For me, making a lot of dramas on one side it's a different sort of challenge, and on the other, it's not a challenge at all, meaning that my goal is to try and bring the realism and acting you might find in a straight drama with the intentions and conflict, where it doesn't feel tongue-in-cheek, but rather committed and real.
James MangoldWhat I'm really focused on is the majesty of the best films I see are films that don't panhandle for an extra laugh later, but actually deliver the goods. And when the screen goes black, you go, Yes.
James MangoldI'm a huge comic book collector. When I was a kid, I had both Marvel and DC. I was my own librarian. I made card files. I had origin stories of all the characters, and cross-referenced when they appeared in other comic books. I was full on.
James MangoldFilmmakers get into trouble when they're watching too many DVDs and quoting all the time.
James MangoldThere's a level where the themes of a film are very relevant to me and also the idea of finding out how relevant one genre is to another. I think that westerns and samurai films and superhero films have a lot in common. It's just that the scale of the visuals in tentpole films can sometimes overwhelm the drama.
James Mangold