American Cinematographer - November 2009 - 8

Editor’s Note hen I was still in short pants, I reveled in the unruly antics of Max, the 9-year-old hero in Maurice Sendak’s pithy but pictorially splendid children’s book Where the Wild Things Are. Lately, I’ve been reliving Max’s malfeasance through my 3-year-old son, Nicholas, who occasionally gives the tantrum-throwing tot a run for his money. Despite my concern that too much Max may inspire additional mischief, I inevitably cave when Nicholas begs for one more look at the book — or, as a true child of the digital age, another glimpse at the online trailer for the new live-action movie that’s sprung from its pages. Australian correspondent Simon Gray’s story on Spike Jonze’s big-screen rumpus (“Wild Kingdom,” page 34) takes you straight into the belly of the beast — literally. The Wild Things movie and Simon’s coverage were a long time coming, but both were worth the wait; the otherworldly, emotionally affecting images crafted by Lance Acord, ASC honor Jonze’s uncompromising interpretation of Sendak’s world. “The essence of Spike’s approach was to go out and film the wild things as if we were making a ‘fly-on-thewall’ wildlife documentary about creatures in their natural environment,” Acord explains. Inventive visuals are also evident in The Box, a thriller that marks the third collaboration between Steven Poster, ASC and director Richard Kelly, a teaming that began on the indie hit Donnie Darko. AC contributor Jay Holben digs deep into the duo’s use of digital technology in an article filled with insights on “image capture” (“Pandora’s Predicament,” page 48). As Poster points out, “The workflow is different on every movie now, regardless of whether you shoot film or digital. I started a dialogue [involving] Panavision, LaserPacific, our editorial department, our post supervisor, and Thomas Tannenberger and his visual-effects team to nail down exactly what the workflow was going to be.” Fans of British soccer will surely enjoy cinematographer Ben Smithard’s work on The Damned United, which recounts the ups and downs of a football manager trying to survive the pressures of England’s Premier League (“Kicked Off the Pitch,” page 58). London correspondent Mark Hope-Jones details Smithard’s every move, right down to his use of vintage tube-video cameras to capture an authentic ’70s vibe. “That footage looks great because the colors are all over the place and a bit desaturated,” says Smithard. “There’s no other look like it; it’s the equivalent of someone from Kodak giving you 300 rolls of mint film stock from the 1970s!” Aberrant psychology is the order of the day in Lars von Trier’s controversial drama Antichrist, a cause célèbre at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. To get the details about the film’s remarkable photography, Jon Silberg tracked down Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC, DFF, last year’s ASC and Academy award winner for Slumdog Millionaire, for a Q&A (“The Root of All Evil,” page 66). “[Lars] always works intuitively, but this whole project became unusually intuitive and irrational as the film slowly began to realize itself,” says Dod Mantle, later adding, “I will go all the way for a true artist if he’s doing something different, even if there are difficulties and disagreements.” This issue also offers a recap of the year’s Emmy Award nominees for cinematography (“Quality Viewing,” page 76). “When you’re standing there with that statue in your hand, you are struck by how cool it is to be acknowledged by your peers,” says Michael Weaver, who won a statuette for Californication. “All the blood, sweat and tears you sacrifice during your career actually mean something, and people notice the work. It was an amazing honor.” W Stephen Pizzello Executive Editor Photo by Douglas Kirkland.
American Cinematographer - November 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - November 2009
