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Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu opened to critical acclaim in theaters on Christmas day. The film received immense praise for its direction, cinematography, and performances. The remake of the 1922 classic was a passion project of Eggers and he began development on the project in 2015. Interestingly, there was a creative mind on set to help him with his vision for the film.
Nicholas Hoult in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu | Credits: Focus FeaturesHarry Potter director Chris Columbus served as one of the producers of the film alongside his daughter Eleanor Columbus. Eggers shared that while Columbus didn’t try to take over his filmmaking style, the director served as a safety net. He would help the director realign his vision whenever it got a little too artsy.
Robert Eggers loved how Chris Columbus was by his side as a creative producer on Nosferatu
Chris Columbus with Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint on the Harry Potter set | Credits: @chriscolumbus/IGRobert Eggers‘ Nosferatu might be his best film out of his four works. Eggers brought in a bunch of young talents including Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Emma Corrin, alongside his regulars like Ralph Ineson and Willem Dafoe. The story is an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula.
For Eggers, one of the coolest things about his passion project was that he got to work with his mentor Chris Columbus. Columbus’ Maiden Voyage Pictures was one of the production houses involved in the film. Having him as the creative producer greatly helped Eggers in bringing his vision to the screen.
Eggers called Columbus “one of the masters of orthodox Hollywood storytelling” and shared that he was by the monitor every single day, giving him notes. Eggers admitted that he and Columbus made very different kinds of films and the Harry Potter director did not attempt to “Chris Columbus-ify Nosferatu.”
Eggers shared that Columbus tried to make it the best Robert Eggers movie. Whenever Eggers or his cinematographer Jarin Blaschke had some artistic ideas, Columbus would serve as a safety net. He would ask them whether they were telling the story as clearly as possible. Eggers shared with Variety:
We make such different films and he was not trying to Chris Columbus-ify “Nosferatu” — he was trying to make this the best Robert Eggers movie it could be. But his thinking would be an antidote at times to me and my cinematographer Jarin Blaschke’s arty-farty inclinations. He was a good safety net to say, “Are you telling the story as clearly as possible at this moment?”
If it were up to Eggers, he would choose to work with Columbus in all of his movies. He shared that even if he didn’t have the luxury to work with Columbus directly again, he shared that the director’s voice “is going to speak loudly” to help him keep his artistic urges under control.
How did Robert Eggers meet his mentor Chris Columbus?
Lily-Rose Depp in Nosferatu | Credits: Focus FeaturesRobert Eggers first met Chris Columbus for his first film The Witch, starring Anya Taylor-Joy. During the production of the indie film, Eggers ran out of money and was in need of dire cash to complete the post-production. It was during this time that Chris Columbus and his daughter Eleanor Columbus started their production company Maiden Voyage to help up-and-coming directors.
Columbus’ daughter loved the script of The Witch, but he wasn’t so sure about the folklore horror. That was until he saw a cut of the movie, which he thought was brilliant. Eggers shared, “And so they helped finish the film, and that’s when I first met Chris, and he’s been a mentor ever since.”
As of writing, Nosferatu has an 87% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. The website consensus read, “Marvelously orchestrated by director Robert Eggers, Nosferatu is a behemoth of a horror film that is equal parts repulsive and seductive.” It appears that the film is certainly winning big with the critics.
Nosferatu is currently running in theaters.
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