I'm more fascinated by anti-heroes, and Gambit is one of those.
— Simon Kinberg
I thought working in other universes that had a lot of history - and I had personal affection for, like 'Sherlock Holmes' or the 'X-Men' movies - would prepare me for it. But the truth is, there is nothing and has never been anything like 'Star Wars.'
I love the 'Dark Knight' movies, and 'Dark Knight' and the last one are well over two hours, and I could've sat there for three and a half hours, so if it's good you have some leeway.
I'm a lifer for the 'X-Men' movies.
The thing that's interesting about science fiction is that it is always, when it is done well, a lens on our world. And yet it is a metaphor.
Usually, you just have a hero and a villain - in any movie, not just a superhero movie.
Should a story be readily told in a PG-13 fashion, it should be for creative, not business, reasons.
When I'm writing a first draft of a script, I can disappear into that for two, three months exclusively.
Part of what I love about producing is to get to work with writers.
One movie I come back to time and again is 'The Hustler.' I don't think there's better dialogue in any film.
I'm Jewish, so I don't know much about Easter eggs.
I think the best science fiction, especially literature, is political in nature and is often an allegory about something problematic in our world, and it's something that makes the 'X-Men' comics so relevant - they're about xenophobia and prejudice.
When you're actually inside the experience of writing something, in some ways, you're just writing. Ultimately, you fall in love with the characters, and you get excited about the story, and you're sitting there in your sweatpants or pajamas, and you do get a little lost in it.
I write every first draft - almost every draft, but certainly the first - by hand on blank white pieces of paper, so I don't know how long it is as I'm writing; it just piles up, and then I input it all in my computer, and I learn how long it is.
I hope that 'Gambit' doesn't take ten years, but it takes a little honing to get that tone and that voice exactly right. The character has such a specific voice in the comic, in the same way that Deadpool has a specific voice in the comic, that we want to make sure that we capture that voice on the page.
The most important thing for me in an action sequence is, you understand the characters' intention and the challenges the characters are going to have to face: what the character story is within the action sequence.
As wild and anarchistic as 'Deadpool''s marketing was in using the Internet, its viral pieces and billboards, 'Logan' was the opposite. We went really analog and old-fashioned, much like the movie itself.
We take the R-rating on a case by case basis when the story warrants it and necessitate that rating, and shouldn't be hemmed by the rules of PG or PG-13.
I produce more movies than I write, but when I write, it is such an immersive, intense process that it probably takes as much or more time than producing multiple movies.
I just want to keep learning.
There are too many good comic book writers out there. I'd rather remain a fanboy.
Part of what's interesting about the 'Star Wars' world is, villains are complex, obviously, and they occupy, as in life, different roles within different organizations.
There is a religion around 'Star Wars' that is different than even the fanaticism around comic books and other media.
The biggest lesson learned from 'X-Men: The Last Stand' or 'X3' was that if you are going to tell a Phoenix story, tell the Phoenix story. Don't make it the subplot of the movie. Make it the plot of the movie.
'Deadpool' feels like it exploded out of nowhere, but it was a ten-year development process on that movie. I think it was honed over those ten years.
I'm like a geek that grew up playing with Star Wars toys and creating action sequences, essentially, with toys.
The success of 'Deadpool' and 'Logan' have bolstered our confidence to make edgy, more daring, provocative bold movies that audiences will embrace.
In the 'Days Of Future Past' comic, the aim is to go back in time to preserve peace for the lives of mutants in the future.
When you're a writer in Hollywood, you don't get to work with other writers. You barely get to meet other writers. We're interchangeable, disposable pieces that never really get to collaborate.
Nothing lives up to what you imagine. It changes, shifts, becomes something else.
All I can say is, death is a part of life.
