When did you arrive in London?
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Yesterday.
Where were you before that?
Its been a bit crazy, but its been exciting.
Its like [mimics somebody horrendously out of breath] TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF IT!
I really enjoyed it.
[In mock desperation] Why?
I loved the production design and the world-building.
[Nods appreciatively]
It looked spectacular.
I understand you got quite involved in all of that.
Yeah, I did.
I mean… [thoughtfully] pfff….
It started withDungeons & Dragons,I understand.
I think it did.
In 2005 I was on Conan OBrien, and he pulled out this coffee table book.30 Years Of Adventure.Wow.
So I wrote the foreword.
Um, and he was a witch hunter.
But I played a witch hunter in ourDungeons & Dragonscampaign.
And I said, I played the witch hunter.
I say that because you never know what influences writers.
Its like, validation time.
Like, Mr Cool was also theD&Dgeek?
Wow.A few months after that meeting, I got this script.
And the interesting thing is, it was about a witch hunter.
I thought, Wow, thats surreal.
Imagine doing a $100m movie based around a character I played in a tabletop game!
But youre from Den Of Geek.
Heres a point for you guys: my character was a Half-Drow.
A race that existed before man.
I think a different version of this film could have been a lot darker and nastier.
What I liked was that its good-natured and inclusive.
Its interesting that you say that.
I dont know why Im saying this, but I feel like its a new genre.
[sighs]
I guess we were attempting to create a character whos amiable as hes capable of being.
In some ways, Kaulders doing the same thing.
Hes masking, as we see, as we uncover.
Hes masking this sorrow and this pain.
Which means maybe 2014 was the best year to play this character.
Yeah, sure, sure.
When I came on as a producer, I had big ideas.
One of them was elevating the multi-culturalism of the movie.
Do you remember the first movie?
It was still a multi-ethnic movie, but it was done in aWest Side Storyway.
Yeah, it was likeWest Side Story.
It wasnt what it became after the fourth one, when I started producing.
The sense of family didnt span across it.
One of the best cinema experiences Ive had was watching[Fast Five]in a packed theatre.
So many people from different backgrounds and ages and everything, and we all laughed and gasped… Theres a sense of unity about it thats refreshing, and refreshing for Hollywood.
Do you think some of that same spirit runs throughThe Last Witch Hunteras well?
Yes.The Last Witch Hunter…I guess the title could be misleading?
Because its kind of a polarising profession.
And I think The Last Witch Hunter will work best with its multiple chapters.
Do you see where thats going?
So he persecuted Christians and then he converted to the faith.
you could see that theme running through this.
Its hard to mention witches without evoking our knowledge of the last thousand years.
Evoking the concept of what a heretic is, how weve… As we talked about [before], its the road to Damascus.
This is an original film, not based on an existing book or franchise.
I know you worked hard to getRiddickmade.
So was it as difficult to get this one going?
Youve read all the stories about me putting my house up to make that.
Ive been waiting 10, 15 years to make a fantasy movie.
They had to get Elijah Wood.
They had to get Rose Leslie.
And then most importantly, they had to get Michael Caine.
I said, Adjust the role.
Well…
Guys, Ive always said we have to get Michael Caine in this.
And now Lionsgates going to have a franchise.
With that, our time is sadly up.
Vin Diesel, thank you very much.
The Last Witch Hunteris out in UK cinemas on the 21st October.