"I had a meeting with the big people at Sony and they looked into my eyes and asked me, 'Do you want to do a commercial movie or a very independent movie?'" the filmmaker recalled. "Of course, I knew the answer, but I thought it was a trick. And then I finally said, 'Of course, I want it to be commercial.'"
"I realized it's not such a trivial question, because every time you're faced with choices, you have to keep reminding yourself that you made a promise and you have to hold to it," he continued. "Basically, the concept of working on a big-budget film is that you have to think about the audience a little bit more than usual."
"That's why [producer Neal Moritz] was great," explained Gondry. "He said, 'Just shoot it.' And the fact that they let me do it, and it ended up in the film is quite surprising."
The hard-partying son of L.A.'s most powerful media magnate realizes his true calling as a crime-fighting vigilante after his father perishes under suspicious circumstances in this big-screen adaptation of the popular radio serial, comic book, film, and television series originated by Lone Ranger creators Fran Striker and George W. Trendle. James Reid (Tom Wilkinson) single-handedly built a media empire, but unfortunately his industrious genes weren't passed down to his son, Britt (Seth Rogen). Irresponsible, slovenly, and frequently inebriated, Britt is shaken out of his drunken stupor upon receiving word that his father has died. Shortly after Britt learns that he has inherited the family business, he forges an unlikely alliance with Kato (Jay Chou), one of his father's star employees, and together the pair hatch a plan to pose as villains in order to get close to the city's most high-powered criminals. Outfitting their indestructible custom-made car, The Black Beauty, with the absolute latest in technology and high-tech weaponry -- and arming themselves to the teeth with an array of gadgets that would make Batman blush -- the masked duo hit the streets as The Green Hornet and Kato. As the public's fascination with the mysterious crime fighters hits an all-time high, Britt's resourceful secretary, Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), helps them to gather intelligence on notorious underworld kingpin Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz), a criminal who holds the entire city in the palm of his hand, and represents everything that Britt's father fought against. Little do the Green Hornet and Kato realize that Chudnofsky is already on to them, and that he's not about to go down without a fight. Rogen and frequent writing partner Evan Goldberg provide the screenplay, with visionary Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) handling directing duties.
The Green Hornet hits in theaters on January 14, 2011.