Written Interview with Andrew Bernstein

1. Can you describe the tone and style of Jack Ryan and how they differ from the

   series?

   
   

   ANDREW BERNSTEIN: You know, one of the things we were very clear about from the outset with this film was that it shouldn’t be a direct continuation of the series. We wanted it to be a standalone film that would appeal to both those who have seen the series and those who haven’t.

    That’s the idea behind the story. Visually and in terms of tone, we also wanted it to feel that way to evoke what we’d done before and pay homage to it, but at the same time take it in a completely different direction.

   Val, who is our director of photography an incredible cinematographer and I spent a lot of time discussing how we could make this film feel different. And one of the things that really grabbed us from the start was taking inspiration from the 1970s spy genre that we love so much films like Three Days of the Condor and The Last Witness, and all those great titles.

   And also, in terms of tone, to make it feel a bit more realistic, more connected to the present day and a bit more emotional, more psychological, as many of those older films were.

   So taking Jack Ryan to places where the audience had never seen him before.

   
   
   
   

2. How did you raise the bar for the action sequences in the film?

   
   

   ANDREW BERNSTEIN: I think we’ve definitely upped the ante. I think Jack Ryan, the TV series,

   has already delivered some incredible action sequences before some really dynamic scenes throughout the series. We put them in a pretty dynamic boat chase, something no one had seen before in this franchise. The car chase in London is something we’d never done before.

   And the fight in the server room at the end of the film, although we’ve seen fights before, is particularly dynamic and very intense from start to finish.

   
   

3. What did you think of Dubai as a filming location?

   
   

   ANDREW BERNSTEIN: Dubai was incredible. I mean, it’s a really interesting location because it’s known for its luxury and glitz, for all those eye-catching things that draw people to Dubai: the beaches, the hotels and the cars. We wanted to show all that, but we also wanted to show what it’s like to be in Dubai without all that. We tried to delve a little into its

   more hidden side and show a bit more of the different facets of this place.

   And also make the most of what makes it special, like the tall buildings, the lights and everything that makes it exciting.

   For us, the exciting thing is that we have Dubai in this film. We have London, we have New York and we have Washington D.C., four incredibly different cities. And we like to show all those different places.

   
   

4. What were the challenges involved in filming the car chase in London?

   
   

   ANDREW BERNSTEIN: The car chase sequence in London took nine months to prepare. One of the great strengths of the Jack Ryan series is that it doesn’t shy away from ambition. If something is difficult, we try to do it. And right from the start, we said we wanted to stage a major car chase right in the heart of London.

    Of course, everyone said: you’re mad, that can’t be done. And we said: OK, let’s start talking to people. And for months we were choosing the locations where we wanted to shoot, which were very touristy areas with heavy traffic. And, in the end, we pulled it off thanks to an incredible team who worked tirelessly to make it happen.

   We shot an incredible, highly dynamic car chase through central London that had practically never been done before.

5. Are there any hidden references that fans can look out for in the film?

   
   

   ANDREW BERNSTEIN: One of the things whether or not it’s a reference that we also wanted to do with this film is to go back to the early films. Patriot Games was something we talked about right from the start.

   The Jack Ryan films with Harrison Ford, those early films like The Sum of All Fears, and going back to what made Jack Ryan great.

   So, hopefully, for those who love those films, this won’t be so much a nod, but rather a small tribute to those early instalments and a way of coming full circle, returning to Jack Ryan’s origins on screen.

   
   

6. What do you hope will resonate with the audience as they watch this film?

   
   

   ANDREW BERNSTEIN: Our aim is to get them more excited about Jack Ryan as a character. That was our goal from the start: to get to know him better who he is, what drives him, and how the character might develop for the audience. And yes, there’s thrilling action that will connect with everyone, there are great locations that will too, but ultimately,

   we hope it’s the relationships in this film which we’ve expanded on from the series that really connect with people.

   There could be a budding relationship between Emma and Jack. There’s the great relationship between Greer and Jack that we’ve seen before, where they make an incredible team. And those are the relationships I think the audience will want to see more of; the action part will be great too.

   But I think, when it comes to the relationships, that’s what’s really going to get the audience excited.

   
   

(Many thanks to Prime Video for arranging this interview with Andrew Bernstein about his role as a Directed on Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War.

It’s a pleasure to be able to share this content with the whole community of the Jhon Jatenjor’s Interviews channel)