Lauren Shuler Donner has been making movies in Hollywood for more than 20 years, with "Pretty in Pink" and "Dave" two of her most notable successes. Now the producer of the "Free Willy" series has another hit franchise on her hands with "X-Men"...
You were involved with the first "X-Men" movie. Were you as keen to be involved second time round?
Yes, absolutely. One of the reasons I wanted to develop this is that there are 40 years of comics, 40 years of characters, and 40 years of stories. I wanted to follow the characters through their journey and develop them further.
Secondly, we have a wonderful cast, and we also brought back some of the crew that we had the first time. We all really have a good time working together and I look forward to spending time with them. That's why I am looking forward to the third one. We all seem to have a single mind about the way we are supposed to go.
What did you learn which helped you produce the second movie?
In terms of visual effects it helped us a lot. In the first movie, we had to try and figure out how to make Mystique transform, and how to do Logan's claws, how to build Cerebro, and how to do Rebecca [Romijn-Stamos]'s make-up. This time we did it in half the time. We knew how to do all the visual effects and now we could improve it. So it was easier making a movie this time round.
In another respect, it was harder. We had to raise the bar with this one and have more visual treats for the audience, and we also had to make a movie that followed the first yet had enough explanation that, if you hadn't seen the first movie, you could understand what was going on.
Movies are funny. You don't know how to make them until they are all done. So that is the advantage of making the second one.
You were responsible for casting Hugh Jackman. Why was he chosen for the role of Logan/Wolverine when Dougray Scott dropped out?
He had a lot of charisma. When he is on screen, your eye goes straight to him. He has unpredictableness inside which, to me, is the element that will make you a star, plus obviously a key talent in acting. I saw a movie he did in Australia called "Paperback Hero" and, OK, it's not a great movie, but you could tell this guy had great charisma and was a complete star.
For the elements of Logan/Wolverine, he had to be fierce, and I felt Hugh could be fierce. He had to be the leading man and a good actor. Once I met Hugh, I felt he had all these elements and a very, very strong personality.
Could "X-Men 3" be made without him?
I would hate to make it without him. He is a vital part. They are all a vital part, all the original characters, and I like the new generation, so I would hate anybody not to be involved. It is a lot of characters to juggle, but I think we need them.
What sort of qualities does Bryan Singer bring to the movies?
Bryan brings a great sense of visual style. He brings a sense of reality, in that he has an internal knowledge of, "Would the character do this, or would the character do that?" And I think he has a good sense of the audience, too, particularly the young audience.
Was he always going to direct "X-Men 2"?
It was always hoped, like with all of us. We all hoped that we would get to come back, and certainly once he did the first one, we all wanted him to direct the second.
You had a higher budget this time round...
We did, but I think there are rumours of a higher budget than what we actually had. We had more than we had the first time, but not so much that it is going to make the third movie [prohibitive].
Were you a fan of the X-Men comics?
I didn't grow up with it, no. I knew of it but I didn't read it when I was a kid. There was somebody in my company who brought me the comics and biographies of the characters, and said he thought it might make a good movie. I started reading about Wolverine first, and I thought he was such a complex character. I could see the value in turning the comics into a movie. One of the reasons whay I liked it is there are very strong female characters. They're strong in their own right, yet they are feminine. And some of them are tragic.
Some producers [eg Mike Medavoy, Art Linson] have recently written autobiographical accounts of working in Hollywood. Is this something you might do?
I think it is very hard to write a book and not be revealing, and I really don't want to be revealing. So I don't think so. But I have some great stories!
What's coming up for you next?
I have a movie coming up called "Timeline", from Michael Crichton's book. It's something my husband, Richard Donner, directed. It was my first time working with him in 11 years. Then I start a movie called "Constantine", starring Keanu Reeves. That starts shooting in September and we come out next summer.
How did you find working with your husband on "Timeline"?
He is a great director and, for that, I like working with him. But I don't think it is a great idea to be married and to work together. I think you need to work at a good marriage, and I don't want to work at work and then work at home at my marriage. If we disagree at work, then that comes home with you. I don't want work to impact my marriage. So I am not a big fan of it. But, on the other hand, I get to be with him more, so that's nice.
