What Hollywood director Renny Harlin gained from China’s film boom and why he embraces AI
The Finnish filmmaker talks about the ‘great’ years he spent in China during its pre-pandemic film boom and how using AI can benefit movies
Renny Harlin is in tears. The Finnish director behind 1990s blockbusters such as Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger is presenting his new thriller, Deep Water, at the fourth edition of the Mediterrane Film Festival in Malta on June 26.
“What I think really prepared me for this movie was getting married and having kids,” he announces, suddenly overcome with emotion.
His wife of five years, Johanna, who produced Deep Water with Harlin and with whom he shares three young children, is sitting close by.
“I couldn’t have made this movie any time before or understood its meaning, [which is] family and love,” he adds.
“I think I learned a lot there,” he reflects two days later, when he sits down for this interview in the bar of his boutique seafront hotel. “I learned about that culture, the people and the storytelling, and how Chinese audiences always expect something really emotional and hopefully also funny in their movies.”
