‘Locked Down’ Director Doug Liman on Shooting a Movie About the Pandemic During the Pandemic [Interview]

Posted on Friday, January 15th, 2021 by Jack Giroux

Unearthed

Doug Liman resists paths of convention. The director, who’s always prided himself as a rule-breaker, typically doesn’t follow trends but establishes them. Look at The Bourne Identity, Swingers, and even Mr. & Mrs. Smith – other movies have tried to copy their success. Once again, Liman ventured into uncharted territory with Locked Down.

Liman shot the heist movie, which is more of a relationship drama, during the ongoing lockdown in London. There is a third act heist involving the garish Harrods department store, but it’s not the main focus of the HBO Max release. The first 90 minutes of Locked Down are a suitably, dizzyingly claustrophobic experience that depicts a couple crumbling during the pandemic.

It was only months ago when Liman started shooting the Steven Knight-written movie, which was quickly filmed, edited, and sold to HBO Max. As Liman stated, the surreal experience began when he flew his “little prop plane” over the Atlantic on a two-day journey to London.

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‘The Bourne Identity’ Director Doug Liman Still Doesn’t Know How to Feel About Bond Copying Bourne

Posted on Friday, January 15th, 2021 by Jack Giroux

Doug Liman changed the game with The Bourne Identity. The director’s grounded vision for what many eventually came to see as “America’s James Bond” influenced action movies for years, and arguably still continues to do so. When James Bond was rebooted with Casino Royale and beyond, audiences and critics spotted an unmistakable Bourne influence. More inner conflict, more brutal hand-to-hand combat, and the gadgets and toys flew out the window. 007 became a spy in the modern world, similar to the tone Liman struck with his Robert Ludlum adaptation.

To this day, Liman doesn’t know how to feel about it.

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