With director Rupert Wyatt’s (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) The Gambler now playing in theaters, I recently landed an exclusive video interview with the busy director.  As most of you know from the trailers, the remake stars Mark Wahlberg as a literature professor whose gambling spirals out of control, affecting both himself and those around him.  The film also stars Brie Larson, Jessica Lange, John Goodman, and Michael K. Williams.  As you might imagine with a script by William Monahan, the film is loaded with incredible dialogue and tense, edge-of-your-seat sequences.

During the extended interview Wyatt talked about making The Gambler, Monahan's script, how his first cut differed from the final product, deleted scenes, what he would have done with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  Wyatt also talked about his first feature, The Escapist, and how it's found a new audience on Netflix (if you've never seen it seek it out).  We also discussed his next movie, an original sci-fi feature that he's currently writing, and a lot more.

Rupert Wyatt:

• After Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Wyatt’s first feature The Escapist found a new audience, especially with Netflix.
• 1:40 – The first cut was around 2 hours 20 minutes.
• 3:40 – Talks about working with a script written by someone else.
• 5:40 – Praises Monahan’s script, especially the dialogue.
• 8:15 – Calls Dawn of the Planet of the Apes “beautifully directed,” but it was very different than the take Wyatt wanted to do for the sequel.
• 9:25 – Wyatt wanted to explore the cities in an Apes sequel, and expects Matt Reeves to do so in future sequels.
• 10:55 – His next feature is a sci-fi script he’s writing.