Following the FilmDistrict Studio panel in Hall H, that featured both Donât Be Afraid of the Dark (produced by Guillermo del Toro) and Drive, director Nicolas Refn sat down for a press roundtable to discuss the much-buzzed about film. Brutal and bloody, Drive is also being praised for its unique originality and the vision of its filmmaker, along with its score and the performances of a cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman, Albert Brooks, Christina Hendricks and Bryan Cranston.During the interview, Nicolas Refn talked about having his actors express their emotions through looks rather than talking, the love story between Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulliganâs characters, the importance of music in both his life and on set, and using violence as a tool. He also talked about his next project with Gosling, Only God Forgives, which goes into production in February, and the development of Loganâs Run, for which he says he is close to presenting how he would like to make it to the studio, and what he thinks needs to be done to bring it to the big screen again. Check out what he had to say after the jump:Question: One thing thatâs so satisfying about Drive is how much is not said and over-explained. Was it a struggle or fight to pare the script down, in that fashion?NICOLAS REFN: Nope, it came out of me not liking talking. I feel that silence is the greatest word, ever. I just wanted them to look at each other because itâs the purity of love. Itâs like seeing your first love. You just look at her. Because he (Ryan Gosling) is a man of silence, in the sense that he is a character that only speaks when he is spoken to or when he has something to say, and that automatically makes him mythological, in the sense that, when you donât talk, people begin to read things into you or you become what they long for. When you donât talk, you almost become the mirror image of the other person. When I did Valhalla Rising with Mads Mikkelsen, he was mute all the way through. I was very interesting in that kind of storytelling, working with protagonists that donât speak.Do you find that actors have a more difficult time dealing with that?REFN: Itâs the hardest thing for an actor not to speak because you take away their main tool. So for an actor, itâs very frustrating and very challenging, and very few people can pull it off. But, Ryan [Gosling] is one of those few actors that can say a thousand words with just a look, and itâs a unique gift. Very few people have ever had that gift. What about Carey Mulligan? REFN: Same thing. The love story within them is heightened because of that. Itâs never defined. Itâs just pure and almost innocent, in a way. Thatâs because the Driver protects innocence against evil. Itâs very much structured like a fairy tale. I had been reading Grimmâs fairy tales to my eldest daughter a few years ago and I thought, âWell, it would be interesting to make a movie like a fairy tale.â So, when this came up, that was the style I wanted to do it in.Does that also revitalize a genre, to just do it in its purest form?REFN: Yeah, I believe the stronger the purity, the stronger the drama. Can you talk about the importance of the music in the film? REFN: Well, the music was very important. I donât do drugs anymore, and so music very much gets me going. Iâm a fetish filmmaker, in that I donât know why I do what I do, I just like to see things. When I figure out what I would like to see, I will put it in a film. When I do something, I think, âIf it was a piece of music, what would it be?â Kraftwerk, from the â70s, created electronic music and very crude instruments, and that was very similar to the Driver being a machine, but heâs an antique machine. He drives an antique car. So, knowing that I always wanted electronic music, that was the inspiration. I would listen to a lot of very early electronic music, and that was it. It was that whole Euro sound. And then, after I had chosen the songs, I had Cliff Martinez emulate that specific sound.Do you use music on the set?REFN: On the set, and then when I write it or when I think about it. I would even walk around with my iPod on, through all the scenes when I was shooting, listening to specific kinds of music.In this film, it seems very easy for people to kill people. Were you exploring how easily you could just end someone?REFN: Like fairy tales, once the bad guys are judged, itâs always very vicious, but itâs always in one sentence like, âAnd they died a violent ending.â Itâs very quick. I felt that violence works when itâs quick and unpredictable.Is there a limit to how far you can push the violence in a movie like this?REFN: No, I donât think thereâs any limit. Itâs just about how you do it. But, you must understand that violence is only a tool. If itâs used badly, it will be horrible. If itâs used correctly, it can be very interesting. But, essentially, itâs just a tool. Are there other directors that you think use violence well?REFN: Well, I think that Sam Peckinpah certainly was one of the great masters of violent cinema. John Ford certainly had a very violent impulse in his films and characters. John Woo is another example. [Jean-Pierre] Melville from France is a good example. I always admire Tony Scottâs films. People use it in different kinds of ways. So, you and Ryan Gosling really clicked and youâre going to do another project together?REFN: Weâre doing two movies together. Weâre doing Only God Forgives in February, and then weâre doing Loganâs Run. Thatâs still on?REFN: Oh, yeah. When I have a script that Iâm happy with, that Ryan is happy with, and that Warner Bros. is happy with, then weâll make the movie. Are you close to that?REFN: Iâm close to presenting how I would like to make it.Knowing that sci-fi movies like to over-explain things, would you be able to strip the dialogue from that?REFN: Well, thatâs the big trick. Sometimes over-explaining it is actually what makes it more complicated. What is it about Loganâs Run made you think that it was due for a remake? REFN: Iâve always been obsessed with the film, ever since I was little. So, when they called and asked if I was interested, my answer was just, âYes! Yes! Yes! Yes!â Why is it so difficult to get that film off the ground? REFN: I havenât been in the other meetings or been around with it before, but I know theyâve been trying to make it for 25 years. I think one of the problems maybe has been that theyâve been trying to remake the original film, which is impossible because itâs already dated. How do you remake something thatâs dated, about the future which is much more advanced?Click here for all our Comic-Con 2011 coverage.