Cary Fukunaga Tells Vanity Fair that True Detective Hasn’t Opened Doors

By Reuben Levine | Oct 20, 2015

Vanity Fair is no stranger to True Detective. Nic Pizzolatto had a very telling piece in Vanity Fair earlier this summer, and now its Cary Fukunaga’s turn. Fukunaga doesn’t get the same amount of attention as Pizzolatto did, but there’s still plenty of juicy bits to be found. As with all of the recent Fukunaga interviews, True Detective is not the focus.

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But let’s be real — it’s all anyone really wants to talk about.

Vanity’s Fair piece on Cary Fukunaga mostly sticks to Beasts of no Nation, with only a little bit of True Detective sneaking in near the end. Vanity Fair is quick to point out the artfulness and beautiful camera work, something that Fukunaga has become well-known for. True Detective was also frequently a treat to look at.

Speaking of artistic direction, Fukunaga is apparently not a huge fan of the famous, award-winning tracking shot in “Who Goes There?” He doesn’t like obvious shots:

"“You are, as a director, a sort of conductor of the whole thing, the orchestra…You aren’t letting the music speak for itself…You’re like doing all this crazy [stuff] everyone is looking at, you know, instead of listening to the music.”"

Although it’s not as clear as it could be, Fukunaga’s stance on shots like that is that it brings too much attention to itself and diverts attention away from other aspects. Of course, that doesn’t mean that “Who Goes There?” isn’t a marvel to behold.

Beasts of no Nation began before True Detective, which is pointed out in the article. Fukuaga also thinks that True Detective has not yet given him more opportunities, saying that “In terms of True Detective being an opener of doors, I haven’t seen that door yet.” Fair enough, but with The Alienist coming up it’s a little difficult to believe that his work on True Detective had nothing to do with it.

Finally, Cary Fukunaga says, perhaps not outright, that he’d like his films to be seen as a brand, much like Quentin Tarantino’s or David Fincher’s are, saying “Hopefully in a couple years, a couple more films, people want to see a Fukunaga.” The only thing we can say for certain is that we’re personally there already.

Next: AMC head credits True Detective with driving change.

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