“The Adam Project”: Shawn Levy Explains What He Loves Most About Working With Ryan Reynolds

Known for titles like “A Night at the Museum,” “Cheaper by the Dozen,” and “A Night Out of the Box,” shawn levy has taken up a cause in the film industry: in a world plagued by remakes, betting more and more on original stories.

After the success of “Stranger Things”, a series that he has produced for Netflix since 2016 and that is already getting ready for its fourth season, Levy has gained more and more confidence to be able to carry out all kinds of projects, even those that may seem too risky.

Soon one of the films that excites him the most will be released: “The Adam Project”, a film that is inspired by some film classics, such as “Back to the Future”, “ET” and “Star Wars”, to tell a story that hope it becomes endearing to your audience. We talked to him about it.

– Your work has been distinguished for a long time by combining different genres, offering fun, but also great characters, a lot of heart and positive messages. We see a lot of that in this movie, “The Adam Project” is entertaining, but also emotional. How do you achieve that balance?

You just summed up everything I try to do with my work. Everything is about that balance, about combining the popular, the entertainment with humanity. I don’t want to make a movie that’s just spectacular, that’s just fun, I want to make an emotional connection with the audience. The balance is instinctive, I make the film feel the way I would like it to feel if I were in the audience. I may always be sitting on set, but a part of me is always in the audience at the same time.

– I really liked the work you did in this film with the character of Catherine Keener (Maya Sorian). There is always a story behind the villains, but we discover them through time, at different times. In this film, we see two faces of the character facing each other at the same time.

I love villains that are dimensional and also defensible. One of the best villains I’ve seen on film in many years is Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) from “Black Panther,” because you can really understand why the villain does what he does. In the same way, I wanted Maya Sorian to be able to justify herself and my film gave us an extra opportunity because (because of the figure of time travel) you can see her and her young version in the same room and that allows you to see the evolution of person. There’s a great line in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” that says that nobody, no matter what they’ve done, feels like a bad person and I think that makes a villain interesting, to see the evolution of the character’s evil, the motivation of he. On top of that, having an actress like Catherine Keener allowed me to build an unexpected villain.

– There are many messages in “The Adam Project”, messages about our relationship with our parents, with ourselves, but there is also an interesting reflection at the end of the film about the importance of science. Were you inspired by current times and the pandemic?

I certainly have no patience for science deniers, and Mark Ruffalo’s character in “The Adam Project” is a somewhat nerdy academic who believes in the undeniable foundation of scientific thought. When we see him pitted against a megalomaniac who doesn’t pay attention to science (Catherine Keener’s character) I love that it’s science that wins. And yes, that was a message that I wanted to put in the film.

– After “Free Guy”, this is your second film with Ryan Reynolds, but obviously there is a great connection between the two. What do you like most about working with him?

I love that Ryan is a very normal, kind person and I love that, just like me, he loves to work hard, but he also loves going home to his wife and kids. So, we come together to work really hard, we inspire each other, but we also respect the time of our collaborators. You work hard and then we all go home, nobody has to make work a heartbreak, work should be inspiring and fun and a part of your life, but not your whole life. Ryan understands that well, and that’s the way I try to live, too.

THE DATA:

“The Adam Project” premieres March 11 on Netflix. “A pilot who goes back in time collaborates with his younger self and his late father to reconcile with his past while trying to save the future,” says the official plot of the film.

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