During the conversation he discusses his new movie, the Paramount/Skydance thriller Gemini Man starring Will Smith, along with innovation in visual effects and the future of cinema exhibition.
Gemini Man stars Smith as Henry, an elite assassin who is hunted by a clone of his younger self. To have Smith and his younger self appear as leads, including in the same shots, Lee reteamed with his Life of Pi VFX supervisor Bill Westenhofer and the VFX team at Weta to create a fully digital, emotive Will Smith. “I believed it was time to try a digital human,” Lee says. “With humans, we are a lot more critical [of the effects] — it’s us. But in my head, it’s workable, there’s a methodology. It’s using technology as a tool for art.”
Of the work, he explains, “You had to build the character, the detail and really study human details and the performance from our actor. I believe that’s what you have to do if that’s your lead character.”
Lee also discusses his groundbreaking production in native 3D, 4K and at a high frame rate of 120 frames per second, along with his views on the future of cinema.
Hosted by THR tech editor Carolyn Giardina, Behind the Screen features interviews with directors, cinematographers, editors and other artists behind the making of motion pictures and series.