Roundtable Interview With Joe Wright On Hanna

As someone who has worked in powerful meaningful dramas, one should be surprised that director Joe Wright has decided to take on a film like Hanna. This is the first time that we have seen Wright direct something that can be considered his own. His previous works have tied him down to two things, staying true to the novels (Pride and Prejudice and Atonement) while creating his own adaptation and staying true to the real story (The Soloist) without embellishing or staining it. But now that the director is no longer restricted to those factors, he is able to direct the film how he wants to and how he wants his audience to see it.

We have seen what Wright is capable of with his directorial skills, often going to his two muses Keira Knightley and Saoirse Ronan for his films. But one of things about Hanna that made the picture so wonderful is the fact that he did have a limited budget. Not all action films require a blue screen or green screen, they can use the natural environment around them as the actual set, and that is what happened with Hanna. Due to the limited budget they were given, Wright was forced to shoot on location. This means building up a threshold against the blistering cold weather in Finland and dealing with the heat in Morocco. As it turns out, shooting on location was a benefit for the director as it gives the film a sense of realism.

The director also talked about how this isn’t your typical action film. Wright says that most action films are misogynistic and in this film he wanted to prove that women can be of power without the use of sexual exploitation. Normally there are films like that, but in a completely different genre. With Hanna however, there is that sense that you can empower a woman without the use of short skirts, fishnets, and lollipops.

Wright also talked about how he is a huge fan of The Chemical Brothers and is afraid to admit that he attended one of their concerts in 1992. Joking aside, the director talked about how the music group worked on the music beforehand and how that pre-produced music was integrated into some of the scenes. After the films completition, The Chemical Brothers would go on to complete the entire soundtrack.

And in terms of music, the director talked about his attendance at a Lady Gaga concert in Berlin. While he admits he is not a fan of her music and only attended because it was Ronan’s birthday, he did say that he understood the facisnation fans had on her and that she is an inspiring person to all and is glad that she is one of the musicians sending a positive message through her music.

Want to hear more? Check out the full audio of the interview below.

Be sure to check out Hanna when it hits theatres on April 8th. And make sure you take a listen to our interview with star Saoirse Ronan, and our interview with star Eric Bana. Also, make sure you remember to give our Hanna review a read.

Unfortunately, the audio file for this interview has been removed. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.