Shawn Levy, whose limited series “All The Light We Cannot See” premieres on Netflix on 2 November, was supposed to have a busy year between filming “Deadpool 3” and season 5 of “Stranger Things,” which he executive produces and directs.
With both productions on hold due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes, Levy has instead been busy promoting All the Light We Cannot See, an adaptation of Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
The series, which he describes as “more relevant than ever”, stars Aria Mia Loberti as Marie-Laure, a courageous blind teenager living in Nazi-occupied France. After meeting Levy on the French set of “All the Light We Cannot See” in Saint-Malo last year, I had the opportunity to speak with him in recent weeks for a feature that appeared in the 18 October issue of Variety.
We discussed his mysterious “Star Wars” film, the impact of the double strikes on the fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” – and his concerns about the current rise of hate speech and anti-Semitism around the world.
I can’t speak to how important Stranger Things is to Netflix in the strike talks, and I’m not inclined to speak on their behalf. What I can say with confidence is that I think every actor, director, producer, writer and crew member wants to go back to work. I think ‘Stranger Things’ is a real flagship franchise for the Netflix brand, and everyone there is also hungry to make the next season. But none of that can happen without a fair and equitable deal. I’ll say a little prayer that I’ll be back at work as soon as this thing is on the air.
We’ve already seen the cast of our show grow up in the public eye, and between the ages of 12 and 22, every human being changes profoundly. The passage of time definitely does not help. Having said that, our hair and make-up and wardrobe departments are quite extraordinary, with costumes, wigs and make-up. The ’80s are also our friends when it comes to getting these young adult actors back into their iconic Hawkins characters. So we’re going to use all the tools at our disposal. And I know our cast is as anxious to get back to work as the rest of us.
When Kathy Kennedy brought me on board to do a Star Wars film, her central mandate to me was, “I want a Shawn Levy film. I want a story and a tone that reflects you and your taste and what you bring to your films – with a Star Wars story. So I felt very empowered. We are in the early stages, unfortunately, because the development process was abruptly stopped [because of the WGA strike], but I feel very empowered to trust my instincts in the development of this story and this film.
The experience I’m having right now with Marvel on Deadpool is showing me firsthand that it’s really possible to feel empowered and personal about making a film within a universe that’s bigger than any one film. My Deadpool movie is turning out to be exactly what Ryan [Reynolds] and I hoped it would be when we started. So I’m going into the development of my “Star Wars” movie with a similar optimism and trust that my instincts will lead the way.
Your words, not mine! As you know, Adam is a mate of mine and I’ve always been a big fan of Kylo Ren. But no comment.
“All the Light We Cannot See” has echoes and reverberations that are so vivid even now. And that history has a heartbreaking way of repeating itself. Sometimes the world can feel so dark, as it does again now, that the book and the show, in its theme and its very title, is about the struggle and the need to hold on to the belief that there is a light we cannot see. What’s been painful for me is just going through the pain of the horror of the attack and going through the waves of pain – seeing the unleashing of so much global anti-Semitism.
In the face of so much anti-Semitism, it is imperative that Jews, and frankly non-Jews, stand up. When the world is silent in the face of anti-Semitism, we know what happens. This is not the first time we have had to deal with it, so we should know better by now.
And we should stand together in the face of hatred, Jews and non-Jews alike.
