Daybreakers Interview
Written by Jason Reed
Film In Preview
Michael and Peter Spierig, two Australian writer/ director brothers, have been making films together in their backyard since they were young. For their latest film foray, 'Daybreakers', they needed a bigger yard.
The Spierig's debut feature film 'Undead' earned them considerable credibility both locally and internationally, and paved the way for them to make their latest film. This afforded them a bigger budget and helped lure some international talent, including Ethan Hawke. "Ethan wanted to watch 'Undead' and he totally got it, he got the tone of it, he understood the kind of B-movie that we were trying to make and he was very excited about doing it. That's a big gamble for somebody who lives in New York - to get on a plane, come to the Gold Coast and make a film with these two guys who made a silly movie."
One of the great things about this film is the vast Australian component of talent. "It was important for us to keep it in Australia, we really wanted to use the crews here and use as many actors as we could here, simply because we are Australians and we believe that we can do things that can compete on an international level." And the international response has been very positive. "We made our budget back within the first week and a half of release so everyone was relieved and thrilled."
The current cinematic climate has been soaked with vampires, however this hasn't fazed the Spierigs, "We finished shooting the film before the first 'Twilight' film had even been announced. You get nervous that it's going to effect box office or the impression of the movie, but it hasn't at all. It’s actually been helpful if anything because there's been a lot of talk about this being the antidote to the 'Twilight' phenomenon."
Thankfully, 'Daybreakers' is a refreshing film amongst the current genre offerings, which is due to a smart script that has clearly had a lot of work put into it. Set in the near future where a plague has turned most of the human race into vampires, the remnants of the human race is nearing extinction. "We like the idea of a world that's essentially bleeding its resources dry to the point where it's going to have a detrimental effect on everything."
'Daybreakers' is a terrific Aussie film that everyone should sink their teeth into.
Daybreakers opens February 4.
