Looper Director Makes Downloadable Commentary for In-Theater Use

A new Looper commentary track by director Rian Johnson adds insight for viewers giving the sci-fi flick a second viewing in theaters.
Photo: Alan Markfield

By David Cornish, Wired UK

With the average cinema ticket in the U.K. costing over $9.60, film distributors have to work pretty hard to get cinema-goers to hand over their cash — even more so when a 3-D or Imax release can cost as much as a DVD. Getting film lovers to see your release a second time is thus even harder.

However, writer and director Rian Johnson has come up with a novel way of getting fans of his time travel/science fiction thriller Looper to return to the silver screen — or loop their experience, if you will. The U.S. director has released a downloadable audio commentary for audience members to listen to while watching Looper for a second time, offering insights into the filming-decision, writing and creative processes.

“I recorded a commentary track to be downloaded, put on an iPod and listened to in the theater as you’re watching Looper,” Johnson explains on Looper’s Tumblr account. “It is totally different from the commentary track that will be on the Blu-ray/DVD, a bit more technical and detailed.”

Johnson has tried the idea out before, releasing a commentary for his 2008 film The Brothers Bloom. Having received requests from fans on Twitter to release a similar commentary, Johnson decided to give the scheme a second outing — but implores viewers not to use the commentary on their first viewing.

The introduction of the MP3 track contains instructions as to how viewers can sync the commentary to the film — as well as Johnson’s own pleas that users wear suitable headphones and don’t use devices with bright screens, so as to avoid distracting other cinemagoers.

Looper, staring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is set between the years 2044 and 2074 — a future in which criminal gangs are able to dispose of people by sending them back in time to be dealt with by hired guns known as loopers. Joe (Gordan-Levitt) is one such looper, whose world falls apart when his own old self (Willis) is sent back to be killed. Gordon-Levitt would spend three hours in makeup before every filming session, adding a false nose, lower and upper lip sections and having hair added to his eyebrows in order to appear more like Willis.

You can download the commentary here. Does Johnson’s scheme tempt you to go back to the cinema a second time? Are there any other films you would like to see in the cinema with a director’s commentary? Let us know with a comment below.