Opening in theaters on December 25th is ‘Nosferatu’, which is a remake of the classic 1922 German film, which itself was loosely based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel ‘Dracula’.
The new film written and directed by Robert Eggers (“The Lighthouse” and “The Northman”) and starring Bill Skarsgård (“John Wick: Chapter 4”), Nicholas Hoult (“The Order”), Lily-Rose Depp (“ The Idol”), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Kraven the Hunter”), Emma Corrin (“Deadpool & Wolverine”), Ralph Ineson (“The Creator”) and Willem Dafoe (“Poor Things”).
‘Nosferatu’ director Robert Eggers.
Moviefone recently had the excitement of speaking with filmmaker Robert Eggers in a lengthy interview about his work on “Nosferatu,” why he wanted to make the film, his love for the original, the look of the new film, the effects and visual practices. , the performances of Bill Skarsgård and Lily-Rose Depp, why she loves running with Willem Dafoe, why she will never make a fashion film, and what she learned while doing this project.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Director Robert Eggers on the set of his “Nosferatu,” a Focus Features release. Credit: Aidan Monaghan / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
Moviefone: To start, can you tell us about your fascination with the source material, why you sought to remake this film, and how you sought to do it from what we’ve noted before in this genre?
Robert Eggers: I mean, I saw F. W. Murnau’s ‘Nosferatu’ that was made in 1922 when I was nine years old, and I watched on a VHS that was made from a degraded 16-millimeter print and there was a way in which the world and the vampire played by Max Schreck just seemed real and unearthed from the past and I was just totally transported to that world. I also loved that it turned Bram Stoker’s novel into a very simple fairy tale. So, I’ve been obsessed with ‘Nosferatu’ most of my life, but it’s not enough to be obsessed and love something there. You must have a reason to do it again. I thought that if I could tell the story through the eyes of the female protagonist, through Lily-Rose Depp’s character, that there would be a greater chance for the film to have more emotional and psychological depth because yes, it is a scary horror movie with a lot of dread and even some jump scares. But more than that, it is a tale of love and obsession and a Gothic romance. The other central thing that is very different from other versions is that over the years, vampires have become less and less and less scary, climaxing with Edward Cullen (‘Twilight’) and in order to make the vampire in the film scary again, I turned to folklore that was written about and by people who believe that vampires were real and were terrified of them and these folk vampires are walking undead, putrid corpses. So, then I asked myself, “What would a dead Transylvanian nobleman actually look like” and thus we created what Bill Skarsgård’s vampire is in this film.
MF: Were you inspired by the original “Nosferatu” or also by the novel “Dracula” and other interpretations of the character?
RE: I mean, it’s everything. It’s very much the history of vampire films in general, but I’m inspired by all kinds of Gothic literature and Edgar Allan Poe, black and white Gothic movies from the 1930s to the 1960s, and art house Polish movies from the ’70s. I mean, the influences are massive. Even Mel Brooks’ ‘Dracula: Dead and Loving’. It was helpful to see what are the mistakes that every Dracula movie has. That parody points them out, so you know not to make those mistakes.
Lily-Rose Depp Ellen Hutter in director Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
MF: Can you tell us about the role of Bill Skarsgård and how, in particular, you were looking for Count Orlok to appear in the film?
RE: I mean, Bill’s incredibly transformative as Count Orlok. There’s no trace of Bill Skarsgård in the movie. He worked with an opera singer to lower his voice an octave. He has this incredibly low, powerful voice that if you’ve heard Bill speak, Bill speaks in a tenor voice like mine, and you would assume that we digitally manipulated it. But no, Bill trained and that is his performance and the prosthetics that took six hours to apply and then his utter transformation for Bill to disappear and the darkness to take over and him to become Count Orlok is quite impressive.
MF: Can you talk about your use of practical effects instead of visual effects in the film?
RE: There are certainly plenty of visual effects in the movie, but I try to do as many things practically as possible and, the things that you might expect to be visual effects, those are the things that I particularly would like to do practically. All of Bill’s makeup is done practically. There are thousands and thousands of rats in the film and the thousands of rats that would be in the foreground of the shot are real. The wolves are real. We built over 60 sets, including a massive backlog set of a northern German town.
MF: Can you also talk about the production design and the specific look of the film?
RE: Yeah, I mean, the truth of those scenarios is pretty shocking. We talked about polish in the film industry and when we are in the middle of the Great Hall of Orlok in the castle, even without lighting, it feels absolutely real. It’s wild.
Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen Hutter in director Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
MF: What is it like painting with Lily-Rose Depp, and can you tell us about her functionality and her character’s descent into madness?
RE: Lily-Rose Depp’s performance is quite jaw-dropping, and so amazing. When I first met with her, I felt that she just understood the character so well and then she did this incredibly powerful audition that left me and the casting director and even the videographer who didn’t have anything invested in it in tears. But Ellen’s character has a sort of knowledge, a sort of insight into the dark realm, another realm, and she’s dealing with the demons that are inside of her and this vampire that’s after her. She does this incredible body work where she sometimes is having seizures and sometimes having, going through these wild acts of possession. She worked tirelessly with a movement coach on doing all these incredible body movements that also help these shocking emotions to arise. But again, the stuff that she does with her body, you would think would be CG manipulated or we would be using wire work, but it’s all her. She gives a tremendous performance.
MF: This is the third film in a row that you have directed with Willem Dafoe. What do you like about running with it? Is it your lucky charm right now?
RE: I mean, Willem Dafoe is a legend. He is one of the greatest actors of all time and I feel very happy, grateful and revered that Willem enjoys running with me and helps me keep coming back. But he obviously has that power, that sense of humor and that fondness that makes all of his roles so compelling. Here, as a crazy vampire-hunting occultist, he’s especially fun.
Willem Dafoe stars as Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz in director Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.
MF: All your films are period pieces. What do you like about making those types of movies and do you ever see yourself making a modern set film?
RE: Well, for me it’s more fun to study and create those globals. I live in a world of cell phones, toilets and dishwashers. I don’t want to make videos about that. It’s boring. Is it cool that I dream about a castle for 10 years and then I can place myself inside the castle of my imagination? It’s so much cooler than filming a scene in a men’s room with someone on their cell phone.
MF: Finally, this is a movie you’ve wanted to make for a while, how does it feel now that you’ve accomplished that and what have you learned from this experience?
RE: I am proud of what I and all my colleagues have been able to achieve. I have worked with the same artistic branch heads for years and we have become new extensions of each other, challenging each other and developing together. After For so long, it’s not just my vision that we’ve articulated, but a collective vision and that’s wonderful. But you also feel a little vulnerable because when it comes to something that is so vital to you, it’s a strange feeling. But I can’t wait for the public to come to the cinemas and be transported to this world and enjoy “Nosferatu”.
Nosferatu”Succumb to darkness. “68R2 h thirteen minDecember 25, 2024Schedules and tickets
Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU is a gothic story of obsession between a tormented young woman and the terrifying vampire in love with her, provoking in her an indescribable horror. . . Read the plot
Set in 1838 Germany, Nosferatu follows the obsession between a haunted woman, Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rise Depp), and the ancient Transylvanian vampire stalking her, Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), leading to unspeakable horror. .
“Nosferatu” via Robert Eggers, a Focus Features release. Photo: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2024 Focus Features LLC.