One of the hidden gems at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival was Rupert Wyatt’s directorial debut The Escapist, a prison escape thriller starring Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes and Dominic Cooper as three of a crew of prisoners who make a brazen effort to get out of a maximum security prison. The film was striking for its stark look as well as it’s distinctive non-linear storytelling structure, and it showed a great deal of promise for a first-time filmmaker who had actually spent nearly ten years cutting his teeth on short films.
Over a year after first seeing the film, ComingSoon.net had a chance to sit down with Wyatt to find out what went into making his long-awaited feature film debut.
(Note from the interviewer: While it’s been commented that I sometimes sound a bit like Martin Scorsese, I don’t quite have his filmmaking skills just yet, so apologies for the shaky camerawork!)
The Escapist opens in New York and L.A. on Friday, April 3, but it can be seen on IFC First Take in other areas.
