Martin Scorsese on Finding Truth in Tragedy in “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Posted on by babrams

When Martin Scorsese was young, he had an experience where he became painfully aware of how Native Americans were being treated, and since then, it’s taken him years to find a story he could tell about the culture in a respectful way. Killers of the Flower Moon, which opens in theaters October 20 with a runtime of 3 hours and 26 minutes, presents that lifelong desire with a gentle, examining eye in what could easily be the director’s best work to date.

Scorsese found David Grann’s 2017 spellbinding and heartbreaking book of the same name, which the film is adapted from, about the Osage Nation in Oklahoma during the 1920s, who were methodically manipulated and murdered for their oil wealth. Scorsese found Grann’s book after filming Silence, about Portuguese Jesuit priests searching for their renounced mentor in 17th century Japan.

“When I read David Grann’s book, I was immediately intrigued. Here was a terrible, large-scale tragedy — the systematic killings, over many years, of Osages who had grown wealthy after oil was struck on their land at the turn of the last century — that was all but unknown outside the Tribal Nations. It was a story of pure greed and exploitation that played out on an epic canvas, and at the heart of it was a deeply mysterious love story,” the director shares in the film’s production notes.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering in theaters on October 20. Courtesy Apple TV+.

The love story Scorsese and co-writer Eric Roth examined is the marriage between Mollie Kyle, portrayed by Lily Gladstone in a sensational performance, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart, a returning war veteran working for his uncle and big-shot businessman William Hale (Robert De Niro). 

Connected to the people and a billowing story that involves friendship, love, extortion, and murder, Scorsese was “also drawn to the idea of making a picture on a grand Western canvas.” Even more so, the director made it his mission to involve the Osage and descendants living in Oklahoma to paint the painful truth.    

Below, Scorsese shares insights into the Osage involvement, his admiration of Oklahoma, and how music influences the visual storytelling during a virtual press conference held before the film’s release, which has been edited for clarity and length.

 

What steps did you or the production team take to ensure that the Osage community felt accurately represented?

My first meeting was with Chief Standing Bear and his group: Julie and Addie Roan Horse and Chad Renfro. It was very different than what I expected. They were naturally cautious. I had to explain to them, and I’m just gonna try and deal with them as honestly and truthfully as possible. We weren’t going to fall into the trap.

What I didn’t really understand the first couple of meetings was that this is an ongoing situation, an ongoing story out in Oklahoma. In other words, these are things that really weren’t talked about in the generation I was talking to. It was the generation before them that this happened to. And so, they didn’t talk about it much. And the people involved are still there, meaning the families are still there, the descendants are still there.

And so, what I learned from meeting with them, having dinners with them, Margie Burkhart [a relative of Ernest Burkhart] pointed out, and a number of other people pointed out, that you have to understand, a lot of the white guys there, a lot of the European-Americans, particularly Bill Hale, they were good friends. One guy pointed out, “Henry Roan was his best friend, and yet he killed him.” And people just didn’t believe at the time that Bill would be capable of such things. And so, you know, what is that about us as human beings that allows for us to be so compartmentalized in a way?

Leonardo DiCaprio is Ernest Burkhart and Robert De Niro is William Hale. Courtesy Apple TV+

Margie [Burkhart] got up and talked about the fact that one has to remember, especially after she saw Silence, [which made her] a little more comfortable with me doing this; she said, “One has to remember that Ernest,” her ancestor, “loved Mollie, and Mollie loved Ernest. It’s a love story.” And so, ultimately, what happens is the script shifted that way. And that’s when Leo [DiCaprio] decided to play Ernest instead of Tom White.

And by that point, we started reworking the script, and it became gritty. Instead of from the outside in, coming in and finding out who done it, you know, when in reality it’s who didn’t do it. It’s a story of complicity. It’s a story of sin by omission. Silent complicity in certain cases. And so, that’s what afforded us the opportunity to open the picture up and start from the inside out.

 

The film takes place in Oklahoma, and you were adamant about shooting the movie there. When was the first time you visited Oklahoma, what was your impression, and how did you begin to visualize the film taking place there?

When I got there, all I could tell you was that those prairies are quite something. And they open your mind and your heart. They are just beautiful. And especially, driving on these roads through a prairie, and on both sides, wild horses, bison, and cows. It was, like, idyllic. And so, I said, where do I put the camera at this point? How much of the sky? How much of the prairie? Should it be 1.85, or should it be 2.35? We gotta go 2.35, you know? Because I wanna see more of this land.

And then I began to realize that the land itself could be sinister. In other words, you’re in a place like this, and you don’t see people for miles. You can do anything, particularly, it turns out, a hundred years ago. And I realized this is a place where you don’t need the law. I mean, you have the law, but the law isn’t working that way. You can make the law work for you if you’re smart enough. What I wanted to capture, ultimately, was the very nature of the virus or the cancer that creates this sense of a kind of easygoing genocide. And that’s why we went with the story with Mollie and Ernest because that’s the basis of the love. Love is the basis of trust. So, when there’s a betrayal that way, [it’s] deep.

Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Courtesy Apple TV+

Can you discuss how you wanted to tell the story, both historically accurate but emotionally resonant?

This was a constant, [being] historically accurate. And I should use the word truthful. You know, you can have a ritual, and you shoot a ritual as the way it should be. But it may have been slightly different at the time.

And we had a lot of support from the Osage authority, the experts who were giving us the indication about how to go about these things. And so, with them, we tested the accuracy of the rituals, the baby namings, the weddings, and everything that happened at the funerals.

And so, in some cases, there was wiggle room because they [Osage] were all learning again to put their culture back together through this movie. We were going with them, so if this person puts the blanket on this way, and the baby naming is that way, well, one person would say, “Maybe yes.” Another would say, “Maybe no.” Another one would say, “You have a little room here to play with it and have some creative license.” We did every scene that way, and that was done a lot in pre-production and during the shoot.

JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering in theaters around the world on October 20, 2023.

Speaking of Lily Gladstone, who plays Mollie, Ernest’s wife. Can you talk a little bit about the first thing that you shot with her?

Ellen Lewis showed her to me in Certain Women, Kelly Reichardt’s film. I thought she was terrific. And then COVID hit, and we weren’t able to meet. After the pandemic was calming down, we met on Zoom. And I was very, very impressed by her presence, the intelligence, and the emotion that’s there in her face. You see it, you feel it—you know that something’s working behind the eyes. You could see it happening. 

I think the first big scene we did was one of my favorite scenes, where she has dinner with Ernest alone. And she’s questioning him, a little bit of an interrogation. And then you begin to see the connection between the two, and when she says, “Ha ha ha, Coyote wants money,” and surprisingly, he says, “That’s right. I love money.” She knows what she’s getting into.

We felt very comfortable with her [Lily]. And also, we had a feeling that we needed her. We needed her to help us tell the story of the women there. We would always check with her and work with her on the script. There were scenes that were added, and scenes were rewritten constantly.

Gene Jones and Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Courtesy Apple TV+

Your films have a musicality through your framing, camera movement, sounds, silences, and where you choose to cut shots. What informed the rhythm of your work, and what music were you hearing in the making and execution of this book?

The way I like to make pictures, for the most part…is like the pacing of music. The boxing scenes in Raging Bull are like the ballet scene in The Red Shoes, where everything is seen and felt from inside the ring, inside the fighter’s head, the way everything is felt and seen inside the dancer’s head, Moira Shearer’s, in Red Shoes. Sometimes, I play the music back on the set. In the case of Goodfellas, the end of Layla, for example, was played back as we were doing the camera moves.

And so for me, ultimately, the movie is more like I’m trying to get to be like a piece of music. I’m trying to get to the pacing and rhythm of something that can be played. And that’s done very, very carefully on set, but also even more carefully in the editing.

That’s why this picture is more like, somebody pointed out recently, like Bolero, where it starts slower and moves slowly and in circles and in circles, and then suddenly gets more intense and more intense, and suddenly goes more and more until it explodes.

A lot of the music that kept pushing me was what Robbie Robertson had put together, particularly that bass note that he was playing when Ernest drops her [Mollie] off for the first time at her house. She looks at him, she turns, and all of a sudden, you hear boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I said I wanted something fleshy and sexy but dangerous. And that beat took us all the way through.

Killers of the Flower Moon opens in theaters October 20, 2023.

 

For more on Killers of the Flower Moon, check out these stories:

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto Illuminates Martin Scorsese’s Twisted Tale

How “Killers of the Flower Moon” Production Designer Jack Fisk Created 1920s Oklahoma

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Costume Designer Jacqueline West on the Power of the Osage Blanket

How Osage Tradition Influenced the Hair & Makeup in “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Featured image: Lily Gladstone and Martin Scorsese in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering October 20, 2023 on Apple TV+.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto Illuminates Martin Scorsese’s Twisted Tale

Posted on by babrams

When I connected with Rodrigo Prieto for our video interview, as one might imagine a cinematographer to do, he was perfectly lit in a warm amber glow, perhaps a nod to a fire motif visually laced in Martin Scorese’s Killers of the Flower Moon – a love story between Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) and Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) wrapped in the travesty the Osage Nation faced during the 1920s.

Having spoken previously with the Mexican native as far back as Argo (2012), the Ben Affleck best picture winner about the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, Prieto chimed he was unable to see me. I had the unfortunate news that the webcam on my laptop stopped working, an irony talking with a cameraman that did not go unnoticed, at least by me.   

Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto on the set of Killers of the Flower Moon Credit: Apple TV+
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto on the set of Killers of the Flower Moon Credit: Apple TV+

We started the conversation with a compliment an industry colleague and I both shared following a screening in which we felt Killers was Prieto’s best lighting work he’s ever done. That’s considering the moodiness of Spike Lee’s 25th Hour, Alejandro Iñárritu’s 21 Grams, and the four previous Scorsese collabs: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), The Audition (2015), Silence (2016), and The Irishman (2019). Brushing the comment aside, the cinematographer modestly suggested Killers of the Flower Moon “felt like a final exam in a way.”

Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” coming soon to Apple TV+.

“There was so much that I had to apply that I have learned in the past. So many different challenges in terms of situation, scale of scenes, managing the time of day to shoot, and leaving the actors and Marty enough time to not make them feel overwhelmed,” he continues. “I used all my bag of tricks, but at the same, I always approach every movie like it’s the first time I’m making a movie.”

Even with years of shorthand, Prieto admits he initially gets nervous when the two work together, and he approaches each project with an innocence in terms of “figuring it out.” For Killers, as well as their previous films, the pair discusses the emotional intent of each scene, and Prieto then translates those thoughts into visual storytelling.

Caption: Rodrigo Prieto and Martin Scorsese on the streets of Pawhuska, which stood in for Fairfax, Oklahoma. Courtesy: Apple TV+
Rodrigo Prieto and Martin Scorsese on the streets of Pawhuska, which stood in for Fairfax, Oklahoma. Courtesy: Apple TV+

Technically, the cinematographer blended celluloid and digital for the ambitious Western that catalogs the disastrous (and very true) events the Osage were victims of during 1920s Oklahoma. Arricam LT and Arricam ST cameras were paired with Kodak 5207 film for daytime exteriors, and Kodak 5219 was used for night sequences. Additionally, a Sony Venice was deployed for its low-light sensitivity for certain night sequences. “I knew that we would do several of the scenes ‘dusk for night’ [the process of shooting at dusk to stand in for night], and it’s such a short period of time I needed to make sure we could finish those scenes at dusk,” he says. “I felt with a film-negative camera it would have been challenging. The Sony Venice extended that time for us.” Anamorphic Panavision T-series lenses were detuned to reduce sharpness and add warmer flares. For some of the victim scenes, an anamorphic Petzval lens was used to distort the edges of the frame, while a vintage Bell & Howard hand-crank camera (owned by Scorsese) created the black-and-white newsreel footage in the film.

In lighting scenes, Prieto considered how the Osage lived during the period. “For some night scenes, instead of creating moonlight, I used industrial cranes with an array of light bulbs in 30 x 20 frames for the dance scene in the main street in Fairfax,” he explains. “These light bulbs emulated how the Osage lit their own streets because they were scared of what people were doing. They put these ‘fraid lights’ strung between two poles with wire and light bulbs. I used that inspiration for the night lighting.”

JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering in theaters around the world on October 20, 2023. Courtesy Apple TV+.

The sun was also an important element to the look of Killers of the Flower Moon. In one early sequence, the Osage are being administered a vaccine, and Prieto created a hotspot of sunlight, akin to a spotlight, in the middle of the room from a hole in the ceiling. The light bounces from the floor and brightens the room in what is a very subdued moment. The cinematographer brought the same element to a scene where the Osage are discussing if they should send someone to Washington DC to ask the President to send someone to find out what’s mysteriously happening to them. In the room, a big circle of light can be seen on the ground, bouncing to the faces of the Osage. The motif illuminates several other moments, for instance, during Mollie’s (Lily Gladstone) prayers and the somber burial ceremonies. “The Osage are very aware of the sun,” says Prieto. “Many of their ceremonies are based on the sun’s position. Even their villages are lined up with the orientation of the travel of the sun, which is something, of course, DPs are aware of – how the sun travels – so I felt I identified in a way.”

JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering in theaters around the world on October 20, 2023.

For scenes inside Mollie’s home and William Hale’s (Ernest’s uncle played by Robert De Niro) cattle ranch, which were complete builds by production designer Jack Fisk, were naturally lit through windows. Prieto also added layers of ND to the windows of Hale’s home so that audiences could see the cows grazing outside. A subtle nod to his wealth. Prieto says he wanted the feeling of the film to evolve into a harsher, more surreal look with darker shadows as things begin to worsen for the Osage.

Outside the cattle ranch home of William Hale (Robert Di Nero). Production designer Jack Fisk created the residence from scratch Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+
Outside the cattle ranch home of William Hale (Robert Di Nero). Production designer Jack Fisk created the residence from scratch Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+

Color played a vital role as Prieto separated the Osage from those impacting their lives. “The color of film negative was important as it has a deeper color depth, so I thought that was better to represent the nature around the Osage,” he says. The deeper colors of the Osage eventually evolve into an emulation of ENR, a low saturation high contrast look, following an explosive moment in the Osage community.  For scenes with Ernest and Hale, an autochrome emulation created a less saturated, muted color palette.

Leonardo DiCaprio is Ernest Burkhart and Robert De Niro is William Hale. Courtesy Apple TV+

Killers of the Flower Moon was a culmination of techniques for Prieto – the cinematographer considering everything to create an authentic visual story with his frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese. Maybe next time, I should consider a webcam alternative.

Killers of the Flower Moon opens in theaters on October 20, 2023. 

 

For more on Killers of the Flower Moon, check out these stories:

How Osage Tradition Influenced the Hair & Makeup in “Killers of the Flower Moon”

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Costume Designer Jacqueline West on the Power of the Osage Blanket

How “Killers of the Flower Moon” Production Designer Jack Fisk Created 1920s Oklahoma

Featured image: Leonardo DiCaprio is Ernest Burkhart and Tantoo Cardinal is Lizzie Q. Courtesy Apple TV+

New “Napoleon” Trailer Unleashes Ridley Scott’s Historical Epic

Posted on by babrams

Warrior. Emperor. General. Genius. Tyrant. This is how a new Napoleon trailer describes the titular conqueror in Ridley Scott’s upcoming historical epic. Napoleon is played by Joaquin Phoenix—his second time playing an emperor for Scott—he first ruled the world as Roman Emperor Commodus in Scott’s 2000 epic Gladiator. “Scenes with him just felt really authentic,” co-star Vanessa Kirby has said about working with Phoenix, “he was unbelievable about capturing the idiosyncratic, psychological portrait of this unpredictable personality.”

Napoleon will transport viewers back to France in 1793 in the midst of a period of cataclysmic turmoil as the Jacobins have seized control of the National Convention and are instituting a series of radical measures. A relatively unknown Napoleon Bonaparte is given the assignment to defend the nation at all costs, and as he steps onto the national stage, his brilliance and ruthlessness will put him on the map. Scott’s film will track the rise of the French general as he deploys his nearly supernatural strategic gifts to build what seems to be an unbeatable army. Napoleon’s many victories propelled him from military mastermind to the throne, altering the history of France and the rest of the world.

Along with Phoenix and Kirby, who plays Josephine, Napoleon’s lover and future Empress, the cast includes Tahar Rahim as Paul Barras, Ben Miles as Caulaincourt, Ludivine Sagnier as Theresa Cabarrus, Matthew Needham as Lucien Bonaparte, Youssef Kerkour as Marshal Davout, Phil Cornwell as Sanson ‘The Bourreau,’ Edouard Philipponnat as Tsar Alexander, Paul Rhys as Talleyrand, John Hollingworth as Marshall Ney, Gavin Spokes as Moulins and Mark Bonnar as Jean-Andoche Junot.

“I’m the first to admit when I made a mistake,” Napoleon says at the end of the first trailer, “I simply never do.” History proved the conqueror wrong, but Scott’s sweeping film takes up the challenge of depicting a man who seemed larger than life but who was, in the end, just a man—brutal, brilliant, and, in the end, tragically flawed.

Check out the new trailer. Napoleon hits theaters on November 22.

For more on Napoleon, check out these stories:

New “Napoleon” Video Reveals Joaquin Phoenix’s Approach to Taking on Historic Emperor

Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” Trailer Reveals Joaquin Phoenix as the French Conquerer

For more upcoming films from Sony Pictures, check out these stories:

“Dumb Money” Music Supervisor Susan Jacobs Takes it to the Bank With Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar, & Unknown Artists

New “Napoleon” Video Reveals Joaquin Phoenix’s Approach to Taking on Historic Emperor

Featured image: Joaquin Phoenix in “Napoleon,” premiering in theaters around the world on November 22, 2023.

Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter on Stitching Together Her Legendary Career

Posted on by babrams

With more than 70 films to her credit, including Malcolm X (1992), Amistad (1997), Selma (2014), Black Panther (2018), and Dolemite Is My Name (2019), costume designer Ruth E. Carter has created a visual representation of Black history and the Black experience for generations of moviegoers.

“Costumes can be another character in the film. For Do the Right Thing, Ernest Dickerson’s cinematography and my costumes created the tone for the film. The whole cinematic idea of the art form means sometimes the colors become a character, like the light in the story. I learned that through theater,” said Carter in a phone conversation with The Credits. “I had to be careful that the costumes didn’t wear the actor; the actor wore them.”

 

Nominated for Best Costume Design Academy Awards for Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, Carter won the Oscar in 2019 for creating the iconic Afrofuturist design for Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther and its sequel, Wakanda Forever (2022), becoming the first Black woman to win two Oscars and the first person to win for a film and its sequel.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 29: (L-R) Amy Homma and Ruth E. Carter attend the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures hosts The Art Of Ruth E. Carter: Book Signing and Conversation at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on July 29, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

In 2021, Carter became the second-ever costume designer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joining the legendary Edith Head. “She received her star in 1960, the year I was born,” said Carter. “It was a groundbreaking moment because costume designers have been overlooked for so many years. I’m happy to break that glass ceiling.”

Now Carter, a native of Springfield, Mass., joined another select group on October 15 at Boston’s historic Coolidge Corner Theatre, where it honored her with the Coolidge Award. Previous honorees include Meryl Streep, Werner Herzog, Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, Julianne Moore, Liv Ullmann, Zhang Yimou, Viggo Mortensen, cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, and film editor Thelma Schoonmaker.

Ruth E. Carter received The Coolidge Award in Boston Oct. 15. Photographer: Jaypix Belmer

“I’m touched to be in the company of such artists … It’s a lifetime of hard work and labor for me. When I think of myself starting out — from a single-parent household, discovering art and costume design — to be honored for that is mind-blowing,” Carter said. At the ceremony, Carter engaged in a Q and A and signed copies of her book, The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture, from Do the Right Thing to Black Panther.

Carter’s creativity is grounded in collaboration, a process that dates back to her early work in the theater. “I don’t want to be on my own island creating costumes. The director is the ultimate decision-maker. We would not have Black Panther or Mo’ Better Blues without the visual guidance of the director.”

Carter’s costumes on display in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X (1992). L-r: Spike Lee and Denzel Washington. Courtesy Warner Bros.

She decided to focus on costume design after studying theater at Hampton University in Virginia. “I was self-taught and wanted more formal training but there was no curriculum for costume design. So I looked for internships across the country.” It just so happened that the best one she found was StageWest (later renamed City Stage), right in her hometown of Springfield. So after graduating, Carter “went home to do a season.”

“I ran the shows at night. I did all the plays, all the musicals, all the step shows. I was that girl. I found my identity. I remember bringing my mom to see the play one night. She waited for me, I had the laundry basket and was heading for the costume shop. She said, ‘You mean to tell me you went through four years of college just to come out and do laundry?’ I said, ‘Mother, this is costume design!’”

StageWest recommended Carter for the Santa Fe Opera for a season. “So I packed up my Volkswagen Rabbit and drove across the country,” she said.

Theater and opera honed the importance of the meticulous research that distinguishes Carter’s work on dozens of high-profile period films.

“For Malcolm X, Rosewood [and many other films], I studied picture collections in libraries and galleries; I immersed myself in art and art history. I looked at photographers and visual artists such as Gordon Parks and Romare Bearden. I thought, maybe I can use their ideas, technique, or style to create a palette and tell a story that was uniquely mine.”

That immersive research resulted in her dazzling work on the Black Panther films. “We designed Afrofuturism with those films … it was both an ancient and modernized tribal look, an aesthetic that defined Afrofuturism. It was a long process before the actors arrived, painting on the bodies of others, putting textures and colors together. I’d look at a rack of fitted clothes and see it coming together; it becomes this hugely immersive process.”

Shown from left: Danai Gurira, Florence Kasumba in Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther.” Courtesy Walt Disney Studios/Marvel Studios

Carter cites costumer designer Ann Roth as an early inspiration. “I liked her films; I studied Places in the Heart and Silkwood. I liked how she had a color palette that she was very intentional with her choices. I admired what I could see in her work. I hold her in the highest esteem.”

Roth has a brief but memorable scene in Barbie. Carter recalls her brief onscreen appearance in The Butler (2013), for which she designed the costumes. “[Director] Lee Daniels wore pajamas all the time, kind of like Huge Hefner. So I put some on that I had designed and came on the set, and he laughed so hard, and he put me in a scene in the pajamas,” she said. “But there is so much work to be done [on the set], it’s hard for me to step outside and [be on camera]. Once you are in the scene, you’re stuck there, and I’m the kind of person that needs to be here, there, and everywhere.”

In bringing so many individual stories to life onscreen, Carter hopes her legacy will be that she inspired young people and “changed the way they see themselves. That’s what makes me feel good inside when someone like the Coolidge wants to bring my work to the foreground and give me an honor.”

Featured image: HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: (EDITORS NOTE: Image was shot in black and white. Color version not available.) Ruth E. Carter attends the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

How “Killers of the Flower Moon” Production Designer Jack Fisk Created 1920s Oklahoma

Posted on by babrams

Killers of the Flower Moon became a journey of inspirational research for production designer Jack Fisk (The Revenant, There Will Be Blood). He traveled to Oklahoma to visit the very homes of the Osage portrayed in the Scorsese film – a story that unpacks the painful history of the Osage during the 1920s, whose oil-backed wealth was methodically stolen from them under false pretense.

The screenplay was adapted by Eric Roth and Scorsese based on David Grann’s meticulous 2017 work of non-fiction. The book focuses on the beginnings of the Bureau of Investigation – known today as the FBI – and one of its primary agents, Tom White (Jesse Plemons). DiCaprio was supposed to play White, but a shift in the narrative changed the perspective to the Osage. In doing so, a tragic love story unfolds between Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) and WWI veteran Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) during its nearly three-and-a-half-hour runtime.

Nearly 50 locations were used in the making of Killers of the Flower Moon, and Fisk either repurposed existing structures on Osage land or built them from the ground up. Two of those from-scratch builds were Mollie’s home and the cattle ranch owned by William Hale (Robert De Niro), who is Ernest’s bigwig uncle. Another challenge was creating the two-block city of Fairfax, complete with a train station. Fisk designed a replica of the Fairfax station at a former depot in the town of Pawhuska, which stood in for Fairfax, laying 1,200 feet of track and finding a period locomotive. 

Here, the two-time Academy Award nominee details what went into resurrecting 1920s Oklahoma. 

 

This was your first project with Martin Scorsese. I’m curious if anything intrinsic stood out to you about his pre-production or shooting style?

He was always someone I admired for his films and his work ethic. This was a little unusual because it was in the middle of COVID when we filmed. A lot of my early meetings were Zoom meetings and writing long letters. In shooting, I was impressed with how young he seemed and how open he was to changes. We would be rehearsing a scene in the morning, and an idea would come up, and he would go with it. We’d be scrambling to get more of a set ready or whatever it was. That excited me. Because I am about the same age as Marty, and I see him working that hard, it makes me want to work harder.  

Did you have any initial reactions going into the project?

I was excited when I first read the script to be making a film where the Native Americans were living in houses. It was different for me. And to make a Western where people were living in houses and people were driving cars. I mean, there were horses present, but we were really going through a lot of changes during that time. The Osage were simulating into white world, and the white world was surviving any way it could.

One of the houses that Jack Fisk and his team built. Courtesy Apple TV+.

In regards to the production design, were there any guiding lights or principles that led the work?

I love history, and we did a ton of research on this film. David Grann had done immense research on his book, and so did Marianne Bower, who worked with Marty and was an executive producer on the film. She continued to collect information and put it together, and then I did some more research on my own. The direction Marty gave to me was he wanted to make a Western, but he also wanted to tell the Osage story as truthfully as possible. My approach with Marty was if I had an idea, I’d present research to back it up. I think he felt relieved I was taking it so seriously in terms of making it real. We were also able to visit every set before shooting, and Rodrigo [Prieto, cinematographer] responded to dark walls and responded to natural light coming through windows so we put a lot of windows in everything we built.  

Production designer Jack Fisk built Mollie’s home from the ground up Photo: Apple TV+
JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers, and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Courtesy Apple TV+.

Was it beneficial to be shooting in the locations where the events occurred?

We were shooting in the same towns where the characters lived. For part of it, we substituted Pawhuska to be Fairfax. Fairfax is a sad town at this point because it has fallen apart since the ‘20s. I don’t know if it was ever that prosperous, but it was a farm community of 1,500 people, and the Osage reservation of Gray Horse is about 5 miles away. The more I dove into that history and the people that I met there, a lot of them Osage and some of the white people who had been there for generations, the story became more alive. I realized how much pressure was on us to tell the story of the Osage people.

How did you approach creating the town of Fairfax?

The main street of Fairfax was created in the town of Pawhuska, and we had about two blocks of abandoned buildings. I think within those two blocks, there were maybe three businesses. A lot of the buildings had been destroyed by leaking roofs, and some of them were so bad we couldn’t even go into them. The town was in bad shape, and a lot of buildings were missing over the years, so we filled those in with artificial buildings like a movie theater, a hotel, and several other businesses to give us a complete two blocks.

The town Pawhuska stood in for Fairfax, OK where the tragic events occurred. Courtesy Apple TV+.

For some of the sets, we took over an appliance store, which became our pool hall and a restaurant. We also shot a basement scene in it. There was an art gallery we turned into a dance studio, and we transformed Pawhuska church into a courthouse.

L-r: Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and director Martin Scorsese on set. Courtesy Apple TV+

You were born in a small town in Illinois. Did that influence your designs in building the town of Fairfax?

I lived in the little town of Ipava, about 30 miles from Canton. I used to get my haircut at the pool hall. The barbershop had a pool hall. So when I read the script, thinking about Illinois, I got the idea of combining these two sets in the film. The pool hall and the barbershop. Then, when I looked at old maps of Fairfax, I found they had many times over the years had pool halls and barbershops combined. When I presented it to Marty, he was like, “Great, let’s do it.”

Robert De Niro and Jesse Plemons in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering October 20, 2023 on Apple TV+.
The barbershop/billiards hall that Fisk built for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Courtesy Apple TV+

The home of Mollie’s mother, Lizzie, plays an important part in the story. When researching the Osage way of life, how did you want to balance their traditions with 1920s décor?  

The house was the key to the whole thing to me. That’s when I did a lot of research of my own and tried to find out where she lived. David Grann mentioned it in his book; though he never found Mollie’s house, he imagined the way it would look. In my research, I actually found four of her houses. Some of them might be conjectured, but I did physically walk into one of them and looked through the windows of another. Another one burned down, and the fourth was in Claremore, which was after our story had ended. Finding out how they lived was really important. I visited houses in Gray Horse, and I found out that she didn’t have her own house, and even though she was married to Ernest, she still lived in her mother’s house in Gray Horse.

Leonardo DiCaprio is Ernest Burkhart and Tantoo Cardinal is Lizzie Q. Courtesy Apple TV+

Was there any key to your design?

The key to the home was the porches, and the wallpaper was really natural – almost like you were living in a forest. The Osage, with their new wealth, spent it on cars and ceramics. They love pottery, so we put a lot of that in there. But for the most part, they were content with their life. The other thing was to make it different from Hale’s house.

Outside the cattle ranch home of William Hale (Robert Di Nero). Production designer Jack Fisk created the residence from scratch Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+
Outside the cattle ranch home of William Hale (Robert Di Nero). Production designer Jack Fisk created the residence from scratch Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+

Since you mentioned differentiating William Hale’s home, did you add any subtle nods that reflected his personality?

We made the house taller, sort of like he wanted to show that he was the king of the Osage hills. We did it in reds, while Mollie’s home was mostly in greens. We added in different things that the Osage might appreciate, like paintings, sculptures, textured wallpaper, and fine furniture that the Osage at the time were just learning about. It took a while, once the Osage entered the white world, to find what treasures to make part of their life. Hale had a head start.

The color palette was very rich, and it seemed the vibrant colors might have been saved for the blankets the Osage wore. How did you want to approach color?

Jacqueline West [costume designer] and I have done ten films together. Researching with her is nothing but fun. The Osage love color. You see it in their own artwork from the time, the China they collected, their cars, and the colors of their blankets. I heard they loved to paint their cars. At the time, Henry Ford was making black cars. The insurance maps I found of Fairfax, you will see a paint shop or two where they would paint their automobiles. Oklahoma itself dictated some of the color palette itself. The prairie is so beautiful, and it’s such a part of the Osage life.

A scene from “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Courtesy Apple TV+
A still image from “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Courtesy Apple TV+

Killers of the Flower Moon hits theaters on October 20, 2023.

For more on Killers of the Flower Moon, check out these stories:

How Osage Tradition Influenced the Hair & Makeup in “Killers of the Flower Moon”

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Costume Designer Jacqueline West on the Power of the Osage Blanket

Featured image: Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering October 20, 2023 on Apple TV+.

 

“The Zone of Interest” Trailer Reveals Jonathan Glazer’s Harrowing, Urgent New Film

Posted on by babrams

Jonathan Glazer’s films have a way of sticking to your ribs. Whether he’s taking on a gangster story, like his irresistibly intense Sexy Beast (2000), or delivering a powerhouse sci-fi meditation on what it means to be an outsider in his alien-among-us masterpiece Under the Skin (2013), a Glazer film is an experience unlike any other. This is why his latest film, The Zone of Interest, comes with the promise of something both unforgettable in the best sense and in the most urgent and upsetting. Glazer has adapted Martin Amis’s brilliant, unsettling 2014 novel of the same name, which was set in Auschwitz and followed a Nazi officer who fell in love with the commandant’s wife. The intrigues of a romantic infatuation were set against the unspeakable horror of the Holocaust, and with Amis’s peerless prose, the novel enveloped the pathos of forbidden love within the banality of evil so prevalent in all the members of the Nazi ruling class, who went about their affairs and concerns as if there weren’t human beings being broken and slaughtered in their literal backyards.

This is, of course, extremely difficult material to mine for a novel, let alone adapt for the big screen. Yet Glazer is a fearless filmmaker, and his adaptation, produced by powerhouse studio A24, won the Grand Prix at his year’s Cannes Film Festival. Glazer’s film follows German SS Officer Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller), and their children living in splendor in a farmhouse that’s situated next to Auschwitz. The film was shot in Poland and Germany, with Glazer deploying cinematographer Łukasz Żal (Cold War) to depict both the bucolic farmhouse environs perched on the edge of a hell on Earth made by man.

The Zone of Interest is focused squarely on the perpetrators of the violence, showing how people can build and maintain a scrim of normalcy and professed decency while accepting the misery and murder going on all around them. “The great crime and tragedy is that human beings did this to other human beings,” Glazer said during a press conference at Cannes. “It’s very convenient to distance ourselves from them as much as we can because we think we don’t behave that way, but we should be less certain than that.”

It’s horrifying how often we are still being reminded of the truth of this statement.

Check out the trailer below. The Zone of Interest comes to theaters on December 15:

For more on films from A24, check out these stories:

“The Iron Claw” Trailer Finds Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White Ready to Rumble

Nicolas Cage Enters the Collective Subconscious in Compelling “Dream Scenario” Trailer

“Talk To Me” Directors Danny & Michael Philippou on Crafting the Year’s Most Unsettling Horror Film

From “Papyrus” to “Problemista”: Inside The Beautiful Mind of Julio Torres

Featured image:

Godzilla Stomps to the Rescue in New “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” Trailer

Posted on by babrams

The first thing you see in the new trailer for Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the most iconic of monsters rising from the Pacific Ocean. Such is the luxury enjoyed by showrunner Chris Black (Severance) and the rest of the Monarch creators—their series boasts the most famous cinematic beast of them all.

The trailer takes us back to the events depicted in Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla when the titular Titan arrived on the shores of San Francisco and wreaked havoc. Yet we know from that film that Godzilla hadn’t come to Northern California to lay waste to humanity; he was actually restoring the balance amongst Titans and saving the city and the world from a couple of fellow Titans run amok. The trailer reveals a young woman named Cate (Anna Sawai) who recalls her wonder at these men—members of the shadowy organization Monarch, she’d come to learn—who arrived on the scene of destruction snapping photos. “Like they’ve been waiting for it.”

Episode 2. Anna Sawai in “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” coming soon to Apple TV+.

Cate is determined to learn more about Monarch, especially considering her father was a part of the Titan-tracking outfit. So she and her brother Kentaro (Ren Watabe) decide they’re going to follow the breadcrumbs their father has left behind and try to uncover, at last, their connection to Monarch and the monsters the organization tracks.

Their sleuthing leads them to Army officer Lee Shaw (played by the father and son duo of Kurt and Wyatt Russell), with the story spanning three generations, from the 1950s when Lee Shaw was a young man (Wyatt Russell), to a half-century later when what Lee (Kurt Russell) knows threatens Monarch and all the secrets they keep. Lee tells them, towards the end of the trailer, that if they want to take on Monarch, they’re going to need a little help. Cue the big guy, rising, once again, to restore order to a world gone mad.

The cast also includes Kiersey Clemons, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, and Eliza Lasowski.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters was co-developed by Matt Fraction (Hawkeye) and Chris Black (Outcast, Star Trek: Enterprise), with Matt Shakman (WandaVision) helming the first two episodes.

Check out the trailer below. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stomps onto Apple TV+ on November 17:

 

Here’s the official synopsis:

Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch. Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows. The dramatic saga — spanning three generations — reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.

For more on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, check out these stories:

First “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” Trailer Reveals Apple TV+’s Godzilla-Sized New Series

Godzilla Returns in First Look at Apple TV’s “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”

Featured image: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Courtesy Apple TV.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Costume Designer Jacqueline West on the Power of the Osage Blanket

Posted on by babrams

“It’s a power symbol,” costume designer Jacqueline West (The Revenant) says of the blankets the Osage cast wears in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. “I felt it was some kind of armor against what is being imposed on them and what’s being done to them. You put it on against the world and against evil, and it becomes a real symbol of that.”

The “evil” West is referring to are actual events that took place during 1920s Oklahoma when the Osage Nation grew incredibly wealthy, earning royalties from oil that was discovered on their land (modern day Osage County, Oklahoma) in the 1890s. What followed were catastrophic accounts of extortion, greed, and mysterious murders of their people. Scorsese, along with co-writer Eric Roth, adapted the harrowing story from investigative journalist and author David Grann’s book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and Birth of the FBI.” The film sheds light on a budding love story between Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) and war veteran Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), whose uncle William Hale (Robert De Niro), a respected businessman in town, has under his thumb. Unraveling during the 3-hour and 26-minute saga is an emotionally intense drama about betrayal, entitlement, and the selfish nature of human beings.

 

In dressing the ensemble cast, which included over 40 Osage actors and hundreds of background players, West heavily researched the Osage culture, poring over thousands of photographs and black-and-white home movies from the Osage. “Their home movies were really well shot. There is a certain artistic quality to them, and they’re shot from beautiful vantage points,” West says. “I used a lot of screen grabs from those movies. One particular family, who made a lot of home movies, I relied on.” The photographs and movies opened the door to Osage culture and traditions, outlining their artwork, ribbon work, dances, weddings, and more, adding to the accuracy of the costume designs.

 

More important was West’s collaboration with Osage wardrobe consultant Julie O’Keefe, who has first-hand knowledge of the events in the film through a grandmother who personally knew William Hale. O’Keefe was instrumental to the process as she could explain period styles, traditional garb, and what color palettes would be worn by Osage family members and tribal leaders. Beyond O’Keefe, a number of Osage artisans contributed to creating wardrobes, jewelry, moccasins, ribbon work, and finger weaving. “We hired Osage women who learned from their mothers and grandmothers how to do the blanket fringe and finger weaving. All were welcomed in our workshop,” West notes.  

Inside the costume department on the set of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Courtesy Apple TV+.

The centerpiece of the Osage costumes was their blankets, which were procured from a number of sources. The bulk came from Oregon manufacturer Pendleton, who recreated them with depictions of culturally appropriated symbols and patterns from the 1920s. The ribbon work blankets were made by the Osage, while others were loaned by the Osage community. Roughly 1,000 blankets were on hand for the 99 shooting days. Blankets were chosen for characters to match the mood of the scene, whether it was something joyous or sad – their significance was recognized by each actor. “Lily [Gladstone] would not go to the set unless Julie came and looked at how the blanket was placed on her,” says West. “There was a lot of heart put into the blankets, and it was the same with the men and how they wore them. No one left for the set until their blanket was blessed.”

JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering in theaters around the world on October 20, 2023.

Focus was also put on Mollie and her sisters Anna (Cara Jade Myers), Reta (JaNae Collin), and Minnie (Jillian Dion), as well as their mother Lizzie (Tantoo Cardinal). Their costumes were inspired by photographs of the real women. In fact, West was keen on replicating the actual look of any character based on a real person. “Mollie is very traditional,” notes West. “I tried to keep Mollie more true to the real Osage way of dressing, whereas her sisters are combinations of traditional and modern 1920s style. Everything but Mollie’s shoes when she goes into town which are these beautiful handmade French shoes with a stack healed and her purse are traditional.”

Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering October 20, 2023 on Apple TV+.

Reta was also dressed in traditional attire, while Minnie leaned more into modern designs. Anna was the fashionista of the group, wearing ensembles favored by the young and wealthy Osage. “Her look was inspired by Natacha Rambova, Valentino’s wife, with the headset braids and the silky silky. But when she arrives at her mother’s house, she arrives with a blanket,” says West.

A still image from “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Courtesy Apple TV+

The guiding light for the wardrobe department was authenticity. “One thing that struck me from the very beginning is that Martin Scorsese has a bar that he’s raised for all of Hollywood because he works within a world where everything is authentic down to the hair and the teeth and everything that goes with it,”  O’Keefe remarks. “In bringing in so many Osage, a lot of the community gathered around it – and the community gathered around David Grann when he started writing this story in the beginning. This story is being guided to tell this true representation and authenticity. I can tell you the community knew it, and it is really saying something that we were invited in to help tell our own story.”

 

Killers of the Flower Moon opens in theaters October 20, 2023. 

For more on Killers of the Flower Moon, check out these stories:

How Osage Tradition Influenced the Hair & Makeup in “Killers of the Flower Moon”

New “Killers of the Flower Moon” Featurette Reveals How the Osage Language Deepened the Film

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Star Lily Gladstone Takes Center Stage in New Video

Featured image: Jacqueline West standing behind, from L-R: JaNae Collins, Cara Jade Myers, Lily Gladstone, and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering in theaters around the world on October 20, 2023. Courtesy Apple TV+.

How Osage Tradition Influenced the Hair & Makeup in “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Posted on by babrams

There is perhaps nothing more important than authentically depicting the Osage in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, a poignant tale based on real events where the oil-rich nation was devilishly deceived, manipulated, and murdered for their money and oil shares by the very ones who married them. Newspapers later described the tragedy, which lasted from 1921-1926, as the “Reign of Terror.”

Scorsese and co-writer Eric Roth brought David Grann’s best-selling novel of the same name to the screen with tremendous care and understanding. Helping to deliver this important story visually were hair department head Kay Georgiou (Joker) and makeup department head Thomas Nellen (Avatar: The Way of Water). The pair previously collaborated on The Patriot (2000) and the Coen brother’s True Grit (2010). For Killers, they revitalized a 1920s look, combining Osage tradition, period fashion, and bygone aesthetics.  

 

Research laid the foundation for their success along with an open dialog with Scorsese, department heads, Osage consultants, and the many Osage crew members. “We had this incredible research office which was covered from the ceiling to the floor with pictures, references, and folders you could flip through,” says Nellen.

The roots of the material came from longtime Scorsese collaborator (and executive producer) Marianne Bower, who had been involved in the project prior to principal photography. Georgiou tells The Credits Bower had been working closely with the Osage, collecting historical photos and research from different sources, including private collections from Osage families. “Marianne had this wonderful portfolio for us. Attached to that was the look of the film in terms of the period, so we had to do our own research regarding what the fashions were like during that time,” explains Georgiou.

Makeup department head Thomas Nellen (left) costume designer Jacqueline West (right). Courtesy of Apple TV+.

The wealth of the Osage afforded them the latest fashions found in Paris, London, and New York – designs that might have graced the pages of Vogue. However, the most significant piece to their silhouette is the traditional ribbonwork blankets they wrap themselves in. Collaborating with costume department head Jacqueline West (Dune, The Revenant) and Osage cultural consultant Julie O’Keefe was key in creating accurate depictions of each character for the story that follows a romance between Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) and World War I veteran Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) who has arrived in Fairfax, Oklahoma to work for his uncle and all-around businessman William Hale (Robert De Niro). As the plot unfolds, we meet Mollie’s sisters, Anna (Cara Jade Myers), Reta (JaNae Collin), and Minnie (Jillian Dion), as well as their mother, Lizzie (Tantoo Cardinal). Georgiou and Nellen developed bespoke looks for each while collaborating with personal stylists for DiCaprio and De Niro.

JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering in theaters around the world on October 20, 2023.

Of the four sisters, Mollie’s style was the most traditional. Subtle makeup allowed for a natural glow, her long black hair draped down and, at times, in a single braid – a hint of lipstick for when she wanted to impress. Opposite is Anna, who had “one foot in the western modern world and one foot in tradition.” Her coiled braids and pronounced makeup complimented her chic attire. “We wanted to do something that was very of the time with Anna’s hair,” says Georgiou. “We found a picture of an old silent movie star who had earphone braids, and we gave them to Anna for the film. She was much more westernized, but with all the sisters, they’d wear a traditional blanket that would ground them.”

 

Nellen and Georgiou curated looks for other key Indigenous actors referring to photographs of the real person they portrayed. Makeup color palettes were also created from the range of colors found in costumes. “A lot of the costumes, especially for the Osage, had colors of their blankets, and of course, the eye shadow, eyeliner, and lipstick were all according to the period. It all had to blend together so it looked as natural as possible,” Nellen says.

A still image from “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Courtesy Apple TV+

Georgiou maintained nearly 300 wigs for the entire cast, including background actors, often giving them perms to match the era. More than 40 roles were filled by Osage actors, and hundreds more as background players. To recreate the waist-long hair the Osage would have had during the 1920s, the hair department gave actors extensions when necessary. Georgiou credits having the right-sized department for such a large-scale film allowed them to pay closer attention to the details and delegate responsibility to a very capable team. “If we weren’t sure how the hair should be for specific points in the story, like when the sisters are in mourning, we would ask Julie [O’Keefe]. We drew on her knowledge constantly for pieces of information,” says Georgiou. “We also worked very closely with the Osage that were both in the film and in our crew. We relied on them enormously for information and input as to the look of the film.”

Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering October 20, 2023 on Apple TV+.

Besides contending with the blazing Oklahoma heat, which required hair and makeup to perform touch-ups constantly, Nellen says one of the hardest challenges was creating the appearance that little to no makeup was being used on certain characters. “A no makeup look doesn’t mean no makeup. Sometimes, no makeup requires more time than actual makeup. Here, we have a situation where the time period is part of the story, and therefore the makeup, hair, and costumes are part of the story, but we did it without wanting to take you out of the story.”

Killers of the Flower Moon arrives in theaters on October 20, 2023. 

For more on Killers of the Flower Moon, check out these stories:

New “Killers of the Flower Moon” Featurette Reveals How the Osage Language Deepened the Film

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Star Lily Gladstone Takes Center Stage in New Video

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Star Robert De Niro the Focus of New Character Video

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Character Video Reveals Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart

Featured image: A still image from “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Courtesy Apple TV+

Hilarious “Saturday Night Live” Sketch Forces Pete Davidson to Revisit a Humiliating Moment

Posted on by babrams

Saturday Night Live gave Pete Davidson the Wired treatment last night. Davidson returned to the program to host the season 49 premiere, and one of the funniest sketches of the night had the Staten Island-born funny man play a sweet-natured TV star forced to revisit some of his, um, less stellar moments in his personal history. The sketch is a spoof on Wired‘s autocomplete interview series, where they get stars to sit down and answer the most searched questions from the web about themselves. Occasionally, these questions are revealing or funny, but SNL, of course, had to ratchet the awkwardness up to an eleven for their sketch.

In the sketch, Davidson is a cast member of an upcoming new Disney show called Stark Labs! He joins his fellow cast members for Wired‘s autocomplete interview, and while the rest of the cast are there to promote the new series and themselves with benign questions pertaining to their wealth or single status, Davidson’s character, Zach Elliot, only gets questions about a particular incident in his past that was extremely embarrassing. Every time the questions come back to Zach, he’s forced to relive his humiliation once again. And what did Zach once do? We’ll let you find that out in the sketch, but it’s pulled from an actual situation that occurred on a Delta flight.

It was a boisterous start to the new season, coming, once again, in the middle of global turmoil and upheaval in the entertainment industry itself. If there’s any comfort to be had right now, Saturday Night Live being back on air is about as comforting as it gets. Davidson hosted alongside musical guest Ice Spice. The entire episode is worth a watch.

Check out the sketch here:

For more on Universal Pictures, Peacock, and Focus Features projects, check out these stories:

How “Quantum Leap” DP Ana M. Amortegui Keeps the Show Dynamic Across the Centuries

Official “Night Swim” Trailer Unveils Blumhouse’s Deep Dive Into Madness

“SNL” Returning With Pete Davidson Hosting the Season 49 Premiere

“Oppenheimer” Has Reached Another Milestone for Christopher Nolan

Featured image: Pete Davidson on “Saturday Night Live.” Courtesy NBC.

“The Fall of the House of Usher“ Production Designer Laurin Kelsey Reanimates Edgar Allan Poe for Netflix

Posted on by babrams

It’s October, the right time of year for an Edgar Allan Poe revamp. Creator Mike Flanagan delivers, with a contemporary mini-series adaptation for Netflix of The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe’s 1839 short story about the creepy undoing of wealthy but disturbed Roderick Usher. In Flanagan’s updated version of the story, Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) and his sister, Madeline (Mary McDonnell), are the filthy rich heads of an unscrupulous pharmaceutical company, siblings who come from humble beginnings to which they seem destined to return, as a mysterious woman (Carla Gugino) dispatches with Roderick’s adult children until they are all dead.

The show gets the story going by letting us know the sorry tidings of Roderick’s mostly despicable offspring, then focuses each episode on each child’s background and mode of death. Poe fans will recognize references to the writer’s other work throughout the series, with Flanagan assigning each heir their own Poe story or poem. “We had ‘The Telltale Heart,’ we had ‘The Raven,’ ‘The Black Cat,’ ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue,’ and so many other layers and characters from other Edgar Allen Poe stories,” Laurin Kelsey, the series production designer, said. “Mike put so much detail into putting all those pieces together; I actually don’t know how he did it.”

 

With a degree in theater and literature, Kelsey, who had an affinity for his short stories, was familiar with Poe’s work going into the job. “But anything that Mike puts his hands on and feels the need to adapt, I become a fan of really quickly,” she said. In this case, she needed to balance a sense of the writer’s Gothic Victorian imagery with the most extreme aspects of modern-day wealth. “One of the really cool things that Mike brought in from the beginning was color,” Kelsey said, with Flanagan matching each Usher child to their own hue, setting them apart from their competing siblings. “Camille is silver, Leo is yellow, Victorine is orange, Perry is red, Frederick’s blue.” Working with cinematographer Michael Fimognari, costume designer Terry Anderson, and the hair and makeup team to decide who would step back and whose work would be played up to convey a particular color subtly, each adult child’s world is subtly infused with a shade somehow relevant to their death.

The Fall of the House of Usher. (L to R) T’Nia Miller as Victorine LaFourcade, Samantha Sloyan as Tamerlane Usher, Mary McDonnell as Madeline Usher, Bruce Greenwood as Roderick Usher, Ruth Codd as Juno Usher, Rahul Kohli as Napoleon Usher, Henry Thomas as Frederick Usher, Mark Hamill as Arthur Pym in episode 104 of The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2023

Roderick’s progeny all have different mothers. Some have jobs within the family empire; others fear never receiving any proper due. The realization that there’s a mole within their ranks, sharing family secrets about their crooked empire with the federal government, sets off vicious infighting once their father puts a bounty on the traitor’s discovery. Despite their differences, there’s a consistency in the would-be successors’ worlds. “I think that actually comes from Mike because the way he’s written them and developed the characters, they all have a through-line and are still family, and you feel that,” Kelsey said. “In terms of approaching it visually, they all had commonalities in terms of how they would want to spend their money — they were all very showy, they were all very concerned with appearances, and that allowed a balance between all of them.”

 

The home that stands apart is the dark, decrepit living room in the house where Roderick grew up, a set the show returns to throughout the series as he recounts his children’s deaths with the prosecutor Auguste Dupin (Carl Lumbly). “That was a really challenging set. In the original book, the house is this mansion on a hill, Gothic, creepy, and decayed,” Kelsey recounted, but here, the patriarch’s childhood home is a modest suburban house we visit in 1953, 1962, and in its battered present. The production designer worked unexpected Gothic elements into the surrounding architecture, building the surrounding houses’ facades as if they were original to the 1890s and designing the Usher home as a small Victorian house that had been repurchased and beaten up over decades.

The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix © 2023
The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix © 2023

The Fall of the House of Usher is a macabre psychodrama, but it’s also still horror, with a lot of stunts for Kelsey to account for. “Almost every wall in the house was on a chain motor,” she pointed out, regarding the technical demands of Roderick’s small, deteriorating home. “Everything’s crumbling apart, but you still have to have it functioning in an efficient way.” Given the sets’ requirements, almost the entire series was built from scratch, which Kelsey called a designer’s dream. “A lot of it had to do with how complicated the stunts were and what we needed the sets to be able to do. We didn’t just have an abandoned warehouse with rain and water and drainage,” the PD pointed out. The crew had five stages going at once and worked on the builds for a year to bring a sense of Poe’s Victorian era to the show’s stunt-ready, contemporary luxury abodes. “It was a fun challenge to bring those two worlds together because you wouldn’t think ultra-modernism fits in with Gothic architecture in many cases,” Kelsey said.

The Fall of the House of Usher is streaming on Netflix now.

For more on big titles on Netflix, check these out:

“Fair Play” Writer/Director Chloe Domont Makes a Killing on Male Fragility

Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali & Co Seek Refuge at the End of the World in “Leave The World Behind” Trailer

“Reptile” Director Grant Singer on His Slithery Mystery Feature With Benicio Del Toro

Featured image: The Fall of the House of Usher. Carl Lumbly as C. Auguste Dupin in episode 101 of The Fall of the House of Usher. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2023

“Cat Person” Production Designer Sally Levi on Turning a Viral Short Story Into a Feature-Length Film

Posted on by babrams

“Margot met Robert on a Wednesday night toward the end of her fall semester. She was working behind the concession stand at the artsy movie theatre downtown when he came in and bought a large popcorn and a box of Red Vines.” This is how writer Kristen Roupenian’s short story “Cat Person” begins, a vignette about a young college student, Margot, meeting an older man named Robert. It was published in The New Yorker and appeared online on December 4, 2017. Three days later, as Roupenian recounted in a follow-up story for The New Yorker about the shock of what happened next, a friend of hers said to her, “There’s something going on with your story.” That something was an incredibly rare event—Roupenian’s “Cat Person” had become a viral sensation.

“Cat Person” is about Margo, the twenty-year-old college student, and Robert, a man in his mid-thirties, who go on one very bad date. Written in the close third person, Roupenian describes Margot’s thoughts on the date as she becomes increasingly convinced she does not want to sleep with Robert but does so anyway. The story was a flashpoint for young women who identified with the experience of, as Rouopenian put it in her follow-up piece, “the sense that there is a point at which it is ‘too late’ to say no to a sexual encounter.”

Now, nearly six years later, “Cat Person” has been adapted by director Susanna Fogel (The Flight Attendant, Booksmart) from a script by Michelle Ashford (Operation Mincemeat). Fogel and Ashford have taken Roupenian’s taut, tense encounter between Margot (Emilia Jones) and Robert (Nicholas Braun) and expanded it into a feature-length film, teasing out a tale about male toxicity and turning it into a romantic thriller.

Aiding them in their effort to build out the world of Cat Person was production designer Sally Levi, who went to some ingenious lengths to create spaces that young women would curate and create and make the most of locations, especially an abandoned Toys R Us headquarters, that had just the right amount of creepiness.

I’m curious if you had read the original short story before you signed onto this project?

I’d heard of the story, but I read it after I read the script. I knew it was based on a New Yorker short story, then I decided to read the script first. In most books I read, I don’t end up liking the movies [laughs], and this was obviously a short story versus a book, but it was interesting to read it in reverse. Cat Person was a passion project of mine and probably the best experience I’ve had as a production designer.

How so?

I didn’t want to do the job at first. My agent actually did a bit of convincing for me to meet on it because I was a little scared it would end up being like a sexploitation movie in the wrong hands. Obviously, it was not. Once I met with the director, Susanna [Fogel], I was one hundred percent on board because her vision was to do this in a real way and to do it for younger women. Not that it can’t be for all generations and sexes, but the idea that teenagers through their twenties could actually watch this and process it because it’s so like real life, it might make a difference to a lot of people. To someone like me, when I read the short story, I got chills. It took me a long time to understand the relationship between men and women, and I was incredibly fearful in a lot of ways when it came to dating. I wondered if I had watched this movie when I was younger how it might have affected me or changed my relationship with dating. So then I was fully on board, and I was very excited about the cast. I really respected who they chose, because it could have gone to some big celebrities, but they really tried to cast to the short story.

 

Adapting a book into a feature-length film has plenty of its own challenges, including deciding all the good parts you have to leave out of your movie, but for a 7,000-word short story, how difficult was it to build that out into a full world?

It’s very different from the short story, as it always had to be. Anybody who is going to interpret a very short story into a feature-length film is going to have to add a lot of details and make a lot of strong choices. That was definitely challenging. The dorm room—people think, oh, it’s a dorm room, it’s basically a concrete block that’s painted, what is there to do? When I was looking at a lot of movies that have done dorm rooms, it was very interesting to see how cheesy or forced they felt. There were a lot of posters everywhere that weren’t really relevant or specific. So, it was actually not an easy task. I’ve done dorm rooms before, so I did know it’s not that you just go to the thrift store and buy a bunch of stuff, and it’s fine. Young people are very curated. What they have in their dorm room is what they want the world to see because their bedroom is exposed to the whole floor of people. It’s an open book to who they are and how they want to express themselves.

How did you research the modern dorm room to avoid the pitfall of making it generic?

I met someone very similar to Margo, the same age, and I rented a lot of her stuff [laughs]. So we had the rug, the blanket, the artwork, even things she’d taped onto her walls that were so perfect. Then, we got clearance on what we could use.

It’s a brilliant way to make sure the dorm rooms look authentic. It’s like going antiquing or thrifting, buying things that once were in someone’s personal space, only here, you’re doing it from someone still using those pieces.

Yeah. [Laughs.]

 

So your team had to remove stuff from her dorm room and then, later, put it back?

She had left the dorm system, she was in a shared apartment, and she removed everything, which was really nice of her. There were a lot of little specific details, like a stationary pad, these amazing details that would have taken us so much time to shop and age that. Everything was aged appropriately. We obviously had to get more than just her stuff. And then she worked on the movie. She was actually the assistant to the director. She was always on set, and she had the perfect style. She looked like Margo. She’s not an actress. She wants to be a director herself one day.

She’s got a good start. And what a great way to capture what a young woman’s design preferences are and how they curate their world.

Exactly. In a movie I did this summer, we rented a bunch of stuff from my niece. [Laughs.]

What about the rest of the world you’re creating?

We had very specific parts of the movie. The parent’s home was incredibly difficult to find because it was particularly chosen to reflect the uncomfortable relationship between the mother and stepfather. We wanted to shoot from aunt into winter because we didn’t want any leaves on the trees outside of the house. We made that choice to have all the big windows with the stark trees outside. We wanted to create a home that felt like it was missing something, which it was. That location we found right before we started to shoot. There was another location that wasn’t right, and we almost went with it because time was running out. That house was very much like the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off home, that quintessential, perfect home where you want to go and cry to your mom, and if you’re sick, your mom takes care of you, which is not the home we wanted to create for Cat Person. Location scouting is never easy. Sometimes, you get lucky, but finding the right location is half of my job and worth the effort.

And what about the university?

For the school, we actually shot at three different campuses to create the one school that Margot attends. FDU [Farleigh Dickinson University] in New Jersey was near where our base camp was, but it was so picture perfect, it was too good to be true. So we went and shot at a school in New York to get that brutalist feel. Then, we went to the old Toys R Us headquarters to shoot a lot of the campus. They had a very interesting, eerie Toys R Us campus that’s since been shut down, so we shot exteriors there.

Sounds like the making of a horror movie, actually.

It was a little creepy. We were there setting up at night, and we were like, this is incredibly creepy.

 

Cat Person is in theaters now.

Featured image: Emilia Jones and Nicholas Braun in “Cat Person.” Courtesy Studio Canal

Learn Filmmaking Network Founder Gabriel Alexis on Building a Community

Posted on by babrams

Bronx-born Gabriel Alexis’s love of visual storytelling began when he was a kid in his childhood home, capturing family moments, a prelude to a career in which he would devote himself to helping filmmakers connect, inspire each other, and grow. After learning the ropes himself on a variety of projects, from TV to commercials, from music videos to creating short videos for the New York State Bar Association, Alexis had a moment while driving his car in 2018. “I was trying to create a community around me, so I said, let me just build my community, and one day, I was in my car thinking about a name. I love to learn, and I love filmmaking, so that’s how the name came about. [Laughs]. Learn Filmmaking: as a marketer, I was thinking about what people do if they go to Google and search for filmmaking. I was trying to make it so obvious you don’t have to think about it, and luckily, on February 2, 2018, Learn Filmmaking was available. I got the domains and the trademark.”

Then he got busy. Learn Filmmaking Network (LFN) became Alexis’s passion project. His goal has been to revolutionize the way that creators can access resources, giving them opportunities to hone their craft, meet their peers, and connect with already established filmmakers and creators in the industry. LFN is aimed at eliminating traditional barriers and creating a community where people can really engage with each other, show their work, and hone their craft. Thus far, LFN has a community of 756,000 and growing.

We spoke to Alexis about how he built his own dream job, what members of the LFN community experience themselves, and his hopes for growing the platform.

Learn Filmmaking founder Gabriel Alexis. Photo by Bryan Wolfinger.

Tell me a bit about your background.

I have a background where I started as an editor, then I directed and produced short and feature films and commercials, and I even went corporate—I used to work for the New York State Bar Association doing videos for lawyers. I felt like there was more to me, so when I created LFN, it wasn’t really about the followers; I was really looking for community. I love human connection, so I started reaching out to filmmakers and showing them love. My mission was to connect creators who are trying to get into the industry with people who are already established and bridging the gap. In 2018, I hit my first ten thousand followers, and then by 2020, we hit 300,000.

And, of course, 2020 was a year where the idea of a community, at least temporarily, changed drastically.

We all went through so much, and the LFN community was really loving the fact that we were bringing together so many creators and filmmakers to our platform and letting people know they weren’t alone. We used to go live Monday through Friday with different hosts. On Monday, it would be lighting breakdowns; on Tuesday, it would be filmmakers talking about their path; on Wednesday, we’d bring people in from the creator community to actually meet these directors or cinematographers. So, Learn Filmmaking bridged the gap. Filmmaking can be a lonely journey, so when you’re part of a community and you have people that actually take a moment to reach out, that’s why we’re growing. Now, in 2023, we have over 750,000 followers, and we keep growing.

Gabriel Alexis.

What was your method for reaching out to people and gaining their trust that LFN was a platform that could really help them?

I started messaging them and letting them know how much I loved their work. I’ve always been very bold. I try not to let fear get to me. I still reach out to filmmakers and creators at all different levels. It really doesn’t matter to me. I’d do video calls with them through Instagram or Zoom. I’d say, ‘Hey, let’s take ten minutes and let me just get to know you better, where you’re from, and what you do.’ For me, it’s about the work and how passionate people are as a creator.  I always just want to be kind, and I think that’s why people started trusting me with their work. They were like, ‘Look, this is what I have, I trust you.’  Our community is global—we’re in India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Africa. It’s a beautiful thing. I make sure our community is very diverse. I always put diversity first because if you want to see a change in the world, it’s got to start with you. So I started doing that myself, posting content from diverse creators, showcasing people of color and female filmmakers, and that’s what I feel like the community started growing because people could see themselves in our community.

How do you envision LFN growing?

So we started as a digital platform, now we’re building those human connections, and we’ve started to do workshops. We had a workshop in Los Angeles this past October 7th. We brought some of our community members there to learn about cameras and gimbals. So, more workshops in the future, and also to have networking events. Networking is so important to connect with other creators from your city or state. It’s awesome to connect digitally, but when you can actually get to know them in person, it’s a different level of connection, a different vibe. When you see somebody you’ve been following on social media for so many years and then meet them in person, it’s mind-blowing! We had our first private networking event three months ago in New York City. Community members came from Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Florida. It was amazing. We had 130 people show up, and honestly, it was such a moment for me because I saw the community come together to be a part of this event to connect with each other. We had a private chef, we had a red carpet, and it was free! [Laughs.]

Filmmaking is an incredibly collaborative medium, so connecting with people and establishing relationships is really crucial.

I have a bunch of followers, but how do you know it’s a real community? So, building these networking events and workshops shows that they are real people behind these followers. It’s amazing to me sometimes. We have a real community. People react to what I post. When I have a networking event or workshop, they’re just so involved. They want to learn. They want to keep growing. That’s what it’s about, really interacting and engaging with people. We live in a world where people focus on followers, followers, followers, but are these followers actually interacting with each other? My goal is to have real human connections and people that are actually interacting with each other and learning from one another. It’s a big difference. Let’s make the world a better place. We’re all in this together!

Check out Learn Filmmaking Network on Instagram and YouTube.

Featured image: Learn Filmmaking founder Gabriel Alexis. Photo by Bryan Wolfinger.

Swifties Rejoice: “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” Opening a Day Early

Posted on by babrams

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is heading for a record global opening, with forecasters saying it will become a record-smashing debut for a concert film as it eyes $150 million to $200 million. What every Swiftie fan (and their parents) will be happy to hear is the film is also opening a day early. Swift herself announced that early screenings for the film will be held on Thursday in North America, most likely at 6 p.m., as well as during the day on Friday. Additional showtimes have been added throughout the weekend. Tickets are currently on sale.

This is a full day earlier than the original release schedule, which slated The Eras Tour for a Friday, 6 p.m. screening time in theaters across the globe. Such is the gravitational pull of Swift that demand for a ticket has been through the roof. For everyone who couldn’t catch a stop during The Eras Tour or couldn’t afford a ticket, this concert film is the next best thing.

Swift revealed the news on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour documents her historic tour in pointillist fashion, running a meaty two hours and 48 minutes, giving her legion of Swifties the kind of backstage access most could only dream of. AMC is distributing the movie, and as of now, it will run from Thursday through Sunday and play for four weekends in over 8,000 theaters worldwide.

“I can’t thank you enough for wanting to see this film that so vividly captures my favorite adventure I’ve ever been a part of: The Eras Tour,” Swift wrote in her Instagram post. “And the best part is, it’s an adventure we’re still on together.”

At the world premiere at The Grove in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Swift said of her fans, “The fact that this tour was such a grand adventure has everything to do with the ways in which you cared about this tour and about these shows.”

The stars were out in force at Swift’s premiere, including Beyoncé (who has her own concert film, Renaissance, coming to theaters this December), who posed with Smith on the red carpet. Rachel Zegler, Simu Liu, Julia Garner, Adam Sandler, Mariska Hargitay, and more were on hand.

Swift also told fans ahead of the screening that they were a crucial part of her film. “I think that you’ll see that you’re absolutely a main character in the film because it was your magic and your attention to detail and your sense of humor and the ways that you lean into what I’m doing and the music I create.”

Featured image: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 11: Taylor Swift attends “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” Concert Movie World Premiere at AMC The Grove 14 on October 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

“The Iron Claw” Trailer Finds Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White Ready to Rumble

Posted on by babrams

The first trailer for A24’s The Iron Claw has leaped into the ring. Writer/director Sean Durkin (The Nest, Martha Marcy May Marlene) has taken on the true story of the Von Erich brothers, a trio of supremely talented and extremely close siblings who were wrestling phenoms in the early 1980s. Durkin and casting director Susan Shopmaker have put together a terrific ensemble, including Zac Efron, The Bear breakout star Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson as the three brothers. Their coach is their father, Fritz (played by Mindhunters star Holt McCallany)—always a recipe for turmoil—a hard-charging and domineering figure the brothers live to make proud.

Efron stars as Kevin Von Erich, the Golden Warrior, while White is Kerry and Dickinson is David. Fritz himself was once a three-time world champion wrestler, and he instilled in his boys a will to win, to dominate, to live and breathe wrestling no matter the costs. Those costs piled up as the family endured a string of tragedies. You can’t watch The Iron Claw trailer without noticing just how bulky and ripped Efron and White got for their respective roles. While both guys were already muscular, White revealed to GQ that his goal for preparing for the role was to put on 40 pounds of muscle.

Durkin made a big splash with Martha Marcy May Marlene, and more recently with The Nest, and is comfortable with the psychology of bonds that both sustain and devour people. The Iron Claw will plunge into the bonds that bound the Von Erichs together like the ropes of a wrestling ring and the tumult that existed outside of the ring’s parameters.  It’s rich material for a talented filmmaker, cast, and crew to explore.

Joining the aforementioned cast are Lily James, Maura Tierney, Brady Pierce, Kevin Anton, Brett Beoubay, and Cazzey Louis Cereghino.

Check out the trailer below. The Iron Claw hits theaters this December 22.

Here’s the official synopsis:

The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.

For more on films from A24, check out these stories:

Nicolas Cage Enters the Collective Subconscious in Compelling “Dream Scenario” Trailer

“Talk To Me” Directors Danny & Michael Philippou on Crafting the Year’s Most Unsettling Horror Film

From “Papyrus” to “Problemista”: Inside The Beautiful Mind of Julio Torres

Featured image: Zac Efron in “The Iron Claw.” Courtesy A24.

New “Killers of the Flower Moon” Featurette Reveals How the Osage Language Deepened the Film

Posted on by babrams

“We’re making a film about a historical event that is central to the Osage history,” Martin Scorsese says at the time of a new featurette about his upcoming film Killers of the Flower Moon. “So, of course, it’s important we spoke that language.”

We’re then whisked back to Oklahoma in the 1920s, where Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), a white man new to the area, drives Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), a member of the Osage Nation, who speaks Osage. Naturally, Ernest doesn’t understand a word—not yet, anyway. The Osage have recently come into great wealth when oil was discovered under their land, and Ernest is but one white face among many who have arrived in the aftermath of the discovery.

One of the key components for Scorsese to fully embed viewers in that time and place was to make sure the Osage language was woven throughout his film.

“This was the 1920s,” says Geoffrey Standing Bear, the current principal chief of the Osage Nation, “where people were still speaking the Osage language daily.”

“We wanted to be as authentic as possible,” says Leonardo DiCaprio, “and using the duality of both English and Osage was a symbol was the enmeshment of the two cultures.”

“Language and culture are inseparable,” says Christopher Cote, who was the film’s Osage language teacher and trainer. “You understand the way people operate through their language.”

Killers of the Flower Moon is centered primarily on two relationships: one, the growing love between Ernest and Mollie; the second between Ernest and his uncle, William Hale (Robert De Niro), one of the many white men who has come to Osage land to try and pry their oil wealth from the Osage Nation matter what it takes. The film was adapted from David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction book of the same name and covers the hideous crime spree that rocked the Osage Nation and eventually got the attention of the U.S. Government: a spat of brutal murders in which white usurpers began killing members of the Osage to get to their land holdings.

“Speaking Osage changed the way that I even moved as Mollie,” says Lily Gladstone. “I took months to get comfortable even with the different pace of speaking.”

Cote says that Robert De Niro was also very diligent about learning Osage. “We met every day getting the gestures right and the voice right,” Cote said.

“They got very comfortable with the words, the sounds, the rhythms,” Scorsese says. “In some cases, I didn’t put subtitles on the scenes because you know what’s going on. We’re deeply committed to staying true to the reality of the world in which this story unfolds.”

Check out the new vignette below. Killers of the Flower Moon comes to theaters on October 20:

For more on Killers of the Flower Moon, check out these stories:

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Star Lily Gladstone Takes Center Stage in New Video

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Star Robert De Niro the Focus of New Character Video

“Killers of the Flower Moon” Character Video Reveals Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart

Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” Unveils Thrilling New Trailer

Featured image: JaNae Collins, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers and Jillian Dion in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” premiering in theaters around the world on October 20, 2023.

How “Quantum Leap” DP Ana M. Amortegui Keeps the Show Dynamic Across the Centuries

Posted on by babrams

The past is prologue, but on Quantum Leap, the past is also the present and the future as Dr. Ben Song (Raymond Lee) and his team embark on dangerous lifesaving excursions through history. The time travel epic is back with more mysteries that continue to escalate and may even threaten the project itself.

Director of photography Ana M. Amortegui kicked off the style of the series last season working on the pilot and several other episodes. She continues her work on episodes 2, 4, 6, and 8 in season two. The reboot picks up decades after the beloved classic that originally ran from 1989 – 1993. “Quantum Leap 30 years ago was a show that was really heartfelt,” Amortegui reflected. “It was a show about doing right when things were wrong. It was about bringing what feels like home to you. You want to always go back to your home. That part of the show remains the same. Time has changed, technology has changed. We want to revamp it and give it its own feeling visually and story wise. I think this new season has so many different turns that go way beyond what it was.”

By leaping into the bodies of people in the past, guided by computer intelligence system Ziggy (Deborah Pratt), Ben can correct tragic events before they occur. Of course, it is a hazardous occupation as every leap drops Ben into a crisis. The targets have included a doctor, an astronaut, and an undercover police officer, giving each episode a different tone.  

“Sometimes we have more action-driven stories, sometimes more drama, sometimes it’s in between. It’s always different. That’s the beauty of this show. It can always be different,” Amortegui noted. “One episode took place on a battleship. We don’t do zap zooms, but that episode was great because it was such a fast-paced episode with so much going on. We said, ‘Why don’t we just do a kind of zap zoom to create that kind of hurriedness in between what has been said and what they’re going to do?’ We can change every leap that we do with the camera. Everything is permitted. We can get as creative as we want within our limits.”

QUANTUM LEAP — “This Took Too Long!” Episode 201 — Pictured: (l-r) Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song, Melissa Roxburgh as Lt. Ellen Grier — (Photo by: NBC)

Although Ben can traverse time and space in an instant, there’s one major flaw with the quantum leap technology. He can’t remember who he is or why he’s there. Luckily, Ben’s fiancé Addison (Caitlin Bassett) and teammates Ian (Mason Alexander Park), Magic (Ernie Hudson), and more are on hand to assist. Amortegui explained that having the headquarters as a standing set and consistent period throughout the series is grounding.

“The main thing for the headquarters is it’s the place where a lot of the information is said,” she explained. “A lot of what the story is about or what’s going to happen or what Ben needs to do to succeed on the leap is set there. It has a lot of important information. There’s so much to say that we need to be very dynamic and very creative with the camera so that space doesn’t become boring or uninteresting and people don’t become lost in so much information.”

 

The scientific team was spread thin at the close of season one. Ben found himself split between three times, and the crew suspected an imposter among their own ranks. Both the course of history and the accelerator project were at risk. Amortegui lensed the thrilling episode.

“I did the finale of last season, which goes to the 50s, the present, and the [future]. It’s the same place, but you’ve got to make it look different in three different time periods with different colors,” she said. “That was really special. I did a lot of work on it because we really needed to make sure it was right because it was the same exact place in three different time periods.”

The return of the series will see Ben leaping as far back as 1692 to the age of the witch trials. A leap that is nearer in time but one of the most distant filming locations took the film crew to Cairo.

QUANTUM LEAP — “Nomad” Episode 208 — Pictured: (l-r) — (Photo by: Saaid Abdel Ghani/NBC)

“We went to Egypt to shoot, which was a dream,” Amortegui revealed. “You could think maybe they shot it in blue screen or VFX, but we actually did go to Cairo. We were in the pyramids; we were in the markets and the mosques. It was the most beautiful experience being able to work with people from another culture. It was magical. That episode has my heart. I feel super proud. I think it looks gorgeous. The beauty of the show is it’s always so diverse and so different. Shooting a time period is really amazing every time. Cairo was in the 60s. The wardrobes, the colors, the places we shoot at – everything has to honor that time. It was really wonderful. All my episodes have been so beautiful to shoot.”

From futuristic cyber technology to high-flying stunts in space, Quantum Leap calls for large-scale visual effects. Amortegui compares each episode to the scale of a feature film. With a dozen and a half episodes in the first season, production was on a tight schedule.

“TV goes so fast. We have to be super prepared. By the time I get to start my episode, I need to make sure I have everything ready that needs to be done camera and lighting-wise,” she explained. “We have all these meetings, and we read the script, so we know there’s an explosion or we are in Greece. We all read the script. We know what things are going to be VFX. Then we have a meeting in general with everybody. Then, we have a meeting with the VFX team, and we decide what to do. I just need to be sure whatever they need to be successful with the effect that I shoot it. Lock the camera and take the information. It depends. Whatever they need, but when I put foot on set to do that effect, I know exactly what they need from me to make it happen.”

Season two teases even bigger adventures and more leaping in both the past and present. As the stakes escalate, the show further sculpts the Quantum Leap legacy.

“A lot of new things are going to happen [this season] that is going to make this Quantum Leap unique and its own show,” Amortegui promised. “It will always honor what it was but take its own nature. It’s going to be really, really cool.”

 

Quantum Leap airs on NBC Wednesdays at 9/8c. Episodes are available to stream the following day on Peacock.  

For more on Universal Pictures, Peacock, and Focus Features projects, check out these stories:

Official “Night Swim” Trailer Unveils Blumhouse’s Deep Dive Into Madness

“SNL” Returning With Pete Davidson Hosting the Season 49 Premiere

“Oppenheimer” Has Reached Another Milestone for Christopher Nolan

Featured image: QUANTUM LEAP — “One Night in Koreatown” Episode 205 — Pictured: (l-r) — (Photo by: Casey Durkin/NBC)

New “The Marvels” Teaser Reveals a New Superteam and an Old Ally in Nick Fury

Posted on by babrams

A new teaser for co-writer and director Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels has arrived, revealing the biggest non-Avengers team-up in a minute for the MCU. The film tracks the trials and tribulations of Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, who has long grown used to operating as the universe’s mightiest solo act as she traverses the galaxy cleaning up galactic messes and returning to Earth to help out when supervillains like Thanos set their sights on her home planet.

The new teaser highlights Carol’s unasked-for new teammates, which have been highlighted in previous trailers. Those teammates are her estranged niece, S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Harris), who was just a young girl who looked up to Carol in the original Captain Marvel and then appeared (as played by Harris) in WandaVision. The third member of the team is a young girl from Jersey City named Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani, reprising her role from Disney+’s Ms. Marvel), who has gone from idolizing Captain Marvel to being her (very young) contemporary. The new team will be joining forces to take on a Kree revolutionary named Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), who has a bone to pick with Captain Marvel. What makes the superteam’s cohesion a little more difficult is the fact that their powers are all mixed up, creating a bizarre situation where they switch places with one another anytime they unleash their abilities. 

Then there’s Carol’s old pal Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who we see here in that fateful moment in Avengers: Infinity War when he summoned Captain Marvel moments before he turned to dust thanks to Thanos’s snap. 

Joining the above-mentioned cast are Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Saagar Shaikh, Mohan Kapur, Jessica Zhou, and Caroline Simonnet.

Higher. Further. Faster. These three words have long been the motto of Captain Marvel, but now that she’s part of a super-team, she’s added another—together.

Check out the new look below. The Marvels arrives in theaters on November 10:

For more on The Marvels, check out these stories:

“The Marvels” Drops New IMAX Spot That Goes Higher, Further, Faster

“The Marvels” Drops Electric New Trailer Ahead of Director Nia DaCosta’s Big Marvel Studios Debut

“The Marvels” Official Trailer Finds Captain Marvel Teaming Up to Fight Against Dar-Benn

“The Marvels” Trailer Reveals Brie Larson’s Return as Captain Marvel Alongside New Allies

Featured image: (L-R): Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers, and Teyonah Parris as Captain Monica Rambeau in Marvel Studios’ THE MARVELS. Photo by Laura Radford. © 2023 MARVEL.

A New “The Color Purple” Trailer Unlocks an Unbreakable Bond Between Sisters

Posted on by babrams

A brand new trailer for director Blitz Bazawule’s The Color Purple has arrived, the musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning 1982 novel which boasts a trio of super-producers—Oprah Winfrey, Quincey Jones, and Steven Spielberg. Spielberg directed the original The Color Purple adaptation back in 1985, which co-starred Winfrey.

Bazawule’s musical adaptation is centered on Celie—played in her younger years by Phylicia Pearl Mpasi and then by Fantasia Barrino as an adult—a Black woman living in the American South who is separated from her sister beloved sister Nettie (played by both The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey, as a young woman, and by Ciara as an adult). The film tracks Celie’s life, her joys and struggles, and the unbreakable bond she shares with her sister, Nettie. Utilizing the cast’s singing chops and Bazawule’s felicity with staging lush musical numbers (he was one of the directors of Beyoncé’s Black is King), this is a brand new take on Walker’s seminal source material.

The film boasts a bevy of talent both in front of and behind the camera. Bazawule directs from a screenplay by Marcus Gardley and counts composer Kris Bowers (King Richard), cinematographer Dan Laustsen (The Shape of Water, John Wick: Chapter 4), and costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck (Emancipation, One Night in Miami) as some of his main collaborators.

Joining the aforementioned cast are Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Mama, Corey Hawkins as Harpo, Colman Domingo as Mister, Louis Gossett Jr. as Old Mister, David Alan Grier as Rev. Avery, and Stephen Hill as Buster.

Check out the trailer below. The Color Purple arrives in theaters on Christmas Day:

For more on Warner Bros., Max, and more, check out these stories:

Michael Mann Confirms That “Heat 2” is His Next Movie & Adam Driver Could Star

Greta Gerwig Reveals “Barbie” Joys, Anxieties, and Teases Next Project

New “Joker: Folie à Deux” Image Finds Joaquin Phoenix Soaked But Serene

Featured image: Caption: (L-r) PHYLICIA PEARL MPASI as Young Celie and HALLE BAILEY as Young Nettie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ bold new take on a classic, “THE COLOR PURPLE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is Now Available to Stream

Posted on by babrams

The globe-trotting pyrotechnics and death-defying stunts of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One are now available for your viewing pleasure while seated comfortably on your couch. Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie and star Tom Cruise’s latest lunatic mission is available to stream on Prime Video ($19.99). Dead Reckoning Part One finds Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and his IMF team tracking an A.I.-powered weapon called “The Entity” that could lead to global chaos if it ends up in the wrong hands. The film includes a desert shootout in Abu Dhabi, a thrilling car chase in a redoubtable yellow Fiat in Rome, and that wild motorcycle stunt in which Cruise launched himself off a 4,000-foot cliff, while on a motorcycle, into a ravine before opening a parachute to land atop a moving train. He did this seven times while filming the movie. 

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

For those of you who not only missed the latest installment but find yourself hopelessly out of date with the entire franchise, you can stream all previous six Mission: Impossible movies on Paramount+.

Dead Reckoning Part One features Cruise and his usual band of merry pranksters/world savers—Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, and Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust. Vanessa Kirby also returns as the mysterious, morally flexible White Widow. Newcomers include Hayley Atwell as Grace, Esai Morales as Gabriel, Pom Klementieff as Paris, Henry Czenry as Kittridge, Greg Tarzan Davis as Degas, and Shea Whigham as Briggs.

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One is, as its title makes clear, one part of a two-part epic. Part Two was shot concurrently and is due in theaters on June 28, 2024.

For more on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, check out these stories:

How “Mission:  Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” DP Fraser Taggart Pulled Off That Insane Train Sequence

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Production Designer Gary Freeman Creates an Artificially Intelligent Palace

“Mission: Impossible 7” Director Christopher McQuarrie Reveals He Considered De-Aging Tom Cruise for a Scene

Featured image: Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.