In this edition of Interview, Last Resort Films president Phil Dolan once again sits down with one of the longest tenured and most prolific writers for the studio, Mo Buck (Captain Atom 2, Someone Else), to discuss his upcoming film, Germinal, as well as the upcoming slate of DC Comics films from Mo Buck's Writers Association.
PD: What inspired you to write a new adaptation of Germinal?
MB: The two first adaptations are quite dated (1913 and 1963 respectively), the BBC miniseries from 1970 went largely unnoticed and the 1993 version, directed by Claude Berri and Gerard Depardieu was quite good, but I couldn't let it be the adaptation people think about when they think about this classic novel for one very specific reason, and I'm not kidding. Every time I think about this adaptation, the only thing I remember is the sight of Depardieu's buttocks and it makes me feel uneasy. I was just joking. To be honest, I wanted to introduce a wider audience to this classic novel, a truly tragic story based on the harsh reality of the 19th century French working class.
PD: Jean-Luc Godard is many years removed from anything close to a traditional film. What made you pursue him to direct the film?
MB: I love Godard to death. I'm not much of a French cinema fan, but Godard always gets my attention. From the impact he had on modern cinema and the countless directors he inspired, he's truly a monument of French cinema and I thought it was fitting for him to direct an adaptation of a classic French novel. He's not getting any younger, he turned 89 a couple of weeks ago, so I wanted to give him one last mainstream send-off before it was too late, because he certainly deserves it.
PD: Germinal is not the most exactly the most marketable property to adapt for the big screen. What are your expectations for the film?
MB: It feels weird to me that Germinal is finally going to be released because I actually wrote this film about sixteen months ago in the summer of 2018. I'm not a fool, so I don't expect it to set the box office on fire and I honestly think it would be a miracle if doesn't end up in the red. Critically, I hope the critics will understand the deep message at the core of the movie, because it's not always an easy film to follow and the most pleasant film for that matter, it can get quite depressing. I really hope it is well received, because I think it's a tragic tale of suffering and exploitation, but it can be hard to sit through it. It's dark and tragic, but I like it and I hope you do too.
PD: How are things coming along with the plans for the MBWA branch of the DC Comics Universe?
MB: I previously stated that most of our future projects are still the ice, as we are not satisfied with both the critical reception and the box office results of our comic books films. Captain Atom underperformed and wasn't well received, I think both Metamorpho and Rocket Red underperformed as well and one can say that Crimson Fox was always doomed to fail. We haven't been able to generate the same amount of excitement with our films than the rest of the DCU, but it's understandable, given that most of our characters are not well known, but that's also disappointing. I'd obviously love to keep writing stories with these characters, but I don't want to continue to beat a dead horse. We are currently writing the team-up we have been teasing since Captain Atom. We had plans to continue our story and expanding it beyond this upcoming film, but depending on what happens and the feedback we'll receive, we could either keep on writing DCU movies, or turning this page of our LRF career.
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