STACK New Zealand December Issue 69

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than the last one. It’s not about being in a
claustrophobic space with the mystery and
intrigue of finding your way out. This one’s
about the journey through this giant world that
doesn’t’ quite fit into the frame, you know
what I mean? We get to explore that further in
the next movie and that’s what’s fun about it.
It’s so different than the first one.
Given the bleak and terrifying nature of
‘The Scorch’, do you think, as one of the
characters believes, hope is a dangerous
thing?
No, it’s not. Hope is a good thing to have
within reason. What’s dangerous about it is
that hope can kill people. It can do terrible
things, but ultimately we find out that hope
perseveres and hope will win out.
What do you think these sort of films say to
today’s youth?
I do think there’s something about the
younger generation feeling like they’re being
given a world that is kind of broken. That
they’re going to have to be the ones that put
us back on the right path. So I think that’s why
there’s an engagement with these stories
about young people taking the reins and taking
responsibility for themselves. We’re riding the
wave, you know? We’ll see what happens in
the next couple of years, but it seems like it’s
here to stay. I find it very interesting. It’s a dark
idea, but it’s kind of a romantic one, hitting the
reset button.
As a filmmaker, what do projects like the
Maze Runner films reveal about you?
I have no idea [laughs]. I’ll have to look back
on it in a few years and say, “Oh, look, I didn't
know what I was doing!” [laughs] I kind of
like that, too. Being naïve. I’m probably the
worst judge of that stuff because I can’t look
at myself and analyze this just yet. I have to
let someone else tell me. As a director, I like
being more spontaneous. I think a lot with my
gut. If it feels right, it’s right. And so maybe
that shows on screen. I don't know. I do love
having the audience on the edge of their seat.
There’s just something fun about just playing
ith that. That relationship you have with an
audience, to me, is everything. I want to
make sure they’re entertained and having
a good time.
Armed with a bigger budget and an expansive new setting,
directorWes Ball turns up the heat in the second installment
of the Maze Runner saga,The ScorchTrials.
BALL OF FIRE
How does The ScorchTrials
differ from the first Maze
Runner movie?
It was interesting. They’re out
of the maze but they’re still lost
and that’s how we approached it.
There is a whole wide world out there
and they have no idea how they fit in it or
what they’re going to be doing. The movie’s
about them finding their place in this world and
deciding what they’re going to do. That’s how
the movie ends, essentially. The first movie is
really about that time in your life when you’re
kind of trapped behind these walls and having
to escape and set out into this wide world that
you could go anywhere in. It’s very thematic
that way. That’s what we tried to show through
the course of their journey, bumping
up against all these obstacles. It’s
also about what it means to have
the guilt and the burden on some of
our leaders’ shoulders making these
decisions.
What made The ScorchTrials a challenge
for you?
It was a challenge, but fun. That feeling of
scope was something I wanted to do on the
last one, too. I just didn't have the resources
for it. For this one, we had about twice
the budget and we got to really us
those extra dollars to make it feel
bigger, make it feel more epic.
This one’s a little bit different
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12 DECEMBER 2015