Responding to Zing, director James Gunn and Margot Robbie shared interesting behind-the-scenes stories surrounding “The Suicide Squad”.
The Suicide Squad , the second Suicide Squad film, is set to hit theaters in August. The film, written and directed by James Gunn, will see the return of many old characters alongside a large cast of new villains. This will be Margot Robbie’s third time playing Harley Quinn on screen.
Responding to Zing , director James Gunn and Margot Robbie shared interesting behind-the-scenes stories surrounding the superhero film.
Experience playing Harley Quinn without Joker
– Margot Robbie, this isn’t your first time playing Harley Quinn on screen. How is this return different?
– Margot Robbie: Playing Harley Quinn when she is single and looking for a lover is a new and interesting experience for me. The times I played Quinn before, she was either in the stage of blindly worshiping Mr.J (Joker) or heartbroken after breaking up with him. In The Suicide Squad , James Gunn “matched” Quinn with a pretty good guy.
Plus, she’s always ready for action this time around. Every time Harley Quinn joins a new team, there’s more humor and fun to be had as new, previously unknown sides of the character are revealed.
With The Suicide Squad , I’m looking forward to seeing the new group of monsters explode, as well as their effects on Harley’s emotions and actions.
A difficult action scene by Margot Robbie in The Suicide Squad.
A difficult action scene of Margot Robbie in The Suicide Squad .
– What was the biggest difficulty you encountered while filming?
– Margot Robbie: The biggest difficulty and fatigue I encountered on the set of The Suicide Squad was not the complicated action scenes but keeping the makeup on.
Because Harley Quinn has porcelain skin, every morning I have to stand still while the makeup department sprays foundation all over me. Not to mention the smudged makeup.
So after every scene with Juan Diego Botto (Silvio Luna), part of my thick foundation was always left on his face. People kiss and leave lipstick marks, but Harley’s kiss left a whole layer of makeup on her lover’s body.
The character’s porcelain-white skin makes Margot Robbie feel pressured.
The character’s porcelain-white skin makes Margot Robbie feel pressured.
Choose Harley Quinn because the Rangers need her
– Initial press and critical response to the film was very positive. How did Warner Bros. initially receive the director’s script idea? Did you feel any pressure making the film?
– James Gunn: It’s hard to believe my initial idea for the movie, from when I presented it to Warner Bros. and the production crew to the finished work, are not much different. Being trusted and given full creative freedom in a work with a higher budget like The Suicide Squad makes me feel a heavy burden of responsibility on my shoulders. I mustn’t disappoint them, but on the other hand, with that much freedom in my hands, I feel like I need to take a risk.
With big movies like The Suicide Squad , if you don’t risk change and find new ideas, stories or ways of expression, the audience will soon get bored. They no longer feel like they need to go to the theater to watch the same old story over and over again or the methodical presentation has become formulaic.
– According to what criteria did you choose the villains appearing in the film?
– James Gunn: I choose them based on many different criteria, but they all serve the story I want to tell. I chose Harley Quinn because the movie needed her, chose Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) because I loved it, that kind of thing.
But with other characters, like Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), I wanted a character with a useless name and if I typed in “DC’s dumbest villain,” his name would be the first result on every search engine.
I was very excited to be able to create a life scene for such a character. I’m also quite fond of rats, so Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) was recruited. I chose Bloodsport and tailored the role for Idris Elba because I wanted to work with him for a long time.
– How did you create the humorous, crazy atmosphere of Suicide Squad on screen?
– James Gunn: On set, we had hundreds of people working in different departments. Many of them had been with the project for years. I had a lot of help from the assistant director, the producer, and the production manager.
They understand my creative environment, but at the same time control and help the project stay on track and on schedule. It can be said that The Suicide Squad was planned very meticulously.
Besides the stressful filming days, there will be times when we spend about 45 minutes or a few hours gathering and chatting happily. That’s the spirit I wanted in my film. I don’t want the film to simply be a collection of close-ups, middle shots, wide shots, big shots… but also need the soul in each of those frames.
That is something that cannot be achieved through filming techniques, staging or simple role-playing. It also comes from the natural interactions between actors, helping the characters they play have very realistic juggling and improvisation on screen.
– One of the most memorable scenes for you?
– James Gunn: Let’s talk about the Suicide Squad landing scene. We shot it with the actors submerged in a tank of water. On set, whenever the actors burst out laughing at the same time, something was wrong. The camera caught Jai Courtney, Peter Davidson, Nathan Fillion, and Margot Robbie rolling on the floor laughing, and Mayling Ng flopping around in a tank of water that was waist-deep.
The pool was built behind Pinewood Studios. It was the most spectacular set I’ve ever built, with jungle, sand, coastline, ocean with waves crashing on the shore… When you first step in there, you’ll think you’re at a real beach.
