Kinberg looks back on directing Dark Phoenix

https://discussingfilm.net/2022/01/19/simon-kinberg-on-returning-to-his-original-roots-with-the-355-exclusive-interview/

What made you want to make the jump to directing with Dark Phoenix and what did you learn from that experience that you were able to apply to The 355?

Simon Kinberg: When I started making movies, directing was not something that I was that interested in. Over time, especially working on the X-Men movies, I felt like even producing wasn’t something I was that interested in. I really just wanted to be a screenwriter. I transitioned into producing very organically because I was doing producorial work as a writer. Then I was doing directorial type work as a writer/producer because I was working really closely with the actors and making some creative decisions with the various heads of departments.

So I just got excited about doing it in an unfiltered way, where it really was my vision. Dark Phoenix was the perfect way to do it, even though obviously, taking on a movie of that scale as your first one was pretty daunting, but that’s a family I knew so well. I knew those actors, they were close and so many of them remain close friends. I adore every single one of them. I felt very safe in that environment. I learned a lot from that first time directing, you learn a lot from the first time you do anything, I mean, the lessons would be too long for this conversation. But I learned a lot beyond just the directing and the editing of the movie, I learned a lot about, you know, the marketing of the movie, I learned a lot about dating and distribution and things that I thought I knew everything about from producing.

When you’re a director, you’re just a little bit more immersed in the marketing process, creatively. So what I learned from Dark Phoenix, that I brought to this, was just to really make sure that there’s no category, department, or aspect of the movie that you take for granted. As a director, because there’s so many people that are working at the same time trying to fulfill your vision, you can take for granted some things. If you don’t keep an eye on as much as you can possibly keep an eye on, you’ll end up with compromised versions of your vision.