Alex Garlanda longtime collaborator of Danny Boyle and the director responsible for men, The yard and Civil warGarland shared details of his favorite filmmaking experience. During a special event at the Edinburgh International Film Festival where he and co-producer Andrew MacDonald sat down to talk about their careers, Garland noted: X-Machina As his favorite film he ever made. The film celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and was Garland's first feature film. Up until that point, Garland had been a novelist and writer of feature films such as After 28 days, sunrise, and Drid.
But in 2013, Garland decided to keep his vision intact by directing his own screenplay and thus ensuring creative control. “I never wanted to be a director,” Garland said at the film festival. “I wanted to stop directors from changing things and the only way to do that was to take that position.”
“I enjoyed it
X-Machina
The film was very easy. It was logistically easy, and that helped us. We had four weeks in [London studio] Pine Forest on the soundstage, and two weeks in Norway on location. We had a very small crew. […] The team was young, hardworking and very committed. We had a very friendly staff who believed in the project and worked hard. The atmosphere was good, everyone was helpful. It was a friendly atmosphere.”
Garland compares making X-Machina With his previous films, and productions he cites as toxic:
We just finished shooting a series of toxic movies, and toxic sets are very unpleasant places. You can't escape the grumbling, the divisions, the disagreements between departments. It's really awful. And I think this is a place I have to visit.
X-Machina
It came as an antidote to that, but it was quite the opposite.
X-Machina The film was a film that Garland controlled in every aspect. While the production companies behind it are not entirely dedicated to independent films (Film4 and DNA Films, which produced films like train control, 12 years of slaveryand 127 hoursGarland decided to refrain from making a film that would require studio intervention, and kept the budget to a minimum, with most of the money going to visual effects, which were necessary to make the film a realistic science fiction film.
Garland is currently producing his next feature film, WarHe has finished writing his assignments for the third part of the zombie trilogy, After 28 years.
Ex Machina: A dystopian sci-fi novel that feels more relevant than ever
The film follows a computer programmer named Caleb, who wins a contest to spend a week as a guest at a remote house owned by his company's CEO, Nathan Bateman. Upon arriving at a very mysterious location, Caleb realizes that he is there to observe the Turing Test, which a humanoid robot appears to have already passed. Caleb meets Ava, a robot who appears to be capable of having emotions, and begins to develop feelings for her. The results are disastrous when Ava reacts.
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Exploring the dark underbelly of all things AI, X-Machina It’s a tough sci-fi film that asks the right questions about its complex subject matter, which is increasingly relevant to modern times. Ten years later, it feels even more urgent in its critique of technologists and corporate control over AI and other technologies.
X-Machina
Available to stream on Kanopy, or rent or purchase on other digital platforms.
