Summary
No single genre defines filmmakerNeil Burger.
From helming high-concept sci-fi mind-twisters likeLimitlesswithBradley CooperandRobert DeNiro, to down-to-earth tearjerkers likeThe UpsidewithBryan CranstonandKevin Hart.
His previous outing wasThe Marsh Kings Daughter, a vengeance thriller starringDaisy Ridley.
Image via IFC Films
Colliders ownSteve Weintraubhad the pleasure of sitting down with Burger to discuss all thingsInheritance.
COLLIDER: First of all, congrats.
You made something unique, and you told the story in a way that I’ve never seen.
Image via IFC Films
I just want to say thanks for taking the risk.
NEIL BURGER: Thank you.
It was fun, and itwasa risk.
Image via IFC Films
It was supposed to be a risk.
That was kind of the inception of the story.
But if you go with a film crew, you disrupt the world.
Image via Showtime
The world ends up looking at you.
You don’t get to look at the world.
That said, its tightly scripted.
When Maya learns her father Sam was once a spy, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an international conspiracy.
It’s an international thriller, so all the puzzle pieces need to fit together.
We went around the world.
We went from New York to Cairo to Delhi to Seoul, and back to New York.
That’s a grand international movie, and so I feel very proud of that.
The movie premieres on January 24.
Some of the places you shot, you’re really not allowed to shoot.
That whole area is no cameras.
So my question is, what would have happened had anyone realized what you were doing?
Did you have that backup plan?
BURGER: What we did was wedidhave contingencies for everything in case they went wrong.
However, the movie has a kind of stolen aesthetic.
So, that then determined how the rest of the movie was going to be shot.
We had production service people with us if anything happened.
Quite frankly, we got away with everything.
She goes into a store in JFK… We had a very small crew.
We took the same trip that she took.
She walked into a fancy accessory store and jewelry store and stole a pair of sunglasses.
I actually want to pause you there because she does it so expertly.
What the hell would have happened had it gone wrong?
BURGER: Yes, well, we were ready for that.
Then we just quietly put it back, and they never knew the difference.
Let’s talk about the transatlantic flight and recording dialogue in business class.
BURGER: We didn’t have boom mics, but they were on wires.
BURGER: Actually, they had their own recorders on them.
They were just recording their sound, and it was good.
The sound is good.
I wasn’t worried because, again, we had tested it.
Then the seatbelt came off.
We knew exactly how we were doing it and when we were going to do it.
My response was, Yes, we can.
We just kept on doing it.
That’s really happening.
Then, in the second scene, they were like, Who is she?
She’s famous, isn’t she?
And I was like, She is.
Everything’s all true.
We never lied about anything.
Then they were like, Could we get a picture with her afterward?
And it was like, Absolutely.
And they were great.
We kind of brought them over into our camp.
How did the film change in the edit in ways you didn’t expect?
I am curious if the story changed at all based on footage.
BURGER: The story didn’t really change.
We tightened it up.
I was in love with walking around these places, these cities.
I think, really, it got tighter.
It was like, No, no, no, no.
She needs to go right to the safety deposit box and get it.
So, some of that stuff we changed, but mostly it is as written.
How does it work with the legal releases?
For example, let’s go back to the plane.
Do it’s crucial that you get a release from these people?
What’s the legal stuff like when making a film like this?
BURGER: In business class, you don’t see them.
The people that are sitting in business class are our crew people.
We were very careful with it.
Sometimes we put big glasses on somebody or something like that.
We digitally would alter their faces if there were an issue, but most often, there was not.
What’s Next for Neil Burger?
The director is doing a biopic drama on Christopher Havens.
When we last spoke, you told me about this movie and how you shot it in secret.
What are you working on now?
What’s coming up for you?
BURGER: Another secret.
It’s a great story.
These days, it’s hard to get dramas made.
Nobody wants to fund them.
So, it’s tough going.
It’s not just drama.
Getting a movie made now seems like it’s tougher than ever in the history of Hollywood.
But I will tell you about something funny.
So, I have two espionage things premiering on the same day, which is great.
Inheritanceis exclusively in theaters now.
