A deep dive into the making of GREAT WHITE in this exclusive interview with director MARTIN WILSON.
Couldn’t pick a more perfect week for GREAT WHITE to open across the US than “Shark Week”. Couldn’t pick a better director than MARTIN WILSON to bring us a killer shark tale like this, and as his debut feature. Guaranteed to bite into you with tension, excitement, and adventure, GREAT WHITE is destined to be one of those “go-to” shark films that you’ll dive into time and time again.
The premise of GREAT WHITE is simple. A tourist trip in a seaplane over the breathtaking North Queensland coastline becomes a nightmare for the five souls on board when the plane crash lands in the ocean. Miles from shore, with no food or fresh water, and holding on for dear life to an inflatable life raft, sniping takes priority to survival as everyone plays the blame game. But it’s not long before a greater enemy surfaces from the darkened depths of the ocean. Killer sharks.
With a “killer” script by Michael Boughen and a standout cast that includes Katrina Bowden, Aaron Jakubenko, Kimie Tsukakoshi, Te Kohe Tuhaka, and Tim Kano, director MARTIN WILSON makes a more than impressive narrative feature film debut.
A 25+ year veteran in the business, Wilson is an acclaimed commercial director in Australia and Asia, directing for multiple award-winning national television campaigns. Venturing beyond commercial work, Wilson has written multiple screenplays, some with options, and is a Bill Warnock nominee. He has also ventured into short films with the award-winning “Wait ‘Til Your Father Gets Home” as well as “Roll”, a tv movie for ShowTime.
But now MARTIN WILSON gets his feet wet with narrative features as he jumps into the deep end of the cinematic pool helming GREAT WHITE. From shooting in the beautiful waters off the coast of Northern Queensland Australia to Tony O’Loughlan’s exquisite cinematography, to finding and casting a perfect ensemble, to Lawrie Silverstrin’s editing and finding that ever-increasing tension in the air, in the water, and under the water, and expertly utilizing O’Loughlan’s lensing to its greatest tension-fueled advantage, to Tom Count’s score, Wilson proves he is “the real deal” as a director.
Using all of the tools in the cinematic toolbox in collaboration with his department heads, Wilson delivers a film that serves as a gripping character study of a rather disparate group of people, and by extension taps into the very essence of human nature, fueled by a life-threatening situation. Thanks to the work of O’Loughlan and Silverstrin, in true Hitchcockian fashion, we are in the life raft with our survivors, disoriented, often self-absorbed, ever fearful of the lurking sharks below, as well as of each other. With tacit metaphoric commentary on man’s relationship with the earth and the oceans, much like the depths of the ocean itself, there is more than meets the eye with GREAT WHITE.
Beyond affable, humble, a man with a wonderful sense of humor and infectious laugh, a director dedicated to his craft, MARTIN WILSON is the real deal. We spoke at length about GREAT WHITE, diving deep into the making of, including:
- why this film for his debut as a narrative feature film director
- his visual approach to Michael Boughen’s script
- casting
- bringing all elements of the environment into the film
- juxtaposing the beauty of the sand, sea, air with the hidden dangers below the surface
- choosing the location
- working with cinematographer Tony O’Loughlan to create 360-degree visuals and incorporate negative space into the fear aspect of the film
- shooting aerials, eye-level land and sea, and underwater
- building tension and establishing pacing
- incorporating cultural elements into the characters
- environmental commentary
- Tony Count’s scoring
- and more. . .
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview June 24, 2021
GREAT WHITE opens July 16 in limited release theatres across the US, plus On Demand and Digital.
