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Did you find yourself having to flesh out many of the characters in order to expand their role[s] in the film?
“I would say not really, not for most of the characters. The big different one is Mickey Rourke who turned up to play what is Herod Sayle in the book and Darrius Sayle in the movie. It was obvious once an actor of that weight and importance had come into the movie, he wasn’t going to play a short, Middle Eastern businessman. That didn’t fit. So I turned him into California trailer trash. But that is what I’m saying, his motivation remains the same. He was still schooled in Britain. He was still bullied. He still hates the Prime Minister. So, really, it’s a different name and it’s a different background but still the spirit of it and the heart of it remains exactly the same.”
Obviously there was no way to pad out the character of Alex Rider’s uncle, even with Ewan McGregor on board to play the role.
“Well Ewan McGregor does a little tiny cameo and he’s just great. To have an actor of that stature turn up just to do a couple of minutes before the credits – he doesn’t even make it to the opening credits - it’s kind of pretty shocking. But that signals that this movie is not the same as others, you know? You got one of the biggest stars on the planet and you kill him. We’re not playing by the rules. We’re doing something a little bit different.”
How involved were you in the casting process? Is it true you found Alex Pettyfer for the role of Alex Rider?
“What I say about that is is that the truth is I was the first person to see him. I was watching television. I turned on a show called Tom Brown’s Schooldays and I called my kids down to come watch it. I said, ‘That kid is Alex Rider.’ I rung the producers the next day and said, ‘You’ve got to see this kid,’ which they did. But the truth is that they then saw 650 more kids before they decided that that was the boy they wanted. I can’t pretend that I was wielding power. I wasn’t. They listened to me and we talked, but basically the casting was not in my hands at all.”
Did the physical set and the way the scenes were staged, in particular the jellyfish scene, look the way you imagined?
“Yeah, pretty much so. I think Ricky Eyres, the designer, went beyond what I had visualized in creating a world which isn’t quite what I had in mind in the books, but which is so wonderful that I completely bought into it. One of the great things about working on a movie is, as the author, you are not in control of it. You’re not the sort of power center, but what you do have is you’ve got to have faith in the talents of the people who come to it – come with you. What was so great about Stormbreaker was not that everybody did what I wanted, but where people did what they wanted and made me love it.
The jelly fish scene, for example, it’s quite nightmarish. It’s very edgy. It’s helped by having Missi Pyle who upstages the jelly fish as Nadia Vole. When they blew up that set I was there that day. They actually used [an explosive] to blow out that tank and the force of the water hitting the studio was really something to watch. It picked up a table that must have weighed a ton and carried it right across the room. It really was a sort of a big deal that day. You could hear it a mile away, the bang."
Will you be adapting more books from the series?
“Yes. I’ve already adapted Point Blank. It’s actually hanging around my neck as I speak to you, on a memory stick. I delivered it to the producers - the second draft of it. It’s looking in pretty strong shape. Obviously everything depends on the success of the first movie, but we are certainly looking to continue forward. There are 6 Alex Rider books and soon there will be a 7th. I see no reason… Think about the early days of the Bond movies. If it works, it could go on and on.”
Is Alex Pettyfer signed on for more films?
“That I can’t tell you. You’d have to talk to the producers. Alex Rider the character stays 14, which is a problem. It’s not like Harry Potter where they’re getting a year older each time. Actually Alex Pettyfer would be physically… I don’t know how tall he is now. I haven’t seen him for a few weeks and you know how kids are, an inch every time you them. So you know, you have to Mark Samuelson about that. From my point of view I’d have to say that I hope so because I think he is quite wonderful as Alex Rider.”
