Cinematographers
Interviews - Cinematographers
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Christmas with Art the Clown: DP George Steuber on Terrifier 3
David Howard Thornton in Terrifier 3
Movies are a uniquely collaborative art form. A painting, a novel or a song can be created in solitude, but you can’t make a commercial narrative film by yourself. That said, the original Terrifier came about as close as you… Read more
Creating Composed Chaos: DP Jasper Wolf on Babygirl
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Just as its characters shift roles in their erotic game of cat and mouse, Halina Reijn’s third feature Babygirl fluently shifts between erotic thriller, existential melodrama and corporate satire. At the center is Nicole Kidman role as Romy, a successful… Read more
17 Soundstages and 750 Crew Members: DP Alice Brooks on Wicked
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked
Drawing on a huge fanbase, the screen adaptation of Wicked has helped revitalize the year-end theatrical box office. Director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked builds on its Broadway pedigree by casting Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Galinda/Glinda, frenemies… Read more
“We Needed Crazier Ideas”: DP Mihai Malaimare Jr. on Megalopolis
Giancarlo Esposito in Megalopolis
During his storied career, Francis Ford Coppola forged relationships with some of film’s most renowned cinematographers: Gordon Willis, Vittorio Storaro, Bill Butler, John Toll and Jordan Cronenweth all shot multiple projects for him. But with Megalopolis, Mihai Malaimare Jr. becomes… Read more
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“Transitioning From Digital Back to Film”: DP Ed Lachman on Maria
For years the object of cult devotion, Maria Callas went from a dazzling career as a soprano to international celebrity, a figure of relentless scrutiny even after she lapsed into silence. Maria continues director Pablo Larraín’s fascination with larger-than-life figures like Jacqueline Onassis (Jackie) and Princess Diana (Spencer). Here, Angelina Jolie takes on the role of Callas, seen over several years of her life in Europe and the United States. Larraín’s kaleidoscopic approach jumps among timelines and locations, assembling a character from moments large and small. Although we see glimpses of Callas’s successes on stage, Steven Knight’s screenplay primarily takes […]
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“I Thought Maybe Directors Have This Magical Thing Where They Can Judge a Performance”: DP Rodrigo Prieto on his Directorial Debut, Pedro Páramo
Based on the novel by Juan Rulfo, a key work in Mexican literature, Rodrigo Prieto’s Pedro Páramo follows several characters across decades as they search for answers to their lives. The story unfolds in arid villages and lush haciendas, against a backdrop of feudal aristocracy and a powerful Catholic church. First seen at a crossroads in a desolate landscape, Juan Preciado (Tenoch Huerta) sets out to keep a promise to reconnect with his estranged father Pedro Páramo (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). In his journey Juan encounters others who have dealt with his father: criminals, priests, the deaf and blind, and above all, […]
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“Day Car Work on Stage is Really Tough”: DP Larkin Seiple on Wolfs
It seems strange to call a $100-plus million dollar Brad Pitt and George Clooney movie a return to a director’s roots, but in a way that’s exactly what Wolfs is for Jon Watts. Like his breakthrough feature Cop Car—a spartan and sinewy 2015 neo-noir made for $800,000 that impressed Marvel enough to land Watts a trio of entertaining Spider-Man movies—Wolfs is a lean, propulsive story that unfolds in a single day with no use for superfluous exposition. Clooney and Pitt star as lone wolf fixers who reluctantly team up when a tough-on-crime district attorney (Amy Ryan) ends up with a […]
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“The Budgetary Challenges of Getting a Dead Squirrel Puppet”: DP Sam Davis on Dìdi
In the opening scene of Dìdi, the titular 13-year-old and his friends film themselves blowing up a mailbox and making a run for it while laughing hysterically. It perfectly encapsulates director Sean Wang’s view of adolescence as “the worst version of yourself, having the best time of your life.” Set in 2008 in Wang’s hometown of Fremont, California, the coming-of-age story follows a Taiwanese American teen during his final summer before high school. Though not strictly autobiographical, the film was inspired by Wang’s own adolescence and the making of it was awash in familiarity. The main character’s bedroom scenes were […]
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“Fear Lives Behind Your Back”: DP Andrés Arochi on Longlegs
Andrés Arochi’s cinematic indoctrination began at a Blockbuster Video in Mexico City when he was 12-years old. Stuck at home for the summer after being grounded for his grades, Arochi spent those months binging the offerings in his local Blockbuster’s small section of American arthouse cinema. The next summer he worked for his uncle to save money for his first stills camera. By the time he was 17, Arochi was shooting music videos and beginning to direct experimental films. Now, he’s behind the lens on his first narrative feature Longlegs, the well-received box office hit about an FBI Agent (Maika […]
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“I Had to Light Seven Rooms in Two Hours”: Giovanni Ribisi on Moving from Acting to Cinematography with Strange Darling
Battered and bloody, a blond woman — “Lady,” played by Willa Fitzgerald — in prison garb races across a field. A rifle-toting “Demon” (Kyle Gallner) chases her into an Oregon forest. From there, the balance of power shifts several times in Strange Darling, a serial-killer thriller that aims for a fresh approach to the genre. Written and directed by JT Mollner, Strange Darling unfolds in six chapters. Shown out of order, each reveals new details about the story’s two opponents. After screening at Fantastic Fest and Camerimage, the movie opens theatrically August 23, 2024. Strange Darling’s cinematographer is unexpected: actor […]
