Joe Kosinski Interview On Directing 'Oblivion,' Tom Cruise, Special Effects

Joseph Kosinski has made a name for himself for films with spectacular and realistic visual effects that impress audiences and critics alike. He directed the 2010 science fiction film Tron: Legacy and this year's Oblivion, based on an unpublished graphic novel Kosinski wrote, which stars Tom Cruise.

Kosinski has a firm philosophy on how to create an immersive film world. “As director that it’s really important that you are very clear and concise and specific with your direction,” Kosinski told Uinterview exclusively. “I think sometimes bad visual effects are due to the fact that a visual effects company is put under the gun with either the director who’s making decisions, changing his mind at the last moment, or not being specific in what he wants, and the director’s job is to be very clear about what he wants, be able to communicate that, and make sure that you give your team an opportunity to do their best work.”

Kosinski attended architecture school at Columbia University Graduate School and later tried his hand at directing commercials. “Based on that commercial work I got a meeting with Disney about Tron: Legacy, and in order to get that job I kind of created a teaser trailer before the script was written,” Kosinski said. “That was that short that was shown at Comic Con in 2008, which was basically a trailer for a movie that didn’t yet exist.”

So what exactly happened at the end of Oblivion? "I always knew it was going to be a controversial ending and a provocative idea, but that’s exactly the reason I made this, because I love movies that pose questions like that, and get you thinking and talking about it after the movie’s over," Kosinski said.

Oblivion will be available on Blu-Ray and DVD on Aug. 6.