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Let's call this one Chris Columbus and the Big Dilemma. Columbus is a Hollywood hitmaker, having directed such films as Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Nine Months (1995), Stepmom (1998), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). It's those last two that caused our Big Dilemma. You see, Columbus was offered the opportunity to direct Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), another fantasy-adventure with a young hero (Logan Lerman) facing great odds, another all-star affair (starring Pierce Brosnan, Kevin McKidd, Sean Bean, Steve Coogan, Uma Thurman, Rosario Dawson), and another would-be hefty-budget, high-pressure, major-expectation-laden studio franchise. So, what did the director choose to do? Well, to give you a not-so-subtle hint, we caught up with Columbus at the New York City premiere of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief for an exclusive interview about the February 12 release.
You probably had to think long and hard about doing Percy Jackson since it at least echoed your prior work on the Potter films. So why this? Why direct another epic adventure-fantasy film?
I had to be really intrigued by the story, and I was. When I read it ("it" being the first of the Percy Jackson books by author Rick Riordan), I'd never seen anything like it. You've got the creatures and the stories of Greek mythology all intertwined with modern American society. I thought, "Wow, that's a cool idea for a movie." So I felt that I'd be willing to throw two years of my life into the project. It was also an opportunity to introduce the world of Greek mythology to kids in a way that doesn't feel like a history lesson. It's a very, very fun concept.
How often did you catch yourself on the Percy Jackson set saying, "Nope, did that on Potter. Can't do it again."?
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. To a certain extent, if I felt there were any similarities -- because people always ask the question -- I really, really tried hard to remove them from the film. I didn't really want the comparisons, but the comparisons, when you're doing anything in the fantasy genre, are inevitable. Every time I saw a bit of a pitfall we'd move away from it.
How would you say visual effects technology evolved from your Potter films to Percy Jackson?
When I did that first Potter film I walked away from it really not happy with the visual effects, and I knew they could be better. So, by the time we got to the second and third films [Columbus produced Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)], they were getting better. Now I knew we were in a situation where we could deliver seamless, state-of-the-art visual effects for these creatures. Again, for the kids, they haven't ever really had a chance to see them done with the (level of) technology we have today.
What's your mindset if this first Percy Jackson film is a hit? Do you direct the next one? Do you stick around in a producer capacity and turn the director's chair over to someone else?
Honestly, I don't want to curse this one. But if we're lucky enough, if this film is successful enough, I'd love to do a second one.
What was the very last scene that you cut from Percy Jackson and what are the chances that scene will turn up on the DVD when the time comes?
There is a scene, and I may not put it back for the DVD because I may use it for another (Percy Jackson) film. So I'm very cautious. There's a scene where Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) is talking about why he failed as a protector. It's a very poignant scene, but just in terms of the pacing it wasn't appropriate for this movie.
How strange is it for you right now to be kicking off a fresh franchise with Percy Jackson just as the Potter franchise, which you began work on more than a decade ago, is nearing its end?
Every time I see a Potter film it's always bittersweet for me. I'm seeing them here in America, knowing that they're being done in England, and I'm seeing these kids I know (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, all of whom he helped cast) grow up and turn into really wonderful actors. So it's an odd thing. I was so close to them, with the cast and the crew. I saw the last Potter film right here, at this theater, and I felt like a distant parent who hasn't seen his kids in a while.
