'Transcendence' finds Johnny Depp delving into the world of sentient machines
The film, which co-stars Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany, is directed by longtime Christopher Nolan cinematographer Wally Pfister.
The film, which co-stars Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany, is directed by longtime Christopher Nolan cinematographer Wally Pfister.
The film 鈥淭ranscendence鈥� is directed by 鈥淚nception鈥� helmer Christopher Nolan鈥檚 longtime cinematographer, but Wally Pfister says not to go into the movie expecting 鈥淣olan-lite.鈥�
Pfister鈥檚 debut film centers on Will Caster (Johnny Depp), a man who has been diagnosed with a terminal disease and is researching artificial intelligence. As Will pursues his goal of creating sophisticated machines, his wife and fellow scientist Evelyn (Rebecca Hall of 鈥淚ron Man 3鈥�) and his friend Max (鈥淧riest鈥� actor Paul Bettany) must decide how they feel about his increasingly radical work. Actors Morgan Freeman, Kate Mara of 鈥淗ouse of Cards,鈥� and Cillian Murphy of 鈥淚nception鈥� co-star.聽
Pfister, who won the Best Cinematography Oscar in 2011 for 鈥淚nception,鈥� told the Los Angeles Times that he thinks his storytelling sensibility is different from Nolan.
鈥淢y training comes from Chris, but my emotional content comes from a different era,鈥� he said. 鈥淚'm steeped in a 1970s, pre-鈥楽tar Wars' period, films like 'Soylent Green.' Chris comes from a different place.鈥�
The director says he thought the portrayal in film of machines in the future was getting a little tired.
鈥淚 wanted to get away from the cliched notion of a sentient machine taking over the world,鈥� Pfister said. 鈥淭here are deeper questions of what we're using technology for. To heal or to create a barrier? Is it benevolent or malevolent? I want the audience to understand both sides of it.鈥�
He remembered telling Nolan that he was unsure whether he wanted 鈥淭ranscendence,鈥� with its ambitious script and big budget, to be his first film. 鈥淢y hesitation is that it's just too big for my first adventure,鈥� Pfister says he told Nolan.
But Pfister says the 鈥淒ark Knight Rises鈥� director waved away such concerns.
鈥溾�橲torytelling is the same whether you're dealing with $100 million or $10 million,鈥欌�� Pfister remembers Nolan saying.
鈥淭ranscendence鈥� opens Friday.