What is Divinity about?
It’s about life, death, and rebirth – those are the main themes that surround it. It’s about a character named Jaxxon (Stephen Dorff), who ends up creating a chemical called Divinity. It enables people to become pretty much immortal, at least physically immortal. But it’s a work-in- progress, the mind aspect hasn’t been fully figured out, so minds are deteriorating the same as normal, but everyone is physically in their prime. Another side-effect is that you can’t reproduce when you’re taking the chemical, so people taking it must choose… either to live forever or give life.
Can you talk about the themes within the film?
I guess everybody has their own interpretation of the afterlife, what life and rebirth is. Mainly, I use these themes for people to think and ask questions about them, and kind of just dive into them deeper; not necessarily answering how it should be. It was mainly to pose these questions.
Can you talk about the sibling brother relationships in the film?
Between Moises and Jason – They’re star children, these brothers that were made from stardust, and they have one sole purpose. I don’t know if this is revealing too much, but pretty much they were created to maintain balance in the universe. They are sent to this planet where they sense something that is causing a disturbance, which is Divinity. They’re there to save the planet so it doesn’t self-destruct.
How did this amazing cast come together? Have you worked with any of the talent previously?
I like working with new talent to see where their instincts lie. We had a basic treatment and then we used storyboards. So, I put all these on a wall and then I brought these actors in that I admired, and that I thought fit well with the project, and then I kind of went through the whole entire film with them on the wall. So, they pretty much got a firsthand look at the film, not necessarily what you interpret from words but literal drawings of how the shot is angled and everything, from these storyboards. That created a conversation, and they were either down for it or not, but pretty much everyone that I wanted I was able to get for it, and they were excited to try something different.
What was the biggest challenge making the film?
Resources are always tricky. And I think, when you’re creating something like this film, which I feel hasn’t been done, we’re all kind of coming together to explore a new way of creating films, but also how we tell them. I think we were ready for it and we knew it was going to be challenging. It’s tough obviously when you don’t have a lot of money or resources to make things easier with time or added manpower. All we had was kind of persistence with people that were able to still see the end to the finish line and do whatever possible to get it there.
Was there a particular scene that stands out in your mind when you were shooting the film?
Not anything in particular. I mean, everything was just kind of equally nuts, but I think overall the creature transformation that Dorff goes through was pretty unique and different, and challenging at the same time.
Can you talk about the decision to shoot the film in black and white?
The last couple films I did, at least in short form, were also in the same aesthetic and I wanted to explore it in the longer form – wanted to see if it would hold up. I wanted to utilise all the stuff I learned with my shorts into something bigger. I’ve only heard of a couple of films that have ever been shot on our specific format – the black and white reversal, it’s kind of a unique stock that Kodak had to make specifically for us.
How did Steven Soderbergh become involved with the film? Was there any great advice he gave you during the production?
He was executive producer on my last film Perfect and from there our relationship grew and one day we were talking, and he just offered to fund my next idea. It was really just as simple as that. He didn’t really ask what it was about or anything specific, it’s just this amount of money and I can do just whatever with it, which was pretty amazing but also that’s a lot of pressure on your shoulders, to make sure it gets the money back and it makes him happy creatively. I always text him here and there about specific little things but as far as creativity I think he wants me to find it on my own, he doesn’t really influence any of that.
How did DJ Muggs get involved with the project?
So, there are two composers, DJ Muggs and Dean Hurley. Dean had worked with him on one of his albums before and he put me in touch with him, and we met. This is the first time DJ Muggs is really scoring a film, so he was really excited. I showed him some of the footage and it just seemed like it was just a perfect fit for him to explore some of these ideas and work with Dean again. I’ve been a big fan of his since I was a kid.
Thanks to Utopia
Weird Weekend present Divinity on Friday 28th June, 2024, part of our monthly screening series at OFFLINE, Glasgow. Tickets are available here.