Deadpool and Wolverine was released last summer and was a massive global box office smash. It was a huge crowd-pleaser and the most satisfying Marvel film in years. Directed by Shawn Levy and starring, co-written, and produced by Ryan Reynolds. It is a ridiculously entertaining film that I’ve watched several times because it’s so much fun as a superhero film should be.
Enhancing the experience as always is the sound, you can’t make a strong cinematic experience without good sound. Craig Henighan was certainly up to the task with over 30 years of sound experience in films like The Batman, Requiem For A Dream, and Roma to name a few. He is also in the process of revitalizing Glen Glenn Sound and refurbishing it as a modern space for post-production in Hollywood. Henighan recently spoke to Immersive via Zoom.
[This conversation has been edited for clarity and context]
How did you end up working on the X-Men series and how did that lead into Deadpool and Wolverine?
In 2006, I got a phone call from a friend of mine at Fox, he asked, “Do you want to come out and work on X-Men: The Last Stand?” At that point, I had already had enough miles under my belt. I’ve been a freelancer my whole career and you’re only as good as your network. I’ve been fortunate to be able to work on awesome big action movies like Deadpool and Wolverine.
As much as I love serious films, Deadpool and Wolverine put a smile on my face the whole time.
Awesome. That’s the best thing ever. I think Shawn and Ryan above everything else, their mandate is to make a movie that you just enjoy the fuck out of and have a good time.
It’s the best version of that type of movie because we could sit here and be like this doesn’t make sense… we’re not there for that.
That’s exactly it. You know, some of those questions did come up when you’re working on it, because those are the challenges of the Marvel universe. How do you sort of intertwine that with a Deadpool story and sort of still make it a fun rollercoaster, but emotional?
I think that’s what Shawn Levy is good at in all his films, he always brings this emotional connection. It’s no difference with this movie. Then you have this action-packed Marvel Deadpool and Wolverine movie with moments that are poignant and humane.
Lethal Weapon wouldn’t work if you didn’t have the emotional core of Mel Gibson’s mental struggles and his friendship with Danny Glover. All the arguing and then the realization they are a team, like in Deadpool and Wolverine.
Those were the touchstones: Midnight Run, 48 hrs, and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles… Let’s drop these two characters in this world and let them bicker and banter, but at the core, they end up understanding each other.
Since you worked with Wolverine before, you probably knew some of the stuff that you needed to do and had your toolkit… What brought it into the new universe with this one?
I think the difference in this one is a lot of the fight stuff is hand-to-hand combat. The idea of Wolverine, the claws have that classic “snikt” sound. That’s something that has been around since the beginning. I augmented it a little bit, but I wasn’t about to reinvent iconic sound. That’s the thing with the Marvel Universe is you don’t need to reinvent the shield but what you can do add to the universe for the movie that you’re in. Our film is a much more realistic take on a Marvel film.
The new sound is the sound of these two fighting… The challenge was Wolverine’s claws and Deadpool’s swords together… Adamantium sounds. When you have claws hitting the Deadpool sword, they shouldn’t sound like an ordinary sword clang. We recorded different types of metal residences, and different types of things, hitting different types of metal to look for interesting sonic signature sounds that would help.
Do you randomly record wherever you are?
All the time. That’s the world of sound we live in. I am always looking for things. There’s an old wooden door that has this old slider. It’s from the fifties and it’s so dried out. I’ve used it in movies. I’ve recorded it and turned it into things for Stranger Things. We look for things everywhere. You’re only as good as the sort of sounds that you bring to the table. You always want to bring a unique idea.
Are you a fan of Ben Burtt, Alan Splet, and Walter Murch?
Absolutely. Those guys are pioneers of fantastic sound work that all my generation has built upon. I still go back and listen to Alan Splet’s work on The Elephant Man or Eraserhead and Ben Burtt’s work on Star Wars and Indiana Jones… Walter Murch’s work on American Graffiti… with him and George with no budget going out and worldizing all the songs. You’re in the film. That’s the great thing about sound and what the power of sound can do with storytelling.
Let’s talk about Glen Glenn Sound.
Glen Glenn is an iconic Hollywood mixing facility where I’ve recently partnered with a friend to develop an ecosystem of sound designers and mixers. A collective of like-minded sound artists who needed a home. We have been working out of this facility for a while and we’re excited to sort of become the primary leaseholders of the building, and bring Glen Glenn back to its former glory.
There are a lot of younger filmmakers who like working in Hollywood. We want to give filmmakers the opportunity to work in an iconic indie facility that is every bit as good as every other studio in the world. Glen Glenn founded the studio during the dawn of television and sound was really burgeoning. This building was purposely built acoustically for sound recording and it’s really pretty fantastic. We’re calling it the Glen Glenn Film Center, so it’s beyond sound as well.
What was it like working on the now iconic intro of Deadpool’s “dance killing” to NSYNC’s ‘Bye Bye Bye’?
It’s such an awesome scene, and it’s a scene that lets the audience know that they’re in for a ride. That was an important thing for the mix and just making sure that that song was loud enough and it made people go right on… We’re in a Deadpool movie, we’re gonna have a good time.
I still remember when they hit upon that song because they had gone through a number of ideas, trying different songs, and different edits. When they hit on that, I was like, this actually could work. We just kept refining it and it became this awesome opening sequence. Laura Hirschberg who does dialogue and music, really went to town on making sure that song sat at the right level for an audience to just sort of really enjoy it.
Then of course there is Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’…
Ryan had that idea since Deadpool 2. They were gonna maybe try to make it work but it didn’t happen, but he hung on to it… The guy is an incredible artist. He was with us for probably eight or nine days on the final mix, most actors/producers may come by once and shake hands. This guy is committed. He was there nine o’clock in the morning all the way through.
So it was him, Shawn, and our picture editors, Dean Zimmerman and Shane Reid, we were all making this thing together. He’s such an idea guy, man. He creates an environment where it’s okay to fail. You’re okay to experiment, and maybe it doesn’t quite work, but nine times out 10, that experiment will actually spur another idea that actually does land.
What is it like being on the other end of this now? This film was a massive global hit.
It’s insane. It was a huge hit. I’m one of thousands of people who were on the crew for this project. I’ve been on Shawn’s crew for several years, and it’s just such an awesome thing to see a filmmaker break through on this sort of level. I love the family and creative environment that he has for his films. I’m proud of every single person on my team, because I think we all just brought it, and we all had a good time.
How could you go to Deadpool and Wolverine and not enjoy it? I think Ryan and Shawn tried hard to make sure that it serviced the Marvel Universe and did that for the fans, but also had so much reach beyond. I’m proud of being part of something like that.
Deadpool And Wolverine is now streaming at Disney+
