Sacha Gervasi had the advantage of knowing for a fact that he would not be getting the job when he went to talk to the studio about directing HITCHCOCK, so he was completely relaxed and honest as he took the meeting. When I spoke with Sacha Gervasi on November 6, 2012, that’s where I wanted to start. A lively conversationalist with an even livelier enthusiasm about his subject, Gervasi as ready with a quip as he was with insights into how to effectively bring a legend to life without being stuffy before pondering how Hollywood is still ready to pigeonhole even its greatest talents, and how delighted he is to finally give Hitch’s wife, Alma Reville her due.
HITCHCOCK is a suitably Hitchcockian love story about the making of PSYCHO. In it we find the eponymous and legendary director at the peak of his career, and dissatisfied with mere fame and success. He wants challenge, and he wants it by turning a true-life crime story into a horror film that will elevate the genre. Fighting his studio, his colleagues and his friends, Hitch is undeterred, relying, as always, on the unsung partnership with his wife and colleague, Alma Reville, who is feeling a little dissatisfied herself. The film stars Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, James D’Arcy, Michael Wincott, and Ralph Macchio. Gervasi directed from a script by John J. McLaughlin, which was based on Stephen Rebello’s book, “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho”. Gervasi’s previous work includes the cult classic ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL, and the feature film THE BIG TEASE, which ripped the lid off hairdressing competitions. Gervasi got the directing assignment after 26 other potential directors had been interviewed for the job.
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