My interview with 'Transcendence' director, Wally Pfister

‘Transcendence’ Director says, “It’s more than artificial intelligence”

By Kartik Chainani

 Most well known as an Oscar-winning cinematographer for his work on Inception, as well as his nominations for The Dark Knight, The Prestige, and Batman Begins, Wally Pfister makes his directorial debut with the new science-fiction film Transcendence (April 18^th, 2014). The film features a star-studded cast including Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall (Iron Man 3), and Paul Bettany (Iron Man 1, 2, 3). Long time director/producer Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy) also joins the team, stepping on as producer. Incidentally, Nolan has directed most of the films for which Pfister’s cinematography is so critically acclaimed. Having worked so well together in the past, it will be interesting to see if Nolan’s directing techniques have rubbed off on Pfister.

The movie follows brilliant artificial intelligence scientist Will Caster, who is determined to create technology that can collect massive amounts of intelligence. When a group of anti-technology radicals poisons Caster, he becomes terminally ill. As a result, he and his wife use his new technology to upload his brain into the super computer.

I got a chance to interview Wally Pfister this morning and discuss the film Transcendence in detail, as well as his experience directing for the first time:

How did your experience as a cinematographer help in your directorial debut?

“I think what you’ll find in life is that everything that you do kind of contributes to what you’ll do later on. Everything I’ve done as a cinematographer, all of that experience came in to play when I was directing this movie. One of the greatest things I got out of my work was just a little less intimidation stepping on set as a director.”

What do you think is the most important thing about directing that you’ve picked up from working with Christopher Nolan?

“One of the great things about Chris Nolan is his discipline on set. To observe somebody who really considers every minute of your time to be precious, I’ve just learned how important your time on set really is. Having spent 14 years around Chris, where he doesn’t waste a second of his time and has a great appreciation for the fact that it’s somebody else’s money, and it’s a responsibility. He takes on that responsibility, and that’s one of the greatest things I’ve learned from Chris.

Audiences have seen artificial intelligence as a theme in film many times, so what sets Transcendence apart from the rest of these films?

“I think partially what sets it apart is that it’s not strictly about artificial intelligence. Part of what they’re working on early in the film delves into that, but I think I can say without any spoilers (laughs) that it’s actually about human consciousness. I think that also sets off the emotional journey that Johnny (Depp) goes on.”

With the open-ending of this movie, what is it you hope that viewers will eternalize?

“There are a lot of things I would like people to be thinking about when the movie concludes. I think probably the biggest thing is that, if we are going to be so reliant on technology, it’s good to know whose hands its in (laughs). It’s also kind of a wink to the notion that it’s not always so bad to turn these devices off every now and then and, you know, embrace nature.”

What was it like to have your first chance at directing to be working with top-billed actors like Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman?

“Oh, its mind-blowing (laughs). I feel incredibly fortunate to be lucky enough in my first outing as a director to have the likes of these incredible actors. And honestly, this isn’t just bullsh*t (laughs), they were all a joy to work with. Obviously I’ve known Morgan and Jillian for ten years, we’ve done three Batman pictures together, so I was already comfortable working with them. But Johnny is just a joy to work with, he’s a really smart guy. Having this kind of talent to back me up on my first effort feels really phenomenal, I feel very privileged.”

Warner Bros. Pictures’ new film Transcendence releases this Friday, April 18^th.