Film Courage: If we were going to do a mini "making of documentary” from LIGHTS OUT
(the short film version) all until now, what kind of emotional highs and lows would you
put in that movie?
David F. Sandberg (a.k.a. PonySmasher on Youtube): Well I mean sort of the lows would be during
LIGHTS OUT I got pretty depressed there for a while.
When it’s just that shock of “Oh, this isn't what I thought it was going to be?”
Or “I didn't think it was going to turn out this way.”
When you see something but I think on everything I've done halfway through I get really depressed.
That's true for the shorts.
Even every short that I've made halfway through I want to quit because I'm like “This is
crap, this is garbage.”
I want to do it and then she [Lotta Losten] convinces me to go through with it and then
you’re very happy later on.
That’s sort of the thing that has happened on every movie.
Halfway through you are like “This is bad.
This is not what I wanted.”
But you have to go through with it and even with LIGHTS OUT movie the producer told me
that when you see your first cut, you’re going to be not very happy (sort of like the
first assembly of it).
He was saying that when Ben Affleck saw the first cut of ARGO, he was like “My career
is over.”
And then he won an Oscar.
Even thought I was told that, the first cut of LIGHTS OUT movie was “Well this is crap.
I’ve ruined my career.
I’ve fudged this up, you know.
Maybe they can cut a cool trailer of it but the movie is terrible.”
You keep working at it, you cut out all of those things that that bother you and you
get the music in there and the DI and then at the end it’s like “This is actually
pretty cool.”
But on LIGHTS OUT for the post-production there I was quite depressed and really thought
it was bad until we had a test screening and I could hear the audience and feel that energy
and I’m like “Okay?”
And then that’s when I was thinking it was pretty good.
That happens to every movie and also after every movie wraps you get depressed.
But now after three movies I know myself very well so I sort of get through it better.
When SHAZAM movie was winding down I was talking to Lotta [Losten] about how I’m going to
get depressed afterwards and it’s going to be pretty hard but I know it’s coming.
Sure enough it does and since you’ve been.
So many times you are able to ride it out better because it’s temporary even though
when you’re depressed it never feels temporary because depression it tells you that everything
will be crap and everything has been crap (even the good things are bad).
So I think that every movie is a rollercoaster with highs and lows with it.
But I think with just comparing the movies with ANNABELLE: CREATION movie has been the
most pleasant one.
After LIGHTS OUT it felt like Okay, I know how movies are made here.
I know the whole process of how it works, there is nothing unexpected.
ANNABELLE: CREATION movie was sort of a bigger budget sort of the same thing where it’s
like “Okay, we have more resources, we have more days.
We can build sets and a studio.”
And it’s like that was the best experience so far even though you still have that depression
and everything.
And with SHAZAM movie that was such a step up with such a 100 million dollar budget so
it was kind of back to LIGHTS OUT all of the sudden like with visual effects and second
units and all of these things I hadn’t done before so it was kind of difficult at times.
And then I get depressed and I have to get through it at times.
But if I make another 100 million dollar movie maybe it will be like with ANNABELLE: CREATION
where okay now I know how this process works and I know what to look out for an all of
these things.
Film Courage: Do you think that is something that creators should be aware of that no matter
how proud they feel of something that they’ve made or a studio film that they will get depressed
because so much time and energy has gone into it and it’s all over?
David: Oh, every time!
It happens to my brother as well who makes videos games.
He spends seven years making a video game and then it’s done.
It’s that thing of…I don’t know if we think that more is going to change?
Like you work hard like on SHAZAM or whatever movie and you come out of it and you almost
think like the world is going to be different now or you are going to be different.
And then….Oh?
It’s back to the same kind of?
It’s sort of a break in routine especially when you have…like on a movie like this
you have a routine, you have a purpose and like everyday you come in and you see the
same people.
You eat lunch together and talk, you get to know each other.
It’s like getting fired or someone dying or something, it’s like “Oh, we are sort
of back to this.”
Things where you don’t change as much as you expect almost because you are building
to this big thing and then it comes out and even if it makes money and it’s great and
people love it but it’s still that feeling of “Alright…what now?”
Or you are kind of back to square one in some ways which is weird but it’s part of life
I guess?
I guess you just have to get to know yourself better and sort of like yourself and even
though you did this big thing you are still the same person.
No big movie or big project is really going to change that.
That’s just sort of things around that.
Film Courage: Or you can just start a new project and go through it all over again?
David: Yes, that’s the thing.
I mean right now I’m like I have to get started on something new.