Four years in the making, requiring an technical precise shoot and a lengthy post-production process, the road to “Gravity” has been long enough that director Alfonso Cuarón has stated he’ll never do something like it again. And with the film finally finished, playing Venice and Toronto and continuing on the festival circuit, Cuarón is likely simply enjoying a moment of rest before he considers what he’ll do next. And for many filmmakers, the choice comes down to doing something artistically challenging, yet realistic and pragmatic, particularly in a studio atmosphere where risks—like “Gravity”—aren’t taken very often. And Cuarón is well aware of that fact.
“There are many other kinds of films I would like to do. Sometimes it’s down to money, not only getting the finance together but also if I can afford it,” he told press at the Zurich Film Festival. And he realizes that even though he has a passion project he’d love to do, the chances of it happening seem very slim.
“I have a dream movie I’d like to make but it’s tiny and not commercial. I couldn’t be paid but I have a family and a life,” he said.
While the prospect of a filmmaker of Cuarón’s ambition conceding a project close to his heart because of the realities of the industry is a bit depressing, it likely also saves him from pulling his own hair out trying to make it happen. Not everyone has the endurance of someone like Jonathan Glazer, who basically spent nine years with his forthcoming “Under the Skin,” getting it made. And while Cuarón has said he’s interested in making a psychological horror movie, nothing is confirmed, and frankly his goals for whatever his next project are fairly simple.
“I now want to work on films in which people walk. I feel very strongly about this. If they walk, lay down, sit in wheelchairs or even swim, that would be fantastic,” he joked.
“Gravity” opens on October 4th. [Screen Daily]