ASSASSIN CLUB: An Interview With Director Camille Delamarre

Glen Dower:

We will talk about the cast in a moment, but as we know you have a passion for the action of course, and I would love to get your opinion on the genre. In the 80s obviously, we had Sly with Schwarzenegger, we had the 90s’ introduction of Bruce Willis/John McClane-type heroes. Into the Millennium, we had the first Transporter film in 2002 then the first Taken in 2008. Now today, cinema is full of superheroes with action stars called Chris. You have worked on both the Transporter and Taken franchises – do you still feel those movies’ impact on the action genre?

Camille Delamarre:

Just for me, in this kind of action movie genre, we have of course an action hero. We have a guy, who is fighting in non-stop, huge action scenes. We have already seen a lot of action heroes with just muscle, who is more like a machine, just professional, just “special skills”, just cold blood and no feelings. And just for me in Assassin Club, I found the occasion to create another type of action hero, and Henry Golding was just the perfect actor to play Morgan. And this hero is just a guy of course who can fight and he is the best in this killer world, but he is also just a human being with feelings and just emotion. Not a machine. So he is, again, a guy, an actual hero. I haven’t really seen these types of films in the past. It was the coolest for me and a good challenge to create this guy with Henry. And that’s why I think he was, even from the beginning, very involved and confident. For him, it was not only him and his charm and good looks, it was more about his talent as an actor and it was great for me to have him ready to fight and do his own stunts. He would tell me ‘No, stay on your chair. I will do it by myself.’ 

Glen Dower:

Henry, who plays the lead of course in this film and along with G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes; do you think he’s putting together a showreel for his 007 audition? Do you think he’d be good at the job?

Camille Delamarre:

Of course! He has this kind of slick singularity which, for me, is something pretty rare to find in this kind of big action hero. This kind of sensibility, sincerity, and that’s what we are looking for in 007. I don’t want to say any other names, but just good luck! We have some great actors. But yeah, he is great.

Glen Dower:

I just want to talk about your career also. As we said, you worked extensively as an editor in such films as Taken 2. Did you take that experience into the director’s chair? Would you film with the editing suite in mind? Also in the past did you spend time on sets as an editor?

Camille Delamarre:

I started as an editor of course because it was, and still is a real passion for me. Editing is my PlayStation! I like also to be involved in the editing of my own movies and TV series because when I am behind the computer and just editing; this is fun for me, just sitting in a room in my own world of editing. This is the real position in the creation of the film. You can create many different films with the same materials. You have just the position just to create, and to give a different rhythm. And of course, as you know, I like peaceful and dynamic rhythms. This is what I like. So I was always learning, be it as an editor for one movie, or just during my free time I made many, many, many short movies, commercials, TV, and video music clips. And I was of course learning also as a director, the small things, and of course I learned with all the directors I met during some editing sessions, they were ready to share with me all the secrets of how to make it work. And of course, they gave me the opportunity to come on set and to look and to learn, and just to see just how to make an action movie! All those behind-the-camera allowed me to be involved, and I could say maybe you need these kinds of shots for these scenes or you can add, let’s try to. So it was a very good school to be a director.

Glen Dower:

And may the education continue. Monsieur Delamarre, bon chance avec Assassin Club.

Camille Delamarre:

Merci!