Elektra - Rob Bowman Interview

So, Elektra wasn't the great film it could have been (Matt's Review) and it wasn't a patch on the (graphic novel), but there are some interesting things to be learnt from a recent interview with the director - Rob Bowman:

Did you want to make an even darker film?
The film is not as severe as in the comics, because that would be X rated. I’m making a PG-13. As a matter of fact, the director's cut was rated R. I knew I was making an R-rated movie, and that I would just have to edit to soften some of the moments. The good thing is that the studio will get their PG-13, but the DVD will be an R. I'll put all the hard-edged stuff back in.

Elektra's costume is very similar to the books – was that important?
Absolutely. We didn’t do it verbatim from the comics, because she looks like a hooker, but we definitely wanted to be as close to that as we could. I approached the costume from a personality point of view. I think that Elektra, while making the costume, wouldn’t have made it about vanity. It’s about the ability to move. But she’s also brash, and highly confident. And she does look really hot. (Laughs).

Obviously you’ve got Typhoid Mary in the movie, who uses her power through kissing. Are you aiming for an MTV best kiss award?
(laughs) We hired this gorgeous woman, and she kisses Elektra halfway through the movie and nearly kills her. So you’ve got Jennifer Garner being kissed by Natassia Malthe in slow motion for about thirty seconds. (Laughs) None of the men who’ve seen the movie have a problem with it!

The set must have had lots of visitors that day.
Surprisingly, we had quite a few! (Laughs) I don’t know, it’s kind of a weird way to kill somebody, and the combination of being poisonous and beautiful is interesting. The fact that the Hand use poison and whispers as your means of murder just seemed cool to me.

How many takes did you do with the kiss, by the way?
There are 7 angles of it, and to do each angle right you’ve got to do it 3 to 5 times. I would say that Natasha and Jennifer kissed, pretty much for a day.

That's dedication to the craft. I’m sure the DVD will have multi angle shots.
It’ll be longer… But both Jennifer and Natasha were very respectful, and their oral hygiene was very high that day. They just were two professionals. It was just another take. But it is quite beautiful.

For those who haven't seen the film, Typhoid Mary is played by Natassia Malthe - who looks like this...

"Hey Jennifer - any time you're ready for a rematch!?"