day the teacher went around asking everyone what sort of photographers we all wanted to be, when it got to me I told him I wanted to be a war photographer.  He said, "Well there is no place for you here and you can leave my class."  6 weeks later I won the Australian Cadet Photographer of the Year.  I stuck with my cadetship for 18 months out of the 4 years.  I was offered a grading on a new daily newspaper and jumped at the opportunity.

B2415:  Was there ever a time where you had people saying "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"?  Have you ever had to deal with any negativity like that?
Jasin Boland:  Nah, I was always pretty good.  I did get told to slow down and think about my images a bit more but I loved the spontaneity of news so I never had time to think I just had time to shoot.  I play the game and shoot what the client wants then I throw in my own stuff, everyone ends up happy that way.

B2415:  How did you get contracted to be a photographer on 'Æon Flux'?  Who contacted you and when did you first hear about the project?
Jasin Boland:  I work for Paramount a lot and they asked me if I would like to do it.  Berlin is one of my favourite cities in the world and it was an action film and it was Sci-Fi so it had absolutely everything for me!

B2415:  Did you ever get a little homesick while working in Germany?  It has to be a big change with regards to climate, especially since you reside in Australia.
Jasin Boland:  I spend a heap of time away from home, at the time I only had something like 60 nights in my own bed in nearly 5 years.  The joke is I live in a hotel and holiday in a house.  I love being on the road and it is definitely one of the things I am grateful to photography for!  The experiences that the film industry has given me are things that money just can't buy!  Don't let anyone tell you it's not glamorous, anyone that does obviously isn't working it to their advantage.

B2415:  All the real-life locations where 'Æon Flux' was filmed are stunning, but which location would you say was your favourite to work in, and why?
Jasin Boland:  Mmmmm, I think the wind tunnel, the way Stuart lit it was beautiful!  There were so many curves the light just wrapped around everything allowing me to find little pockets that were not being used.

B2415:  And which Studio Babelsberg set was your favourite to work in?
Jasin Boland:  Ahhh, the bedroom was damn cool but of course it may just have been what Charlize was wearing!

B2415:  There are fans of the film (and of the animated series) who are really curious about a few of the still images released for this film - could you offer us some insight with regards to these stills:

Una walking in a park carrying an umbrella
Jasin Boland:  Una and the umbrella was actually a shot that I set up for the art department for a series of images to be flashed on the screen as examples of life in Bregna.  I loved it so much I sent it in with my unit coverage.

Aeon and Sithandra stretching by a wall: is that meant to be a scene where they were warming up before crossing the garden frontier?
Jasin Boland:  That was actually quite a sexy cool scene, it is in the film but only the part where Sithandra tosses Aeon the guns.  Sithandra turns up, they stretch, she shows off the hand-feet then it is off through the frontier garden.

Trevor in his laboratory
Jasin Boland:  Well you have to have Goodchild in the lab scene!  You just don't have to use it!

Trevor and Aeon in the Cherry Orchard, and Trevor's keeping Aeon at bay
Jasin Boland:  I think she wanted to kick some butt, but Trevor was trying to talk his way out of their mess.  I guess Aeon won that argument!

B2415:  While all your photography for this film is amazing, are there any still photographs that you favour looking back at your work on 'Æon Flux'?  If so, which photographs are among your favourites?
Jasin Boland:  The shot of Charlize in the bedroom where she is lying on the bed, it was lit to shoot the fly in the eye shot.

I asked her to take an eyeline to the camera and I think it ended up as one of those classic actress beauty shots.  I knew it was going to be a cool shot the second I looked at her through the lens.

B2415:  Are you contracted for an 'Æon Flux' sequel if a sequel is on the cards?  According to an interview chud.com conducted with Phil Hay and David Gale, Charlize is signed on for more than one film.
Jasin Boland:  That’s interesting, I would do it in a heartbeat, you sure your contact is good for this one?

B2415:  How did Charlize's neck injury that she suffered on set affect you?  That was around the tenth day of shooting if I'm not mistaken.  Did you return to Australia for the duration of her recovery period, or did you continue working on smaller projects until filming resumed?
Jasin Boland:  The poor thing – everyone was so worried for her she is just such a delight to work with.  My girlfriend is from Berlin so we just hung out.  At one stage I was going to go home and shoot ‘Eucalyptus’ with Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman but I chose to stick with Flux for professional reasons.  I am glad I did as ‘Eucalyptus’ fell over and Aeon got back up.

B2415:  What's the longest time you've spent working on a film set, for a given film?
Jasin Boland:  Peter Pan was well over nine months but the last two Matrix films were shot at the same time and that was for 13 or 14 months, something crazy anyhow.

B2415:  So what's lined up next for you?
Jasin Boland:  Back to Europe for 'The Bourne Ultimatum' my favourite franchise of all time, I dig Matty, the producers, the director, the crew and the studio!  It' a lot of fun working with that lot!

B2415:  Any words of advice you can offer to aspiring photographers?
Jasin Boland:  Yeah being a still photographer is damn hard, it is more an end position as opposed to a career beginning.

Don't form an opinion on ANYONE or ANYTHING for 2 weeks, be patient, only get in someone’s face when you really need to and come home from work amped everyday and ready to attack it again the next!

*** EXCLUSIVE TO BREGNA 2415 ***
4 AUGUST 2006

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY DWAYNE