At last weekend's D23, I landed a video interview with Maleficent director Robert Stromberg.  While this is Stromberg's first time behind the camera, he’s no stranger to big-budget Hollywood movies. He’s served as production designer on films like Avatar, Alice in Wonderland (he won the Academy Award for Art Direction on both films), and most recently worked on Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful.  Maleficent tells “the untold story of Disney’s most beloved villain” and stars Angelina Jolie as the title character with Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, and Sam Riley in supporting roles.

During the interview Stromberg talked about what he learned from Sam Raimi, James Cameron, and other directors, how he got involved in the project, the tone, when he knew he wanted to be a director, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Robert Stromberg

• 0:16 – Did he always know he wanted to become a director?
• 1:15 – What he learned from working with Sam Raimi, James Cameron, and other directors
• 2:23 – If he came to the project or if the studio came to him
• 2:50 – His relationship with the production designers
• 3:45 – When people will get a first look at the movie
• 4:10 – Reaction to seeing the footage at the presentation
• 4:51 – Any films he, the cast, and the crew watched to get an idea of the tone he was going for
• 5:29 – Deciding what footage to show