Vlad Bunoan

Article (news)

Here in Hollywood

Yong Chavez

ABS-CBN News North America

<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WrUMGc5WCFo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>“Oh, it was amazing. We had so much fun and so much good food.”<div> </div>James Gunn beams as he opens our conversation as I was settling in the press junket interviewer chair. The Hollywood director was reminiscing about his June trip to the Philippines. We spoke in Los Angeles a week before his latest mega-movie, &quot;Superman,&quot; hit theaters.I saw a video of you eating halo-halo, I told him. He agrees enthusiastically, showing his insta-love for the Filipino dessert. “Yeah, I had a lot of it. I made it, and I really enjoyed it and had them make me some more of it, and I had it the next day as well.”&#x27;<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175222446561020250711090752_The Superman team in Manila.png" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>James Gunn and the rest of the Superman team in Manila. Warner Bros. Pictures </div>James Gunn doesn’t come off like a guy who makes movies with $200-million budgets. He’s warm, loose, a little unfiltered, and despite running DC’s cinematic future, decidedly not trying to impress anyone. If you’ve seen any of his work, from &quot;Guardians of the Galaxy&quot; to &quot;Peacemaker,&quot; you already know he has a thing for the misfits, the screwups, and the lovable freaks of the world. But ask him why he gravitates toward outsiders, and his answer isn’t some studio-ready soundbite. He shares that it comes from a personal POV.“Well, this might shock you, but I myself feel like an outsider,” Gunn says with a laugh. “I grew up sort of not really feeling like I was part of everyone else… those people always speak to me.”It tracks. The characters in a James Gunn movie don’t wear polish easily. They’re messy, sarcastic, morally questionable, and often oddly charming. In other words, human. Or with human characteristics because sometimes they’re a talking raccoon or a guy in red underwear and a cape.Gunn’s latest mission is the reimagining of Superman for a generation that has seen its icons fall, get rebooted, and memed into oblivion. But don’t expect a brooding, bro-y reinvention.“Superman is at his heart this kind person who wants to help everyone who needs help,” Gunn says. “But at the same time, I think that in this version, we get to see someone whose interior life is a little bit more rich.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175222450937220250711090752_James Gunn directing David Corenswet who plays Superman (1).png" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>James Gunn directing David Corenswet as Superman. Warner Bros. Picture </div>The film, he explains, will dig deeper into Superman’s internal conflict. It shows his identity, his roots, and his purpose. “We see Superman having a personal crisis about who he is, where he comes from, and how he re-contextualizes the way he looks at himself,” Gunn shares, before quickly adding, “I really love the character of Superman, and I love him in this movie as well.”There’s a noticeable sincerity to the way Gunn talks about his characters, even when they’re superhuman. It’s the same sincerity that makes it easy to bring up something seemingly off-topic. Like spotting his brother Sean Gunn in his projects.“Whenever I watch a project of yours, I always love seeing your brother, because I’m a huge &#x27;Gilmore Girls&#x27; fan,” I mention. “Oh, yeah, we love for Kurt to show up,” he grins, referencing Sean’s lovable eccentric character on the iconic CW show.James Gunn’s rise from his indie filmmaker roots to DC Studios co-chief is the kind of industry climb that sometimes ends in burnout or cynicism. Not for him. If anything, his success has made him more reflective.“I started out in this industry like anybody else, with the same markers of success: being rich and famous,” he says. “Over time, I’ve learned that it’s nice to have money and fame, but that doesn’t really do anything for you, besides getting you a better table at a restaurant.”For Gunn now, fulfillment comes from what he calls “the joy of creativity.” He lists his sources of joy: time with his wife, his pets, and the people he loves. The version of success he’s chasing is quieter, but no less ambitious.“That was always what my inner self was striving for,” he says. “But for a while you get a little distracted by all the other things. What matters to me is the actual experience of creation.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175222454926820250711090752_James Gunn at Superman premiere.png" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>James Gunn at the &#x27;Superman&#x27; premiere. Warner Bros. Pictures </div>That commitment to authenticity extends beyond his work. In an industry fueled by opinions and online outrage, Gunn isn’t particularly interested in performative politics. What he says he is interested in is truth.“I think filmmakers have a responsibility to be authentically themselves,” he says. “If that’s political, awesome. If that’s not political, awesome. But everything is sort of political… because of the way the world is and because people love to fight online.”So how does he stay grounded while juggling expectations, especially with a character like Superman who’s arguably the most overanalyzed superhero of all time?“Honestly for me, prayer and meditation,” he says, smiling almost sheepishly. “I have to stay connected to myself. When I get too distracted by problems, or like my flight later today, I’m not really being true to myself.”The key, he says, is being present, whether on set or in a conversation.“If I’m here talking to you, I’m talking to you. That’s important. This moment is important. That’s all we have in life.”And he’s not wrong. Gunn’s gift as a storyteller might not only be his style or even his wit. It’s also present in his ability to make space for sincerity, even when (or especially when) things get weird. It’s what makes his heroes lovable and his villains redeemable. It’s also what makes a chat with him feel like, well, a conversation.“I can feel it with you, too,” he says, gesturing towards me. “Sometimes people come in and they’re just so nervous, you know? But we’re having a conversation. That’s what this interview is.”“But we can&#x27;t blame them for being nervous, you know. You are James Gunn, after all,”  I reply, teasing.He laughs. “I’m used to myself. That’s not a big deal for me.”Maybe that’s his real superpower.

In this candid conversation, James Gunn talks about his love for halo-halo, reimagining Superman, and why he’ll always root for the outsiders — on and off screen.

In this candid conversation, James Gunn talks about his love for halo-halo, reimagining Superman, and why he’ll always root for the outsiders — on and off screen.