This Christmas, there are plenty of options at your local cineplex. There are lions, hedgehogs, witches, idols, and more. But the coolest choice, the sexiest choice of all, is the vampire. This week, filmmaker Robert Eggers lets loose Nosferatuthe long-awaited, much-anticipated film inspired by the iconic 1922 film by FW Murnau. Bill Skarsgård stars as the evil Count Orlok, who intrudes into the lives of newlyweds Thomas and Ellen (Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp).
It’s a dark, atmospheric, but fun film from a filmmaker who, even with just three films under his belt, has achieved a very well-earned reputation. With The Witch, The Lighthouseagain The NorthmanEggers has established himself as a meticulous, visual filmmaker with a flair for the historical and gothic. Nosferatu “Eggers” is probably his biggest movie yet, but it’s also coming out at Christmas, a prime selling time.
io9 spoke with Eggers for a video interview a few weeks ago and that struggle between art and product is where our conversation began.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Germain Lussier, io9: I love your films because they are not only entertaining, they are very careful, beautiful, and often strange. I wonder, at any point in the process are you torn between artistic ambitions and commercial viability?
Robert Eggers: Well, this film from the beginning was meant to be my “accessible film”. Maybe you know this and maybe you don’t but the main creative producer on this is Chris Columbus of Home alone again Harry Potter honor. And Chris has been a mentor to me since we met during the production of A witch. But you know we’re very different filmmakers and that’s why we get along creatively, and I think it’s a great match. And Jarin Blaschke, my DP and I, discuss movies carefully. Well, we work with a storyboard artist, but we carefully plan every shot. And Chris was scrolling through the storyboards, looking at them all carefully, and occasionally he would say, “Where’s this story beat in your book? You need this here.” And Chris, being a Hollywood storyteller, was often like an antidote to me and Jarin’s arty-farty tendency to tell this story the way I wanted, because he was there to make this the best movie of Robert Eggers, not to Chris Columbus-ify it. But also, with this film, I had incredible support from Focus Features, who gave me tons of creative control.
io9: And I think we get a hint that this should have been a big sell because last year when the movie was announced, Focus was like “Robert Eggers, NosferatuI’m going out on Christmas Day.” And that’s always kind of a big thing, a Christmas release. Were you part of that conversation, and does a release date like that change your thinking at all?
Eggers: Yes, I mean, I was part of the conversation, but finally it was the day they gave me, and I accepted it with great enthusiasm. Apparently the movie takes place, in the middle, at Christmas time, and there’s a Christmas tree, and there’s conversations about Christmas, and there’s a scene where there’s a music box that plays “O Tannenbaum” and it originally played like a Mozart piece. , and when we got the Christmas release date, I said, “Let’s put ‘O Tannenbaum’ on there.”
io9: That’s great. Now, Willem Dafoe is in a movie you once worked on. It is clear that he is amazing but he also has some history with this world Shadow of the Vampire. Did you discuss that beforehand and how much did those discussions factor into the movie at all?
Eggers: I love that movie, and it’s a great movie, but it’s not related. But obviously, we both realize that it’s good that audience members know that he’s hunting in this movie.
io9: Is there anything in this film that you were able to accomplish that you are proud of, or that was more difficult, technically in terms of story and tone?
Eggers: I mean there are many things. One thing, for me personally, I don’t know how the audience will deal with it, but I feel like it takes a long time without interruption, the “owners” in this film, have a little heavy hand and are gradually invisible. That’s my opinion, maybe I’m wrong. I am very proud of the state of the cemetery. That was something I really wanted. One of the very few things Focus was wringing its hands about was my insistence that I never shoot in anything but dark weather because we’re standing around waiting for cloud cover and that can be very intense. But the cemetery exemplified the need for that approach. And the Transylvanian village scene was incredibly complex to act out and dress up and block out. There are actors, mostly non-actors, professional dancers, and everyone speaking a different language from a different country. It was very complicated, but I like how that turned out.
io9: Very good. I also know that you love research and that plays a big role in all of your films. How deep into the Count’s history did you and Bill go? Do you guys know how and when he changed, how he developed his powers, or is that kind of nonsense?
Eggers: No, no. In trying to make this story my own—a story that has been told many times—I wrote a novel where I tried to break the script and the novel had a lot of backstory to read about the various characters. And the epilogue was a long Orlok backstory that I gave Bill as part of his preparation. That will never be shared because the mystery of the mystery is better for the audience, but it was important for Bill to have that history.
io9: So you never thought about putting that in at all?
Eggers: No, I mean, just like these incomplete disappearances in Murnau’s film, a certain level of mystery is important.
io9: This is a story you’ve wanted to tell for a long time and it’s been around for a while. What about this version now is different than the version you may have made after it A witch or earlier in your career?
Eggers: You know, my intentions haven’t really changed when I wrote that novella and I broke that script. The script has become much tighter and more shaped, but my “idea” of what the film will be has not changed. But I’m glad it took so long. I’ve grown a lot as a person, certainly as a filmmaker. My collaboration with my artistic head of departments has become even more fluid and we are expanding each other’s extensions. And I ended up with this great game.
io9: Oh the cast is great, which is what makes all vampire movies unique. And it’s one of those genres, you know, we’ve got vampire comedies, we’ve got vampire horror, vampire drama, we’ve got everything. What is it about the genre that makes it so appealing and what do you love about it?
Eggers: Yeah, I mean, it’s crazy how cute a vampire is and how there’s room for Anne Rice and there’s room for Blade and there’s room for Count Chocula and there’s room for all these things. But I have been asked this question a lot, but the best I can come up with is sex and death. It is a combination of sex and death.
io9: The last thing, recently Focus, revealed a $20,000 box bed for Nosferatu, which I’m sure you know. Do you have? Do you want it? What do you say to a buyer? What are your thoughts?
Eggers: Um. [Laughs, thinks, pauses]. “Congratulations.”
io9: [Laughs] Of course. Well, congratulations, sir, on a wonderful, beautiful film.
Nosferatu is in theaters December 25.
Looking for more io9 news? Check out when you can expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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