Director Gore Verbinski has detailed the demanding process behind bringing his original sci-fi comedy Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die to the screen, describing a production defined by tight budgets and an independent ethos.

Determined to champion original storytelling over franchise-driven content, Verbinski shot the film in South Africa with a minimal crew, often without permits, embracing a guerrilla-style approach inspired by Alex Cox’s Repo Man.

The film’s chaotic, kinetic energy reflects its unconventional production, with Verbinski sometimes completing more than 40 setups per day across a 60-day shoot.

Written by Matthew Robinson, the story follows Sam Rockwell as a time-traveling “Man from the Future” on his 117th attempt to stop an AI apocalypse by recruiting a group of unsuspecting diner patrons, played by Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Peña, Zazie Beetz, Asim Chaudhry, and Juno Temple.

Verbinski praised Rockwell’s intense preparation, which included wearing a 40-pound suit months ahead of filming and fully internalizing his dialogue to deliver an unvarnished, emotionally grounded performance.

True to his filmmaking philosophy, Verbinski favored practical effects and photographic references over heavy reliance on CGI, even constructing physical models to preserve realistic lighting and texture, and recreating a NORMS-style diner set to enable rapid, fluid shooting.

The film also explores contemporary anxieties, including society’s dependence on technology, the psychological toll of constant negative news, and collective inaction in the face of crisis, most notably in a provocative sequence involving Juno Temple’s character.

Among its more surreal elements is the “Kitty Cat Centaur,” a bizarre AI creation conceived during development to evoke both menace and childlike confusion.

Looking ahead, Verbinski revealed he is developing a new animated feature described as a “sci-fi funkadelic musical about cats in space.”

With the music already recorded, the team is seeking funding for animation, aiming to expand on the innovative techniques he previously employed in Rango.