Exclusive interview with director Uwe Boll

You either love him or hate him but you have to be honest and say that Uwe Boll is a pretty entertaining chap.  His brutal honesty both when discussing his films and Hollywood in general is rather refreshing amongst all the fakeness that occupies the entertainment industry.  And while his past video game films have been a bit rough and have at times ruined the source material he has been greatly improving as a director with POSTAL being an extremely underrated gem.

I was able to interview Uwe about his upcoming film Rampage and his previous efforts along with general randomness.

Ian - What was the key inspiration for your upcoming film Rampage? The film seems to have similar traits to the Michael Douglas film Falling Down if it was taken to the next level.

Uwe Boll - Absolutely. I loved FALLING DOWN ..but I didn't liked that Douglas is a psycho. I made RAMPAGE to have a guy doing it without being a psycho.

You're known as being a film maker who isn't afraid to take risks and tackle certain subjects with "Postal" being an example of this. But due to the premise of "Rampage" was there any worry that there would be a greater backlash due people mistaking it for glorifying events like Columbine?

I don't care. I think RAMPAGE is a ruthless, violent but very clever movie what makes us all think about the situation we are living in.  And lets face it: we don't have the right answers to the question why Columbine and others happened.

With each film you direct you seem to top yourself in terms of directing by giving the film a bigger scope or just being tighter in terms of pacing. What did you do in "Rampage" to differentiate or improve from a directorial standpoint compared to your previous films?

Since I work with the editor Thomas Sabinsky my style changed. We go on purpose into soft images. I dont tell the DP anymore what will happen in the shot so that we have a great docu style sucking you into the movie. You are live there.  STOIC , RAMPAGE, DARFUR are my best movies. And of course POSTAL.

After directing a string of video games films you finally made your way to video game development with the game "Tunnel Rats." Due to the improved graphics do you perhaps see yourself making more video games and perhaps switching to that full time and no longer directing? And what about making video games excites you from a creative standpoint?

Nothing, It was  a bad experience based on a great idea. But REPLAY screwed me over and now they are bankrupt. You get the game only on STEAM/VALVE for download to own.

Based on the audio commentaries of your films and other interviews you have no problem dissecting your movies and talking about their flaws or production issues. Out of the films you've directed which in your view was the worst?

House of the Dead

It's well documented that video game fans hate your films due to how they differ from the properties that they're based on. At this point do you even care about the reaction of the video game community and are you somewhat frustrated that you won't be given a fair shot even if you make a good film? A good example of this is Postal as it retained the key craziness of the games and took a nice satirical look at things yet it still got a negative reaction from gamers.

Absolutely. I was pissed about the reactions to POSTAL and I'm still pissed that people don't see that POSTAL is a great movie. You must be a complete retard to give MAX PAYNE, DOOM or all that redundant crap better reviews as POSTAL. Time will tell and show that I made some bad, some medium but also some great movies. And Tunnelrats, POSTAL, STOIC , RAMPAGE or DARFUR are great.

Are you in a way hoping to change the perception people have about you with your upcoming film "Darfur" which is a straight forward drama? Also, are you worried that people may not give the movie a shot since it has your name attached or do you not worry about crap like that? And overall what can we expect from that project?

You find on youtube trailers and making of's  and a longer trailer on www.bollworldsales.com ...watch it. It was a intense movie to make and I think it turns out great. If people dont see that we have to stop that genocide there   ...and instead of taking shit about me .....then they are just lost idiots.

Is there a particular video game franchise that if given the chance you would like to direct?

MGS (Metal Gear Solid)

What can we expect from the upcoming BloodRayne sequel?

Finally LOKEN (actress Kristanna Loken) is back and she will fight against Nazis  ...like in the game. Sex and Gore.

What do you think of the current trend of movies using 3D? In your eyes is this a desperate attempt to get people in theatres or does it have actual promise in advancing film making? And if given the opportunity would you consider making a 3D movie?

I would like to make a 3D movie but it must be a movie with a lot of effects. I see now too many 3D movies with 5 cool 3D shots ..this is not enough.

I know you're a big movie fan so what was the last movie you saw and was it any good?

I saw the INFORMANT with Matt Damon and loved it. And Transformers 2 in the air plane and I hated it. Terminator 4 was medium.  The new STAR TREK was good.

Lastly, when can we expect Rampage to be released in North America?

Next spring on DVD by PHASE 4.

I would like to thank Mr. Boll for taking some time out of his schedule to do this interview, especially since I'm sure he's not too hot on video game sites.