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If you’re looking for a fun time at the movies, I’m giving a big recommendation to the giant shark movie The Meg. To tell you a bit about the story, The Meg stars Jason Statham as a former deep sea rescue diver who must face down a prehistoric shark—the Megalodon—and save a team of scientist trapped at the bottom of the ocean. The film is helmed by National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub from a script by Dean Georgaris (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life) and Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber (RED). From Warner Bros. Pictures and Gravity Pictures, the film was produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura,Belle Avery and Colin Wilson.

I’ve seen the film twice and it’s the type of movie you want to see on a huge screen with a big crowd – especially when the Megalodon makes its presence known…

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Image via Warner Bros.

The Meg also stars Li BingbingRainn Wilson, Winston ChaoPage Kennedy, Jessica McNameeÓlafur Darris Ólafsson, Robert Taylor, Sophia Cai, Masi Oka and Cliff Curtis.

With the film hitting now playing in theaters, I recently sat down with Jon Turteltaub for an exclusive interview. During the wide-ranging conversation. he talked about making The Meg, wanting to push harder for an R rating, what they wanted to accomplish with the film, why it took so long from filming to reach theaters, what he learned from test screenings, why he thinks audiences sees a sequel, how the Asian marketplace for movies impacted making The Meg, and more. In addition, he talked about the status of National Treasure 3, how his first cut of National Treasure was close to four hours, and more.

Check out what he had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about.

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Image via Warner Bros.

Jon Turteltaub:

  • How he didn’t make The Meg to win awards. Talks about what he wanted to accomplish with the film.
  • How a lot of people want to escape reality when they go to the movies.
  • How the film could have been a hard R loaded with blood movie. He talks about how he wanted to push the blood but the studio said no way.
  • They shot The Meg almost two years ago. Why did they wait till August to release it?
  • What did he learn from test screenings that impacted the finished film?
  • Have they talked about sequels?
  • Talks about why he thinks audiences sees sequels.
  • How long was the first cut compared to the finished film? Reveals his first cut on National Treasure was 3 hr 45 min!
  • What are his thoughts about sharing deleted scenes on the Blu-ray?
  • How did the Asian marketplace for movies impact making The Meg? Talks about not pandering to the Chinese audience.
  • What’s the status of National Treasure 3 and how close did it come to actually being made?
the-meg-movie
Image via Warner Bros.
the-meg-movie
Image via Warner Bros.
the-meg-movie
Image via Warner Bros.
the-meg-jon-turteltaub
Image via Warner Bros.
the-meg-jason-statham
Image via Warner Bros.