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Short filmTranscript
00:00 but it tonally is very different.
00:01 And I think the idea was that, you know,
00:04 we should at this point maybe have a little departure
00:06 tonally from what we've done before
00:08 to A, surprise the audience of the people
00:11 who've watched the previous films,
00:12 but also maybe to bring in some new audience too.
00:15 [dramatic music]
00:16 - I'd give all I have to hear my daughter's voice.
00:19 - If someone wants to be heard, we are here.
00:23 - Listening.
00:25 [dramatic music]
00:28 [gunshots]
00:31 - Mama?
00:34 [upbeat music]
00:37 - I see a difference between "A Hunting in Venice"
00:43 and the previous Agatha Christie movies.
00:45 In this movie, we have the presence of the supernatural.
00:47 So why did you choose this story specifically to tell now?
00:51 - I think you sort of nailed it on the head, really.
00:53 It was to make something different, I think.
00:56 Michael Green, who's the writer,
00:57 talked to me a long time ago about wanting to do something
01:00 with "Halloween Party,"
01:01 which is the book on which this is based.
01:02 At first, I wasn't quite sure what he was getting at
01:05 or why in particular, or what he saw in that story.
01:08 But two or three years ago, I had a meeting with him,
01:10 with Ken Branagh, with Steve Aspell from "20th Century,"
01:13 and he kind of explained it.
01:15 He felt that having done two very traditional,
01:18 quite straight adaptations in "Murder on the Orange Express"
01:21 and "Death on the Nile," he felt we should try
01:23 and surprise our audience.
01:25 We should try and amaze them
01:25 with something a little bit different.
01:27 And you will see in this movie that, you know,
01:29 there are elements of horror.
01:30 It's not a horror movie as such,
01:32 but it has moments that are scary.
01:34 I think it's a splendor thriller,
01:35 and at its heart, it is a murder mystery.
01:37 But it totally is very different.
01:39 And I think the idea was that, you know,
01:42 we should at this point,
01:43 maybe have a little departure totally
01:45 from what we've done before to, A,
01:47 surprise the audience of the people
01:49 who've watched the previous films,
01:51 but also maybe to bring in some new audience too.
01:53 - "A Houchi in Venice"
01:55 makes a mystery plot with supernatural elements.
01:57 So how did you compose the film's soundtrack
01:59 to give this feeling to the audience?
02:01 - Well, I was referencing mostly classical,
02:05 or let's say like, you know,
02:06 forward-thinking classical music of this time
02:09 with how I composed the music.
02:12 So I was looking towards the ways
02:15 that melodies were changing in this time
02:18 and the way the composers of this time
02:20 were raising questions about what is music
02:23 and what is sound,
02:25 and how are we playing our instruments
02:27 and what is melody and how can we break it up?
02:31 How can we break up all the old structures?
02:34 So I was looking at these questions
02:37 as I placed the music in the timeline.
02:40 So whenever they're looking backwards in time
02:44 and to a more melancholic, you know, pre-war era,
02:50 that, you know, we have melody that sweeps in.
02:53 And then the more forward-facing scenes,
02:56 like when the big reveal of "Wu-Tang" is happening,
02:59 then we're kind of, we're breaking up the melody
03:02 and moving forward to the more atonal times, you know?
03:06 So I was looking at it
03:07 from a kind of historical point of view.
03:09 - This is Kenneth Branagh's third adaptation
03:11 of "Agatha Christie".
03:13 So how has it been working with him?
03:15 And do you have plans for new movies
03:17 in a possible "Agatha Christie" cinematic universe?
03:20 - Working with Ken Branagh is just extraordinary.
03:23 I mean, he is one of the most talented people.
03:25 He's incredibly intelligent, harder working than anyone.
03:28 He kind of makes you feel completely inadequate.
03:31 So all I can do is sing Ken's praises.
03:33 You know, he's one of the best actors of his generation
03:36 and having him want to play Poirot is a joy.
03:39 In terms of the future, I mean,
03:40 let's deal with the present now.
03:41 Let's hope people enjoy this film.
03:44 But, you know, if people want to make more films,
03:46 if Ken wants to make more films,
03:48 it's my privilege in life to try and share
03:51 my great-grandmother's stories
03:52 with as many people as possible.
03:54 And I can't think of many better ways of doing that
03:56 than with Ken and 20th Century.
03:58 So yeah, I'd love to make more.
04:00 (dramatic music)
04:03 - Somebody is dead.
04:04 (woman screaming)
04:05 No one shall leave this place until I know who did it.
04:07 (woman screaming)
04:09 - A ghost killed her.
04:10 (dramatic music)
04:12 - How was for you to work on this adaptation
04:15 of "Agatha Christie"?
04:16 Have you previously had any relationship with her work?
04:19 - Yes, I have a huge relationship with her work
04:22 because everyone in my family is a huge fan.
04:26 So when my mother was pregnant with me,
04:27 she read one "Agatha Christie" novel a day.
04:29 You know, she couldn't really get out of bed.
04:32 So I think that the connection with her
04:35 is really, you know, deep, deep in my blood.
04:38 (woman laughing)
04:39 - You won an Oscar for "Joker"
04:41 and you have been quite prominent in recent years.
04:44 So how was "A House in Venice"
04:46 different from your previous work?
04:47 - Well, I think every film is different.
04:50 So every film is, you have to just approach it
04:53 from what this film is saying,
04:54 what this story is saying,
04:56 where this, you know, this period,
04:58 like what the role of the music is within this film.
05:01 And so I think every single project is really different.
05:05 And working with different directors
05:07 and different people is also very different
05:09 because directors, you know,
05:11 their process is as different as people are.
05:14 So you kind of have to,
05:16 you have to start from the beginning point
05:17 on every single process and every new collaboration.
05:22 You know, you have to get to know the person.
05:24 So that's kind of also what makes it exciting, I think.
05:27 - As a great grandson of "Agatha Christie",
05:30 how is for you this experience of working these adaptations
05:33 and manage her rich material?
05:35 - You know, it's an extraordinary thing.
05:37 One of the things I sort of learned from my father,
05:39 actually, who did this job before me was,
05:42 in business, you should pick your partners really carefully
05:46 and then trust them.
05:46 And what is great about this whole project
05:49 is we've had basically the same team from the beginning.
05:51 Michael Green's written all three screenplays.
05:54 Ken's obviously directed and starred in all three.
05:57 And Steve Asbell's been at 20th Century throughout.
06:00 So there is a massive element of trust.
06:02 And with that, actually, my role is diminished.
06:06 It does help that they are all brilliant at their jobs
06:09 and have an incredible respect for my great-grandmother.
06:11 And that means that, actually,
06:13 my need for intervention is very minimal.
06:16 - If you could choose one "Agatha Christie" story
06:18 to take to the big screen next year
06:21 and two actors to star in it, who would they be?
06:23 - I'm never very good at this one.
06:25 Look, I love what we've done.
06:27 I don't really tend to sort of dream in that kind of way.
06:30 I'd like to build off what we've got here.
06:32 I'd really like "The Haunting of Venice"
06:34 to be a massive success.
06:35 And then we'll work out where we go from there.
06:37 So I'm afraid that that's as good as you're gonna get from me.
06:40 - No one shall leave until I find
06:43 if the living have been killed by the dead.
06:45 [dramatic music]
06:48 - You have been hiding here all this time.
06:51 - Who are you talking to?
06:53 [dramatic music]