Kevin Greutert

0:03So you shot the film in Toronto? That's right, we've shot saw two through seven in Toronto. How come? Well, you know, there are probably a lot of reasons. Almost all of them budgetary. Well, aesthetically, as the director of a film though. Aesthetically, almost all the shots in all the saw movies have been on a set. So it was kind of irrelevant to what the look of Toronto was. We did get out into Metro Hall and shoot a major scene for Saw 3D. And that was cool to be able to do that in downtown Toronto. But ultimately, it's just that we wanted to keep the same crew year after year. So we found a great team in Toronto. And, you know, it just has worked out well. Of course, there's tax incentives and all that. But Toronto has very highly skilled film industry workers.

0:52So we tapped into that long ago and never looked back. You mentioned the scene outside. I believe that's the one that's in the trailer, yeah? That's right. I think the scene in the trailer, two guys in a kind of glass cube that are duking it out over a woman. So is this one going to be more outside? I mean, the other ones are very, you know, like you said, inside on sets kind of thing. Is this one more out there in public? Well, some of it is. We shot, oh, I don't know, at least 10 days outside, mostly at night in the cold, which is a little bit brutal. But I would say that the majority of the scenes are still dark interior scenes, more like what you traditionally associate with. Right. It's a pretty steady job for you. Or I guess it has been until now if this is the last one. That's right. Yeah.

1:37I mean, I've even found time in between saws to edit other people's films. But yeah, I've worked on all seven of them. Is that still your first love editing? No, I always wanted to direct. And as much as I like editing, it's really just a subset of filmmaking in general. So I'd rather do the whole enchilada. When you're shooting a film as coming from an editing background, do you already have the film edited in your mind when you're shooting? Or do you like to overshoot as well? No, people talk about that, but I actually don't agree with it at all. What I focus on when I'm directing in terms of coverage is getting what I know I need to edit the scene. But what that means for me personally is that I almost never want to get locked into only being able to present the film in one way when I'm in the editing room.

2:23So I generally shy away from master shot type coverage. And certainly there are times on the set when I'm very specific about how a thing's going to be cut. But in general, I do it in a way that I know will let me do the dynamic editing that characterizes the saw films. How did you shoot the 3D? I know there's a whole bunch of new 3D technologies out there. We rented these SI2 silicon imaging rigs that were made by 3D Camera Company in Toronto. So it was done with state of the art technology. Most of the cameras were very lightweight and had lens flexibility that was very state of the art. So we're able to do a lot of stuff that 3D movies haven't been able to do up to this point.

3:09And I think it worked out really well. We went to the premiere last night and everybody seemed to think the 3D looks great. And I had been concerned going in that I wasn't going to be able to make the film feel like a saw movie. Because of the 3D look, which is the 3D has a very crisp look. When it looks best, you have very deep focus. So there aren't like blurry objects in it, which is you don't really think about it. But in a 2D movie, often you'll have the subject be in focus, but the background will be way out of focus. That's just something we're used to with 2D. When you try to do that in 3D, it looks disturbing. So there are all sorts of techniques for focusing the audience's attention in filmmaking, both in terms of composition and lighting and also editing.

3:59A lot of those rules change in 3D. So there is some tricky stuff. But at the end of the day, I really think that the 3D worked in the way that we've always used the cameras. So the editing is very fast and the camera is moving all over the place, but it doesn't make you sick. It doesn't make your eyes hurt or any of the concerns that people have like that. Right. Do you see yourself ever shooting in 2D again? Like I mean, I seem especially for the horror genre, they're all going to need to be 3D coming up. Well, I still really like 2D and would happily work in 2D again. If I ever do a found footage film that might be in 2D, there really are some advantages to 2D. But I think moving forward, most likely my next film will be in 3D.

4:45And it's hard to say. I think a lot more stuff is going to continue to be in this new format, but it doesn't really suit highly character driven drama, for example. But we'll see. I like the medium and I would happily return to it. Well, it's a big departure for you. Is a drama next on your agenda? No, more more. More or paranormal activity 3 per chance? That's not in the works necessarily, but a lot of potentially exciting products. Fair enough. Fair enough. What do you want to do next? Have you always wanted to work in the horror genre? Or do you want to do a musical one day, do a comedy one day, these kind of things? I would love to branch out into all sorts of genres. A lot of my favorite filmmakers did just that.

5:31And I'd like to follow in the footsteps. I particularly like science fiction and kind of mind expanding films like Blade Runner and 2001, that sort of thing. Not easy to get that kind of project off the ground though, but hopefully someday. Yeah, for sure. Well, with the 3D thing, I think those things are going to be more and more common than they ever have been because those are the kind of films that work for that. For sure. Yeah. Tell me about the film. So Carrie Elway's is back. Yeah. Carrie always disappeared from the series for Saw 2 through 6. The directors and writers have always wanted to bring him back to get some more Dr. Gordon Love and to answer some of the big lingering questions about his character. And finally, the producers were able to make it work. So we were very happy to have him stride onto the set and hear that familiar voice echo the walls.

6:22Yeah, yeah, for sure. And did I see Chester from Lincoln Park in there too? Chester Bennington is in the film. He's a great job in a very harrowing trap that was bad for the character. And I think uncomfortable for him on the set with an outdoor night winter shoot with him shirtless and restrained. He did a fantastic job. I would have been grumbling like crazy, but he was smiles the whole way. That's awesome. Can you give us any plot details? What's happening? How things are going to finalize themselves if they do? Well, there absolutely is a great deal of closure in this film. There are several main storylines. One continues with the antagonism between Detective Hoffman and Jill Tuck, the white jigsaw, where we left them at the end of Saw 6.

7:15They were kind of angry at each other. And that anger motivates a lot of the plot. There's a new character named Bobby Dagan that's played by Sean Patrick Flannery. And he's somebody who's written a book about surviving a jigsaw trap and it's made him a celebrity. He has a lot to do with the film. And of course, Carrie always his character, Dr. Gordon, is back. And jigsaw, you know, he left a lot of legacy materials after his death to make sure that the world will never forget him. Dead, but not dead, kind of. That's right. Gotcha. I wonder about these things. Because I mean, it's Halloween weekend and things like this. And it works out that you guys released the film every year on Halloween weekend. But watching it and putting it together.

8:00I mean, obviously you're making these films to creep people out. But while you're there and when you're sitting in that dark editing room alone, does it creep you out? Yeah, sometimes it can. You know, the films are meant to be very visceral and very adrenaline-fueled. And sitting at an editing computer for 12 or 14 or more hours a day, looking at this stuff and being completely immersed in it and having these images flash through my eyes day after day. It's pretty weird. And it'll give me strange dreams and it'll make it a little bit difficult for me to interact with people. But when I pull my face away and come home or see friends, it's a little bit odd. No questions. Yeah, fair enough. Do you have your Halloween costume picked out? Do you know what you're going to be?

8:48No, but we're going to go to a Halloween store in about 10 minutes and see if there's anything motivating there. Nice. You really leave me into the last minute? I guess I haven't gotten mine yet either though, mind you. Well, we're having a party with a costume contest and I'd feel like a dummy if I was distressed and glued you into the t-shirt. Oh, man, you have access to all the props and stuff. You can be a little dull. I have done the stopping. I've got the thaw maps and all that. I don't know if I can pull that out again. No, no. If you've done it already, well, I guess over seven years, I would think it would have happened at some point. Before I let you go, we do something called five questions, five quick questions, one word answers. Freddy or Jason? Freddy. Lennener McCartney. Lennon. Wes Craven or John Carpenter? Carpenter. Film you've done that you're most proud of.

9:38Soft six. And one word, Kevin Gruder. One word response. I'm excited. Yeah, that's a good one. I like it.