David Ayer is well known for the portrayal of war in all its guts and glory. He depicts it as an art unlike any other director. With his latest movie Fury, he offers the world an insight into the minds of soldiers fighting for a long time
There is a lot of detail in the work that you do, from an extra layer of grit and dirt to that extra gash in torn clothes. What prompts you to go that extra stepIJ
It’s all in the little things. Even when somebody in the audience doesn’t understand what they’re seeing, when it’s right it all snaps together and matches the pictures that we’ve all seen in newsreels and on TV. That’s what I’m after.
There have been several films that have been made on World War II, which depicts it in different stages or incorporate that element in different ways. How is Fury different from the restIJ
The war’s almost over and this dying elephant — the Nazi empire — is on its last legs. It’s a different world from your usual war movie, where we celebrate victorious campaigns like the invasion of the European continent, D-Day or the Battle of the Bulge — famous battles that American troops have been a part of. One of the forgotten time periods is this last gasp of the Nazi empire, with an American army that has been fighting for years and is on its last reserves of manpower. The men are exhausted. In World War II, you fought until you either won or died or were grievously injured and got sent home. The fanatical regime is collapsing, it’s a confusing environment where anyone can be the enemy — it’s incredibly taxing on the fighting man’s soul.
Though the movie has Brad Pitt in the lead, it is not told from his perspective, but from the perspective of logan lerman, who goes to the front lines. What is the relation between him and Pitt’s characterIJ
Norman is young and fresh and innocent, and that makes him endearing, but it’s also the problem he must overcome. Wardaddy must break him of his innocence. In a lot of ways, Norman is the son that Wardaddy never had. He mentors Norman, parents him and guides him to become an effective soldier.
You are known to bring out complex emotions in your characters. How did you envisage a character as complex as Pitt’sIJ
Wardaddy is representative of the backbone of the army — sergeants and NCOs hold the army together. He’s a no-nonsense, practical and pragmatic — all he cares about is getting the mission done. Wardaddy is also a man with a hidden past. He’s atoning for his history, through this incredible act of penance of fighting in this war and liberating Europe. He has his own moral code but it’s not your civilian moral code, it’s very reflective of the time. He’s very stoic but with life, humour and love for his men and a true hatred for the enemy.
The uniforms of the soldiers and everything looks almost like the ones used in the war at the time. What kind of research went into preparing thoseIJ
We studied a lot of photographs and we were fortunate to have some good people to advise us on what should be correct. There’s an amazing amount of detail in these uniforms because whereas the US military basically wore work wear to fight in, the German military wore men’s tailored uniforms that were built on traditional European tailoring techniques, a lot of them were handmade. Interestingly enough, the Germans — especially the officers — typically fought in what we would call dress uniforms, with full medals.
Sabotage, End of Watch and now Fury are all action packed. What do you feel is the difference between fighting in an urban environment and warIJ
Well you can definitely fight in the city in a war but it’s the boundaries. So for police they have their restrictions and they are about preserving life and order and war is very chaotic. It’s chaos and anarchy in a way. There were no cell phones back then, so the rules were different but it’s still the same thing — people experiencing violence, dishing out violence, receiving violence and the bonds and the brotherhoods. So it’s still on the lines of Sabotage or End of Watch that I have done.
Tell us of your experience of working with Brad PittIJ
Brad’s an absolute pleasure to work with. He’s a great guy. The biggest challenge is when people know what a World War II movie is, so when you step out of the programme, you really have to reinvent the wheel. It is similar to what I did on this.
While working on Fury, there were reports of Shia’s meltdown in public. As his director, what would you have to say about itIJ
Shia has got to speak for himself. I wouldn’t like to give away the magic trick but I’m not the least bit worried about him. I think it’s somebody who is fighting the hangover of being a troubled child actor and wants to face the world on their own terms and reinvent their self on their own terms and it’s an insanely courageous move because he is breaking all the rules. And he is strong enough to get away with it in the end.
You are from a military background. Tell us something about your brush with the armed forces.
The biggest choice was joining the military because that got me out of the hood. I joined the service, got out of the streets even though I was a high school dropout. I self taught myself academically and that gave me sort of the steel and fortitude I needed to face Hollywood.