The Hollywood Reporter has posted an interesting interview with Warner Bros. President of Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Greg Silverman. While most of the interview is about the future of the business that is making movies at Warner Bros., there is some mention of the slate of DC films.
THR: How will you differentiate the DC Universe from what Marvel is doing?
GS: We have a great strategy for the DC films, which is to take these beloved characters and put them in the hands of master filmmakers and make sure they all coordinate with each other. You’ll see the difference when you see Batman v. Superman, Suicide Squad, Justice League and all the things that we are working on.
THR: There were some complaints that the Batman v. Superman trailer was too dark. Is this a trademark of a DC superhero film in the post-Dark Knight era?
GS: There is intensity and a seriousness of purpose to some of these characters. The filmmakers who are tackling these properties are making great movies about superheroes; they aren’t making superhero movies. And when you are trying to make a good movie, you tackle interesting philosophies and character development. There’s also humor, which is an important part.
THR: Given the debate about the low number of female directors on studio films, how important was it that a woman direct Wonder Woman?
GS: We had a very intensive process looking at everybody. Patty and Michelle were really the ones who came to the forefront the first go-round, so when things didn’t work out with Michelle, we all knew we had someone great who had expressed interest before. She came back and is doing a great job. But it was never about the best female director. She has demonstrated doing amazing work with female characters, such as in Monster.
THR: You’ve ruffled some feathers hiring competing writers to work on some projects at the same time, such as with Wonder Woman. What’s the strategy?
GS: Every project is different. On some projects, we have multiple writers working together. In some cases, we put writers together who have never been a team together. And sometimes, there is only one writer whose voice is right. In the case of Wonder Woman, the right approach was to have writers pitching different scenes within the framework we created.
THR: Without knowing what the others were up to?
GS: Correct. They came to me and said they wanted to try this approach. I don’t know how much collaboration and noncollaboration was going on. Treating writers well is a massive priority at this studio. I’d be very shocked if writers weren’t treated with respect and grace.
The main take away, is probably although they are bringing the DC films in after Marvel, they do have a plan and they believe it will work.
