Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón revealed his interest in producing a horror film during a master class at the Locarno Film Festival.
The Mexican filmmaker, who received a lifetime achievement award in Locarno, is known for a wide range of works ranging from “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” to “Roma”.
“I love horror films,” said Cuarón, differentiating his taste from that of his friend and colleague Guillermo del Toro. While del Toro tends toward fantasy and metaphysical horror, Cuarón prefers more down-to-earth fare. He “flirts” with the genre, he explained, citing Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Tenant” as influences.
The director’s possible move to horror films comes after a career marked by both commercial success and artistic triumphs. Cuarón spoke about his collaboration with JK Rowling on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The director was initially hesitant to take on the project, but was convinced after reading the book.
“I thought it was great,” he said, noting that Rowling’s work focused on the transition from childhood to adolescence and the social context of certain classes rather than just magic. “I love the universe she (Rowling) created because it’s so deeply rooted in humanity. It was a joy to make this film,” Cuaron said.
The “Harry Potter” experience proved valuable for Cuarón’s future projects. “I knew I would need visual effects for ‘Children of Men,'” he explained. “I said to myself, OK, I don’t know anything about visual effects. This is going to be my kindergarten.” The skills he learned on “Prisoner of Azkaban” later fed into his work on the dystopian thriller “Children of Men” and the space drama “Gravity.”
Cuarón also reflected on the commercial failure of Children of Men, which caused a career setback when it was first released. This setback eventually led to the creation of Gravity, which he conceived as a commercially attractive project to revive his career.
Throughout the master class, Cuarón stressed the importance of reinventing and challenging yourself as a filmmaker. He described his approach to “Roma,” for which he won the Oscar for best director, as a complete departure from his previous methods. “I wrote the script, but the rule was that I would write it and not look back, no corrections,” he said. He then put the script aside and shot the film in continuity, with the actors learning their roles day by day.
While this unconventional process was creatively stimulating, it also took an emotional toll on the director. “I didn’t realize how much of a burden it was to recreate the place of my childhood,” said Cuarón. “It was like going to a sanatorium and getting electroshocks.”
Cuarón’s next project is the series “Disclaimer” for Apple TV+, starring Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. It premieres on October 11.
