Yahoo News All the Light We Cannot See boss says Stranger Things led to "bold" approach to WWII drama
All the Light We Cannot See director Shawn Levy has revealed that his work on Stranger Things led to a "bold" approach to the new WWII drama.
The four-part series, which is adapted from Anthony Doerr's bestselling 2014 novel, landed on Netflix yesterday (November 2). It follows the lives of blind teenager Marie (Aria Mia Loberti) and young German soldier Werner (Louis Hofmann), who cross paths in Nazi-occupied Paris.
Levy spoke exclusively to Digital Spy, explaining how his time on Stranger Things influenced the cinematic tone of All the Light We Cannot See.
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"It's absolutely true. I think that my years on Stranger Things, both as producer and especially directing the episodes I directed every season, it just shows me that the old assumptions that movies are big and TV is small – that's obsolete. Television can be as epic and as cinematic as a movie," he said.
Adding: "Of course, it requires budgetary support. It requires a lot of creative ambition. But my episodes, and my years on Stranger Things, have show me that I'm not going to assume that just because it's a one-hour storytelling form that I should tell a smaller story.
"I'm going to tell the story in the most bold, cinematic language I can. And I very much applied that to this, too".
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The series also stars The Avengers star Mark Ruffalo as Marie's father Daniel and Hugh Laurie, who plays Etienne Le Blanc, the reclusive relative who provides refuge for the fleeing father and daughter in St Malo.
Levy praised Ruffalo's performance, saying: "Look, so much of it was in (screenwriter and creator) Steven's writing, but then I cast Mark Ruffalo precisely because, in addition to his talent, he has a soulful warmth.
"I knew that it would add this unspoken intimacy between Daniel and Marie that would take that father/daughter relationship, and put it on another level."
All the Light We Cannot See is available to stream now on Netflix.
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