American Cinematographer - August 2009 - 8

Editor’s Note ur publicity pals at Sony Pictures could not have picked a better time to alert us to an early screening of Julie & Julia, a foodie’s delight that stars Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Amy Adams as one of her most motivated disciples. My mother was in town for a visit, and as a longtime fan of Child’s, she was the perfect test viewer. As tantalizing images of Paris bistros and gourmet cuisine glided across the screen, Mom sighed with contentment. Suffice to say, the movie should be a hit with its target audience. Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC, the man responsible for the sumptuous cinematography, was so enthusiastic about the project that he contacted us early on to offer a sneak peek at the “special sauces” he and colorist Steve Scott were whipping up at EFilm. AC contributing writer Jean Oppenheimer and I made several trips (wisely, after lunch) to absorb the full flavor of their approach, which is detailed in Jean’s main course on the film (“Fellow Foodies,” page 28) and side dish on the DI (page 32). Sometimes it’s better not to ask how certain foods end up on your plate. The daring documentary The Cove uses covert cinematography to expose mass killings of dolphins in Taiji, Japan, where the aquatic mammals’ meat — which contains toxic levels of mercury — is sold to customers who may not know the risks. Director of photography Brook Aitken and his cohorts recount their adventure for New York correspondent Pat Thomson (“Exposing a Secret Slaughter,” page 38). This issue’s special focus is innovative CG effects, and London correspondent Mark Hope-Jones details the collaboration that allowed Angels & Demons to film sequences set in Vatican City, the Passetto di Borgo and other locations in Rome on a soundstage in Los Angeles (“When Not in Rome,” page 46). Visual-effects supervisor Angus Bickerton and his team coordinated with cinematographer Salvatore Totino, ASC, who managed to fool even a veteran effects expert with some car-chase footage. “When I told him it was all CG, he didn’t believe me and had to watch it again,” Totino recalls. “It was fantastic that such a trained eye couldn’t tell!” Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen also employed extensive CGI for key action sequences set in exotic locales, including the pyramids in Egypt. Cinematographer Ben Seresin consulted with ILM visual-effects supervisor Scott Farrar, ASC, and his team to produce two major battle sequences shot in 15-perf 65mm and VistaVision as well as anamorphic 35mm. “The grand scale of Imax really appealed to us, and the huge physical scale of these robots seemed perfect for the format,” Seresin tells Jay Holben, who also interviewed Farrar (“Robots Run Rampant,” page 54). Judging by the picture’s boxoffice returns, the promise of a big-screen spectacle still draws a crowd. O Stephen Pizzello Executive Editor 8 Photo by Douglas Kirkland.

American Cinematographer - August 2009

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