American Cinematographer - February 2020 - 51

language film, and Elmes went into
their first meeting impressed by how
different the Taiwanese director's
films were from one another. "I had a
great deal of confidence in Ang's
ability to tackle a story about that
pivotal moment in this country, even
though he had not experienced it
firsthand," Elmes says. "The human
drama is what he fully understood."
Elmes' art-history education
came into play on the project. He and
Lee drew their visual inspiration
from the Photorealist Movement of
the late 1960s and early '70s, specifically the work of Ralph Goings and
Richard Estes. "It was a painting
style that grew out of abstract expressionism and minimalist art. It tried to
simplify the detail in things and use
architecture and light differently.
Ang and I really connected on that."
Another filmmaker with whom
Elmes has enjoyed multiple collaborations is Jim Jarmusch. Their latest
feature together, The Dead Don't Die,
opened the 2019 Cannes Film

Elmes adjusts the blinds on the set of Paterson.

Festival, and they have teamed on
several others, beginning with 1991's
Night on Earth. Prior to that, Jarmusch
had made a number of pictures with
cinematographers Tom DiCillo and
Robby Müller, NSC, BVK. "Robby
wasn't able to shoot Night on Earth,
and I was a bit freaked out by that,"
Jarmusch admits. "I wanted to meet
Fred based on what I knew about his
films and the people who worked
with him, so we met in L.A.
Afterwards, I heard that he told some
people he felt I didn't like him, which
was funny because I got the feeling
he didn't like me!"
In fact, Elmes had been
extremely impressed by Jarmusch's
Stranger Than Paradise and was keen
to work with him. "Jim asked if I
wanted to do a feature film made up
of five short stories in several different languages, all taking place at
night in taxicabs in five different
cities during the winter," Elmes
recalls. "I said 'yes' because I thought
it would be an adventure, and I liked
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his films. I've been fortunate to work
with him ever since."
Jarmusch characterizes Night
on Earth's production as extremely
complicated and says Elmes' indefatigable grit was instrumental
throughout the shoot. "In Helsinki,
Fred had a variable-speed motor built
to control the panning of our lights
while we were driving," the director
recalls. "Then we had the engine
removed from one of the cars so we
could put Fred and the camera in the
engine cavity. It was about 20 below
zero, at night, in the winter. Fred is
just very tough and strong. Even if I
want to call it, he's ready to get
another setup. You almost have to
pull him off the set sometimes!"
Jarmusch notes that Night on
Earth co-star Gena Rowlands called
Elmes "Young Freddie," as they had
worked together 20 years earlier on A
Woman Under the Influence. The director also fondly recalls shopping for
silk diffusions with Elmes in the
lingerie boutiques of Paris.
➔
February 2020

51
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