Phantom Thread - Interviews

Started by velociraptor, November 27, 2017, 11:50:34 AM

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velociraptor

Mild to medium SPOILERS

http://www.indiewire.com/2017/11/phantom-thread-daniel-day-lewis-interview-filming-paul-thomas-anderson-1201901065/

A majority of "Phantom Thread" takes place inside the fictional House of Woodcock, Reynolds' home and designer studio located in a Georgian townhouse in London. In order to successfully capture the atmosphere of a living, breathing London fashion studio in the 1950s, Anderson moved production into one of the actual Georgian townhouses. The director's hope was that the tight space would create an insular world for the film's production, but it was a decision that proved to be challenging for everyone, especially Day-Lewis.

"It was awful," Day-Lewis said bluntly of filming, noting that production started off wonderful in the countryside before becoming difficult when the bulk of filming had to take place inside the townhouse. "We had hoped to find that way of working again where we would be self-contained, beholden to no one, and uninterrupted. We built a world we could create and just stay in and no one could get into it. But in this townhouse, which was very beautiful, it was a nightmare."

According to Day-Lewis: "We were living on top of each other. It was an enormous unit. There was no space. The way it works if it's helpful is that these rooms belong to you. These rooms are yours, they are part of your life. But of course these rooms for us become storage spaces. You work in a room then you have to move all that shit into another room, and that space becomes a storage space. That entire house was like a termite nest."

Krieps echoed Day-Lewis' thoughts on the matter, saying the crowded rooms even gave her a panic attack on set one day. "Suddenly, I couldn't breathe," she remembered. "In every room there were just cables, there's an energy to it and it's taking the breath away of your character."

Day-Lewis is famous for his Method acting tendencies, but clearly staying in character was tough in such a small space. The actor even teased that the crew grew unhappy with the film's tight-knit production, joking, "You see, it's hard to work with a crew that really hates you...We must be fairly stupid because we didn't realize it was going to be like that."

Anderson agreed the filming of the movie was "hard," especially because the townhouse required the crew to carry all of the heavy film equipment up long and tall staircases. The layout of the set prevented Anderson from shooting in sequence because it proved too difficult to keep bringing the equipment up and down. But the struggle was worth it for the director, who wanted the close quarters to create an intimacy for the movie that would've been lost had he shot on a soundstage.

"They lived like mice, like miniature people in these tiny rooms," Anderson said of the real designers. "They're all on top of each other working. Whatever life they had, it's the same thing as their work. There was nowhere for them to go. It was good. It's the tradition of all those great films that we all love: 'Rebecca,' 'Brief Encounter.' They take place in real intimate places."

"We're all okay now," Anderson concluded. "But it was hard, it was really hard. There were struggles, but it was struggles that were worth it."

wilder

QuoteThe "There Will Be Blood" director named some of his favorite films with insular confines, including Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca," David Lean's "Brief Encounter", "The Passionate Friends" and Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's "I Know Where I'm Going." "They all usually take place in intimate spaces," the filmmaker explained.

https://theplaylist.net/phantom-thread-paul-thomas-anderson-qa-20171127/#cb-content

Lewton

From a W Magazine interview wth DDL, which I'm carefully jumping around in order to seek out quotes, while still avoiding potential spoilers (this has worked out poorly in the past and yet I always convince myself that I can satisfy my curiosity without having anything spoiled; years ago, I ended up accidentally learning the last line in TWBB):

Quote from: Similarly, for his role as Bill "the Butcher" Cutting in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, Day-Lewis learned to throw cumbersome knives with pinpoint accuracy; he built a kitchen table when he played an iconoclast living off the grid in The Ballad of Jack & Rose; and he practically rigged a turn-of-the-century oil well for There Will Be Blood.

Comments about his process can sometimes vaguely annoy, as they can seem like distractions from the actual nuances of the performances themselves, which are always more interesting than the preparation, or the tiring "you were a...cobbler?!" myth-making. Given the embargo and the nature of the article, though, I can understand having to curtail more specific references to his acting. I just think DDL's legacy should be more frequently framed in terms of the onscreen results rather than the oft-repeated remarks about preparations. It might be an unstoppable cliche at this point.

Robyn

Quote from: Mogambo on November 30, 2017, 09:31:17 PM
Still waiting on another 2 hour PTA interview with Maron.

"What does this guy want from me!? Now I have to see it again!"

Lewton

I wonder if PTA will show up on Stephen Colbert's show. I think Colbert would probably handle that interview in a dull way, but still, I have this hunch that it's more likely than any other show.

That reminds me that he went on Jon Stewart's show during The Master's press tour. I didn't expect that.

modage

Guessing there is a great PTA interview coming up on the Channel 33 podcast as host Sean Fennessey (a legit PTA-head) tweeted a photo of the two of them recently. 👌🏻
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

modage

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

d

https://soundcloud.com/thedirectorscut/phantom-thread-with-paul-thomas-anderson-and-rian-johnson-ep-120

Great conversation. I am halfway through it but so far seems not too spoilery. Nice to see Johnson found some time to do that now.

modage

PTA still loves star wars. The self deprecation is pretty great too. Ha.

https://www.fandango.com/amp/movie-news/heres-what-paul-thomas-andersons-star-wars-movie-would-be-like-752856

"I really need to know who Rey's parents are," writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson said when we asked why his name was at the top of the list of those in attendance at the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. "That's the most pressing question to me about that story. Who are the parents?"

Fandango had a chance to chat with Anderson about his new film Phantom Thread (tickets for an exclusive set of 70MM screenings are now on sale), starring Daniel Day-Lewis in what the notoriously elusive actor is billing as his final performance. The film tracks the meticulous life of a dressmaker (Day-Lewis) in London post-World War II, and what happens when a woman (Vicky Krieps) enters his life and challenges every aspect of his self-absorbed persona.

And while we spoke extensively about Phantom Thread – which, among other things, digs into that love/hate relationship we all have with the universal need to share our lives with another person – we also touched on another universal need: the desire for more Star Wars stories.

"There's a lot of theories around my house," he added. "The kids have a lot of theories, and everybody's really excited. I can't wait to go [to the premiere]. I haven't really been to a premiere in about a billion years, but I love Rian [Johnson's] work, so I'm really looking forward to what he's done."

Of course we had to ask the Inherent Vice and Boogie Nights filmmaker what his Star Wars movie would look like.

Anderson smirked, leaned back in his chair and gave it a moment of thought. "F**king over-long and depressing, probably," he said, laughing. "Moody. Obtuse. And look, you know... if it ticks the box of rebels vs. empires, in any form, I'm in. That story never gets old for me. And particularly right now, it's a really good time for a nice rebel alliance story again. So not only am I a fan of those, but a gigantic fan of Star Wars. I can't wait to see what they've done."
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

wilder

^ In the interview with Rian Johnson above, he mentions David Lean's The Passionate Friends again. It's streaming right now on Filmstruck.

Lewton

Quote from: modage on December 13, 2017, 08:13:18 AM
http://www.vulture.com/2017/12/director-paul-thomas-anderson-on-phantom-thread-mortality.html

Kind of unsure if this interview really and substantially delves into spoilers, but one of the interviewer's questions about Alma and Reynolds' relationship kind of struck me as a spoiler, minor or otherwise? I might change my mind once I see the film, as what's being described could just be another spin on the basic premise...but I don't know. It's just that the question gets rather specific about the relationship and how it develops throughout the film, and I kind of wish I hadn't read that. It's my own fault for my curiosity leading me to skim the interview.

Just throwing this out here to warn others who are trying to tread carefully.


jenkins

"I know that you have romance in you," is what PT said to Jonny Greenwood <3


Tdog

Is it spoilery? the movie isnt out until Feb in my country.