Didier Konings

Didier Konings is known for Wonder Woman (2017), Rampage (2018) and Chaos Walking(2021).

Website   / IMDB

Dust Films

SEIZED

Q & A

If the world you created in your film became a reality, is that a world you would want to live in? Is there a Sci-Fi world you’d buy a one-way ticket to?

As fans of classic sci-fi projects from Spielberg, Cronenberg, and the like, we really wanted to pay homage to science fiction that inspires so many. Having grown up with these films, we have spent our entire lives imagining what it would be like to live in those kinds of worlds! Still children at heart, we haven’t stopped imagining. In keeping with this love of classic cinema, we’re really focused on as much practical execution of effects and “magic” as humanly possible. This not only helps us be fully immersed in the scene and the world building, but we believe that it translates to the final film in a way that helps audiences remain immersed as well.

Name a Sci-Fi character you relate to on a spiritual level? Who is your Sci-Fi spirit animal/spirit alien?

Spirit Character: Ripley. She is a powerful character with a great arc, and genuine motivations / reactions to overwhelming and horrifying circumstances. Spirit Animal: The dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. The creation of these creatures from a production standpoint pulled from what we thought we knew at the time. And just like the park itself, it turned out that our attempt to recreate The Dinosaur just created man-eating monsters. And we think this is something we can all relate to.

Friend or Foe: humanoid robots with advanced artificial intelligence? What if robots start making their own Sci-Fi films? Will you support them in their endeavors?

You mean the streaming-services content algorithm? We’re already there! All jokes aside, the industry has moved further and further away from “risky” prospects, and the use of metrics to decide on projects to fund, only creates a self-perpetuating content refraction chamber. As Isaac Asimov illustrated, by the time we realize we’ve been relying on these automated systems to create a plan for us to follow, it will be too late!

In 1996, Bugs Bunny recruited Michael Jordan and Bill Murray to form the greatest basketball squad of all-time, the Tune Squad; you’re Bugs, who’s on your Sci-Fi Tune Squad?

Wickes van der Merwe and Charlize Theron. We have to beat an invading army of body-snatcher-type robotic replicas composed entirely of Liam Neesons and Michelle Pfeiffers (thousands of them). And we must beat them at their favorite Earth game: Risk™ Every continent they take over, actual Liam Neesons and Michelle Pfeiffers also take over those actual continents on Earth in real time. And time is running out!

You’ve gotta go through some bad ideas to get to the good ones. Tell us one of your bad ideas. How do you get past the bad ones to find your spark?

See the answer to the previous question! In all seriousness though, we have a “Bad Ideas Jar” here at the Haus. How do we decide which ideas go in the jar? All ideas go in there! The concept behind the jar is that there are no ideas so bad or silly that they aren’t worth bringing up or writing down. We can sort through the good, the bad, and the goofy at any time. The only problem in brainstorming is “No Ideas”

Do you consider yourself part of a sci-fi community? Or when your brain is in the future and your body’s in the present, is that isolating?

Yes.

Do you consider yourself more of an analog or digital person? What kind of balance do you strike between the two? Is there a disconnect between the technology you make films about and the technology that you make films with?

We’re all about practical. Anything the light touches can be filmed and will remain timeless. That being said, we fully embrace digital cameras, digital post-processes, visual effects, etc. We’re not “purists” by any means, but we will always try to get the effect fully practical before turning to digital effects built in post. We always say, “A film is built in preproduction, shoot days are execution of the vision, and post is polish.” or as many of our post-production friends say “Fix it in pre!”

When you’re creating the props and sets that make a new world, where do you look for inspiration? How do you create objects that are relatable but unfamiliar?

The unfamiliar and bizarre can be found anywhere, and made out of anything! In Seized, the inspiration for the story, tone, and mood comes from Didier’s personal experience with his home being robbed. The monster, inability of doors/locks to function on otherworldly beings, and overpowering nature of the creature comes from Clifton’s frequent night terrors. We didn’t need to make a movie about a night terror demon that robs a house in order to weave these elements into a visual story, we just needed to be open to allowing our experiences to flow freely into the story and execution. The same is true of props and set pieces! You can take the everyday and generally mundane and inject a little bit of your own life’s magic or abstract vision into it. For example, our otherworldly rock is made of a shattered plastic party plate and sliced-up strips of an interlocking exercise mat held together with good old hot glue.

Lightning round: Star Wars or Star Trek? Philip K. Dick or William S. Burroughs? Practical or CGI? Dystopia or Utopia? Post Apocalypse or Pre Apocalypse?

Our first divided answer! - Didier: Star Wars - Clifton: Star Trek We’re on the same page for the rest: - Phillip K. Dick - Practical-Leaning Blend - Dystopia all the way (with the exception of Dinotopia) - Post Apocalypse