Director Yves Simoneau, who had previously collaborated with executive producer Scott Peters on the pilot episode of The 4400, spoke to Visitors Among Us while in the midst of production of what would end up being the last episode of the new “V” shot prior to the show commencing on its second production hiatus. In this excerpt from the interview, he discusses his reasons for doing the pilot and his feelings about the show’s potential.
VISITORS AMONG US: Is this the kind of project that attracts your attention?
YVES SIMONEAU: I'm very eclectic in terms of what I like. I did big historical war movies, and I did some noirs and then a bit of science fiction, so when I got the call I was very interested in going back to that world a bit, because I hadn't visited there for a awhile. I don't have a specific affinity for other things – I'm interested by a variety of things.
VISITORS AMONG US: What was it about “V” that made you want to do it?
YVES SIMONEAU: There's something about that notion of an alien “country” coming to earth that feels somewhereat relevant to what's happening here on this planet, because you can draw a lot of parallels to a lot of things. If you have a powerful nation that's decided to go to another nation and integrate, or try to absorb, there's a lot to compare to. And also this notion of foreign life existing, which I believe in – I think it would be a little short-sighted not to think of it. And in a way, people are getting more open to it, changing the way we're thinking about that sort of question. Before, we were the know-it-alls, when people were saying "I believe in aliens," you were treated like a fool. Now people are more and more open to the idea that there is life out there in one form or another. I'm not saying they're Vs – but I don't think we're alone in the universe. Also, if you remember the original, it’s something that made an impact, so you're receiving a sort of a trademark to play with, which is always a big deal. All that made it very interesting.
VISITORS AMONG US: Did you go back and look at the original before you shot this?
YVES SIMONEAU: I didn't do that until later in the process, because I was concentrating on what we had in front of us. I tried to address basically the questions we had about the script, and the production, and then later on, when I was somewhere in the middle of it, I started looking at it, just to make sure I wasn't completely either disconnected from it or too connected to it. Now that I had established my own position, I wanted to put it in relationship with the original, and it was a lot of fun, because we were very different, but at the same time I think we respected a lot of what made it work in the first place. It was a good re-imagination, I think it worked.
VISITORS AMONG US: What are the primary differences between the approach taken with the original and the approach in 2009?
YVES SIMONEAU: It has more shades of gray in it, it is not as black and white, in a sense that a lot of people will adopt the aliens as their favorite characters, and I think that in that regard it's a little different – in the original, most of them were presented as invaders and bad people, and this time we're presenting a little variety. We are not totally sure about their real intent- - we know they want to take over, and we know there are bad elements there, but there is also a whole dimension of that group of people that is positive, and I think that's what's going to make it interesting in the long run. The original miniseries lasted for four hours. This let's you do what you want for many hours so you have to develop a richer, more complex environment for the characters so you have enough to go on with. I think this new version is trying to connect with the reality of today, and so in that way it is connected to the original, but it is different from the original. And that's established the right balance there.
VISITORS AMONG US: Obviously the original was a re-telling of the Holocaust – for today's audience, what are the allegories?
YVES SIMONEAU: It's more about how do you deal with foreign people, foreign elements, foreign objects, how do you deal with something that doesn't belong in your world? And I think it's beyond the Holocaust, and all that, it's about humanity as a whole, how do we behave when something really foreign hits us? I think that's where I would put it. I don't think it's as precise as the original was, in terms of representing the Holocaust or something of that nature. I think it's something bigger than that – not that the Holocaust wasn't big, but it's going beyond that specific event – it's that event, and all the events like that. And not only here, but from everywhere. It's about what makes us human, and how we react and survive and move on and develop.
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Visitors Among us has launched an onine community devoted to "V" in all its incarnations. Members (who join for free, incidentally) will be given their own pages within the community which will allow them to post blogs, photos, music and more. Additionally, there will be stories posting over there that will not be posted here at the main Visitors Among us page. To check out the community, click HERE.