Making the scary earthquakes in ‘San Andreas’

MANILA, Philippines – The latest disaster flick to hit the big screens, San Andreas, features the kind of mega earthquakes that down buildings, cause tsunamis, and wipe out huge cities. (READ: Seismic box office debut for ‘San Andreas’)

In these new video interviews, musician Zach Lucero talks to director Brad Peyton and actress Carla Gugino about those intense scenes – and just how much effort goes into making sure everything is just right. (READ: ‘San Andreas’ Review: Spectacle over drama)

In the movie, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays Ray Gaines, a first responder who fights to save his family when disaster strikes California. Ray is estranged from his wife Emma – but they must stick together as they make their way to rescue their daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario). (WATCH: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson: I love the PH, I’ll never forget it)

Brad zeroes in on one scene in particular – a terrifying sequence where Carla’s character Emma races to the rooftop to escape the sudden earthquake. That scene, says Brad, took about 7 months to perfect, from planning to post-production. 

“Everything in the set shook in order to kind of build the vibe. I always wanted to shoot as much in camera as I could. I always wanted to put the actors inside of the event so they could really feel it,” he tells Rappler. (READ: Ready for San Andreas)

“I did train for this movie, because just even for that whole rooftop sequence, I wanted to make sure I had enough cardiovascular ability just to be able to do as many takes as Brad, our director, needed me to do,” says Carla, who worked hard to get in shape for the physically demanding role. 

Watch Carla’s interview below:

 

But despite the magnitude of the disasters, the movie is really about the journey faced by this family, and their complicated relationships, according to Brad and Carla. They took special care to make sure the visual effects do not drown out the film’s conflicts. 

“…with spectacle, and you know scale and all that stuff, big action set pieces – they’re very entertaining, but if you really want them to resonate, you need to care about the people inside of the events,” says Brad. 

“Any time something technical took over, it was always about coming back to that truth, so that was really helpful. I kind of loved that combination about this film,” adds Carla. – Rappler.com