HAYDEN-CHRISTENSEN.COM

By Bruce Kirkland (Edmonton Sun) - NEW YORK -- Doug Liman is rarely finished with his movies.

So his teleportation thriller Jumper is still a work in progress, even though it debuted on DVD this week.
"I made a few changes on Jumper between the theatrical cut and the DVD that you saw," Liman tells Sun Media.

"But I really have a more aggressive program of things I would like to do to the movie. So, for me, it is going to be the second DVD, like the second DVD for Mr. and Mrs. Smith, that is going to be the more important one."

Liman also recut his surprise hit, The Bourne Identity into an extended version.

On Jumper, Liman is talking about doing it by next year. By then, the sequel might also be more developed.

Liman and his stars -- Hayden Christensen, Rachel Bilson and Jamie Bell -- are keen to return to the potential franchise, despite mixed reviews on the first instalment.

DARKER ENDING

Few filmmakers are as open as Liman about messing about with their existing movies.

The problem, he says, is that he does not always get to preview them in time for in-depth changes.

"So the release becomes the preview for me."

Once a film opens, Liman watches with audiences. On Smith -- his Brangelina spy comedy that put the two superstars together -- it did not matter that it was a huge hit.

"I still had four pages of notes I wanted to change from just sitting in theatres watching with audiences," Liman says.

Eventually, he nailed it with a subtle new director's cut. Extras included his darker ending, the one the studio did not want for mainstream audiences.

Jumper will now go through the same process.