Last year, when director Alexandre Aja’s thriller The 9th Life of Louis Drax was filming in Vancouver, I got to visit the production towards the end of the shoot. If you’re not familiar with the film, which Summit Premiere and Miramax release in theaters September 2nd, the story centers on a young boy, Louis (Aiden Longworth), who has survived eight near-death experiences, but plunges off a cliff on his ninth birthday. While he survives the fall, he stays in a coma, and it’s up to an intrepid doctor (Jamie Dornan) to find out the truth about what happened to Louis while also happening to fall for Louis’ mother (Sarah Gadon). The film also stars Aaron Paul, Oliver Platt, Molly Parker, and Barbara Hershey. The 9th Life of Louis Drax is based on the novel by Liz Jensen and the script was written by Max Minghella. You can watch the trailer here.

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Image via Summit Premiere and Miramax

During my small group interview with Alexandre Aja, he talked about how he got involved in the project, how the script changed during the development process, casting the film, the biggest challenge in making the movie in 33 days, editing while shooting, and a lot more.

Check out what he had to say in the video above, and below you’ll find a list of what we talked about. Look for more on set interviews from the set of The 9th Life of Louis Drax in the coming days.


Alexandre Aja:

  • How did he get involved in the project?
  • What has he pushed himself to do this time?
  • Had he read the book before the script?
  • The casting process.
  • How Sarah Gadon has the Hitchcock blonde look.
  • How did the script change during production?
  • Talks about the set we’re on.
  • Was the movie always going to be set in San Francisco?
  • Was what the biggest challenge in making the movie in 33 days.
  • Editing while shooting.
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Image via Lionsgate's Summit Premiere and Miramax

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