Film Courage: Theoretically do you think you could be making a living as a filmmaker if
Hollywood didn't quote "come knocking?" Sorry for the cliche. David F. Sandberg (a.k.a. Ponysmasher on Youtube) back in
Sweden yeah maybe but I will probably have to make different kinds of movies
you know that would be more Scandinavian. I guess that might not necessarily be a bad thing.
But yeah and I mean with it's an interesting time we live them with
YouTube and everything like that because some people can make a living out of
just doing stuff for YouTube so I'm sure there would be a way without Hollywood
but yeah you know and you said you were hired to do corporate videos and
corporate versions of animated yeah things yeah which wasn't very fun but it
was you know you better than normal job still and I think if I if I had someone
else to sort of negotiate myself it would have been more sustainable but
yeah like I've always had that drive so if if nothing else yeah I would have
just kept making movies with no money you know look then I had this idea of
like for a feature film that starred just her with a little bit of me and
added that we could sort of shoot ourselves and I think that's what we
would have done and even even you know when we were making the deal for for
lights out since I was you know an unproven director they were like they
wanted this little clause in there that if we can't just can't get the movie
made with you attached it's that's the director we want to be able to make it
with a different director but that will make you a producer and you'll get a
producer's fee and to me and that producers fee was like a few hundred
grand or something so to me that was like well okay so I either get to
direct a Hollywood movie or I get enough money for lot than me to be able to make
our own movie so it was kind of a win-win situation of course I was
hoping for the directing job but it was like either way we're making a movie you
know sounds like a good deal I mean I know it wouldn't be probably ideal to be
removed luckily they kept you yeah do you do you
think it's almost a blessing that you had jobs where you weren't suited you
know some people are introverts and you know they have what do they call the
Myers-Briggs personality test and so you can know are you a people person are you
good yeah is it almost a blessing that you shied away from those jobs for lack
of a better word because then it forced you to have you know because it's it's
I've had to learn those things anyway because being a director you have to
communicate with people you have to be a part of a group I know because it is a
collaborative art form or experience or whatever you might call it so I've had
to learn it anyway and and it's it's been hard because it's especially when
you're used to rather than having to explain what it is you have in your head
you just start making it start shooting it so coming here that that was the big
adjustment of like how do I explain this and sometimes when you're explaining
things certain things in your head are so obvious that you don't even mention
them and then when you see the result it's like well where's that thing and
that thing is that well you didn't mention that well it's obvious you know
so you have to learn a lot of those things and I have become more
extroverted as well like just because I've had to to be able to do this it was
actually kind of funny for pushes am the publicity tour we got went to Sweden and
I was on this Swedish big more Swedish Morning Show doing an interview and
afterwards they were like oh you're so easy to interview you're so American you
know like you just keep talking well you know Swedish actors and directors
they're just like yep it's fun you know so I have changed a lot as a person just
because I've had to but it's it's been under great circumstances because it's
been making movies you know I I don't think if I've been working in a video
store still I don't know how much I would have
changed might have been even the other way that I've didn't become even more
withdrawn but yeah it is something that I think you have to learn just because
you have so many I mean being a director is it's all about communicating you know
when you start out and you're making a little no budget shorts it's about
learning cameras it's about how to write a screenplay it's or about how to light
how to edit how to make V effects all these things but once you get here to
Hollywood make a movie all it is is telling people what you
want that's the whole job like you don't have to pick up a camera you don't have
to sit at the Avid you just tell people what it is you see in your head
what it feels like what it sounds like what it's how it looks so that that was
like you know that was something that I didn't quite expect I guess even though
I should have but you know yeah it's helped me as a person in many ways you
know it's interesting I it always bothers me when I hear people criticize
an actor or whomever a musician like oh yeah they they went in the back and they
were in the green room or they didn't want to hang out with everybody and it's
before us said or being on performance because maybe that's part of what they
need to do ya to get ready for their part on stage or in front of the camera
there's not everybody is hardwired to be yeah how you doing and this and that and
then oh okay you need me to do my lines it's too exhausting yeah and and I'm
very much that way where I need my sort of alone time or recharging time and
sometimes it is you know a bit much like when we wrapped Shazam you know the line
producer you know made this little speech in front of everyone instead it's
like hey David like do you want to do it and that's like no like I can't it was
you know it was not the time it was not the the moment for me so instead I wrote
this letter to the whole cast and crew and then the sent that out and which
people came up and said they were much appreciated everything I wrote and
everything but but yeah I was one of those moments were like
I can't do that now I have to do it my way you know so so it still happens or
where I'm a bit introverted
you