Michael Mann Says ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Had a ‘Really, Really Well Done Story Structure’

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read
4

Michael Mann is musing on the merits of Marvel, particularly James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy.

The “Ferrari” auteur said during The Playlist‘s “The Discourse” podcast that while he will most likely not be directing a superhero franchise anytime soon, he admires the “really, really well done story structure” of Gunn’s first two “Guardians of the Galaxy” films.

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“I only make films that I feel passionate about and that placed me a little bit more on the frontier,” Mann said of his filmography. “That’s where I do my best work. I’d like to be a journeyman director, go from film to film to film, but I don’t think I’d be very good at it. It doesn’t get my blood running.”

He continued, “On the other hand, I think that ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ for example, not necessarily this last one, but the two before, have really worked and I love watching them. And the reason they work is because they have a really, really well done story structure behind them. So it’s exciting in the sense of being able to expand into myth that way and to create myth. I think that’s a very exciting medium.”

Mann added, “I do want to do a science fiction project, but it’s not superheroes.”

And Mann’s approach to action is driven more by practical effects than Marvel’s VFX: Mann revealed to IndieWire that “Ferrari” did not use any green screens for the action sequences involving racing luxury cars, all of which were “built by scratch” for production.

Mann further told IndieWire’s Anne Thompson that his filmmaking approach is to “achieve the purity of the emotional realization in one’s imagination” onscreen.

“To me, very personally and subjectively, that’s what that impulse is. So it doesn’t come from an external inspiration,” the “Heat” director said. “There are people along the way that you say, ‘Well look at Murnau’s film, look at Kubrick.’ So what that means is when we fall short, our biggest critics are ourselves.”

Mann concluded of his directing drive, “It’s not just the marketplace, like, ‘Will this make $100 million’? You do want people to see your movie. I make movies for audiences.”

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