Steven Soderbergh has been his ever-prolific self of late, with his limited series “Full Circle” premiering on Max last week and dropping yet another series, “Command Z,” exclusively on his website over the weekend. And NYC moviegoers lucky enough to be in the loop caught “Command Z” at a secret screening at the Metrograph last weekend, too, with Soderbergh in attendance for a Q&A. Missed out on that? No worries, because Soderbergh just wrapped a Reddit AMA earlier today where he talked all about his latest work.
And to the surprise of no one familiar with Soderbergh’s ouevre, he revealed he initially planned to shoot “Command Z” on TikTok. When a redditor asked Soderbergh what inspired him to make “Command Z,” he replied, “A few years ago I reached out to [author] Kurt Andersen after reading his book “Evil Geniuses” and proposed we do something that could/might make people want to get more activated in solving our various societal issues. Prior to the “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” shoot, we shot an entirely different version of “CZ” consisting of scripted TikTok videos from the future. This didn’t seem to work the we wanted and we didn’t feel that format was built for the kind of narrative we were trying to tell, so we threw those out and started over.
Soderbergh continued, “The timing worked out so that we were shooting “CZ” during the prep for “Full Circle” and editing on “MMLD.” This is where being surrounded by skilled collaborators really pays off….” Of course, if one does the math, that means Soderbergh was working on three projects at once, all in different points of production—another day in the life for Mr. Soderbergh. One wonders what the filmmaker has up his sleeve next.
Another redditor asked Soderbergh if he thought any of his work would have been better in another format, he had an easy answer there, his 2008 film “Che,” which he cut into two parts for its theatrical release. “Hmm. Good question,” Soderbergh responded. “I think if “Che” were made ten years later it might have been pitched as a series instead of two films.” And what about a “Logan Lucky” sequel? Soderbergh said one was in the works for Daniel Craig‘s Joe Bang, but he nixed the idea after the first film did poorly in theaters. “Well, we had a prequel all teed up about how Joe Bang got thrown in jail, but when the movie didn’t perform well enough to justify another go, we dropped the idea,” he confirmed.
One of Soderbergh’s best responses during the AMA? When one redditor commented on his ability to both take big risks, work with A-listers regularly, and maintaining an uncompromising and consistent artistic vision over a 30-year career, Soderbergh was modest in a hilarious way. “You’re kind to say so,” replied the director. “It’s clear I am the cockroach of this industry and will try to survive any version of it that comes along. For a director I think the ability to attract talent is key, so either your resume or your reputation (or both) should support that notion.”
Steven Soderbergh, cockroach of Hollywood. And we wouldn’t want him any other way. As for what’s up next on the filmmaker’s to-do list? He has a six-part mini-series in the works about Ottoman physician Emin Pasha, written by Lem Dobbs on the horizon—and probably several other projects that nobody even knows about yet.
