Nicholas Cage in Knowing. Photo courtesy of www.IMDb.com

Alex Proyas has a history of exploring the supernatural: He directed films such as Dark City and I, Robot before taking the helm of March 20’s Knowing. The film stars Nicholas Cage as a teacher who finds a written code in a time capsule unearthed at his son’s elementary school. After deciphering the document, he finds it predicts every major world disaster — some that have happened, and others that are to come. North by Northwestern caught up with Proyas in a conference call interview where he discussed the public’s fascination with watching the world burn, how the digital Red One Camera has changed film making, and how to pull off the perfect movie explosion.

Why do you think people find apocalyptic movies appealing?
Whenever people live in uncertain times, it is something that we dwell upon. Everyone is genuinely concerned and movies are a reflection of that, a way of analyzing the situation in a dramatic form. Or preparing ourselves. It’s a sign of the times, I guess.

Do you see Knowing as a disaster movie, in vein of other upcoming films like 2012 which also predicts the end of the world?
I’ve never done a “disaster” movie before, and I don’t believe Knowing is one. I see this movie as a spiritual quest. It’s not really about the disasters, per sé. I wanted to avoid a kind of glamorizing of the events. I wanted to make them as real and unsettling as possible. That was really a reaction against Hollywood movies that glamorize disaster.

What kind of spiritual quest, specifically?
It’s a spiritual quest on the part of Nicholas Cage’s character. He starts thinking the universe functions on a basis of randomness, and he then comes to think his life has a purpose. The movie takes a very unexpected path to tell its story. What I found refreshing about Knowing is that there is a course that it takes that will take people by surprise.

There are obviously many explosions, crashes, and special effects in Knowing. What was the most difficult scene to shoot?
That particular sequence with the plane crashing into the field [seen in the trailer] caused me no end of headaches and nightmares, because I decided to shoot it in one single shot. You encounter all sorts of issues, trying to create multiple explosions with multiple people on camera. We spent two days setting it up and two days shooting. I think it’s the longest amount of time to shoot a single shot. Sometimes people don’t even realize it’s a single shot because its so disturbing, what’s happening, but it feels real.

The movie is one of the first to be with on the new digital Red One Camera. What changes do you think this new tool will bring to movie making?
It’s going to make film making easier. It costs $50,000 to purchase, which seems like a lot of money but not compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars cameras have cost up to this point. I think anything that makes film making less expensive is good for everybody. Also, you’ll be able to shoot and then zoom in on post-production. We were deriving close-ups from mid-shots in the movie. That really completely changes the way we look at things and the way we make movies.

You are obviously attracted the science fiction genre. Were there certain sci-fi movies or TV shows that inspired you growing up?
There wasn’t a lot done in those days, I think that’s why I read so much science fiction. I was a big fan of The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. I liked 2001: A Space Odyssey and the original Star Trek which I watched quite a lot on reruns.

Did you use any scientific advisers on board during filming?
We had a whole bunch of them. I wanted to make the science as credible as possible. It’s a challenge to make that aspect work. You want to make it as real as you possibly can, but you have to make some concessions to dramatic license. You gotta find that sweet spot where the audience accepts it.

What do you think of conspiracy theories? Are you more afraid of the theories or the people or believe them?
[Laughs] I’d have to say the latter. The whole notion of the world ending suddenly is a symbolic notion in our movie. Unfortunately, I think if our world ends it will be at the hands of mankind.