There’s no denying the huge fan following that “Batman” and “Superman” films or those from the Marvel Cinematic Universe have. But amidst the craze, the audience is now looking for more grounded films in Hollywood, says action choreographer Tom Struthers.
Struthers, who choreographed action for Christian Bale in “The Dark Night“, for Tom Hardy in “Dunkirk” and for Salman Khan’s “Race 3“, told IANS: “In Hollywood, people are looking for change. They are looking for more grounded films, with more story…and if the action fits in the story, it’s great.”
Race 3 Stunt Coordinator Tom Struthers: Audience Wants More Grounded Films In Hollywood
“There has been a following for the Marvel-type films, but the thing is I think everything gets to a point when there are too many visual effects, too much hype, and so the people want to see more grounded films. If we give people good stories with good action, it doesn’t have to be over-the-top huge blockbuster Marvel or Batman films.”
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What matters, he said, is doing what you do to the best of your ability.
Struthers, who is a part of the industry since over 25 years, has worked closely with Christopher Nolan.
Asked if he would ever direct a film himself, Struthers told IANS over phone from Abu Dhabi: “I love directing the action and bring my experience to it, and experiment. I enjoy that. It’s a pleasure to bring other people’s vision alive.”
As far as the debate over traditional hand-to-hand action scenes vis-a-vis the use of technology for special effects is concerned, he says “thankfully, you cannot recreate a human movement with technology because humans are humans”.
“They do things their way, and differently everytime… There’s no rawness, there’s no feel and there’s no heart to visual effects. But it’s great to have them to enhance something, to help clean up any little bit of debri that gets into a shot,” Struthers said.
He feels pure visual effects especially attract gamers, but he said, “If you have a Christopher Nolan film or a James Cameron film, they all have a heart to it… they have a soul. I think that’s what the audience loves, and is looking for”.
Struthers said the winds of change are blowing across the global entertainment world.
“Audiences around the world are changing. A little over ten years ago, the audience — whether in India or China, didn’t have access to Internet or smartphones and now all across the board people have smartphones and they access all kind of content through YouTube, Netflix, Amazon… That has opened up a whole floodgate of different genres of films, and I think it will show in the choice.
“Studios, directors, producers and actors are asking for different genre films, which is a great thing. As a community of artistes, I think it has allowed us to reach across to different countries and categories… I don’t think there’s a better time in history to be making films now than ever before.”
