Carano Director: Really satisfying to see a woman beat up on guys
The Wall Street Journal sat down with Haywire director Steven Soderbergh and talked about the film’s star, GIna Carano. Soderbergh…
The Wall Street Journal sat down with Haywire director Steven Soderbergh and talked about the film’s star, GIna Carano. Soderbergh is the Academy Award-winning director. of the Ocean’s movies, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Che, and the recent Contagion. Haywire opens Jan. 20.
Don Steinberg: You decided to build a movie around Gina Carano after talking with her for about four hours?
Steven Soderbergh Yeah, pretty much. I saw her fight on TV, and saw her interviewed, and thought, given the history of movies being built around real fighters, why shouldn’t somebody build a movie around her? She seemed kind of ready-made to do that. She’s a natural beauty and a real fighter.
I went to talk to her and said, “Would you be up for this?” She said, “Yeah, actually, this comes at a “>good time for me.” There’s obviously a risk involved. People know her, but not because of movie stuff. But I feel like this is what movies are for. They did it for Steven Seagal. Why can’t we do it for her?
DS: You built a cast around her—of guys who wouldn’t mind being beaten up by a girl?
SS: Yeah. And also who were—we didn’t want to be using doubles and cheating and cutting away. So these guys really needed to know how to do it. I mean, God, Fassbender, she really put him through the wringer. That was a pretty intense two days. Depending on the shot, he may have a pad here or there, but she’s really strong. During training she accidentally knocked out one of the stunt coordinators. She was constantly telling Channing [Tatum], “You’re not—you need to hit me harder. Stop pulling it.” It’s just really, really satisfying to see a woman beat up on guys like that.
DS: Do you feel a nontraditional lead brings extra authenticity?
SS: Athletes—there’s a specific kind of presence and affect that professional athletes have that I think is very difficult to fake. Just the way they carry themselves. It’s different. And in this case really crucial for us. As soon as we started shooting, I thought, “She looks like she belongs here.” She has that kind of presence and physical grace that you need to have to carry someone’s attention in a film.
One of the things I’ve discovered obviously is that she can run. I could have watched her run for an hour. I just think it’s the coolest thing.
DS: How do you promote “Haywire” to the UFC audience?
SS: Well, the other trick for us is we want women to come, and that’s not typically who gets targeted for this kind of film. We’ve done a series of screenings just for women, to try and get them interested in her. Because when they see the film, they’re totally captivated by her and the power that she has. Women really respond to her.
Her fan base is very Internet-driven, so it’s not hard to get to them. When we went down to Comic-Con with some clips, and she was there, that day she was the third most Googled thing world-wide. The third most Googled thing in the world. She’s got a following.
