DirectorRobert Eggersmay have another hit on his hands withNosferatu, but before the acclaimed auteur took a crack at bringing the titular vampire to life,there was another classic monster he wanted to tackle:Frankenstein.Nosferatuis currently still riding high at the box office, having thus far earned $56.2 million dollars and widespread acclaim from both fans and critics.
Appearing onConversations @ Curzon(seen below), Eggers touched on a number of topics, including the script-writing process. After revealing that a recent screenplay he wrote was praised by his wife – who also commented that “no one’s going to make it” – he was asked by host Douglas Greenwood if he ever felt the need to just write for the sake of “getting those ideas out of you.” It was then Eggers revealed that he does do that sometimes, even when he knows it’s a “dud,” as apparently was the case with hisFrankensteinscript.
“Sometimes you know you’ve got a dud. I’m super, super-excited for Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, but when my son was born, I had an unconscious urge – I’m sure because of that – I started to do Frankenstein, and after two weeks, I was like, ‘There’s no way I can do this.’ So I’m glad that Guillermo is finally making it.”
First Look at Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ Revealed at Last
It’s a shame del Toro’s latest is heading straight to streaming because the Gothic visuals are predictably impressive.
When pressed further by Greenwood about what his take onFrankensteinwould have looked like, Eggers simply replied, “No comment” before adding, “It definitely sucked, I’ll tell you that.” While we’re not sure anything Eggers touches actually “sucks” given the fact he’s had such great success in his short career, it’s comforting to know he’s mature enough to recognize when he’s not able to handle something, and instead let someone else have all the fun. There’s little doubt that del Toro is a wonderful substitute, and we’re sure his version ofFrankenstein, which hits Netflix later this year, will bean amazing addition to the many moviesthat have already focused on Mary Shelly’s iconic monster.
To further highlight Eggers' maturity as a filmmaker, Greenwood brought up the fact thatNosferatuwas previously going to be only the director’s second film afterThe Witchin 2015. At the time, he was working on a medieval project that neither he nor the studio saw eye to eye on, so he turned his attention to the vampire. In hindsight, he says he’s glad it didn’t work out back then because he doesn’t think he had what it took to do the story justice.
“I was foolish to want to do Nosferatu potentially as my second film, and I’m glad that it didn’t happen, and I’m glad that it fell apart several times over the past nine or ten years. I’ve just grown a lot as a filmmaker, and I’ve become a more adept collaborator with all of my heads of departments that I work with over and over again, which are further extensions of one another. What has finally emerged is not just my vision, but a collective vision of a lot of people who love working together, and love pushing each other further than we thought we could go.”
Needless to say, the results have been spectacular, asNosferatuis being hailed by many as a modern masterpiece. Would it have looked the same back in 2016 or 2017? Probably not, so – like Eggers – we’re also glad it didn’t happen back then, otherwise we wouldn’t have been treatedto the amazing movie we have today. You can check outNosferatuin theaters now from Focus Features.
Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name from director F. W. Murnau. Robert Eggers is crafting his own version of the story for the reboot as writer and director, with Bill Skarsgård stepping into the shoes of Count Orlok. Nosferatu tells the tale of a young woman who falls victim to a vampire utterly infatuated with her.
