If you like great, original sci-fi movies, you really need to check out writer/director Alex Garland‘s Ex Machina. The film stars Domhnall Gleeson as a computer programmer who wins a contest to meet with the CEO of a large search engine company (Oscar Isaac). When he arrives, he discovers he’s part of an experiment to test the artificial intelligence of an android (Alicia Vikander). I caught the film at this year’s SXSW and was blown away by the story, script, performances and direction. If you like to complain that Hollywood only makes remakes and sequels and wish they’d make more original movies, make a strong effort to support this film.
At SXSW I sat down with Oscar Isaac and Alex Garland to talk about Ex Machina. They discussed making the film, how the the first cut differed from the final product, and deleted scenes we might see in the future. We also talked about shooting schedule, the challenges the actors faced on set, what the past few years have been like for each of them, and a lot more. Here’s the video followed by the time index of the interview. Ex-Machina is now playing in limited release.
Oscar Isaac and Alex Garland:
- :20 – What was it like working together?
- 1:30 – How Garland is always relaxed and not serious.
- 1:50 – How did the story change during the writing process?
- 2:45 – Isaac talks about how his performance is exactly what he intended.
- 3:20 – Did Oscar have to audition for the role?
- 3:35 – Did Alex immediately know that he wanted Oscar after meeting with him?
- 4:30 – What has the past year or two been like being able to make films and land high profile gigs?
- 5:30 – Oscar reveals the first project he auditioned for was Sunshine.
- 7:00 – Alex talks about how lucky they were making Ex-Machina.
- 7:35 – They talk about the shooting schedule and the challenges for the actors.
- 9:50 – How long was the first cut?
- 10:30 – Any key deleted scenes?
