Critics at the Sundance Film Festival this past week paid close attention to Hunt For the Wilderpeople, an adventure-comedy starring Sam Neill about a young boy and a curmudgeonly coot who embark upon an antic journey in search of scrubland-dwelling mythical figures. Readers curious as to why an independently produced, New Zealand-set family picture would be the subject of such intense scrutiny need only note the director’s credit, which belongs to one Taika Waititi. He had a banner 2015 on the strength of his comedic vampire mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows, earning critical plaudits both for his inspired performance as a centuries-old dandy as well as his work behind the scenes as director and co-writer with Flight of the Conchords‘ Jemaine Clement. The success of Shadows led to a key hire as the helmer of the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok, the third film starring Marvel’s resident Norse god, and all of a sudden, Waititi was the hottest, most fun-to-say name in Hollywood.
Yesterday, Collider posted an interview with Waititi out of Sundance in which the heretofore independent director offered some rather surprising insights about working within the Marvel machinery. In specific, Marvel’s higher-ups have taken on something of reputation as domineering types, drawing in directorial talent but only to further the rigidly defined Marvel brand. (Ava DuVernay made headlines when she quashed rumors of her involvement with Black Panther by admitting that she had met with Marvel executives, and they had decidedly different ideas for how the film ought to go.) But Waititi gave a different impression about his work with the entertainment giant:
I’ve learned that there are really no rules. There’s no road map. They’re very similar to Pixar in that way. They are constantly looking for the best story, they’ll tear everything down to rebuild it to make sure they have the best story. That’s why Marvel is good they keep pushing and pushing and trying to get the best thing possible. That’s what I’ve discovered the way things have changed.
These comments certainly bode well for the upcoming Ragnarok, anticipated as a sort of buddy comedy between Thor and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. At the same time, they’re definitely unexpected. Marvel’s greatest successes have come from directors allowed to pursue their own interests; the Russo brothers’ retro-paranoia vibe enlivened Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and James Gunn kept Guardians Of The Galaxy fun by turning it into a love letter to ’70s and ’80s nostalgia. But the recent Avengers: Age Of Ultron, for instance, could not have adhered more faithfully or forgettably to the Marvel schematic. At any rate, it’s good to hear that Waititi is doing Waititi. Now, all that’s left to do is hang tough for nearly two years until the film’s November 2017 release date finally gets here.
(Via Collider)
