This past weekend, Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity" broke the October box office record with a $55 million gross in its opening weekend. Prior to the film's release, Latinos Post had a chance to talk with Jonas Cuaron, the director's son and his co-writer on the project.
Cuaron previously directed the artful "Año Uña," a film told only through still photographs and is now slated to break out after writing the hit "Gravity." However, the 32-year-old noted that the script for "Gravity" was not the first time that father-son duo collaborated. Cuaron said that the two had also teamed up for a script together in recent years, but the film was ultimately scrapped prior to production. The result? The two got working on "Gravity" shortly after.
"It was a movie that he was going to direct but it fell through before the shoot began," Cuaron explained.
Cuaron also noted that the impetus for "Gravity" actually took place four years ago when he showed his father a script that he had written called "Desierto." He asked his father for notes, but got a response he was not expecting.
"I showed it to him so he could give me comments and notes and when he read it he said he didn't have many notes," said Cuaron. "Instead he said that he was interested in making a movie in this style.
"Basically we wanted to make a 90-minute movie that would grip the audience with suspense and tension. It would be like a roller coaster ride but at the same time it would be a film that also connects with the audience on an emotional level," he added. "We also wanted to speak about different themes without stopping the action with dialogue. We wanted use the action to bring the themes that interested the two of us."
Regarding the themes of the film, Cuaron stated that the most important concept in the film was idea of adversity.
"We had just undergone adversity when our previous project got cancelled so this theme interested us greatly," he elaborated. "For example Ryan Stone's adversities are immense; she is in space, losing oxygen, she has debris all over the place and she is drifting. Our idea was that the audience be able to identify with Ryan Stone's adversities."
Once the script was written, Cuaron was not finished. In fact, he was actively working alongside his father and the movie's two big stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock.
"I had to be on the shoot because I constantly had to work with George and Sandra on refining the dialogue," he revealed. "It's a movie with little dialogue and therefore you have to be very concise and the find the perfect words to transmit what you want."
He noted that the experience of working with the two Academy Award winners was extremely rewarding.
"I think they not only do they have experience which was gratifying because I learned from them but they are two people who immediately understood the themes my dad and I wanted to present in the film," he stated. "They understood the script and the story well. All their ideas were very organic."
Cuaron is slated to direct "Desierto" this coming year. The film, which stars Mexican star Gael Garcia Bernal, is about two people lost in the desert.
"It is a survival movie like 'Gravity' where the two characters are trying to survive the situation," he elaborated. "Through this suspenseful trip there are many themes. It is a bit of the same as 'Gravity.' The idea is to create an experience where the audience connects to the suspense."
Cuaron noted that the experience of working with his father was not only a great opportunity to bond but also helped him grow professionally and artistically.
"I think the relationship changed a lot. The moment we started writing we became two collaborators that constantly came up with ideas," he explained about working with his father. "It was incredible experience because you learn a lot from that. I think we both learned a lot because when you have two different minds speaking about the same thing you are able to see things with a third perspective."
When asked whether he planned to come back to the script that he and his father wrote prior to "Gravity," Cuaron remained unsure about the project's future.
"I would love to do it but I'd like to know what my dad's opinion is on it. I think sometimes unexpected things push you in new directions," he stated before noting that the failure to get that one finished led to something greater. "If it had not been for that movie that fell through I would not have been in London. The reason I was in London was because my dad was preparing the film. If I would not have been in London then we have never written 'Gravity.' Sometimes those adversities bring you to the next step."