Exclusive: Eli Roth on proving doubters wrong and adapting Borderlands to the big screen.
This article appears in the new issue ofDEN OF GEEK magazine.
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At the time, people were saying, Why is Tarantino casting Eli?
Hes not an actor, Roth tellsDen of Geekmagazine.
And Tarantino is going, Yes, he is.
Wait until the movie comes out.
Fifteen years later, the Bear Jew is a classic character.
The way to prove people wrong is with your work.
Thats not for me.
You have to adapt to a different medium.
My loyalty is to the movie.
On top of all that, Gearbox president Randy Pitchford was on set every day of production.
[Pitchford] was excited about what we were doing, Roth recalls.
Id change some things [from the games], and hed say, Thats really cool.
We should try that in the games!
It was a good creative connection between the two of us.
I looked atThe Fifth Elementand even movies likeBarbarella, Roth says.
The cast may seem like an odd mish-mash on paper… and in some ways, they are.
She loves crazy horror movies likeEvil Dead, Roth explains.
and she said, Escape from New Yorkis my favorite movie!
Once Blanchett was on board, Roth immediately knew he wanted to cast Black as Claptrap.
I fought for her, Roth says of casting the young actor.
She blew everyone away.
Kevin is an amazing athlete, and he really knows how to fight.
We made a PG-13, big, fun, summer popcorn movie.
If you love the games, youll have a great time with the film.
Borderlands opens in theaters on Aug. 9.
