The Controlled Chaos of Louis Leterrier Movies
- Nuwan Perera
- Mar 11, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 3, 2023
Louis Leterrier, the director of films like The Incredible Hulk (2008), Now You See Me (2013), and the upcoming Fast X (2023) likes to describe his filmmaking style as “controlled chaos”. By this, he means that he likes to place his characters right in the thick of the action, which is never separated from emotional story beats while keeping the physics grounded. We sat down with Leterrier to talk about his beginnings in the movie industry, how he handles storytelling, and a few tips for controlling the chaos in action filmmaking.
Louis Leterrier’s Origin Story
Louis Leterrier comes from a filmmaking family, with his father a director, and his mother a costume designer. Movies were always a passionate part of growing up, and the French director has many fond memories of watching them on VHS and Betamax. It may have just been a hobby, but the young Leterrier was quick to pick up a Super 8 camera and started making his own short films at the age of 08.
Leterrier entered a horror film contest when he was just 14 upon realizing the prize was a Super VHS-C camcorder. He won the contest by borrowing a camera from his friend’s father. Still, he reflects that he never expected to follow in his parent’s footsteps and pursue a career in the movie business. He did however possess many of the skills needed to become a filmmaker, by having learned to operate a camera and edit his own short films.
From Drummer to Director
Leterrier would later travel to New York to study filmmaking, but his teenage years were spent playing the drums in a band. He recalls that music really spoke to him at that point in his life, and even admitted that some of his skills as a musician have helped him as a director. Leterrier mentions that as a drummer, he had a good sense of rhythm, and knew how to build up his beats to a crescendo, both abilities useful in action filmmaking.
Playing a variety of genres like jazz, funk, and rock with other musicians also meant that he was good at improvising on the spot. This came in handy when working with a massive cast and crew on big blockbusters. Leterrier draws parallels between reigning in his lead guitarist during a solo and working with an actor delivering a performance.
Clearly, being a musician doesn’t hinder anyone’s chances of being a successful filmmaker, as Leterrier has gone on to direct the first two Transporter films starring Jason Statham, helping kickstart the MCU with Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk, and the fantasy adventure remake of Clash of the Titans.
Storytelling In TV
Leterrier has also dabbled in long-form storytelling formats on television. His first foray into this medium was Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, one of the most visually distinct and imaginatively stunning fantasy shows you’ll ever see. Leterrier unsuccessfully pitched the idea of a sequel to the 1982 cult classic film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz to multiple studios.
With Netflix arriving on the scene, Leterrier realized their streaming format was better suited to tell this tale, considering how people’s viewing habits had changed. The ten-hour runtime of an entire season could be binged in one sitting. This allowed the filmmakers to properly introduce a new audience to the colorful world of Thra, its unique lore, and wacky characters.
Unlike other shows, Leterrier directed the entire season, even picking up the camera himself. He explains this was necessary to ensure the characters brought to life entirely through puppetry came alive onscreen without coming off as fake. He also recalls having a great experience with the voice cast which included Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Simon Pegg, Mark Hamill, Helena Bonham Carter, and what seems like half the Game of Thrones cast.
Changing Scenes and Creative Control
Leterrier likes to encourage his team to be open and bring their own ideas to the table to improve the movie. “It’s my name on the poster, and you make me look better,” says Leterrier, although he prefers to receive notes during pre-production while they’re still months away from shooting.
On set, however, he would only allow minor changes where it made sense. Like if the DP had a better idea to utilize the ambient lighting or they noticed a more suitable backdrop while on location. Leterrier admits that it can be frustrating when he’s forced to accommodate the studio, especially when they’re passing notes at the last minute from people that were absent during earlier pre-production meetings.
Keeping the Cast and Crew Motivated
Leterrier says he likes to treat his cast and crew like they’re family, perhaps proving he’s indeed a fitting choice for the upcoming Fast X. Apart from being respectful and keeping things lighthearted, Leterrier mentions how learning the names of everyone goes a long way to getting things done quickly on set.
He even checks what previous projects his team had worked on, to see if they have any filmmaking friends in common or even better, enemies as he jokingly adds. This allows him to understand their capabilities and bring out their best when needed.
Finding the Right Story Beats
Great care and precision work is needed to make a heist film like 2013’s Now You See Me work without giving away its biggest plot twists. Leterrier explains how he tries to find the moments that speak to him when first reading the script. After noting them down, he continues to build on those scenes to make them work.
Some of these scenes could change later as he brings other collaborators to his team, or different moments begin to resonate better. Leterrier also likes to shoot a little bit more than he needs on set, just to have more pieces to work with during editing.
An Audience-First Director
Leterrier pays attention to reactions from test screenings but doesn’t feel the need to always make changes. Often when viewers are uncomfortable with a scene, Leterrier would trust his instincts and stay the course if he’s confident the payoff later will be worth it. If their discomfort was never intended by him, only then would he try to fix the scene to win them over.
“I’m not a sculptor or painter that’s alone in my studio. I need the audience to live” says Leterrier, explaining that the type of movies he’s always wanted to make is meant to entertain an audience. Even Leterrier’s childhood favorites were from filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Sam Raimi, and John Landis who mainly did movies for mainstream audiences.
When Fast X comes out in May of this year, we’ll know if Louis Leterrier has managed to control the chaos yet again, bringing us one step closer to the finale of this nitrous-fueled action franchise. Watch our full interview with Louis Leterrier, Controlled Chaos only on Junkyarda Theory.
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