Ghost in the Shell: Rupert Sanders, “It was necessary to find the simplest way to enter this universe”

After the casting of Ghost in the Shell, it is the turn of director Rupert Sanders to confide exclusively on the direction of the film!
After a gestation of almost ten years and many changes – both in terms of screenwriters, directors and plot – the live adaptation of Ghost in the Shell and its visually surprising cyberpunk universe have finally landed on our screens. So as to say that this amazing film, which resembles no other, will have taken its time before reaching us. In the end, if it finally arrived in our dark rooms, it is thanks to its director Rupert Sanders ( Blanche Neige and the Hunter ), absolute fan of the universe of Ghost in the Shell . Melty also spoke with the director on the occasion of his visit to Paris in order to learn more about the behind-the-scenes of the film’s production. And what to know, Is that Rupert Sanders arrived on the project only very late , after being contacted by Steven Spielberg himself, who held the rights of adaptation. ” I joined the project when Steven Spielberg contacted me and asked me if I liked Ghost in the Shell, and I told him I was an unconditional fan. Asked me: ‘How would you do it?’ So I started to create a graphic novel inspired by the images and ideas that touched me most and I wrote the story of the film as I conceived it I brought him the graphic novel and he really liked my ideas and entrusted me with the film . ” Which held the rights of adaptation. ” I joined the project when Steven Spielberg contacted me and asked me if I liked Ghost in the Shell, and I told him I was an unconditional fan. Asked me: ‘How would you do it?’ So I started to create a graphic novel inspired by the images and ideas that touched me most and I wrote the story of the film as I conceived it I brought him the graphic novel and he really liked my ideas and entrusted me with the film . ” Which held the rights of adaptation. ” I joined the project when Steven Spielberg contacted me and asked me if I liked Ghost in the Shell, and I told him I was an unconditional fan. Asked me: ‘How would you do it?’ So I started to create a graphic novel inspired by the images and ideas that touched me most and I wrote the story of the film as I conceived it I brought him the graphic novel and he really liked my ideas and entrusted me with the film . ” How would you realize it? . So I started to create a graphic novel inspired by the images and ideas that touched me most and I wrote the story of the film as I conceived it. I brought him the graphic novel and he really liked my ideas and entrusted me with the film . “. How would you realize it? . So I started to create a graphic novel inspired by the images and ideas that touched me most and I wrote the story of the film as I conceived it. I brought him the graphic novel and he really liked my ideas and entrusted me with the film . “.
Then came the search for a very cosmopolitan casting able to incarnate the characters of Ghost in the Shell . For Rupert Sanders soon wanted to describe a city where all ethnicities and cultures would mix. ” I thought that in the future, […] we will live in increasingly cosmopolitan cities, I thought that Hong Kong could serve as a backdrop, and I wanted to have a cast of actors I admired the work in the cinema . ” The director went to meet Scarlett Johansson and Pilou Asbæak but also contacted Juliette Binoche, who told us about her character in Ghost in the Shell , And Takeshi Kitano – all the actors and actresses that had to be convinced to join the project. But for that, Rupert Sanders had a strong argument: his passion ! ” But I think they felt my passion for this universe, they saw the aspect of this world, and they thought it would be a unique opportunity,” he said in our interview. A unique opportunity for a unique film, that’s for sure!
Writing and performing Ghost in the Shell , Rupert Sanders obviously thought of the fans of his universe – of which he is a part – but also to those who know nothing about it. It was necessary not only to make the world and themes of Ghost in the Shell accessible to the neophytes while satisfying the fans. On this difficult balancing act, the director also gives us some details, confessing: ” We had to find the simplest way to enter [this universe]. I think if we had just done the Ghost in the Shell original, people would have been disoriented. We had to find a story that could introduce people to the universe of Ghost in the Shell . Action and spectacle are the two elements which,
And to satisfy the fans, Rupert Sanders of course made fun by including iconic scenes of the original works! ” I really asked myself, ‘As a fan, what would I like to see in the movie?’ “, He says. The head of geisha exploding, the scene in which Major confronts a tank or thermoptic clothing … all these elements are therefore present in Ghost in the Shell , the director specifying: ” I thought that if I went to see the film and I do not see these items, I would be very disappointed. ” . This does not mean that the feature film takes up word-for-word and scene-by-scene original works. Moreover, Mamoru Oshii, The director of the two animated films, supported the project, encouraging Rupert Sanders to make his own adaptation. And here is the advice he received from him: ” He just said to me: ‘Make your own film!’ He wanted me to impose no limits. That he should do something different. “He did not want me to reproduce what he had done .” So what exploring new aspects of Ghost in the Shell and Major, her heroine ! I think he understood that we had to do something different. He did not want me to reproduce what he had done . “So to explore new aspects of Ghost in the Shell and Major, her heroine ! I think he understood that we had to do something different. He did not want me to reproduce what he had done . “So to explore new aspects of Ghost in the Shell and Major, her heroine !