It wasn’t too long ago we had the pleasure of sitting down with Steven Soderbergh for Logan Lucky, and we now had the wonderful opportunity to do it for a second time, this time for his horror flick Unsane, released in cinemas on March 23rd.
Thankfully for us, Soderbergh is a fan of a long interview, surpassing the usual 5-6 minute slots we are usually given – and yet time still flies by, as a filmmaker with a lot to say. This time around we met him in Berlin during the film festival, where the movie received its premiere.
Unsane is shot entirely on an iPhone and we discuss the challenges and benefits to this new means of working, and he explains why he wants to continue to shoot in this way in future projects. He also discusses whether he defines the movie as a horror flick, and what it was like collaborating with British actress Claire Foy.
It’s bee n widely reported of late that Foy was paid significantly less than her male co-star Matt Smith in The Crown, and on that subjects Soderbergh discusses his own experiences in this industry with pay disparity, while also commenting on the permanent shift in culture that Hollywood is currently going through following on from the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements.
The prolific filmmaker also goes on to speak about future projects such as Panama Papers, Ocean’s 8 and High Flying Bird, while we ask what it feels like to be an American today, in what is a tumultuous time for the nation.
Watch the full interview below…
Synopsis
Sawyer Valentini relocates from Boston to Pennsylvania to escape from the man who’s been stalking her for the last two years. While consulting with a therapist, Valentini unwittingly signs in for a voluntary 24-hour commitment to the Highland Creek Behavioural Centre. Her stay at the facility soon gets extended when doctors and nurses begin to question her sanity. Sawyer now believes that one of the staffers is her stalker — and she’ll do whatever it takes to stay alive and fight her way out.
Unsane is released in cinemas across the UK on March 23rd, and you can read our review from the Berlinale right here.
