Renny Harlin Interview: How Steven Spielberg Changed His Life, Deep Water, and The Beast

At an advanced screening for Deep Water, the latest survival shark movie from director Renny Harlin, the filmmaker regaled the audience with the story behind his unexpected Hollywood break. Before his action-packed ‘80s blockbusters, Harlin shares the story of how he went from sleeping on a garage floor to directing A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master while living out of a motel, and how this dogged perseverance led to a phone call from Academy Award-winner Steven Spielberg and launched a career. Harlin, who’s best known for thrillers like Die Hard 2 and Deep Blue Sea, returns to his roots with this year’s one-two punch survival horror Deep Water. Starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley, the movie takes flight on a 14-hour plane ride to Shanghai that makes a deadly pit stop in the middle of the Pacific in shark-infested waters. Talking with Collider’s Therese Lacson, Harlin goes in-depth about his journey from a spirited Finnish kid with Hollywood stars in his eyes to crashing New Line Cinema — five times. He discusses how his determination led to not only a personal call from Spielberg, but to helming the first Die Hard sequel, and how ‘70s disaster movies inspired Deep Blue Sea and Deep Water. He also teases his upcoming thrillers, The Beast, reuniting him with Samuel L. Jackson, and Dark Tides starring Melissa Barrera and John Travolta. #deepwater #rennyharlin #stevenspielberg #deepbluesea #thebeast For interviews, movie reviews, and more visit https://collider.com FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL   / collider     / collider     / collider