Home Disney How do you surpass one of the best sequels of all time? Paddington 3 director Dougal Wilson has dared the impossible

How do you surpass one of the best sequels of all time? Paddington 3 director Dougal Wilson has dared the impossible

by Tommy

With Paddington in Peru, director Dougal Wilson brings the sequel to one of the most popular films of recent years to the cinema. In the interview, he reveals how he took on this challenge.

A little bear with a jam sandwich under his hat finds his way to London: Over the past decade, Paddington and Paddington 2 have become two feel-good films that have won the hearts of countless film fans with their charm and humor. Some would even go so far as to call Paddington 2 one of the best sequels ever.

No wonder it took so long for a third installment of the series to hit theaters. With Paddington in Peru, the story finally continues after eight long years of waiting. Paddington and the Browns are back and this time plunge into an adventure that takes them from cozy London to Peru, where, in addition to the dangers of the jungle, some singing nuns lurk.

But how do you follow up a movie like Paddington 2? In this interview, director Dougal Wilson reveals that it took a lot of courage to take on this challenge. But he wasn’t alone: the entire history of adventure films covers Paddington’s journey to Peru, from directing greats like Werner Herzog and Steven Spielberg to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

8kStreaming: Let me ask the hardest question right at the beginning: How do you follow one of the best sequels of all time?

Dougal Wilson: If I’m honest, I have no idea. And I don’t know if we’ve managed to make a worthy sequel to Paddington 2. I’m shaking all over and I’m afraid of the premiere tonight. That’s the most honest answer I can give you.

You’ve been known mainly for music videos and commercials so far. Paddington in Peru doesn’t seem like the most obvious next step. How did this journey begin for you?

I never thought I would be asked to direct a movie like this. But then it turned out that Paul King couldn’t make the third Paddington because he was busy with Wonka. He and [producer] Rosie Alison were looking for someone brave enough to take on this project. At first I was flattered, then I was scared. But I also knew that you only get an offer like this once. So I took the job. But the fear never went away. It stayed with me the whole time and ultimately motivated me.

What exactly scared you?

I think the biggest challenge was to match the previous films. They are wonderfully told and excellently made films. The scripts and their implementation – simply perfection. Everything goes so beautifully hand in hand. How could I achieve this elegance? I watched the films over and over again and made notes to find out how they were structured and how individual scenes work. I also studied the language. I didn’t want to change any of the familiar elements, but to build on them. Of course, we also needed new ideas and a new story, but we kept the style and tone.

Was it clear from the beginning that you would base your film on the big adventure movies, or were other genres under discussion?

No, that was decided pretty quickly. Basically, Paddington is thrown head over heels into an adventure in the first two films. But this time we were able to play around more with a place associated with classic adventure films. Peru has many beautiful landscapes to offer. I traveled there beforehand to get inspired.

Which places were particularly important to you?

I was looking for locations in the Andes, for example, Vinicunca, also known as Rainbow Mountain. It’s very high up, at about 5,000 meters. And Machu Picchu. I climbed to the top of Huayna Picchu twice because it was so impressive. Otherwise, I was in the rainforest, in the province of Tambopata, and spent a few nights in a research station to get a feel for the environment. Then I visited cities like Lima, Arequipa and Nazca. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to fit all these inspiring places into the film. Nevertheless, I hope we were able to capture the spirit of Peru.

For me, the adventure character of the film is also shaped by the references to other adventure films. I often thought of Werner Herzog. Which films inspired you?

Werner Herzog – isn’t he one of your fellow countrymen? He was definitely an inspiration. I’m a big fan of Herzog. And the great thing about the Paddington films is that they work on so many different levels. There are the characters and the story, but there are also some references to film history. I really wanted to make a reference to Fitzcarraldo and Klaus Kinski, who is driving down the river listening to opera music on a gramophone. And I think I managed to create a shot that exactly matches the original, even though the person in question is looking in the other direction with the gramophone in my version.

Yes, you can recognize them immediately. Did you also watch Aguirre?

Yes, we did! But our Aguirre reference is a bit more subtle. The very first shot of Aguirre, when Kinski and his companions go down the ridge and this incredibly narrow staircase – that’s exactly where we shot it. But in our film it’s the other way around: Paddington goes up the mountain and it’s not as foggy, so some people might not notice the reference.

What I find very funny is that Herzog often talks about the jungle, nature and its cruelty in his films. And then Paddington comes along as this feel-good movie. How did you reconcile that?

I remember that Werner Herzog describes the jungle in very interesting terms. And yes, the jungle is indeed very wild, alive and full of species. When we shot Paddington in Peru, I wanted to capture as much of the beauty of the untouched landscape as possible. I’m afraid the existential abysses that Herzog opens up don’t fit our story. But I am firmly convinced that Herzog’s spirit hovers over the film and looks down on Paddington when he gets lost in the jungle – a tiny figure, alone among the trees, and the vastness of the rainforest. Who knows, maybe at that moment Paddington is actually contemplating the meaning of life.

You’re giving me goosebumps just telling the story, and I can already picture Herzog’s voiceover commentary on the scene. But let’s change genres for a moment. What can you tell me about nun movies?

There are definitely some very good ones, and of course we wanted to incorporate them into our film as well. I hope it’s clear that we’re very big fans of My Songs, My Dreams. We wanted to give it a Peruvian twist and also quoted this iconic shot when Olivia [Colman] stands in the meadow at the end of her musical number and turns. We specifically looked for a location in the Andes that resembled the Alpine background of the original.

I also read that The Black Narcissus by Powell and Pressburger was a source of inspiration for you.

Yes, we also wanted to show the darker, more mysterious side of the nun movie, and there’s no getting around The Black Narcissus. I love that movie, especially the camerawork by Jack Cardiff. The way he uses colors is incredible! Then there’s the combination of sets and backgrounds. Powell and Pressburger used remarkable techniques to merge studio shots with backgrounds that were created elsewhere. This was an important issue for us, as we were not in Peru with the cast, only the second unit. The crew filmed many backgrounds that we combined with our shots. Sometimes even the complete shot comes from the second unit, since there are no human figures. Paddington is then simply digitally inserted into nature.

I also discovered two other directing masters: Steven Spielberg and John Huston with Raiders of the Lost Ark and The African Queen.

Oh yes, I watched African Queen a lot. I love all the sequences that take place on the river. The rapids? When Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart are pulled into it – absolutely fantastic! Of course, the technology back then was not as advanced as it is today, but you definitely get a sense of the danger the characters are in. I definitely wanted that in our movie too.

And where does Indiana Jones come into it?

Indiana Jones is the blueprint of the modern adventure movie. I even went back a step further and watched an old Charlton Heston movie called The Lost City of the Incas, which was a big inspiration for Indiana Jones. It’s also set in the Andes and features Machu Picchu as a backdrop. Oh, and have I mentioned Hergé yet? Tintin in the Temple of the Sun – I’m a huge fan of that! I also have to mention one of my favorite British films: The Name of the Rose. Alec Guinness plays different members of a family by slipping into different costumes. In our film, that would be Antonio Banderas, but I don’t want to give too much away.

Suppose I said that Paddington is the heir to Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin?

Then I would say that is correct. He owes a lot to the tradition of physical comedy. Buster Keaton is one of my all-time favorite movie heroes because I just love the way his face contrasts with the absurd situations he finds himself in. And I love Chaplin for his inventiveness and for the hilarious choreography. They were definitely important reference points for the film. In fact, there are also a few direct homages to Buster that we incorporated.

When the wall falls on him, but he is standing exactly where there is a hole?

Exactly, that’s the classic one. We quote several of these iconic Buster moments and adapt them to our story.

The timing in all these slapstick moments could hardly be better. How do you film them when the main character, Paddington, is not real?

We used a number of techniques to make these scenes as convincing as possible. Perhaps the most important person in this case is an actress called Lauren Barrand, who is standing in for Paddington on set. She wears the hat and coat and makes all the gestures that Paddington would make in the scene. This allows us to plan each shot precisely. Where is Paddington? How does he relate to his surroundings? How does he react to other characters? In addition, someone is reading Paddington’s voiceover. And we have a lot of markers to help us orient ourselves. It is very important that we pay attention to the lines of the eyes when other actors are involved in the scenes and interact with Paddington.

What is the next step when the recordings are done?

That’s where the visual effects get really exciting. I worked a lot with Pablo Grillo, an incredible animation director, and the wonderful team at Framestone. Alexis Wajsbrot, who was responsible for the visual effects, was also part of the team. Pablo was involved in the first two Paddington films. I couldn’t have made the movie without him. Together we designed the action sequences, visualizing them all before shooting. He is a fantastic artist who transformed the scant sketches I gave him each day into something truly beautiful.

How is it for the rest of the cast and crew who are not directly involved in this process but have to work together on the shoot? Can they understand everything you plan with the visual effects team?

It’s a really interesting process and there are always a lot of hurdles at the beginning. Gradually, however, an almost instinctive understanding of what is happening in a scene emerges. Especially when I work with the actors – their great performances are the best testament to this. They make you believe that all of this is really happening in this moment and that Paddington is real. The visual effects are only part of what makes Paddington come to life before our eyes. Without anyone on the other side, there would be no magic.

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