Jumper was in no way your average superhero flick. On the surface, it resembled such a blockbuster, with its main character's ability to trot the globe in microseconds, but the film’s good vs. evil premise, the lynchpin of most successful classics of the genre, was blurrier than ever before--and intentionally so.
With this plot complexity, the buck does not get passed by Doug Liman, who, similarly, is not your average director. His potent mainstream hits to date--Swingers, The Bourne Identity, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith--have all infused mass-audience gags and booms with his trademark twisted, indie sensibility.
Mainstream conventions take a backseat to spontaneity on a set belonging to Doug Liman, who, for every project he does, appears to have a unique, evolving version of the script tucked somewhere in his mind--always ready for last-minute scene additions or deletions.
The unknowing matchmaker for, perhaps, the most media famous super-couple today, Liman was in a reflective mood when we caught up with him, touching on topics like Jumper, The O.C., and tabloids--as well as Bourne, Brangelina, and the box office.