Why is the number “V” in the film title? Is it a series, is it the fifth part of a film series, or does the number have no meaning at all? I have the best excuse ever for this: it wasn’t planned that way. None of it was planned in any way, it just happened.

Let’s go back a few years. To a very special day, a good day, when I finished the script for another movie. Of course, we all know that a script never really has an ending, it’s all just variations. So let’s call it the first version.

Anyway, I was very happy with myself. All the scenes were there, the story made sense—at least to me. Everything was wonderful, except for one tiny, insignificant detail. The film didn’t have a name yet.
It had a working title, but that was it. So much work, so much effort, but if someone asked me now what the film was called, I wouldn’t have an answer.

Next step. Green tea. Lots of green tea. Time and lots of paper. Lots of ideas, all quickly jotted down. But there wasn’t really anything good among them. The second day. Green tea again, lots of paper again. And again, no result. That’s about the moment when a slight panic sets in. Hours pass, the ideas get crazier and crazier. Time for a new strategy.

I remember “The Silence of the Lambs,” Hannibal Lecter. What did he say about Marcus Aurelius?

Hannibal Lecter:
First principles, Clarice: simplicity. Read Marcus Aurelius, of each particular thing ask: What is it in itself? What is its nature?

That was the answer. What was the movie about? About a dangerous zone, a death zone. People die in this zone. The only logical movie title is: Death Zone.

And in a moment of coincidence or imagination, I added a number. “One.” Death Zone One, that was the title. It was only a few days later that the next logical step became clear to me: if there is a Death Zone One, then there could also be a Death Zone Two. And so on. One script followed another. In the meantime, I have arrived at Death Zone VII.

Crazy. Insane. Exciting.

Hey, don’t blame me, blame Marcus Aurelius.