It’s taken four years, casting headaches, technological leaps, release date bumps and more, but next week, Alfonso Cuaron‘s space adventure “Gravity” will finally arrive in theaters. And mostly, he just seems glad to have survived the process at all. “Film is my means of survival, and ‘Gravity’ was a miscalculation of time. It’s not the best investment I’ve ever made,” he told Vulture. However, most critics would disagree.
Earning strong reviews since premiering at the Venice Film Festival (our review), the movie finds Sandra Bullock and George Clooney adrift in space after a disaster, fighting to figure out how to get home. Seems simple enough, but Cuaron’s ambitions were high for the film. At one point, he wanted to utilize a specialized plane that can recreate real weightlessness to shoot the movie, but was stymied by the various technical limitations. There were even thoughts of using CGI for the actors as well, but if you think Warner Bros. was ever nervous or had second thoughts, Cuaron has nothing but praise for the studio.
“You know in all these stories [you hear], I have to say that the studio was amazing. The expression ‘Houston in the blind,’ and pretty much the studio was in the blind,” he told David Poland. “They invested so much time and money into the technology and then into the shoot, not knowing if the technology would work. They didn’t see see anything until about 8 months to a year after the shoot. I have to say they were really amazing. No one’s happy to hear that you have to bump the release a year later, but they were very supportive.”
That being said, going down the grueling road he did for “Gravity” is truly a once in a lifetime thing for Cuaron. “I enjoyed every single bit of the process, but I would never do it again,” he stated. “It was fun and exciting it was full of challenges. The film was not unlike the journey of the character in the film… It was filled with adversity, things falling apart. You learn to go through and it’s weird to say, but some of the adversities were enjoyable. So, all of that was great, but I would never do it again.”
So then what is next for the helmer? Well, he’s weighing his options and we can only imagine some offers will float his way too, but he wants to do a horror film. “I don’t mean slasher,” the director explained to Vulture. “Something more psychological, more emotional, something that festers.”
An intriguing prospect, but until then, “Gravity” opens on October 4th.