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Warning paints a terrifying picture of man’s reliance on technology. Currently available in theaters, the feature film takes place in the near future, where deadly asteroids hurtle towards Earth. Composed of short vignettes, Warning follows various characters as they contemplate the meaning of life. That includes Alex Pettyfer’s immortal Liam, whose family disapproves of him dating the normal mortal, Nina (Annabelle Wallis). Unfortunately, they ultimately take the decision out of Liam’s hands.
Pettyfer recently spoke to CBR about the hold technology has over people, star-crossed lovers, human nature and I Am Number Four‘s anniversary.
CBR: Warning isn’t your typical, run-of-the-mill technology-gone-bad sci-fi flick. When you read the script, what resonated about it for you?
Alex Pettyfer: The film is segmented into different storylines and different narratives that touch upon how technology affects our lives. I found it interesting because we are on the precipice of something that is real with this narrative. But the script… we can talk about the subject matter, but at the end of the day, what is put on page and the vision that director Agata Alexander was creating was so appealing, just from a creative point of view. I was very grateful to be asked to be on the project.
The narrative comments on our unhealthy obsession with computers and hi-tech. What’s your relationship with technology? How techie are you?
I don’t know. It’s not that advanced. Some people out there that are very tech savvy. Around 2012, I become part of that Instagram/Facebook culture, but it never clicked with me. I love nature and interacting face-to-face. But I also think technology is important. It creates opportunities in the field of health and medicine. It can broadcast important messages. There are positive and negative elements with anything that creates change.
How would you describe your character Liam and the dilemma he faces?
Liam is a romanticist. He sees the world very differently than his family. They are an aristocratic-esque family that have been given this gift of life. His views on that and his views towards the impermanence of life and not being stuck in a rigid mindset, that’s a theme of my segment, of how things are constantly evolving and changing. It’s subtle and beautiful.
He has the most awkward family dinner, too…
What’s even more awkward is my real dad is actually my dad in the movie. Being in that scene was quite interesting.
Liam has an unconventional romance going on. What does his storyline say about love?
It’s very much Romeo and Juliet. We view the purest form of love as attachment, not an actual narrative. I am being vague in my answer. Hopefully, Romeo and Juliet answers the elements of what I am trying to say, which is that we would give all for love. It’s very grounded reality in something that is science fiction.
Sci-fi often serves as this microscope for examining human issues. What do you hope viewers take away from Warning?
Hopefully, thought-provoking conversation. We are indulgent in these illusions that we create for ourselves. Sometimes, we have to create boundaries for ourselves. There are grounded-realities that sometimes get lost because our interaction has changed so drastically since three or four years ago. Now, our connections and interactions are through this [Zoom], and that becomes a distorted reality. We have to balance our life with what is the changing times and evolving with those changing times, but also having this balance of coming back to the more grounded reality.
As one of the leads on a movie, an actor is typically there from beginning to end. What was it like just filming a small segment and seeing how that fit into the bigger picture?
I loved it. I read the whole script once because I wanted to know the movie. I made a conscious decision to only read the movie once and then focus on my part of the film. It’s been the most enjoyable experience because I actually get to watch the movie and be a fan. I was blown away.
It’s very easy to promote a film that you are genuinely only a small part of, but love the entirety of the end product. The way that this narrative has been woven, I can be a fan. I am a fan of science fiction. I have been part of a few science-fiction films, and this is a special one.
To end on that note, it’s the 10th year anniversary of your feature I Am Number Four. What do you recall about filming that movie and that time in your life, which was almost at the beginning of your career?
It was more the beginning of me coming to America and having these experiences in the U.S. that were gigantic. Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg were the producers. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. That is mind-boggling. What an incredible experience.
It’s sad that there wasn’t a trajectory of the film. There was kind of an experiment with that film, where they released the book at the same time as the film. They weren’t relying on an IP that was already established. I think because of that, it hindered the experience of that opening weekend, which Hollywood sometimes becomes obsessed by.
But there’s definitely been a cult following and people would really love to see a followup. Again, I am a fan of science fiction. Loved making the movie. It’s one of those rare things where the second film would have been better because the first film was a setup.
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