Because to me, what is interesting about this movie [Real Steel] is its combination of relationship naturalism with. It’s like a single conceit movie. The world and the people are very much the way we know them to be, but this sport has evolved.

[Andrea] Leadsom has compassion … a real steel and a real determination and that velvet glove of compassion that she really cares about people.

And this movie [Real Steel] definitely looks like nothing else I’ve made, which was the point. I think also, Evangeline and Hugh are such a fantastic… Their chemistry is so genuine. And also it’s a good balance to all those visual effects. It’ll give you more of the tone.

As opposed to a movie [Real Steel] where everything feels fantastical, it was really important to me, and I recognise it’s not the first movie with robots in it, but that blend of naturalism in performance, writing and design with the futurism of this sport. That was the idea.

We know it’s being referred to as the robot boxing movie [Real Steel], but truth is, 70% of the movie is the relationships.

When I made ‘Real Steel,’ the director actually had the robots in the monitor, so he knew where everything was. So technically, there’s been advancements. But at the end of the day, movies are about story and characters, so all the other stuff is great, but unless you have those two elements, then you’ve got nothing.