Original subtitles

Hi. Hello. lm Fede ÁIvarez.

I'm the director and one of the writers in this film.

Next to me is Mr. Jay Basu.

-[Basu] H I there. -My co-writer.

[Basu] Hello everyone.

[ÁIvarez] We wrote the movie together,

but also we kind of started from a draft that Steven Knight wrote.

-U m.. . -[Basu] Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] So we took kind of the bones of his adaptation from the boo,

The Girl in the Spider's Web...

and we ind of adapted that scri pt I nto a more cinematic experience

that we thought the movie should be compared with the book, right?

[Basu] Yeah I thi n that's a fair way of putting it.

And we wrote it ind of over-- probably around two months I think.

-[Álvarez] Well , a lot more than that. -[Basu] No, no. I mean the first draft.

Oh my God yes.

Then it was many many drafts after that.

[ÁIvarez] it was a year of work. Yeah.

Yeah , it was pretty quick.

I remember lie we worked together on the story level

what the movie was going to be about

and basic themes and the structure and then ...

and then you ki nd of went away and did the first part--

[Basu] I went away and feverishly wrote the first part.

[ÁIvarez chuckles] Wel I it was done in two seconds.

[Basu] Yeah and I was kind of--

Day and night I was I iving and breathing Lisbeth Salander.

[ÁIvarez] So what I love about this beginning

which we'll find through it

is as a way to see the movie at least for me,

a I ittle bit like a fairy tale.

So it does start with this image which is clearly kind of

"Once upon a time there were two sisters." Um ...

And lie we're gonna see they had an evil father, very powerful.

Almost like a powerful ing.

Right? And one of them ran away and the other one stayed.

And that ind of...

You know it's kind of those unconscious things we did I thi n.

But we never talked about this writing it that it was some sort of a...

-[Basu] Fairy tale? -Fairy tale real ly.

Because it has this structure all added ,

starting , kind of I n a magic place.

Then going after this opening scene, we go back to the city

and then go back to the mundane I ike usual ly a fairy tale will do.

And then eventually, end up bac in this same place,

running in the woods and the snow

-chasi ng the lady dressed in red . -[Basu] That's true, yeah.

And the ending as we'll see has a ind of fairy tale--

I always thought, visually has a fairy tale ind of language.

[ÁIvarez] And it has the moral of the story at the end that you'll find.

I mean , it takes me to the Grimm stories, right?

-To the Grimm Brothers stories, li e-- -[Basu] it is.

Its I ike a dark Scandinavian fairy tale.

I mean , we always new that we wanted this story to come down

to this quite almost mythical tale of two sisters.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

And it's really I ike that idea of two princesses and a ing right?

[Basu] Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] And how...

How much he means to them and how powerful he is.

He can do whatever he wants.

We took care to never really say what he's gonna do there

and never really show it.

And we will leave it to the audience

to obviously imagine the worst possible scenario, but...

And lie how we just hinted at the bag in the bed--

-[Basu] There's the bag . -Yeah.

Which eventually will be the same bag that, for people who have seen the movie--

I'm sure when you watch the movie

with the commentary you've seen the movie already.

Its fine to spoil the whole thi ng.

At the end when Lisbeth is inside the bag

that's the same bag that we just saw there, on the bed.

[Basu] And the same creepy vacuum cleaner.

-[both laugh] -Spoiler alert.

[ÁIvarez] This actor's amazing.

You know he used to have a lot more dialogue remember like--

-[Basu] Yeah . -He had all these big lines.

[Basu] Well he's the sort of Marlon Brando of Sweden.

-He's the Marlon Brando of Sweden . -[Basu] He is an amazing actor.

And we gave him a whole monologue. Mi ael Persbrandt.

[ÁIvarez] And he-- I remember on the day he was li e

"Do you want me to say al I the things?

They're gonna get cut out, but I can say them ." [laughs]

He was so right.

I was like, "I don't thin they'll get cut out.'

[Basu] That's the voice of experience there.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. So here you go.

Also this opening sequence period I ike, 'Once upon a time.. .'

-You know like, storytelling time. -[Basu] Yeah. Mm-hmm.

[ÁIvarez] And this is--

[Basu] And this was always our idea I n the scri pt

to have a title sequence that would kind of...

gives the sense of Lisbeth's story.

[ÁIvarez] And it gives my composer, Roque Bahos

the chance to really show some flair.

-[Basu] Yeah to do his Hitchcock. -Yeah.

[Basu] His Bernard Herrmann strings.

-[Álvarez] It's a fantastic theme. -[Basu] it is.

[ÁIvarez] Really um ...

I ike magical and big , but again really to that fairy tale story again

I think it's telli ng me "This is not the real world.

This is a fantasy land .'

And everything will be a symbol of something like that rebirth of Lisbeth.

I mean , the whole intention of this

was to really tell what happened to that little girl

between that opening scene and next scene and its very abstract,

but after watchi ng it a couple times, you'll see that

she runs away from the house she ends up I iving in some home,

she finds technology there.

Through technology, she's transformed.

-And theres this history of violence. -[Basu] Violence and abuse.

[ÁIvarez] She's reborn I nto this dragon right on her.

You know the struggles of her youth give her the strength

to become the character that we're about to meet in this scene.

This is one of my-- it is my favorite shot I n the movie I thi nk.

You know one of the things that you cannot really plan too much for...

We designed it on the day with Pedro Luque my DP.

[Basu] You found that amazing location right? That apartment.

[ÁIvarez] This is actually on top of a buner in Berlin.

-[Basu] Bunker yeah . -Yeah.

Some guys had this apartment and they would let us in just one day

to be there and shoot it and then never let us in again.

They didn't care how much money we paid them

they would never let us back in . [chuckles]

They really too good care of the place.

Something also very interesting from a script level

I realized about the scene is

we open the movie with a character doing exactly what the hero will have to do.

If you thin about it lie this,

journey of Lisbeth will be one of atonement and redemption

and having to apologize for her sins.

And this guy, which is completely a bad guy in this movie

he's doing it right off the bat. He's saying

-" I'm sorry for the things I said ." -[Basu] That's true.

But its empty. He hasn't earned it yet.

[ÁIvarez] lts empty but he's able to go and say

"Maybe I was... You now I feel a I ittle insecure sometimes.'

Like he's really in touch with his inner feelings.

And doing what the hero is not able to do.

And won't be able to do for the majority of the movie.

I thought it was those things that--

Again we didn't really discuss it writing it but its clearly there.

That's interesting.

We open the movie with the thematic theme of guilt

and the only way to redeem from guilt by just atonement and apologizing and ...

And trying to do right by the person you hurt.

But the person he hurt is lie "Wait, there's no way to undo that.'

And he's offering her a drink on the floor

trying to undo that damage by doing something--

[Basu] He can never undo.

[ÁIvarez] That's exactly what the third act

I n the end of the movie wil I be.

I just thought that was fascinating I ike, watching and analyzing it.

-How-- -[Basu] That's true, yeah ...

I mean its true, very true that we always

wanted , at some level , this fil m to be about guilt and shame

and the inabil ity to face up to it.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , which makes Lisbeth

such a complex character in this one, I think for me.

I mean , it's not-- We didn't lean on the...

just violence of men against her

yet the story is about that in a way

because its what unites the two sisters at the end right?

Their common ground is that they've both been victims...

Of this man this powerful ing right?

Which is represented by the father.

This was...

I think this is the first day I saw Claire on set.

[Basu] This is very early, right?

-This is one of the first days. -[Álvarez] Yeah yeah.

On makeup and full gear and full Lisbeth Salander gear.

Its always great because as a director, that's why you make these films.

When you go into a world that has been explored I n the past before you ...

to meet this character, to just be in that world with them

and get to know them personally.

Its the closest thing you'll ever get

to meet these li e icons from literature or fil m

is when you're there and you do your own version of them.

Way more than if you just, you know bump into Christian Bale on the street

and go, " I met Batman ."

This is not that.

Here its like you're actually with the character I n the scene

you now really close, right behind the camera.

It was really thrilli ng

-to get to see her lie that. -And there was a feeling

that she was gonna be amazing.

That she was gonna inhabit Lisbeth.

-[Álvarez] Yeah . -I remember everyone feel ing it.

A little bit of trivia by the way, on that previous scene.

The security code that Peter Ahlgren's wife gives Lisbeth is

my daughters birthday.

-[Álvarez] I now. I now. -[laughs]

[ÁIvarez] I think we did that

-in more than one script. -5-1 -9-1 -2.

[ÁIvarez] That number is doi ng the rounds.

[Basu] That's a rather macabre ind of ode to my eldest daughter. There you go.

When she's able to watch this movie someday,

she's gonna be I ike, "What the hell Dad?" [laughs]

So all that we just saw was actually Stockholm.

All that, we shot a lot of this movie in Berlin

on stage, in Babelsberg.

But al I the exteriors you see most of them are actually Stockholm.

And aerial photography done ALE 65, I ike, this big format from helicopters

it was one of the things that was beautiful to see on the big screen.

This is her apartment that's Berlin . This is actually in Berlin , as well.

Its actual ly where the techno music was born.

-Like this cl ub with-- -What's it called The Kitty Cat?

-[Álvarez] No this is Tresor, in Berlin . -Tresor, that's right.

[ÁIvarez] But this...

Actually this place she's wal ing in , is where the first...

gigs of techno music in the world , when techno was being born started.

Its like in this place. lts I iterally that place.

The owner was you now-- The late 70s or early 80s

where really, the techno started icking in was where it all started.

[Basu] Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] We thought it was cool to take Lisbeth down there.

[ÁIvarez] We thought it was cool to take Lisbeth down there.

[Basu] These are not there those lifts.

-Those were added . -They loo I ike they're there, for sure.

[Basu] They look lie they're there.

[ÁIvarez] Even people in Stochol m thought that we put them there for the movie.

But, no. They're VFX.

We did build the big version of it.

We'll tal about that when we get to that scene

where Blomkvist finds Lisbeth for the first time.

Yeah , that was Pål Sverre Hagen.

Its I ike this fantastic Scandinavian actor.

And I was so excited to work with hi m

and he had a lot more in the movie.

And then eventually, you now how these things happen.

You start cutting stuff out of the B plot and he got cut out of the movie, almost.

But its ind of a luxury that we have him there

you get to see a gli mpse of him.

-The guy with the hat-- -[Basu] Playing Levin.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , playing Levin , the guy that bought the magazine.

-He had a bit more-- A bigger role.. . -He had a subplot.

...than that and he just ended up on the floor.

[Basu] Yeah we had a sort of subplot

where Levin was kind of trying to push Blomkvist into writing again

-and writing about Lisbeth . -[Álvarez] Yeah yeah.

Again some of those Scandinavian things that we were most struggling with like

how are we gonna present her I ike, being married

and having an affair with him?

Is the American audience gonna be happy with that?

And that's in the movie?

And the audience always being very upset about the fact

that she was cheating on her husband ...

They were I ike very judgmental.

[Basu] But of course, a big part of the books and part of the--

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , of course its in the DNA of the story. It is great.

And it maes you feel I ike

I n Sweden its okay. You can have a lover and a wife.

And people are cool with that.

No problem whatsoever. It's part of the society structure which it's not,

but let's give them the stories that mae you believe it is.

[Basu] And heres Lisbeth with her current girlfriend.

-[Álvarez] Andreja Pejic. -Andreja.

[ÁIvarez] I mean , she's fantastic.

This is her first role really her first movie role.

And she's a model . Her story's fantastic, really.

She was born a man

then modeling women's clothes as a man.

And that was the whole thi ng.

And then eventually she went through a whole transformation.

And it was pretty amazing , and she was so cool to work with

and just fantastic.

Its really mind-blowing.

Someone that had so little experience in film--

How good she is in the film.

Particularly in that next scene, when she is in the bathroom with Lakeith Stanfield.

I felt lie she really owned the scene.

-[Basu] She's also seven feet tall . -Yeah she is.

[Basu] lntimidatingly tall , amazing wonderful person.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

Here agai n , I thin we have many versions of this scene that we cut I think.

There was... I think this is what ended up in the film. It was the longest.

It was all about...

The biggest challenge with the story was

how much are we gonna connect with other movies the other stories?

How much bacstory we need to give?

How much is too much and ...

-and all that was always the challenge. -[Basu] That was...

the big balancing act of this movie.

How much bacstory do we need to put in?

The balance, the kind of tricy balance between making a sequel on the one hand

and starting again on the other hand.

It was always the tricy part of this movie.

[ÁIvarez] I think it works here.

I think we did a short reference to the family to the father.

She said , " I'm glad they're both dead ."

And for people that have seen the Swedish movies

or read the first three books,

they will know that by the second , third book really,

they tell the story of how Lisbeth re-encountered her father.

The father tried to il I her and eventually

they bel ieve that Lisbeth killed him

but it was actually SÄPO that went I n and murdered her father

at the beginning of the third boo, I bel ieve.

And she's been blamed for that crime right? So...

There's a big story.

If you haven't seen those or read those books,

I encourage you to go there and discover more of that.

Of what has just been referenced there.

The fact that she's glad they're both dead

because she believes Camilla's dead

and she definitely knows for a fact that the father is dead.

Really that was technically ind of--

We're heading to the end of first act I n a way.

We can establish what's gonna get her new story goi ng right?

[Basu] Yeah this is where Lisbeth's mission kind of begins.

[ÁIvarez] This is a stage? No this is not a stage.

We actually built this screen room on actually a gallery

art gallery I n Berlin and , uh ...

I remember we changed this location many times.

Remember the original was gonna be a peep show?

[Basu] That's right, yes.

[ÁIvarez] And then we thought "It's ind of wrong

that the kid's gonna be at the peep show."

[Basu] Yeah we couldn't find a way to mae the peep show work.

But I I ike this because it uses the...

You used the iconography of flames and fire

and that's a big part, of course of--

You know for the people who know the books.

-That's a big part of Lisbeths story. -[Álvarez] Yeah.

We shot that. It is actual ly it's a tire.

Its a rubber tire I ike shot from underneath.

We actually shot that ourselves with fire. Just I ike, set on fire.

-In some sound stage. -[Basu] Very cool.

Heres Holtser.

[ÁIvarez] That again , this kind of I ntrigue of old kind of spy movies.

I think both of us, we got excited about that idea of the spy outside.

That is, who knows how long they've been following her?

Of him? You don't now though that at this point who have they been following.

But they know she's gonna go after the thing.

And we know as an audience, we get ahead of the character now,

and I always love that, when the audience has more information than the character.

And you're just begging the character not to do what they're about to do

because you now that they all mean trouble.

And in a very subtle way. You just know that some people were parked out there.

[Basu] Build suspense.

-It's H itchcocs bomb under the table. -[Álvarez] Exactly.

Wel I this again. There's something.. . I'm happy the way we did this scene.

Here she's actively hacking the NSA. And most people don't notice that.

That green screen on the left if you look at it,

that's her hacing it because that's actually how you would do it.

Most movies would have her typing away I ike a maniac on the--

Trying to fight someone trying to fight her off. And that's not reality.

Reality is that there's a software that will do it.

There's a pentesting or there's different inds of software

that would just, lie eep trying to get in.

And that's what shes doing.

So then as she's doing that

she's finding out what is the thing that she's actually gonna steal

by just investigating Balder's old lectures.

That's what you're seeing there.

Here of course suddenly, out of the blue, we just cut to the NSA.

And we're gonna meet one of, obviously, everyone's favorite character Ed Needham.

-[Basu] Ed Needham Lakeith Stanfield . -Yeah he's just brilliant.

-[Basu] And he's comfortable-- -Different from everything he's played.

He's so good.

[Basu] We were always debating , "Can we pull off a character

who kind of presents as a nerdy guy but then wil I end the movie

spoiler alert firing a giant gun?"

And I thin Lakeith just pulls it off so well.

[ÁIvarez] You really buy everything he--

He's really good at doing anything he does in this movie.

So you don't question for a second that he's actually good at that.

[Basu] He's wearing a corduroy jacket

-but he's also a crack shot. -But it's actually based on real ity.

A lot of this world is changing when it comes to the NSA and CIA and--

[Basu] Yeah we were very interested

I n the ways in which analysts have become field operatives.

Talk about your amazing one-er. Loo at this.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah this.. . I'm really proud of this shot as well.

Its I ike... lts actually split in four.

I think it's four or five shots.

Originally it wasn't gonna cut here. We ended up cutting to her.

J ust-- I thin after some tests,

where we thought people might not now that it's her doing it.

So we went back to her and cut the shot there.

But it used to be the full-on shot. What's interesting about it was that,

its the shot that starts on a crane, then moves to Steadicam ,

then goes back to the crane

because Steadicam cannot fly as high as it does when we present the place.

And then end up hand-held here.

Its I ike, when you watch it the first time

you're lie "How does the camera manage to change all those--

From format to format?'

Of course there are hidden cuts here and there.

I'm really proud of how we tell the story of the hack in that one beautiful shot.

Here you find out obviously that Firefall has been moved.

People don't now what Firefall is at this poi nt

but just based on this guy's reaction you just know

that it's definitely not nothing that he will happily let go.

Her doing her hacker thing.

Which is ind of sil ly, but at the same time...

[Basu] it always gets a laugh.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , it gets a laugh out of the audience.

I think it's good that it maes it more personal.

Like right away he's not just fighting some unknown hackers.

He's fighting someone that is telling him

-'You cannot get me you won't get me." -[Basu] Yeah someone with a personal ity.

[ÁIvarez] She's definitely you now ind of challenging him in a way.

[Basu] Yeah.

-The sense of rivalry almost. -[Álvarez] Yeah. There you go.

He just nows theres four miles radius.

Like he doesn't know where she is.

And four miles in something lie Stocholm is basically the whole city.

So it's I ike, a huge place to try to find her.

But he's gonna go on his own.

There was a lot more story also why he goes on his own.

There was just only so much we could get I nto a two-hour cut of this movie.

But there was a lot more. Right? We had a lot more ideas...

[Basu] Yeah I mean there was always--

I mean , exposition is always one of the big challenges

I n a fil m lie this.

We always-- In the end erred on the side of you know

the least we can say the better, you now.

The more streamlined we can mae it-- I love what Claire does in this scene

by the way. I love her reactions...

and her kind of theres a ind of cheekiness to her

and a mischievousness, I think in her face

before she opens Firefall that I always loved.

[ÁIvarez] She knows that she shouldn't be doi ng this.

[Basu] She nows she shouldn't be doing it.

[ÁIvarez] She's tempted and she really wants to know what this thing does.

And in the end , lie Balder said it on the video he's I ike,

"Youl I have God's power at your hand with this program ."

[Basu] And Claire always can express so much.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

[Basu] In her eyes.

[ÁIvarez] There's a connection too, from the script point of view.

As soon as you get into the mystery of the computer

we just refresh the audience's memory about the sister and ...

She finds a photo that her girlfriend left there on the floor.

She rips it off and then ...

Yeah , that moment. I love that image, too. Their both faces make one.

And that is another half of her.

And I thin the audience sees that

and they now she'll have to deal with that. Then cut to the truck.

I think we tried to really plan every--

And here to tell the audience--

And I thin the audience knows that she'll be bac, right?

-[Basu] The sister will be back. -The sister will be back.

And it's snowing outside. And I don't know how much people realize this,

when they cut to this like

that it's later that day or that night or it's actually a nightmare.

I felt great making this, this scene.

I really felt I ike I was bac in the.. . Doing horror.

-[Basu] Yeah . -It felt really good.

It was lie "Okay good , on this scene I can just go full-on horror language

and light and that pace

and those push those slow moves that Don't Breathe and Evil Dead

that were just the whole movie were made out of this language.

[Basu] I think the snow is a fairy tale.

-It brings bac the fairy tale.. . -[Álvarez] Absolutely.

...ind of aspect that we'll have at the end too.

[ÁIvarez] And this is a bag again.

That shirt-- Actually I'm not gonna say where it's from.

I'll let people try and find out.

But its from a classic movie from the 80s.

[Basu] Is it? I don't even know.

You'll have to tell me later.

[ÁIvarez] I've been waiting for people to real ize

and find out what it is. No one has yet.

-[Basu] Oh , really? -Yeah.

Its from a classic character from a classic movie from the '80s

that we had to clear and there was all this mess.

There we go. Here comes the action in the movie. Boom.

[Basu] Claes Bang.

[ÁIvarez] CIaes Bang a great actor.

Also he was in The Square movie.

I think few people realize that its the same guy because he loos--

[Basu] Completely different. Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] This scene is also like-- it has a lot of things that I love as a director.

Like the crudeness the way we did it where everything is real.

The muzzle flashes are real.

Like no one does that anymore these days.

Like really actual muzzle flashes that are so loud

and it slows you down today.

And real squibs on the wall that blow up the wall

and they have to reset the wall.

You know those holes in the wall?

We actually blow them up instead of doing

-CG shots I ike everybody does. -[Basu] Amazing.

And the fire

I remember you insisted on shooti ng real fire which is--

Which you can really feel in the fil m.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , we're coming up here for the big explosion in the film.

And again you'll see getting to have an explosion lie...

lts shot also in a very, ind of unique way.

Its just the fact that the camera move during the explosion-- because usually

when you do something like that there can be no one on set

so you cannot operate the cameras and complex equipment cannot be there.

So we devised this system with pulleys and ropes to get this effect.

Just to get the camera to travel left to right, there and there.

That's why that maes that shot of her jumping in the bathtub so special.

I think it's because the camera is actually traveling

with a big explosion I n the bac, which they rarely do.

-See and that's real fire. -[Basu] Real flames.

[ÁIvarez] You know if she came out

she would get burned it was so hot out there.

It was this like, massive fire.

That's a real fire that we're blowing right above her head.

It was insane. That's Stockhol m as well.

[Basu] And the practical effects crew...

I'm gonna blan on his name who ran the crew

but also did BIade Runner and so on.

-[Álvarez] Yeah they were amazing . -They were amazing.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

We really tried to do everythi ng practical here.

There were very, very few CG elements.

Here on the script level here another one of those things...

I think we love to do.

The audience sometimes gets it or doesn't, but I think it's good that it's a mystery.

Like you now you cut to Balder realizing she's not showing up.

He makes a phone call to someone we don't know who that is.

And I always prefer the audience to just lean forward and go li e

"Okay what was that? What was that cal I? Who did he cal I?"

And we'll find out obviously, after this scene is done

who Balder called and why did he say "I thin I made a terri ble mistae.'

All real , lie real fire around ,

bad smoke to inhale.

All I ike situations that...

That I think it maes me happy on set when things are messy that way.

-[Basu] Helps with Claire's performance. -Definitely.

I mean , she didn't want to stay there an extra minute.

She's really trying to get out of there.

[beeping]

[coughs]

-[Basu] There's the lizard . -Oh , yeah the I izard.

That shows you that she has a good heart, saving that little lizard.

Its actual ly a bearded dragon , right? That's what we put in the script.

[Basu] it is a bearded dragon , yes. It is a dragon.

[ÁIvarez] I don't know if technically the one we got was a bearded dragon.

But it might have been. I think it was.

[Basu] it was on the page.

-Let's put it that way. -[Álvarez] it was on the page yeah.

[Basu] And heres the ice.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , every shot you see here of the ice--

This is CG ice which is pretty--

[Basu] Yeah the ice is not there which is...

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

[Basu].. .quite incredible.

[ÁIvarez] All this is Stockholm.

This is actually our last...

This is our last week of shooting , actually.

Stockholm , Sweden. We...

I think Claire doing a lot of this.

Not her riding the bike, but we had this rig.

That's Claire right there.

She's moving this rig lie at a very fast speed among the cars.

She's being towed by this other car.

And this rig called a Bikers rig

which can have an actor on the bie doing the movements

and the banking , left and right

but its really operated from a car.

[Basu] And do you wanna talk about how you shot that?

Because the stunt rider actually went into the water.

That's the only way to do it. We needed to get her to jump off the pier

and we decided "Let's just get the actor to jump in the water." And that's it.

The stunt double did it twice.

It was one of those situations where

if she had stayed an extra minute I n the water she would die. Literally.

-The things the stunt people do.. . -[Basu] The stunt team was--

[ÁIvarez].. .just for the audience is amazing.

-[Basu] lntrepid. They're amazing . -Yeah.

Years from now my memory is gonna tell me that--

I cant bel ieve that it wasn't actually frozen ,

because I think it loos so good.

-Like theres no way-- -[Basu] it does. I don't thin anyone...

-[Álvarez] Yeah . -.. .would imagine that...

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , that its not actual Iy a frozen lake.

Which is technically impossi ble for such a wide river.

-[Basu] Right. -Looks I ike a lae there.

That's why I think we get away with it,

but we had to stop for the cruise.

But we had to stop for the cruise.

Every other minute we had to stop for a little while

and wait for the big cruise to go through that river.

-[Basu] Really? That's funny. -Yeah.

They're popping the pills.

Another good script detail there that we tried to eep al ive.

-[Basu] That office is also added in post. -Yeah the office on the left.

[Basu] Yeah that sort of desk and so on was a CG element.

[ÁIvarez] Stephen Merchant he's great in this movie

because he always craced me up so much and he's so different here

and so somber and dark and--

-[Basu] Haunted. Haunted eyes. -And haunted. Totally haunted.

-[Basu] But he just maes me laugh . -Yeah.

[Basu] When I thin about Stephen Merchant, he's so great.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , but in this, I thin here he really--

-[Basu] No, he sells the pain-- -He really embodies this kind of...

I can see hi m bei ng happy as a nerd , I ike, really creating that soffware

and now he realizes he'd done something bad.

[Basu] Do you remember when we were casting Balder,

Stephen Merchant just did such a great read

that we couldn't think of anyone else.

-[Álvarez] Yes. -It had to be him. He was just...

[ÁIvarez] He was really good.

-So here.. . -[Basu] Here is Sverrir.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

Sverrir Gudnason

I think does a great job as this young-looing Blomkvist

because he's not actually that young.

I mean , he's the same age that Daniel Craig was

when he played Blomkvist.

He just happens to loo just more youthful I guess.

But this beautiful moment here. Like I remember we were at the office

and I went to the board and I did a I ittle drawing--

-[Basu] You setched out this scene.. . -I sketched out--

[Basu].. .when we were writing the script, working on the script.

[ÁIvarez] Originally it was different.

Originally it was two elevators next to each other, remember?

And she would've stopped next to him.

-[Basu] Oh , was it? -Yeah.

And then when we scouted this location I n the center of Stockhol m

we decided 'Oay we're gonna put the elevators there

and it's gonna be lie they loo at each other across the street.'

That's a stage. We actually built a massive version of that same building.

Every time you see it on the other side of the street its the same building.

We just built one and we put the actors on one side and then crossed

and did the other actor on the same side.

But I even fool myself now when I look at it

that all that wal I all that building its actually indoors.

[Basu] it was very impressive, that stage that you built.

[ÁIvarez] Right. It really fools you.

And again this is...

Another big challenge in the story was

how to tell the audience how these two now each other

and have such a history between them ,

but without making the new audience feel that they missed something.

I think both of them did a great job and in particular, Claire on that loo.

-The way she loos at him . -[Basu] Yeah Claire does so much

-with very little. -[Álvarez] Yeah.

[Basu] She can convey so much.

[ÁIvarez] And shes looking at him from across the street, right?

But its so intimate, the scene.

[Basu] Well we always loved the idea that they were divided by glass.

There's something dividing them still , but theres an inti macy and--

Hopefully that's what we worked through I n their arc, as well. That there...

There's something dividing them that they have to resolve.

[ÁIvarez] You can see there's something she doesn't want to tal about.

-Eventual ly, it's gonna come back. -[Basu] Exactly.

[ÁIvarez] Lakeith arrives to Stocholm.

This is actually Berlin.

That airport out there has been used in a lot of movies.

I think in Avengers the second Avengers.

-Or no its Civil War Avengers. -[Basu] That's right.

The like massive fight among all the Avengers

was right outside that same airport. lnside and right outside that window.

And here, we finally meet Grane.

Is that an American euphemism for "no accountability"?

[ÁIvarez] You know this set also is eventually where

where he's gonna get-- When he's gonna get deported ,

he's gonna be there in the back I n that glass cell that you see there.

I lie those-- To see those details on a second view.

That this is the room he's gonna end up in.

Not this same room but right next door to this room

is where he's gonna be locked eventually by her.

And you can even see the guard that is gonna chase him eventually.

-[Basu] Oh , you can? -Yeah.

The guard is gonna chase Lakeith eventually in the movie

played my dear friend Christian Zagia

who has been my actor in shorts since we were ids.

-He's that guy walking there. -[Basu] I never noticed him.

[ÁIvarez] He goes from left to right, there.

[Basu] Yeah there he is.

[ÁIvarez] He's the one that's gonna give chase.

He's the one that finds the pin bag and eventually,

the one that chases Lakeith I n the airport.

...activities not Iisted in that book,

I'll have you arrested and put on the first plane back to Washington.

[ÁIvarez] An amazing actress.

An amazing actress, as well from Scandinavia.

She was I n Headhunters that great movie.

-[Basu] Synnøve? -Yeah. Synnøve was amazing.

Here of course Lakeith , I ike any good American character

-doesn't care about any authority-- -[Basu] Go straight to the guns.

[laughs] After he's been threatened by the Swedish government

them saying "Just be a tourist"' he goes li e "Yeah sure.'

He has a CIA car waiting for him outside,

everythi ng ready to go into his one-man mission.

You have to take care of this.

Okay.

[ÁIvarez] A few pieces of trivia here I ike that T-shirt from a U ruguayan band.

One of the first bands I loved as a kid in the '80s Zero.

Like a Uruguayan band there.

And even the music you hear when they open the door

its this heavy metal band and it's from Rodo.

Rodo Sayagues my cowriter. It's his band.

-[Basu] Rodo's band . -Enemigo.

It plays there at the beginning.

You can hear a little bit of that heavy metal

come through the doors.

Wel I the wound , right? You want to tal about this a little bit?

[Basu] The wound?

[ÁIvarez] Tracking of the wound in the story.

[Basu] Yes, I mean I thin...

I cant remember I think it was possibly your idea.

But the idea that she would be wounded

and that you know symbolically it was the wounding of the dragon.

It was the dragon's heart that was to be wounded.

And then , over the course of the story that becomes an important symbol

that comes bac several times.

I mean , especially with Blomkvist and the radar tower.

And I love that when she finally breaks out of the bag at the end

which we'll get to you can see that scar still there.

That wound's still there but she's ind of healing.

[ÁIvarez] Someone said , 'lts interesting that...

lts a way to see it that what actually breas the bag

is the staples on her bac."

Because it breaks right there.

-And theres a I ine-- -[Basu] it does, yeah. It snaps over the--

[ÁIvarez] People saw it as the same wound and the same thing that traced her

would eventual ly set her free.

-But I love that concept of.. . -[Basu] Yes.

[ÁIvarez].. .seeing the wound and then she's trying to patch it up right now.

She's trying to do at a character level the wrong way out, the wrong escape

She's trying to do at a character level the wrong way out, the wrong escape

which is just kind of glue it up.

-Just forget about it. -[Basu] Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] And then eventually I n the middle,

when the sister shows up, the wound starts--

-The wound reopens. -[Basu] Reopens yeah.

[ÁIvarez] And she starts real izing theres nothing she can do then.

There's no way to just quickly glue it

that she'll have to go a I ittle bit hard-core.

And she does actually when she's come for the staples.

But eventually she's always trying to just cover it up in a way, right?

Like not really deal with it.

And just trying to fix it in a brute force ind of way which I think is--

[Basu] Yeah she's kind of running.

I think-- I feel like through the whole film

and through her I ife up to this point, she's been running.

She's been running from her past and she's been running from pain

and the hurt that she has to face up to.

And the wound becomes a ind of symbol for that. But...

[ÁIvarez] So here we have literally just jumped over a big scene

that you guys can find on the DVD I n the extras in the deleted scenes,

which is a whole... Granes house.

Originally she needed to find out the address

of where Balder was heading and so

she had to go to the... Grane's house.

But well tal about that when we comment on deleted scenes.

But that's what--

-[Basu] It's a hell of a deleted scene. -Yeah. That's why we just jumped over it.

And we went straight to-- We gave that job to Plague to find out where...

[Basu] We found that when we-- I mean wel I tal about it,

but its just the story flowed much more cleanly...

-[Álvarez] Yeah . -.. .without it.

[ÁIvarez] it gets straight to the heart of the story quicker instead of...

dragging over something that was ind of too much lie a B plot.

Here we establ ish , obviously

the antagonism between those two characters.

I love that swag that Lakeith has shooti ng at the camera

telling her that he'll get her eventually.

And also, at the same time like Lisbeth ,

now she's aware that the guy is in Stochol m

and she wil I do something that will be revealed later.

But she obviously-- She's always two steps ahead

-of everybody else. -[Basu] Yeah.

And we did originally have more conversation

between Needham and Lisbeth.

But we realized that it worked better if Needham really was a ki nd of hunter,

a silent hunter, ind of following after her.

And then they only really meet...

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , because they have...

-[Basu].. .at the end of act two. -They have one scene

-where they're together. -[Basu] They don't talk.

[ÁIvarez] J ust one scene in the movie where they're actually together

I n the same frame.

No actually I'm wrong.

That eventually at Plague's house, they're there for a second.

She wal s by him but they really have no interaction.

Interesting for two characters that end up doing so much together.

[Basu] Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] it always was a big thing I ike, Lisbeth seeing herself in the kid.

I remember I ike, we were writing different versions of this scene.

We always had this beat. Remember, lie

-Originally.. . -[Basu] We did.

[ÁIvarez].. .when she was gonna take down some guys out of a van remember?

[Basu] That's right, yeah.

She was gonna take some guys down and then see him standing in the window.

So we always had this idea, that there was gonna be a silent meeting between them.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. They always had that moment of them looing at each other,

and they ind of wink there

and him knowing that whatever she is up to, it's good.

That shes a good soul and hell recognize that.

[Basu] Like kindred spirits, that theres some connection between them.

Yeah. Here again were about to set up again the fact he has those pills.

-[Basu] The pills. Yeah . -Yeah.

He's popping them off.

-[Basu] For those of you watching closely. -Yeah.

[Basu] And here are the drawings which ...

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , another hidden thing.

[Basu] Which someone I n the art department in Berlin wored on.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

Doing all those--

[Basu] Yeah wored on it for a long time, doing those amazing drawings.

They're like math drawings all done out of I ittle numbers.

Mikael Blomkvist.

Deputy Grane.

[ÁIvarez] Also this is one of those scenes

that I thin we tal and talk about on the writing.

Remember, li e we always loved this idea of like

going from the shithole of Stockholm and Plague's apartment like--

[Basu] Yes.

[ÁIvarez] Really seeing that world

and then cutting to the rich and powerful of Stocholm

to those corners of the world and ...

I think it really defines the world of these books,

a I ittle bit of that contrast between power and the I ittle man.

[Basu] The sort of slick surface and then the ind of...

-underbel ly. -[Álvarez] That's Camilla by the way.

-Anybody notice that's Camilla walking by? -[Basu] There's Camilla.

But yes we always spoke about how Blomkvist

I n a way what Blomkvist can do that Lisbeth cant

is that he can mix in these worlds, I n these sort of upper class worlds.

And Lisbeth is... Lives in the underbelly.

Yeah ?

[woman on phone] " It's me. I got a hit on the spider tattoo.'

- Text it to me. -"Sure sending now."

[Basu] This guy I always thought he was great.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. I love this little bit. This little section of the movie I love.

[Basu] Do you wanna tell the trivia about the building I n the bacground?

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. The building . The editorial. It was unintentional ,

but it ended up having a big nod to the editorial company

that published these books the M illennium series.

You Milos?

You know this man ?

[ÁIvarez] This is.. . I love this texture of Stockholm.

Actually you now what?

Wel I I missed it now but if you watch it back

you'll see that you just missed my cameo on this movie.

When he wals inside the--

-[Basu] Your one-frame cameo. -Yeah.

When he wals inside-- When Blomkvist opens the door of the casino

there, right behind his left shoulder

you can see me standing on the back alley that leads into this place.

Again this place, I love this concept of um ...

Stockholm , kind of the spielhalle they call it.

-Like this this-- -[Basu] Yeah.

-The arcades. -[Álvarez] The casino.

-[Basu] Seedy. -The seedy corners of--

[Basu] I love this scene. lts just pure creepiness and ...

[ÁIvarez] And over his left shoulder is my father's footbal I team

that is in all my movies.

You always see it there.

And in Uruguay it distracts everybody. Every time this movies playing ,

everybody goes I ike,

"That's Peharol . That's the shield from the team ."

And there's another one right there on the left.

And then on the right. And over his leff shoulder there.

I always get so distracted by that.

[Basu] I always thought of this scene as a classic detective story scene.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

[Basu] lts a scene where the detective goes...

-[Álvarez] You never see that coming . -.. .and finds something ...

monstrous.

[ÁIvarez] Really well done visual effects.

[Basu] Beautiful.

This was Aria

-our amazing script supervisor-- -[Álvarez] This is true.

[Basu].. .finding a YouTube cli p of someone whose face had been ...

-[Álvarez] Eaten by cancer I think. -.. .eaten away by some horrible...

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , by some cancer.

And he showed us a reference of that and many people have that condition

and they can get prosthetics lie that.

We thought it was ind of a disturbing type of thing.

[Basu] Pretty disturbi ng I mage.

[ÁIvarez] To kind of show promise the audience that these bad guys mean

[ÁIvarez] To kind of show promise the audience that these bad guys mean

they mean busi ness and they're really dangerous and ...

Seeing Blomkvist react to that saying I ike,

"That might be coming to you ."

I thought it was a cool way to present that.

[Basu] I love, again what Claire does I n this scene.

Its a kind of alone-- You get the sense of Lisbeth's isolation , I think.

[ÁIvarez] While Blomkvist is having.. . He's enjoying his high life of...

-[Basu] Wine and--. -.. .lovers and wine.

-[Basu] Lovers and wine. -[laughs]

In his fancy European apartment. lts good to show that separation.

-Vicy Krieps again , a fantastic actress. -[Basu] lncredible actress.

[ÁIvarez] Amazing to work with and I wish she had more in the movie.

She actually-- I think she had just one...

She had a couple of scenes that got cut out.

There was a I ittle bit more of Millennium story in the original cut and editing.

But this scene just was worth the whole casting of her.

-I thin she's so good here. -[Basu] She really is. Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] lts captivating to loo at and she was such a good ...

Such a good Erika Berger.

To him particularly and how...

You can see that she has a lot more power than he does.

Its I ike a little kid next to her.

Haven't heard of the spiders.

[ÁIvarez] And again this is one of those scenes, I thin,

we tal about so much again.

We considered taking it out at some point but there are some things that just are...

-that just want to stay. -[Basu] Necessary.

[ÁIvarez] The whole like, "I don't want to ruin your evening ," I ine

was that thing that everybody loved in the first draft.

Then , even if we felt like "Well , we don't need this scene,"

it was always lie well no ones gonna get rid of the

"I don't want to ruin your evening ."

[Basu] All of the scenes we discussed the most were essentially exposition scenes.

You know the scenes where we have to get some ind of information across.

Always, we were trying to lean towards character moments.

To build the exposition I nto character moments.

Its always tricky with these kind of...

-[Álvarez] I love that shot. -I love that shot too.

[ÁIvarez] The isolation of her I n that little square there on the wall.

We actually went back to that.

We had wrapped that set we were moving on to something else.

We real ized that was a shot we wanted to do.

With Pedro we went back took everybody back to that set

just to do that mirror shot.

[Basu] Yeah it was worth it.

I love this. I think they've...

The club--

[ÁIvarez] What was the name of the character?

Shady Punk? [laughs]

-That guy. He was a perfect cast. -[Basu] Maybe he was Shady Punk.

-Or Seedy Pun or something lie that. -[Álvarez] Yeah. Seedy Pun.

That was just Lisbeth that just walked away.

That was actually Claire.

You blink, you miss it.

I guess he is like...

Andreja Pejic really delivers.

And for someone who had never been I n a movie it's incredible.

The nuance of her performance.

How you can see everything in her eyes

and she's worried. She knows...

You can see that she's been through this before

because he doesn't even say, "Lisbeth Salander."

He says like, "You know who I'm talking about.'

And she knows he's talking about Lisbeth.

Now listen, I know you think you're the only girl she's fucking in here,

all right?

[ÁIvarez] We had also different versions of this, right?

[Basu] We had different versions of the ki nd of leverage he has over...

This character, Sofia.

In the end we decided to keep it personal.

As personal as we could.

[ÁIvarez] We had set up originally that she was a bit jealous

when she said , "You have another girl coming ."

She might be a bit jealous of Lisbeth's way of life.

But she doesn't-- I don't thin she even has a lot of girls.

That concept that pays off here,

I think it is a good structure of storytelling.

Like to say that and then eventually here she gives away the phone.

And you think "She totally betrayed her."

-I love that Scarface bacground. Yeah . -[Basu] Yeah very Scarface.

[ÁIvarez] Taken straight out of that movie.

-Yeah . -[Basu] Tropical.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , for such a cold Stockholm to go with a tropical background.

[Basu] Well it goes with your--

I mean , we've always tal ed about the idea of cold outside and hot inside.

[ÁIvarez] lts I iterally cold everywhere, I tell you.

Because even shooting in that apartment it was cold.

Its the coldest town. Part of--

[Basu] Is that in Stocholm or was that in--

[ÁIvarez] No that's Berlin. Berlin.

That's Berlin as well.

Love this shot of the hood . And you're watching the place.

'Cause you're watching the place that you think it is

but its not actual ly the place he's going to.

And it's technically the same place that we actually shot

but theres so many similar buildings in this--

Even Stockholm . This kind of block building ...

-ki nd of a very Cold War kind of-- -[Basu] Was it actually the same building?

[ÁIvarez] it was actually the same buildi ng.

[Basu] That's great.

[ÁIvarez] But because there are very similar ones

there was no point for us to go to different ones. I mean there are...

The one that you see Lisbeth in is a better part of the same building.

[Basu] Gotcha.

[ÁIvarez] But the one that he's in is a more rundown version of it.

-But I figure-- -[Basu] Which inda maes sense.

[ÁIvarez] Even if he's across the street from her which I believe he is.

If he's not in the same apartment, he wil I never find her in this place.

There's li e mill ions of apartments.

There's many buildings that are the same.

[Basu] I love that shot, where she walks into the light there.

[ÁIvarez] That was another thing that I think we discussed , at some point,

cutti ng out what everyone loved I n the scri pt the switcheroo.

[Basu] Yeah we did talk long and hard

about whether we should keep this sequence in ,

-but I thin it builds the tension . -[Álvarez] It's crucial.

There's no way to tell the story without it.

And obviously it has the first-- I think agai n , a great moment.

You know performance from Claire lie how she...

-[Basu] The burger. -.. .without betrayi ng her character

and betraying the real mood of Lisbeth Salander

she really shows that she's having a good time...

-[Basu] Yeah . -.. .playing this guy,

and how everything went according to plan

and she allowed herself to have a bit of fun in the middle of the movie.

-Right? -[Basu] Absolutely.

And we always talked-- You know its very important to us

that she always was a step ahead I n this movie.

There's never a man or anyone else apart from her own sister

who is in a ind of dominant place over Lisbeth.

And that was very I mportant to us.

[ÁIvarez] That shot was--

Originally it was designed to show a little bit more of the...

lts hard to see there but the mess that that apartment is

because we really wanted to show

that Blomvist is in a really bad moment I n his life.

And everything is messy. He's been drinking too much.

Like he's been sleeping on the couch.

Its all this life he's leading.

So you get to get a glimpse of the couch there and ...

And where you know you see there I ike, his blanet's there.

-He's been sleeping on the couch . -[Basu] CG magazine cover, by the way.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , we changed that. Originally it says,

"The Zalachenko Affair"'

which is more canon.

Which is more canon.

But that's the article he wrote.

"The Zalachenko Affair" is what he writes at the end of the third book.

In a way like, it's the story that tells

the whole deal that went down between Lisbeth and her father and SÄPO.

But again for the...

It was too complex for the new audience to understand.

So we went with the nod to the American title of those movies

of the original of the first book which is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Which makes sense, you now, if you think

that that's the first article he wrote about her

and ki nd of made his career.

I don't know how long this is but its actual ly one of--

Its a super long ...

-[Basu] This sequence? -action set piece for a movie I ike...

[Basu] Yeah the set piece goes on

'cause it has several kind of sections to it.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. I remember being very excited about this like

when we wrote it.

This idea of I ike, remember like

theres gonna be this non-dialogue set piece--

[Basu] Long set piece I n the middle of the film.

[ÁIvarez] That's a Belmondo by the way.

That's not Claire and that's Claire.

I mean , that was Claire when she was running and it's not Claire

-that jumps over the fence. -[Basu] Wow. Real ly?

[ÁIvarez] Actually if you re-watch it, you'll see that.

We did a few of those in this movie. lts called "Belmondo."

Based on Jean Paul Belmondo, the French actor,

who invented it I guess.

But yeah , this set piece was gonna start in a very pedestrian place

of Lisbeth fi nding the apartment.

Like finally shes gonna fi nd herself face-to-face

with the antagonist of the movie.

And it was gonna go on , and go on , I nto a completely unexpected place.

And it does end on this ind of you know

big Hollywood you know showdown , I ike at the bridge, right?

But you know its even hard to think of it as the same set piece right?

But it is.

-[Basu] Yeah. And it's, sort of, a.. . -It starts here...

-[Basu].. .three-part set piece that.. . -.. .and ends at the bridge.

Yeah , we always wanted adrenaline to really rise at this point in the movie.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

A lot of.. . The stunt team in Berli n was amazing

and did design a lot of this fight.

-[Basu] Florian? -Florian yeah.

And this details is a lot of...

That's what I liked to bring I ike the toothbrush.

I would ask them 'Take this toothbrush and lets make it part of the fight."

So she'd stab him in the leg with the toothbrush.

Then she'd drive the toothbrush deeper into the leg.

And then , eventually I think, he removed the toothbrush at the end of the fight.

And Claire learned all this fight. It was incredible.

I mean , I thin this.. . The British actors have all this training ,

and they fence and dance and sing.

-They know how to do everything . -[Basu] Shakespearean training hel ped.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. Yeah. She could.. . She had never done anything like that

and she learned all the moves very quickly.

She would nail the thing as a dance. She was very good at it.

[Basu] And of course Claes who plays Holtser...

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , yeah it's li e...

[Basu] I mean he's the sweetest least violent person

-[Álvarez] Who is really clumsy as well . -.. .you would ever meet.

[ÁIvarez] He was he was really cl umsy during the thing.

He was good he learned them . But he was so big and powerful that he...

I think he probably hit Claire a few times I ike, unintentionally.

Claire was always nervous she was gonna get hit by him.

[Basu] Yeah. But he really sold it.

-I mean it really-- -[Álvarez] Well , that's what you want.

You want bit of reality of it...

Always, it...

If you do this right I ike, someone always get hurt or hit

or something on some level.

If no one does, its you have played too safe.

The things you get excited with , on the script level right

the idea that she was.. . How does she get out of this?

[Basu] Yeah.

[muffed groans]

[ÁIvarez] So the drug that she's been administered by the Spiders

which I love that, how also we slowly untangle that

and at first we don't even know why they're called the Spiders.

And it's not really till the third act

that you see that on the syringe that Holtser has,

-it's actually it is venom. Spider venom . -[Basu] Spider venom. Yes.

[ÁIvarez] And they...

And you can see the spider and the different ind of spider venom

that he has... find a way to take out and inject into people and ...

That's why they're called the Spiders.

That was something that.. . I lie when you give an answer I ike...

You just let the audience figure it out. We don't tell them ,

"Look they called them the Spiders because they use spider venom .'

But she's been drugged to get her heart to slow down.

And now she's speeded it bac up with just, that mix of drugs.

[Basu] I mean its part of this sense

that she just gets beaten down over and over

and then gets up again which is what I love about this character.

[ÁIvarez] Wanted to see the set piece managed to do

and I love that you've managed to get her to this place where you thin,

"Okay you're done. They took the kid you don't even now why.

Or why they took the kid? But they took him. He's gone.'

She clearly seems to be over her head ,

I ike, she has no idea what's really going on.

And. .. But she still--

I think this shows what makes this character so great,

which is just that sheer wil I.

-Right I ike, she will never quit. -[Basu] Absolutely.

[ÁIvarez] She will never turn around and quit.

She will do whatever it takes and ...

Every bit of strength she has on her

she will do it to really try and turn things around.

-It's a CG car by the way. -[Basu] Is it?

-We didn't have the-- -[Basu] You keep surprising me

-with all the special effects.. . -[Álvarez] Yeah.

I didn't know were there.

But yeah , Lisbeth you know I n the books as well , I mean shes...

You can't keep her down.

She will fight until her last breath and I thin that's what...

-[Álvarez] The dead body next to her. -Yeah--

[ÁIvarez laughs] Trying to get the dead body, and that's also I ike,

somethi ng we got excited as--

We crashed a drone in that shot there.

I remember I ike, the drone went over the car and then crashed.

And this is one of those crazy things that happen.

On the script, when we wrote it...

And-- Still lie that...

The script said ,

you now 'They give chase. And she gives chase they're going affer them ."

Eventually she starts catching up.

And eventual ly it says in the script that by the time they get to the bridge

that they're leading to it was gonna start snowing.

-Right? Yeah . -[Basu] Oh , that's right.

There was gonna be a blizzard.

[ÁIvarez] It was this blizzard had started

but it really didn't start until later until they hit the bridge.

Because we didn't want to have to deal with creating a CG bl izzard

through the whole scene.

So we said "Well , it's gonna start snowing at the bridge.'

And I don't, lie this, you know, how these things happen

but in Hamburg which we shot this part of the bridge we--

This is Hamburg , in Germany.

It doesn't snow very often but then suddenly,

as soon as we hit the bridge

and we'd shot some of this bridge scene I n the morning ,

by noon it started snowing.

-It started literally snowing.. . -[Basu] Amazing.

...just like the script said , that it was gonna happen.

It was a little miracle. We were there going lie

"Wow how did this happen?"

Like it literal ly, the script says

"When they reach the bridge starts snowing .' We get there it starts snowing.

And I meant, you know, in practical ity it meant that we had to go back

and re-shoot some of the arrival to the bridge,

because we had done it without the snow and we had to do it again.

[Basu] That's right. You had to dress the bridge, I remember.

-[Álvarez] Yeah . -Theres a lot of fake snow in this movie.

Very good I think very convincing fake snow.

[ÁIvarez] And there's a lot of real snow, as well.

-[Basu] And a lot of real snow. -All this is real snow.

And. .. It was, you know that nightmare of shooting in the snow.

Which you know every step she gives there

-it's new its pristine snow. -[Basu] Right.

[ÁIvarez] So you do one take and then by the second tae

the whole snow has been corrupted and you have to...

-[Basu] Yeah nightmare. -.. .get it clean again.

And it's impossible to really clean it up. lts one of the things.

[Basu] Next film let's make sure its in some kind of tropical--

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , yeah. No snow. Wel I then you have sand.

Which is the same.

[Basu] Okay. Stay away from sand and snow. That's the--

[ÁIvarez] You see those footprints there? You have to...

In CG you have to come and clean every footstep from the previous take.

And it's, you know, it's one of those nightmares, shooting in the snow

that you never now until you actual ly do it.

You have to be very faithful to every step, every tire trac.

[Basu] Now remi nd me, we had this idea of the rising bridge in the script?

Or was it something that came through the sort of location?

[ÁIvarez] Well there were many versions of this scene.

Remember that originally, she's...

You know I n one of the versions Holtser was gonna get defeated here.

-And was gonna jump off the bridge. So.. . -[Basu] That's right.

[ÁIvarez] We... So, I thin so yeah.

-By the time we had a shooting script-- -[Basu] Did we come to the solution

of the kind of this ind of rising bridge,

or was that something that came from location , hunting for location?

-I can't remember. -[Álvarez] I don't remember.

I think it might have been both.

I think it might have been somethi ng I n preproduction

where we were scouting for the bridge and we found this bridge

and we came up with the idea of like 'What if?'

Yeah , because originally I ike, it was gonna be...

She was gonna deploy the air bags and they were gonna have this...

This accident right?

-It was gonna be this car crash . -[Basu] That's right. It was a big crash.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. And then we said. .. We thought

"Let's do something more original " and lets just get them to--

[Basu] And then I remember you getting excited about the sort of

idea of a wipe

where the bridge wipes

-and you reveal Camilla and.. . -[Álvarez] Yeah.

[Basu].. .that became a ind of, I mportant image.

[ÁIvarez] And we did it. We had a great shot there,

but, it the end it was better to tell it this way I think

than the thing we'd done after this long set piece.

[Basu] Yeah. I love I love this reveal.

[ÁIvarez] Which is very interesting how...

I think the...

The VFX editor in the movie when he saw it the first time

he thought... He said to me,

"I thought that was a vision .'

-I didn't thin she was there. -[Basu] A ghost.

-[Álvarez] It's a ghost. -Mm-hmm.

[ÁIvarez] it was interesting because I was like, "Really? A ghost?"

But then it kind of makes sense because the audience assumes she's dead

because we... I mean you can see another car back there

and so you know obviously a ghost doesn't travel in a car but...

People miss it but its interesting how it's not until ...

Some people it's not until she says...

She mentions to the id eventually she says...

Wel I the id says "Who was that woman on the bridge?"

-[Basu] Right. -They realize she was real.

[Basu] But I think in a way she is a ghost.

-I mean she is this specter from her past. -[Álvarez] Exactly. Exactly.

That's what I thin is interesting about it.

At this point both versions work.

Either even if you're just imagining her sister is doi ng it

she's actually the sister both versions are great storytelling.

[Basu] And also I think there's somethi ng about the way Camilla is styled ,

the red costume, the... You now, Sylvia has this otherworldly...

-quality. -[Álvarez] Very fairy tale-ish.

Its I ike she's the Black Knight

and then she's the Red Knight and they both represent different thi ngs.

-[Basu] Lambo. -Yeah.

Everybody loves this scene, always. Again one of the things--

-[Basu] Always goes down well . -Always goes down well.

If you can take any car out of a paring lot just you now

why not do it in style?

[Basu] Wel I its Lisbeth. You now, Lisbeth ...

[ÁIvarez] This shot is the same shot we had of the car riding away.

You know when I said it was a CG car?

Because we had this car but we didn't have the other car.

So we ind of took a different take of this moment, there

-we put the other car. -[Basu] I see.

Its also CG there. That tower is not there.

-[Basu] The towers in Berl in . -Yeah. That tower is in Berlin.

[Basu] Outside of Berlin.

[ÁIvarez] This is I thin the only green screen in the movie.

-[Basu] Pretty good . -Yeah.

I mean , no one cares about people in cars and green screens

but we try to avoid them as much as we can but...

[Basu] it was important to have a moment I think between ...

-[Álvarez] Yeah . -The two of them.

[ÁIvarez] This is all fake snow.

-[Basu] All fake snow? -All fae snow.

-[Basu] Amazing fae snow. -There was no snow on this location.

All the snow here theres no CG none whatsoever.

Its all real practical , fake snow.

All this. We cover the whole thing up.

Pretty amazing . I love that ind of black tires.

To have the blac tracs of the tires.

Its cool to see how

Lisbeth suddenly is gonna have to be dealing with a kid. [laughs]

Which shes obviously not great at.

Now we just force them the two of them together into this situation.

[Basu] Yeah. It was always interesting to us how Lisbeth would relate to

havi ng to ind of be responsible for a.. . for a child.

[ÁIvarez] it used to be that also this scene was blunter,

-like he would say, like 'The father.. .' -[Basu] Yeah she was ruder to him.

-She's li e "Well he's dead who cares?" -[Basu] She was tough on hi m.

[ÁIvarez] And ...

And it was one of the things we tested with the audience.

Everybody resented her for being too blunt.

It was always trying to find a balance of

how blunt can she be without the audience resenting her too much?

[Basu] Yeah that's a tricky.. . Another tricy balance. But I think...

Snow comes early this year.

-What Claire does really works. -[Álvarez] Yeah.

And we will reveal , finally...

I mean for some of the audience that hasn't realized that yet

that obviously he's the one that, that he's the ey to that...

the id is the ey to open that program

and that without the program

the bad guys have nothing and they really need hi m

to be able to make that computer wor.

This is obviously Blomvist doing his own research

based on what he discovered I n the magazi ne who Holtser was

that he was related to the father's network of Russian criminals.

-And-- -[Basu] Also Camilla's suicide.

I mean , there's a lot of back and forth about Camilla's suicide

and how much do we explain and

there was originally much more of a backstory around that.

And we realized I thin eventually, that you didn't really need much , you know.

That really, what was important for the audience is the idea that

you now there was a sense

-that she illed herself and she didn't. -[Álvarez] Yeah.

I mean , she did right? I mean , well she tried.

-That's why we.. . -[Basu] Yeah.

Again we didn't try to over-explain.

There was this other version of the third act where she explained more of that.

And at the end we preferred to let it...

to the audience to pay attention and figure it out on their own.

But she does try to commit suicide I think

based on what were gonna discover later I n the story.

But we didn't feel that she had to say it agai n or li e go back.

[Basu] Right. Yeah. And she has scars, and you can see that there's a...

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. It's just one of the things that you discover.

I lied to let you now, left thi ngs for a second viewing

that when the audience see it, it gets all those details.

Its such a complex story

and such a dense story with so many characters

with different agendas.

Even this moment here like...

Grane finally you now, deporting him and what is she really...

Because she loos lie shes happy to get him

and she doesn't look lie someone that is upset that, her main job

which is protecting Balder, has failed miserably.

Like she should have... you now, she should be really upset.

And she looks happier that she got this guy,

because everything is going according to plan for Grane, right?

She's getting closer to get what she wants to get.

[Basu] I lie this shot.

I lie that previous shot. Lisbeth looking over the city.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , thinking about how she's gonna approach this kid.

[Basu] Great set design , by the way. This is all a set.

-Yeah. We wanna talk about Eve Stewart. -[Basu] Let's talk about Eve, yeah.

-Incredible wor. -[Álvarez] A great production designer.

And although she's created I ike, the sets that she built were amazing.

And but she was so flexible at really...

I mean , there were a couple of days where we needed a set

and we didn't have it

and she wil I in the morning , just create somethi ng for us.

She did it for that scene where Balder meets with Grane.

-That was gonna be in a paring lot and.. . -[Basu] Right.

...we wanted something better

and we real ized in the morni ng that I need something better

and from the morni ng to the afternoon she created that office for Grane.

It was incredible.

You know some people are not just being great at their job

but also have the flexibility to keep up with the shooting

and really do, at the last second

you now do whatever it takes to mae a better movie.

[Basu] And again these big heaters on the wall.

Again this theme of "it's cold outside but its hot inside.'

That's a sort of running theme psychologically

emotionally as well as visually I n the fil m.

That the idea that the surface is cold

but inside there's kind of raging feelings and passions.

-I thin that's, that's-- -[Álvarez] I love the image of that.

You see that's the Bishop.

The big piece li e protecting the small one.

-Every move there.. . -[Basu] Very nice.

...is some symbol of the conversation they're having.

[Basu] Never realized that.

[ÁIvarez] But going back to the production design. It's like it's a...

Something , I thin, you have to do even more these days,

where the DP Pedro Luque works with Eve Stewart the production designer.

They wored together to design the set in a way

that then he doesn't, almost have.. . Doesn't need to put I ights in it.

-Like the whole use of lights. -[Basu] Right.

The lighting of the scene come from the practical lights

of actually the place, right?

So those heaters are I ight.

There's sylights from above the windows.

Everything is created in a way that then you don't have to be moving lights around.

You just let the set be the dressing.

The lights are like, practical I ights on set

are actually the lights that you're using to light the scene.

That's something that...

That's why it brings this very natural and cool look to the film.

-That's all created by the set itself. -[Basu] Right.

It's her.

[Basu] Shout-out to Pedro by the way

who made this movie look absolutely gorgeous.

-He shot Don't Breathe with you . -[Álvarez] Yeah.

I did many many things with him.

We've been working together for 20 years now.

That's for you to keep.

[ÁIvarez] She gives him the tracer, which ...

I think it plays pretty nice because

it feels... It plays on a character level

that she wants to until the rematch ...

That shes bummed that this kid was able to beat her at chess.

You know I n the books she's supposed to be really, really good at chess.

It's a number problem.

[Basu] I lie the... You now we really wanted to pull bac

I n terms of her interactions with the id and.. .You know she's not...

Even though she might feel a connection with him ,

she's not gonna express it very easily.

And I thin, at the end , Claire does amazing work here.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , you see she cares but she doesn't know how to tal to hi m.

She wants to protect him because she nows its the right thing

but at the same time she's not going to be cuddly and--

[Basu] I think there's something heartbreaing about that you now

I n terms of Lisbeth as a character.

She wants to reach out she wants to connect but she sort of can't

-or she won't. -[Álvarez] Yeah.

[Mikael] I tracked all of his ex-associates.

And every one of them seems to Iink back to Camilla Salander.

[ÁIvarez] Another one of those images that usually directors and DP

will get obsessed with.

We look at the window and her looing at what's coming

and having this moment of calm before the storm of...

nowing that now she nows the sister is the one behind the whole thing ,

and she knows that this is not a coincidence

that she's doing that on purpose somehow.

To tell her shes bleedi ng and she knows...

And now, this next scene is, again its all about the DP and Roque Bahos.

I think it's Pedro and Roque doing this little dance here

and the light is amazing.

This showed great in the movie but the music is really telling the story.

[Basu] This is one of my favorite scenes I n the movie personally.

[ÁIvarez] lts a beautiful piece, one of my favorite pieces.

-[Basu] The music, yeah . -Yeah the music piece

that Roque wrote for this.

Because it real ly shows everything that's happened with her internally and

its painful and sad but she has so much desire

and his longing for some relationshi p that maybe is never gonna be back and

she probably wants a hug , and she's I n pain physically and emotionally

but she would never allow herself to be that vulnerable

and to show that side to Blomvist and ...

And the audience is, lie "Come on just iss him ,

just, you know, be together.

Its gonna mae things easier." But she can't.

There's something in the past that just doesn't allow her to do it.

[Basu] The light on their faces I think is so great.

The red light.

[ÁIvarez] To differentiate them. Lie she's al I red and still mad at him and ...

Yeah , it's one of those stories that again ,

I wish we had more of it in the story but the movie... But that arc,

that relationship between these two and what he did and ...

Which is something that we got very excited when we realized that...

If someone would never be happy about being on the cover of a magazine

or someone writing about her, it would be Lisbeth Salander

so there was a contradiction in the books I n a way

the fact that he writes so much about her

and she'll be happy about that. I think she'll never be happy about that.

And I thought that was cool to to bring it to the movie right?

To bring into the series to address that.

[Basu] And there's also the way in which , you now at the end of the first boo,

he kind of wrongs Lisbeth , or at least he sort of steps away from Lisbeth.

And I thin this is a way of ind of bringi ng that full circle.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

[Basu] You now he wants her bac,

but he has to realize his own responsibility for pushing her away.

Heres the airport sequence.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , I just love this shot as well.

It used to be a long shot as well longer then we cut it.

Just to show that it was Lisbeth in there.

Just to show that it was Lisbeth in there.

It was for me the I nspiration for all this sequence,

at least from a directorial point of view

is Brian De Pal ma and those classic

'90s and '80s set pieces, in an airport

I ike, with the music doi ng most of the heavy I ifting.

And the music and the camera is really doing the whole dance.

Leaping down there is my friend Christian Zagia.

-[Basu] There he is. -You've seen him in Don't Breathe.

He had a short scene there

and he's been I n every short I've done since were 12 years old.

The bag and ...

All this connection.. .You know tracing one element through ...

I love this. That shot seen from the security monitors panning around

and now you. .. There you go you comes through the door and--

[Basu] And this was all a built set. Eve built this set, right?

Yeah , yeah. It's all built.

We recycled this set for so many things because it was this.

It was also the interview room for Grane I n the beginni ng.

It was Grane's office, you now where she meets with Balder.

-It also was the casino actually. -[Basu] Oh , really?

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , we recycled it at the end

to turn it into the structure for the casino.

-[Basu] Ah , the dildos. -Yeah the dildos.

I gave it to him as a gift when he wrapped

-to the actor. -[Basu] Oh , you did?

-[Álvarez] But he didn't know what it was. -The suitcase full of them?

[ÁIvarez] He didn't now what it was. I wrapped them.

I said , "Dont open it until you get home.'

And they made him open it at the airport.

In front of everybody he had to open it. And all these dildos fell out.

-[Basu] That is genius. -True story.

The pin hat.

We didn't have a pin hat on the day,

but Claire and I suddenly got excited about this idea

that she wil I have a pink hat it was completely not Lisbeth--

[Basu] We never had a pink hat I n the scri pt right?

There was no pink hat in the script but it became this whole thing

and I remember we were in the airport with 250 extras

and I was asking everybody, "Does anybody have a pin hat?'

and , li e production going crazy I ike, thinking ,

"We're really going to slow down for a pink hat?"

And we wait and wait and wait then some PA had a pin hat

and it was I ike, "Okay that's the hat were using ."

-[Basu] it went down in history. -Yeah.

-The pink hat has been immortalized . -[Álvarez laughs] Yeah.

[siren wails]

Its good how she...

They're looing for a person I n a pi nk hat obviously.

Then its as easy as getting rid of it.

[Basu] Wors great. I wish we had written it.

[ÁIvarez laughs]

But this sequence, I remember on the script level

we were having a lot of fun with it,

trying to ind of... The sense of Lisbeth as a ind of puppet master

controlling this environment was--

[ÁIvarez] Originally it was I n prison right? It was in a prison.

[Basu] Right. At the very beginning it was in prison yeah.

And then we changed it.

[ÁIvarez] Like not a prison , but li e just a--

-[Basu] A detention center yeah . -The detention that...

That again. .. This whole dance of many characters converging

I n this set piece.

She hacks a PA, which I love, to send that text

and someone reads it without even nowing.

Passenger Needham, please...

Communicating with Needham.

I love when you manage to do something I ike that in the script,

to just connect that puzzle that complex puzzle...

That of al I the characters all the plans she has.

You remember at one point we had the idea

that Needham would say that he's hungry

tell the guard he's hungry then he would walk past a vending machine

-and-- -[Álvarez] And she was gonna--

[Basu] She was gonna hack the vending machine.

[ÁIvarez] That was nice it would have been great.

[Basu] We thought it was a great idea but it was completely outlandish

and , you now, tonal ly wrong but still a cool idea.

I need to get him back to the US and make sure that he is safe.

No, no, no, no. You're not--

[ÁIvarez] And originally here remember

this was the moment to really reveal a lot more about Needham's--

[Basu] Backstory.

[ÁIvarez] PIan and bacstory what had been happening.

We had to reduce it to this line here when he says "You don't understand .'

Like he's been waiting for a long time for Balder to deliver.

He's not gonna let go now.

But it was more than that really. It was it was, Needham had ...

The reason why he goes on his own is his careers at stake.

-And he's.. . -[Basu] Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] He's responsible for that thing and he cannot go to his bosses and say

"Hey I lost this thing that can destroy the world ."

He's on his own and originally we had more of Lisbeth

explaining that to the audience

and explaining that to wel I.. . Needham explaining it.

And Lisbeth realizing that that's what's going on.

That's why he was on his own . That's why its just you.

[Basu] We had Needham being sort of rogue at one point

that he was kind of gone rogue I n order to get this thing bac.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , yeah. Well he is.

I think he has support, but...

He has support from the NSA

-in some blac-ops kind of way, right? -[Basu] Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] Lie it's not an official mission but he's on a mission but...

I lie that idea.

I kind of miss that part of him to know more about why he's going rogue

-and why.. . -[Basu] We didn't have much space.

...he depends so much on this going well.

Because its his I ife and his career and ...

We reduced it eventually to, li e he's very personal ...

You know Firefall is very personal for him and it's something that

he'd been working on it with Balder and waiting for it,

and he cannot just let go.

But I thought it was interesting

and I inda miss that part to know more about Needham

and why he's gone rogue.

-But you now, now you know. -[Basu] Now you now.

[ÁIvarez] He's gone rogue.

[Basu] I mean , at some point we realized that

that Firefall and the story around the McGuffin

was not what should be really driving this story.

Really its an emotional story about these two sisters.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , it's just to now that the sister will come back and now you know.

I love this moment here.

We ind of betrayed Lisbeth a little bit by letting the audience feel

that Lisbeth wouldn't take the phone away from the kid.

But, you know you get obsessed sometimes with some idea.

And I got obsessed with this idea of lie

getting a phone call from someone who is dead.

And seeing it on your phone popping up I ike that with a photo like phones do

and it's part of the world we live in.

-These days, when someone dies.. . -[Basu] CGl.

...and you still see them on Facebook.

Like their Faceboo profile and those sort of things.

[Basu] Yes. No it's a great idea a phone call from a dead person.

Its chilli ng.

[ÁIvarez] And for a kid , you'd believe that maybe he didn't die

maybe he's cal ling him and he will definitely pick up the phone.

He would never think it's the bad guy who's got the fathers phone.

I love this editing as well I ike this sort of cut of...

you now like parallel cut in a way where you think...

Blomkvist just reacts to her but we just literally jumped in time

few minutes--

[Basu] That was always part of the sequence.

I remember in the script we always wanted this sense of...

-throwing the audience. -[Álvarez] Yeah.

And then , finally, here, affer a big chunk of the movie you see Camilla.

Which is again , one of the things we were very excited when we...

we wrote it originally.

It was always the final encounter I ike, what is she going to say?

What are they gonna say to each other?

And Sylvia Hoeks who plays Camil la she did a great job there

I n setting that strange tone.

She's nervous,

-she's sitting there like a kid . -[Basu] She's almost childlike...

-[Álvarez] Yeah . -.. .but she's terrifying. Yeah.

I mean its a.. . She's quite otherworldly, as I said.

[ÁIvarez] Heres when the fairy tale, ind of comes bac, in a way.

Loo at that.

-[Basu] Yeah. Snow coming through the.. . -Like its definitely like some queen.

Yeah , there's snow fall ing right behind her.

Its all this imagery, and it's pretty radical.

But she's really kind of the ice queen I n a way right?

They're so different right? You can't believe they're sisters.

[Basu] And we I mean we took from the boo.

In the books Camilla is blond , she's very beautiful.

She's very beguil ing . She's, sort of the opposite of Lisbeth.

That's what we too our cue from.

[ÁIvarez] She's also like...

Also on a character level , she's talking about her feelings right away.

You see here there she says, 'I had all this speech , but now I'm nervous."

She's really in touch with the reality of her feelings

and why shes acting the way she is and what she was hoping to say

and she couldn't.

-She's totally the opposite to.. . -[Basu] She's not repressed.

[ÁIvarez]. .. Lisbeth who will never allow herself to say those things

and I don't thi n she'll even now why she acts in the way...

She's all like just insti nct and sheer will.

But she will always hide her feel ings from everybody else.

-Again a great shot from the stunt team . -[Basu] Amazing shots.

[ÁIvarez] One thing that just goes by I ike that but look at that.

The camera fal ls with them and sl iding down the hill.

We don't cut for a long way.

That was a massive rig

and one of the things that you go through when you mae movies.

But then sometimes you just watch it, its just simple.

But there's nothing simple about achieving that shot

to be able to jump out of a doorframe and continue down the ramp

and then continue-- lts a free-fall for the stunt people,

I ike, to roll down that hill , and the camera is coming up to them.

Its one of the things that...

People don't understand those things when they watch , they go,

"How the hell did you get that shot?"

[Basu] Literally by jumping out of a window.

[ÁIvarez chuckles] Yeah , by literally doing it.

Obviously this is the end of the second act. Al I is lost.

We used to blow up her place too. Then , she's gonna loo up now

because... well actually, she used to look up with the explosion ,

-her radio tower. -[Basu] Did you shoot that?

[ÁIvarez] We set it on fire and that's why she has some I ight on her face.

[ÁIvarez] We set it on fire and that's why she has some I ight on her face.

But we cut it out, we thought there was no need to blow up another place

another explosion and every place she's...

I mean , it was this idea that Camilla is trying to destroy everything she has

and every home and every place and leave her real ly in the streets I iterally.

[Basu] The creamer. The creamer gag.

I think this... I have to give the credit to you for the creamer gag.

[ÁIvarez] Wasn't my idea.

[Basu] I can't remember but I remember it that way.

But I think it really helps.

-I mean it's interesting-- -[Álvarez] I just love this scene.

[Basu] Yeah and we build this sense of a team which I think is interesting ,

around Lisbeth in the third act.

[ÁIvarez] lts good when you have characters that find something in common.

They find--

[Basu] Yeah . Two characters who seem completely...

-[Álvarez] Exactly. -.. .out of different worlds.

[ÁIvarez] Completely different worlds. He's an NSA guy and he's a hacker

which would be the two more antagonistic characters.

And then suddenly they find they have a passion for computers

by referring to that laptop as 'vintage'.

And he nows.

And no one will refer to laptops as something vintage these days.

Its still somethi ng that feels new.

But I love how we set up that creamer I ike that...

I n the common ground these two have

and suddenly realize they have a lot of respect for each other.

[Basu] Did they do any improvisation around that?

[ÁIvarez] A little bit. Those two they love to do that

these two actors--

[Basu] We should talk about Cameron , who...

-[Álvarez] Cameron Britton . -He does a great Plague.

-[Álvarez] American actor. He was on.. . -Manhunter.

-[Álvarez] Manhunter yeah . -Is that what it's called?

-No, Mindhunter. -[Álvarez] Mindhunter.

Yeah he played that psychopath I n Mindhunter.

[Basu] He was so good in it. It had just come out when we were casting this.

It was a sort of...

We thought "He's just so amazing and we've managed to get him .'

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

And obviously now we saw the section of the movie

when we had to physically travel to the coldest places in Europe.

[Basu] Look at those eyes. Claire's eyes.

[ÁIvarez] She knows what she has to face where shes gonna have to go.

That's a quarry. Actually the shot is part real part CG.

The house is part real , part CG.

The rest is all real.

But the building itself that's a real building

when you see it there from this angle.

[Basu] I actually went to this location when you were scouting I remember.

And yeah its cold . I can attest to the fact.

[ÁIvarez] And it wasn't snowing bac then.

It was when we went back.

It was freezing. Like, the temperatures are insane.

There's no way to enjoy being out there. But that's why we do it.

We do it for the audience to put the audience there.

To let them go there and travel to these places

that they're probably never gonna go.

Loo at that. lts I ike old fairy tales.

Its interesting because tal ing about this movie, I real ized that, for me

I don't know for you Jay but as a reader

and it's, kind of really common for kids I ike, the first stories you read

when you start reading and start getting I nto storytelling are fairy tales right?

And are those Grimm Brothers stories

they are I ike, dark and fuced up.

[Basu] And they come from even older stories.

They are the most ancient stories and they're very strange.

And they're offen very disturbing . And they're about our deepest fears.

[ÁIvarez] Always, and they're dark but complex and ...

-[Basu] Surprising . -.. .they're always about family in a way.

Money and power and family and , li e rich ...

And they're kind of bibl ical I n a way right?

They're inspired by the stories of the Bible in a way.

-Some are probably even older-- -[Basu] And from the myths before that.

-[Álvarez] Yeah . -I mean they're...

You're right they're always about family

they're always about the big the biggest forces I n our lives.

-[Álvarez] Yeah . -Death and betrayal and love and passion.

[ÁIvarez] And they're very simple.

That's why I think when I try to justify why to myself,

I ike why Camilla is dressed I ike that.

Its almost like its kind of medieval , I ike imono I ike strange clothes.

-[Basu] Well that was Carlos as well . -Carlos Rosario yes.

-[Basu] The great costume designer. -Costume designer in this movie.

Did a fantastic job. I wored with him on Don't Breathe as well.

He had to come and create all these characters.

And I thin he did an amazing job.

Together with Camilla, it's ind of that... piece that is just fantastic.

[Basu] Yeah you're right.

There's something sort of mythical and fairy-tale--

[ÁIvarez] And the music, and now you go bac to this land. Look at that.

-The Scandinavian land of snow and.. . -[Basu] Folk tale.

[ÁIvarez]. .. its totally folk tale, yeah.

And going back to the house right? lts the... you now.

Like Hansel and Gretel kind of thing . You go bac to the--

[Basu] Even the way that you came up with her entering the place

this, kind of tunnel this icy tunnel--

-[Álvarez] Because the building is.. . -To me it looks like complete fantasy.

[ÁIvarez] ... is a mix of what used to be a quarry.

So that they used to load things from underneath

but then they made it into a hotel.

So its structural reality is based on the reality of that place.

That's why they have a chimney there.

[Basu] it was an amazi ng location . And yeah it was...

The concept was that it would turn into a hotel

and that's why you see that Blomkvist later will be taken into a sauna room ...

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , because when the father I ived there and too over the place,

it was because it was a hotel by that point.

But al I this is, lie West Germany.

The deep end of nothingness.

Like really, almost no one I ives in that place.

There's a small town a few minutes away but there wasn't a lot

-around there. -[Basu] Sl ightly terrifying place.

[ÁIvarez] Totally terrifying . It was old concentration camp land.

All that area where we were was...

-[Basu] Dar history. -Yeah dark history of Germany.

That's a set back in warm Berlin.

-[Basu] This is a set? -Yeah.

We did a great reproduction of the scale of the place and structure.

And Eve Stewart did a great job. Like this is supposed to be the tower

that rises from underneath.

I love that retractable taser that we created for her.

Here we go again. This is.. . One of the things we did with this movie

we really tried everything to be based on reality.

Even the whole technology all that hacking she does.

And then , when you see it, it comes across as too easy.

But the real ity's just I ike, we're too na'íve.

[Basu] Yeah. Some people think that it loos lie made-up tech.

And it is but its all very much based-- I mean this, even this...

[ÁIvarez] That is all real.

I mean you can do photogrammetry based on multiple cameras

and multiple angles on a place.

And they, you know

You'll see in the future how this is war technology.

This is gonna be used on , like...

The military is gonna start using it if they're not already.

Its just because it gives you a 3-D perspective on a space, and ...

So we'd lie to really... We're a I ittle bit ahead of what's happening.

But I'm 1 00o!o convinced this is something--

[Basu] And you were actually a programmer at one point,

is that right? Or you were--

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , because I come from visual effects.

And I did a lot of visual effects I n my 20s and ...

So as you now, I love to play with these things

with photogrammetry and , lie PointCloud and those things.

Its all based on reality. It feels a I ittle movie-like.

But its way more realistic than you thi n.

[Basu] And this is another scene that we had different versions of I remember.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , Blomvist finally realizing Grane...

[Basu] At one point we had Grane il ling herself. Do you remember that?

Blomkvist confronted Grane and sort of led to a confession.

And we sort of then changed it fairly late on to this idea

that Grane, in fact, had sort of hired Camilla.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah it's a combination.. . I think what's in ...

What happens here I think is which I love

is that Grane is being used by Camilla, right? It's a--

Right. She thins shes in charge.

If you see the deleted scenes, they're lovers

and Camilla is a seductress, and she's being ...

Like in the boo she's always preying on a lot of people.

And she has preyed on Grane.

As powerful as Grane is, Camil la is her weaness.

And she's usi ng Grane we'll fi nd out later.

But Grane thinks she's doi ng a good thing.

She's taki ng away this tool from the Americans

a nation that, lie she says "never missed a war."

And she prefers to have Sweden to have it that's a nation that never went to war.

One of the things that I think.. . It was...

You can play it many ways but I li e the idea.

Obviously Camilla has hired her.

Not hired her but gotten her into being an accompl ice on this because--

[Basu] Grane has hired Camilla.

But Camilla has been the one pulling the strings really.

Camil la has been the one manipulating Grane from the beginning.

Which we always I iked that idea.

-" Itsy Bitsy Spider.' -[Basu] " ltsy Bitsy Spider." Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] I think Sylvia Hoeks like she...

There was a version that we didn't use, that she'd sing it in Dutch.

And it's pretty strange.

One of those songs that exists I n every language I n the world.

[Basu] It should be a special feature I n itself.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

[Basu] This is your... I always thin of this as your ode to Korean ...

the great Korean sort of action movies.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , it's ind of raw and violent and ...

[Basu] The gas masks and the.. . This is just visually very amazing.

[ÁIvarez] And we reveal now that she has the tracer,

and she is the one that is ahead of everybody now.

And Lisbeth's tracker is there. And now its a trap.

Gas popping up from everywhere.

Get out of there!

[ÁIvarez] This is one of the things I kinda regret having done now.

Because I was I n those action scenes there.

That's me operating the camera most of the stuff you see here.

So that's me inside the bathroom carrying a very heavy camera on my shoulder.

And I iterally lm in pain right now as I'm doing this recording

because my right shoulder is I ike--

-[Basu] Oh , really? -Yeah my shoulder--

[Basu] I remember you I ike, were training and stuff. You got really...

You had to get pretty fit to mae this movie.

[ÁIvarez] I know yeah , because if you're really gonna do all these action sequences

and be there with the actor and , li e run ,

and you have to learn the choreography yourself and ...

Drop when they drop I ike, pan fast when they hit someone boom.

All that wor its just physically very demanding.

But because we wanted the movie to loo gorgeous

we had to use this camera that's not really meant for like

to do hand-held work.

And I paid the price.

I can see how we slightly changed the color of her mask.

Its slightly pink compared to the red.

Just to let the audience figure which one is Lisbeth

I n the mess of people fighting with the same mas.

[groans]

[ÁIvarez] lts a I ittle video game-like

which it's impossible to deny the influence

that video games had on my generation of filmmaking.

Like theres always a I ittle bit of a video game element.

That POV I ike, through the mask of her and that kind of setup,

a fight and a villain coming through the door.

Its a lot of that, I don't now--

[Basu] I'm actually seeing it more,

noticing it more and more I n contemporary--

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. Theres the shot.

This shot is one of my favorite shots I n the movie because that's a real spider.

I told the crew that I wanted to do it for real.

And so everybody said I ike, "That's insane.

The spiders wil I never do what we want.'

And we did the first take and the spider did exactly what we wanted.

[Basu] Very well-trained spider.

[ÁIvarez] it was one of those magic moments

that I really, really enjoy as a director.

When you put forward an idea that sounds insane

I ike doing that with a real spider

hoping the spider's gonna go the direction you want, and suddenly it actually did it.

And it was... Makes everybody happy.

[Basu] That spider's got a big career coming.

He needs to open the program for us.

[Basu] The star spider.

[ÁIvarez] This is another room also designed by Eve Stewart

I ike overnight I thin.

We didn't have a room for this.

It was gonna be origi nally I n the father's room

that all this was gonna go down and it felt like just, lie not...

The staes felt too low if you do it just in a room with a table.

And we asked Eve "Can you give me a Firefall room ,

some room where Firefall is gonna be activated?"

And she created this room I ike literal ly, not overnight,

but over the course of two or three days I think they put the whole room together.

[Basu] But all the interiors of the house are sets right?

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , yeah.

[Basu] The whole sequence inside is a set?

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , it's a sound stage.

We love this idea

that Blomvist is ind of the damsel I n distress in this movie, right?

-Like he's the one that eventually gets.. . -[Basu] That was very important to us.

[ÁIvarez] ...gets there and gets idnapped.

And the place that women have been given I n movies for too long.

[Basu] Yeah , Blomvist is essentially... Yeah.

He's the role that women unfortunately often play in these ind of movies.

And we completely fl ipped the ind of the roles.

-The gender roles. -[Álvarez] Yeah.

[Basu] And we were very aware of that.

He final ly gives a number which I thin is accurate actually.

The number is the answer to the question , if he...

[Basu] I think it was... I think it was slightly shorter than the real answer.

-[Álvarez] Maybe yeah . -I thin the real answer was very long.

-[Álvarez] it was too long . -Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] I love that by this point some of the other plot is inda done in a way.

At least everything that has to do with the computer starts to die

and what's very personal starts to come out,

which is the real motivations behind Camil la.

She's gonna show now I ike, why she's doing all this...

that she really doesn't care about Firefall or whatever it can do.

I'll transfer the funds immediately.

You don't have to.

Why is that?

[ÁIvarez] And here of course this was related to a scene that was cut out

which is to show that these two are lovers and Grane real ly trusts Camilla.

So this is maing here

a way bigger betrayal from Grane's perspective.

She never saw that coming , that Camilla was gonna betray her in such a way.

Thanks for all your help.

[ÁIvarez] Again this is one of those moments I always enjoy,

going bac to bloody things and having a bit of gore.

There was a lot of blood a lot of blood coming out of that wound.

I love that shes died standing up.

I remember talking with Synnøve, the actress who played Grane

about how she was going to die.

So like, "I think she will die standi ng up"' lie she's one of those--

-[Basu] She said that? -Yeah. Yeah.

-[Basu] She said that? -Yeah. Yeah.

It was lie okay well I don't think she can.

But I think it's interesting that I nstead of collapsing to the floor

she's gonna walk and find a chair and sit down and die with dignity.

-[Basu] Ah , the bag . -The bag. That's your idea.

For people that love to blame me for this and say

-"The classic Fede Álvarez.' -[Basu] Blame the Englishman.

[ÁIvarez] In this case I tell everybody it's your idea.

[Basu] Although I think the vacuum cleaner...

Listen the bag may have been my idea but the wax my friend , was your idea.

-[Álvarez] The wax on the wood? [laughs] -Yes.

[ÁIvarez] In a way it's actually as perverse as it is obviously,

its also lie a way to show now Camilla will put Lisbeth through the thing

that she escaped in that same room I n that opening scene.

See that's the same room that we saw in the opening scene

where they wal in as ids.

And that's what the father did to Camilla as a kid I ike we saw in the nightmare.

Now it's suddenly-- That room that day.

And now suddenly Camilla puts Lisbeth through the thing she has escaped from.

And that's something that she resents.

That in a way why was she spared somehow by that horror?

[Basu] And I thi n it's also ki nd of Lisbeth's worst nightmare to be

so constricted.

You know shes a character who has lived , you now very kind of in her...

-[Álvarez] A kind of anarchy and freedom . -Yeah in a ind of freedom.

And to have it taken away like that seemed I ike a very nightmarish place to put her.

[ÁIvarez] And at the same time also I ike,

either it's that or you put her I n a chair like every movie has done.

Like either tied to a chair or tied to a pipe on the ceiling.

[Basu] We wanted to do better.

[ÁIvarez] We said like 'Yeah we have to be able to do better than that."

I'm so proud about how we put together this imagery of her in the bag and floor.

And Camilla finally opens up about

what's been eating her right all these years.

A little bit, right.

She's really gonna reveal everythi ng at the cl iff at the end , but it's--

[Basu] No absolutely.

This is where we really start to understand Camilla's real motivations,

beyond just a computer.

Its not really about that. Always again , it comes back to the emotional--

[ÁIvarez] I love this image here, I ike in a fairy tale.

[Basu] Very fairy-tale image.

[ÁIvarez] Pedro Luque's photography here is amazi ng.

Just the color the subtlety of that. Loos lie a painting really.

And again this is interesting how we went bac and forth.

Was Camilla's motivation at the end of the day

and like what she says now "Now the world will burn ,"

and what does that mean?

Because she has Firefal I and she doesn't really care about the world.

I mean , she probably knows that it's not gonna be good for the world

if she has it even if she sells it or she uses it herself.

But its not about destroying it, but its about making sure Lisbeth--

-[Basu] Suffers. -Suffers.

And maes herself responsible for it I n a way like she...

Remember there was a lot more dialogue about, lie okay...

That she couldn't deny that she stole Firefall that she did it

and that's a crime and that she did all those thi ngs.

And she was a big part of, you know helping the bad guys in a way

getting what they want

because they couldn't have been able to get Firefall from the NSA most likely.

-And to mae her responsible. -[Basu] Yeah.

To make her tae.. . To face up to her own responsibility.

[ÁIvarez] And so she was saying 'You might deny that you did all the things

but you won't be able to deny that you did this.'

So the whole idea of guilt is a big thing.

So here's the start of the shoot-out like...

[Basu] Always gets a reaction , that...

This part for me it's like, I ike Rodo told me.

Rodo, my co-writer he said ,

"Watching it is like, this is lie the directors guitar solo."

[both laughing]

-[Álvarez] Where you just go-- -That's a very Rodo thi ng to say.

[ÁIvarez] You just go into a set piece built on images and sound

and , you now, camera techniques.

We're flying over the head of Needham revealing--

[Basu] That was all drones. We had loads of drones flying around I remember.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. That's a composite, actually. It's a drone shot moving bac.

But we never really flew over the head of the actor.

Then we did Pixomondo the house in charge of the VFX in Germany.

There's a beautiful compose on it to bring the actor into it.

I need to get you out of here...

[ÁIvarez] They're very slow bullets if you thin about it.

[Basu] Were they on wires? Were they being pulled around on wires?

-The... The actors who were being shot. -[Álvarez] Yeah yeah yeah.

-[Basu] Yanked around on wires. -We yanked them around.

Which was something we got very excited-- It was from Stephen Knights draft right?

There was a I ittle bit of shooting on that draft.

One of the things that stayed from that original draft.

[Basu] it was a very very different set piece but there was--

-[Álvarez] There was a sniper. Yeah . -Yeah. Needham with a rifle.

[ÁIvarez] I don't know how many people died by that rifle

but we went a I ittle bit...

-[Basu] We killed more people. -We killed a lot more people.

This combination of.. . What I love about all this I tell you

is that if you look at this...

I remember the editor when she watched the first version of this,

she turned to me and said I ike, " I don't now how I'm goi ng to mae this work.'

I mean theres.. . It was hard to give sense to the scene.

Because we didn't have the photogrammetry

we didn't have... You now it was...

A lot of the shots that you see here are not, weren't intended for the scene.

They were taen from different moments on different scenes in the house.

So to really put it together its like...

I love it because its one of those things that,

when every artist involved in the movie,

every part of, you know the whole pieces

the whole tools that the director has at his disposal ,

the craft of filmmaking , lie if you use it correctly you don't need a lot.

You just need the shots, you know.

If you look at it, its kind of the same shot over and over.

Its I ike him , the house inside.

There's not a lot of complexity at that level.

But its a beautiful shoot-out to see it goi ng down.

For Hollywood movies, where you've seen all ind of shoot-outs,

shoot-outs that go in the third act.

I think this one is a very special one.

[Basu] And I love the way that Holtser gets his comeuppance.

Again to me, this is...

lts sort of lie this fairy-tale logic.

That he gets stabbed by the same thing he was gonna stab the boy with.

-[Álvarez] Yeah the whole karma-- -The blinding.

Its very myth Greek tragedy.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , yeah.

House is clear. Where is she ?

[Basu] But yeah , I mean I remember on the page

there was always a fear that this lot this end sequence was gonna be very busy.

But I think you just did such a great job of boil ing it down to the elements...

to the sort of fundamental elements of it, and it works so well.

-I love this moment too I ike, he stays. -[Basu] Yeah.

-[Álvarez] The man stays with the kid . -Exactly. He tells her to go.

How many times have you seen it the other way round?

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , you go and be a hero. I'll stay home with the kid.

[Basu] Yeah. We completely wanted to fl ip that.

[ÁIvarez] lts interesti ng here I ike, a piece of trivia.

Needham used to get shot and illed right here. Not here.

But he gets wounded there though you don't see it.

He doesn't even real ize in the moment that he just got shot.

So there was another version of the movie where he will die on the cliff at the end.

He'll get there finally get the computer,

and die when he real ized he was actually shot.

And then , people loved the character of Needham so much that we let him live.

But, technically there, in that moment where that shooter catches up with him ...

-[Basu] He didn't need to die. -No, he didn't. [laughs]

-We want to see Needham I ive another day. -[Álvarez] Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] So here's obviously him getting bli nd.

This car crash that's coming up...

we did it in a way that Hollywood had never done it before.

Which there's not a driver I nside the car you now.

And in this day and age of like self-driving cars...

we managed to do it with self-driving technology.

So we drove the car at insane speed like

that car there has no driver in it.

And we managed to drive down that road at, li e insane speed.

And I ike, you know I ike, 80 miles per hour.

Really get to do that stunt,

and throw the car to the trees,

and all that you just saw is real and ...

But done in a speed that is very uncommon for car crashes in movies.

Which usually are done slowly because they have a stunt driver I nside.

But because this one didn't, we could really afford to go at crazy speed.

Here agai n , classic fairy-tale story I ike, you get there thin they're dead ,

but, almost like a ghost there she goes.

-[Basu] Running through the woods. -Yeah.

-[Basu] I I ike this theme. -The theme.

The original theme comes back yeah from the opening scene.

We're back in the beginning of the story...

with the two sisters running , but now they're separated.

As all this...

Here we are that's me operating camera

at the end of the world really, on that cliff.

Hanging from a wire 'cause...

You'll fall to your death if you fell out of that cliff.

And so actors are on a wire that's been removed digitally.

-[Basu] Yeah they've both got-- -This is a drone.

But most of that coverage is just me standing next to the actors,

operating camera in this very reduced unit, because we couldn't...

The big unit the big crew couldn't access this location.

So it was just five of us I think. My AD DP, myself with the actors.

To really get, reaching that cliff this place in the world that...

you'll never go.

You'd never visit if it's not because you're shooting this movie.

This is the whole deal here right?

This is why we made the movie, this scene right here.

[Basu] This is what we always wanted . Yeah , this moment between the sisters.

And there were different versions of it I mean ...

What Claire does and the take that you used

I think was the most emotional.

[ÁIvarez] She goes from li e at the beginning of that shot

from being still mad at her sister and not understanding

and as she starts taling you can see I n a shot of like four or five seconds

Claire going from that to suddenly being heartbroken.

You don't even know how she does it. lts brilliant.

[Basu] Yeah. It's a magic trick.

[ÁIvarez] The snow is digital by the way.

-[Basu] Is it? -Yeah.

[Basu] You gotta put that on my list of...

-[Álvarez] Things you didn't-- -.. .surprising special effects.

[ÁIvarez] But this is the whole deal.

And what's super interesting for me

is something that I experimented with in this film that...

Originally she would say something else.

Originally shed say she couldn't go back because she was afraid of the father.

And that's it. And Claire didn't agree with that.

She didn't think that was a reason why she wouldn't go bac.

And she didn't now what was the reason.

She said she felt I ike she couldn't have done it.

She understood she couldn't. She didn't know the answer.

So I told Sylvia to as her why and I ept roll ing.

I kept rolling until Claire would give an answer.

And Sylvia waited and waited.

And what comes here is the answer that came out of Claire Foys heart.

What's the reason why?

The reason is like, if he gets you know what she's gonna say now.

-"You chose him ," and-- -[Basu] It's the only non-scripted line.

[ÁIvarez] lts non-scripted , and it is the answer to the biggest question.

And I thought it was beautiful because it was more complex.

It was less obvious.

It meant she was alone in a way.

It shows him , lie

whatever twisted relationship they had , they had each other.

And from ...

She didn't know for a long time whatever was the twisted thi ng and ...

she would just see it as " I'm on my own and my father and my sister are together."

And that's what she resents her for.

She couldn't really bring herself to help her, right?

What a tragedy. What a tragedy ending.

Like I don't think Hollywood movies will do tragedies like this.

I mean , we really went to an extreme place if you thin about it.

Like for this kind of movie to end I n such a Greek-tragedy ending , right

where when she's about to find some closure its too late.

Her sister dies, and she just...

I think I mean she lets herself fall but she's dying anyways right?

She's bleeding to death out of the car crash.

And she has that last moment of consciousness

to have that confrontation with her sister.

But, oh , my God , what a tragedy.

[Basu] Yeah I mean we always were aware

that we wanted to put Lisbeth through a process

where she had to confront somethi ng very deep in her.

You know how do you take a character that's very powerful ...

and has already gone through the ind of...

you now fighting bac for what has been done to her.

How do you make that more personal?

[ÁIvarez] Yeah.

I love how you even forget about the computer after she falls.

-[Basu] Yeah . -Like it doesn't even matter.

But obviously we have to close this loop and ...

give some closure to that story you know.

She obviously erased the computer and I thin Needham is happy with it.

He says "Okay its fine." I think he--

-[Basu] He's accepting it. -He's accepting it yeah.

He came so close to losing it then realized the power of that

that I thin he accepts the fact that it's gone.

And he'll have to deal with that.

I think there was a longer version of this final scene, and I'm still I ntrigued.

It makes me thi n why he deletes the article. He doesn't write it.

-Obviously she said "Don't write it.' -[Basu] That's why.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. I thin he understands some people might write about it.

And the press will do it.

I think in this day and age it was interesting to see that

even if it was a fact and it was a true story,

that he felt some responsibil ity about one of the things

that he has to report on or not.

If he really has to because he nows,

or if it's something that he could let other people write about

and if he felt he had a responsibility with her,

he won't do it he will just delete it.

[Basu] I think it's ultimately about his relationship with her.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah , he put the friendship before the job in a way.

[Basu] I mean we used to have remember a scene where he's waiti ng for her...

I n a café.

-[Álvarez] Yes that's where he goes. -And she doesn't turn up.

[ÁIvarez] Yeah. He'll end up on the floor of the editing room.

But he would go to meet her and she wouldn't show up.

Because she's here, because she was...

[Basu] And I thi n a waiter was gonna say to him "Are you waiting for someone?'

-And he would say.. . -[Álvarez] 'Maybe for too long ."

[Basu] Yeah , 'I've been waiting for too long .'

[ÁIvarez] So we are like just obviously Lisbeth dealing with this,

not in a healthy way, I guess. [laughs]

-[Basu] I think it's you now-- -J ust doing it her own way.

-[Basu] A bit of fire. -Yeah.

[ÁIvarez] Which I still regret not having done what I wanted to do.

I think you opposed which was to cut now I nside the room and see...

-[Basu] Camilla. Yeah . -Camilla's body.

-[Basu] Maybe. -I loved that.

I stil I believe she's in there I ike, I'm just gonna throw it out there, lie

Camil la is probably in one of those rooms.

Like Darth Vader I ike...

-[Basu] Being cremated . -Being cremated inside the same house.

I don't know how Lisbeth got her hand on the body.

In the end it doesn't matter, I thin.

I lie to believe Camil la is burning inside that house

and it becomes some sort of funeral pyre.

[Basu laughs]

-[Álvarez] That was it that was-- -On that note.

[ÁIvarez] That was The Girl in the Spider's Web.

-Im Fede Álvarez I'm the director. -Jay Basu co-writer.

Thanks very much , guys.

-[Álvarez] Than you for listening . -Thans for listening.