Doug Liman: Pulling Off Pandemic Heist Film ‘Locked Down’ Steeled His Courage To Shoot In Outer Space With Tom Cruise - Deadline

It continues to be hard even to go shopping, but imagine crossing the ocean to make a feature film in a country that had strict lockdown curfews and rules.

Here, Liman explains how he and cohorts pulled off this heist movie and how an adventurous spirit that included his wild solo flight from Massachusetts to London in a single engine plane — has helped raise his courage for Liman’s next movie adventure?

That’s the one where he and Tom Cruise will go into outer space to shoot a film aboard an Elon Musk SpaceX capsule.

DEADLINE: What emboldened you to shoot a movie with multiple locations in London, during a time when the film industry was shut down by global pandemic?

We were locked down in July and Steven and I said, what if we wrote a movie to shoot in September in London.

We always wanted it to be a heist; maybe because it provided a level of escapism, not only for the audience but for Steve and myself, fantasizing and living in the world of what this movie would be while we were locked down.

It’s like, no you don’t, where are you going?’ So, I kept being surprised that Steve wanted to keep engaging on this because it was just a fun pipe dream, brainstorming what this movie would be.

I’m like, this is not going to go well, but we had a Zoom meeting with the marketing people there and their enthusiasm surprised me.

LIMAN: I was like I’m in, I’m making this movie, and I went and raised the money off those 50 pages, with this crazy premise that we’re going to try to shoot in London, during a pandemic, at Harrods.

I said, your investment in making this movie is 100 percent at risk because there’s nobody who can tell you that this is doable, and I’m not going to lie to you?

And the idea of going and making a movie would be a fun escape from what otherwise has been the monotony of every day being the same.

The other part of the plan was shoot it very quickly because I knew that it was only a matter of time before you suffer a shutdown that would be catastrophic for a film of our scale.

DEADLINE: Sounds like your strategy of making a heist film was the guiding principle of a heist, get in and out before they realize what hit them.

I still feel like Swingers is a way better movie than it would’ve been had I had the proper production plan to go make it.

It would be boring to me, as a filmmaker, to just have a film with two people in a house.

But we were not immune from an outbreak and I told Stuart, I’ll try to finish a movie, but I’m going into this knowing full well what I’m going into.

I’ll roll with whatever happens, and I’m not just going to leave you?

If there’s any way for me to finish this movie, I’m going to finish it, but…I don’t know.

LIMAN: She’s like, you can save your breath, I’ve read it, I love it, I’m in.

But the reality is that, I’m talking to you from the same desk I was sitting at in July, brainstorming with Steve Knight about the idea of us escaping our own personal lockdowns to make a movie.

And as long as you’re fantasizing about this impossible thing that’s never going to happen…by the way, I recognize that I sound a little bit like Anne Hathaway, in the heist plotting scene which she would say, if we did this, which we’re not going to do.

If we make this film, which is obviously not going to happen, it’s not possible.

But if we did…In the emotional state of us putting this film together, and as long as you’re fantasizing about it, I was like, well, maybe I’ll fly myself across the Atlantic for the shoot?

LIMAN: It was bucket list, but an outgrowth of the film, which I also probably never would have done but for this pandemic and this lockdown and this feeling of, I’m going to attempt to do something outrageous, like go make Locked Down.

I had a conversation with Michael Bay at the end of August, told him I’m really thinking I’m going to fly myself across the Atlantic.

DEADLINE: How long did it take to make the film.

People always wore their masks…we were such a small family making a film, there were no bad apples in the mix.

The only reason I even probably considered making this film in the first place is that because of my friendship with Tom.

I was aware of how hard he was working to get Mission Impossible back into production when the rest of the industry was saying, how can you shoot a movie during a pandemic.

There’s no socially distanced way to make a movie?

I’m like, that’s the world we’re in.

We’re just going to have to ride this thing out, wait for the pandemic to end, and then we’ll go back and make movies.

And here’s Tom Cruise saying, no, like, I’m going to get all these people back to work, which is how he talked about his film.

He said, I’m going to get this film back into production, and that more than anything, inspired me to go try make Locked Down?

That maybe, if he can get a movie made, maybe I can get a movie made?

DEADLINE: Of all the film stories Deadline broke last year, probably the two biggest were Tom Hanks contracting Covis and you and Tom Cruise planning to shoot a movie in a space capsule.

LIMAN: It connects to Locked Down because the same producer who a year ago came to me and said how would you like to try to shoot a movie in outer space?

That’s PJ Sandwijk, and he’s the same person who said to Steve Knight and myself on July 1, what about you guys writing a movie for us to shoot in September.

Same guy, and when, a year ago, he proposed something insane like the space movie, I initially humored PJ.

I was like, well, I’ll take a few meetings on shooting a movie in outer space, because I kind of am curious.

When a producer proposes something crazy to you, like, let’s try to shoot a movie in outer space, and NASA and SpaceX sign on, and Tom Cruise signs on…you’re just a little bit more receptive when that same producer says I got another crazy idea, and that became Locked Down.

How Tom Cruise & Doug Liman Pitched Their Way To $200 Million Universal Commitment On Space Film With Elon Musk.

I’m a regular person, and none of what you are saying is lost on me, but nor is it lost on me when we have conversations, and things come out of our mouths like, we’re going to shoot this scene on Earth, or this scene won’t be shot on Earth.

I think the reason that Tom is such a superstar is, as much as we’re talking about making a movie not on Earth, I think Tom very much has both of his feet planted on the ground!

No matter what the movie is, he’s like, I’m getting to go make a movie.

Earlier in my career, that caused friction with studios who didn’t quite get that, who maybe don’t want their directors treating the film like an adventure.

Making Locked Down, everybody got that this was going to be an adventure.

Going into space, who doesn’t get that that’s going to be an adventure.

So, rather than me changing to fit this corporate Hollywood approach, I have found the people in Hollywood who appreciate that I treat every film like an adventure.

DEADLINE: How helpful was the risk taking on Locked Down and the solo flight across the pond in preparing you for that space movie.

From there I just pushed myself into arenas where…when I was starting Edge of Tomorrow, I told Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, I’ve never made a movie like Edge of Tomorrow.

And Tom’s like, I want to hear it; I’m excited, I know you’ve never made a movie like this, and I’m excited to watch you figure it out, I want to go on this adventure with you.

But some of my friends said, you’re taking a chance, running the risk that if you act like this, you maybe won’t be able to weather a flop as well as somebody who gets along with everybody and just does their bidding

This was a good friend, just trying to get me to recognize you’re taking a chance like that