Shazam! Director David F. Sandberg on Memories, Sequel, Crossovers, and More
On Wednesday night, Shazam! director David F. Sandberg is participating in a Quarantine Watch [...]
Quarantine Watch Party
ComicBook.com: What have you been doing to pass the time while we're all staying at home during all of this crazy time? What's been your go to?
David F. Sandberg: Some of it has been watching movies. We have a little bit of work that we can do remotely. We have meetings via Zoom. I've never heard of that app before this happened, and now it's the Zoom. Yeah, it's not too weird for us. We're indoors a bit more. Yeah, I'm sitting down and learning new software and like do little tests, things like that.
CB: With this watch party we're doing for Shazam!, we have you, Cooper Andrews, Marta Milans, Jack Dylan Grazer, Asher Angel. Everybody's coming together on social to participate. What are you most looking forward to from having everybody together just online and, and talking about the movie you all worked so hard to make?
DS: Well, it will be fun to hear their perspectives, because I haven't really talked to them since the movie was finished, you know?
It'll actually be the first time because I kind of hate watching stuff that I've worked on afterwards. So this will be the first time that I actually re-watch something after it's released, because I never did that with Lights Out or Annabelle: Creation. I mean, I know the movies by heart, so it's like there's no point in sitting down and watching them. I just think about all the things that didn't turn out right! When I finish a movie, like I'm finished, and I move on. So this'll be interesting to watch something a year after!
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CB: Scott Derrickson said the same thing when he joined Quarantine Watch Party for Doctor Strange. I'm a really big fan of your YouTube videos where you offer filmmaker knowledge and perspective on certain moments or scenes. In working on Shazam!, what do you think is kind of the biggest thing you learned that you'll take with you with for future projects?
DS: A lot of it is just working with some visual effects and stuff like that and trying to avoid it as much as possible, because it's not a lot of fun. The result is cool, but it's just helpful to work with and it's just... It's just sort of working at a different scale was the big difference, because otherwise the storytelling is the same and working with actors is pretty much the same. It's just bigger and longer and harder.
CB: I know your background is in horror. That seems like it's your first love for making movies. You snuck some horror into Shazam! with that boardroom scene. With movies like this, it's not often we get to see genuinely scary sequences like that, and here it is one of the best sequences in the movie. Was there anything you wanted to do that anybody said, "No, we can't go that far," or anything that got deleted, and how did you get away with that inspiration there?
DS: No, I mean, it was sort of... some people in the studio were sort of wary about it while others were like, "Yeah, go for it. Do the horror!" This is a New Line movie and they're used to horror, so that wasn't really a problem. It was just like, yeah, making sure that you don't go too far. But they were very open to have a little bit of that, which I love it. It just makes the movie feel more complete when you have real stakes.
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CB: At the end of the movie, you do the voice of Mr. Mind. How did that come about and does this mean you now have a big super-villain role?
DS: No. Well, when you're doing temp stuff, you sort of throw your own voice in there. And I mean, I'm the a--hole boyfriend, the mom's boyfriend as well, which is one of those temp things, where you throw it in and then you're, "Yeah, let's keep it."
For Mr. Mind, I was experimenting on my own, with like filters and stuff to create that voice, and I was happy with how it turned out. So I was like, "Yeah, let's put that in the movie."
So I actually gave the whole project that I made to the sound designers and like, "Just use this. Don't change anything." You just sort of fall in love with a certain thing, and then you just can't, in your head, change it. So it's like, "Yeah, we'll just keep my temp voice in there."
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CB: Has what is going on around the world and being quarantined with impacted your work on Shazam! 2 at all?
DS: Yeah, I mean, well, we'll see how long this goes, because I mean, we were going to start shooting this year. But, I mean, who knows how long this will go on? I mean, it feels like every movie gets delayed now, so we'll see what happens with Shazam!. But so far, I've been working on the script. We can still do that, so that's being done and then, yeah, we'll just see in a couple of months how it looks, you know?
CB: We're all very excited for the one day to see a Zachary Levi stand opposite Dwayne Johnson. When you're working on things like Shazam! 2, do you work together and collaborate with the team that's also making Black Adam, which comes out four months before Shazam! 2? Is there a constant line of communication between you guys?
DS: No, I haven't talked to... I mean, I assume DC is keeping tabs on... that they have the bigger plan. But I don't know what they're doing. I'm just curious to see it, you know?
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CB: Speaking of crossovers, recently Gail Simone who attended a Quarantine Watch Party with us for Birds of Prey, tweeted something really interesting recently. With comic shops are having so much trouble with shutdowns right now, she suggested and Marvel and DC crossover event to get people back in stores and buying comics when it is safe. If this could happen in movies, which Marvel character would you want to see interact with Shazam!?
DS: I mean, I'm a big Spider-Man fan. So I mean, that's the first thing that pops into my head, because I just love Spider-Man. I don't know how they'd work together.
CB: They're both teenagers. They're both teenagers.
DS: Yeah. Yeah, very much so.
CB: Well, awesome, man. I appreciate you taking the time to talk now and joining our Quarantine Watch Party on Wednesday night. It means a lot to a lot of people, so I really appreciate you hanging with us.
DS: Yeah, no problem!
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The Quarantine Watch Party offers plenty of reasons to stay home, be safe, and have fun together! The Quarantine Watch Party will be hosted by ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis, as well as other staff members including Adam Barnhardt, Evan Valentine, Megan Peters, Joseph Schmidt, and ComicBook Nation co-host Janell Wheeler. There will be more Quarantine Watch Party events throughout the week with additional guests and fun news, so be sure to follow Davis for the latest! This adds to the growing list of Quarantine Watch Party events which have already included Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson, Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan and cast members Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Ella Jay Basco, Bloodshot director Dave Wilson and star Sam Heughan, Ant-Man's David Dastmalchian and Abby Ryder Fortson, and Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld -- all as a result of the continued excitement and support on social media.
Here is where you can find everyone who is participating:
If you have any questions, let me know on Instagram or Twitter!
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