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With director Ang Lee’s Gemini Man now playing in theaters, I recently sat down with Visual Effects Supervisor Bill Westenhofer and Weta Visual Effects Supervisor Guy Williams for an extended interview. They talked about why this project had so many challenges, how if they even got one small thing wrong viewers would notice, if it matters if they filmed during the day or at night, how this project allowed them to do a lot of R&D for future projects using this technology, and a lot more.

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Image via Paramount Pictures

If you haven’t seen the trailers, the sci-fi thriller sees Will Smith as a retired assassin being hunted by a 23-year-old clone of himself. Smith plays both parts through the magic of modern technology and the film doesn’t shy away from the actor going head-to-head with his own doppelganger. Gemini Man is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and David Ellison and also stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong, and Douglas Hodge.

Check out what Bill Westenhofer & Guy Williams had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about.

Bill Westenhofer & Guy Williams:

  • gemini-man-mary-elizabeth-winstead-will-smith
    Image via Paramount
    Was this the most challenging project they’ve ever had?
  • What were the challenges they weren’t expecting that came up during the production?
  • How if they got just one small thing wrong people stopped believing it was a younger Will Smith.
  • Did it matter if the scenes were during the day or at night in terms of making it easier to do?
  • How this project allowed them to do a lot of R&D for future projects using this technology.
  • Why having Will Smith do his own performance was so critical to the film’s success.