Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC, cinematographer of Valkyrie, speaks with American Cinematographer’s Jon Silberg about shooting in Germany and the US.
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They discuss the film stocks, lens and digital intermediate processes that created the look of the film as well as the impact of Tom Cruise signing on to what had originally been a small and low-budget project.
03:Poltergeist: Matthew Leonetti, ASC and Richard Edlund, ASC
Cinematographer Matthew Leonetti, ASC and visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund, ASC sit down with American Cinematographer’s Iain Stasukevich to discuss some of the classic techniques on display in the 1982 film Poltergeist.
02:Hellboy II: The Golden Army: Guillermo Navarro, ASC
Guillermo Navarro, ASC, cinematographer of Hellboy II: The Golden Army, discusses shooting tooth fairies and elementals, creating otherworldly environments and working alongside Guillermo del Toro with American Cinematographer’s Iain Stasukevich.
Stephen Pizzello, executive editor of American Cinematographer magazine, talks with Alik Sakharov, ASC, the main director of photography about HBO’s The Sopranos, and reveals secrets about the show’s final scene.
The American Society of Cinematographers presents an ongoing series of cinematographers speaking with fellow cinematographers in frank discussions about their work on film and television productions.
Wally Pfister, ASC discusses working on The Dark Knight, the use of IMAX and shooting single camera, as well as his long term working relationship with Christopher Nolan in this interview with fellow cinematographer Daryn Okada, ASC.
01: Orson Welles’ The Immortal Story: Willy Kurant, ASC, AFC
Willy Kurant, ASC, AFC is interviewed by Denis Lenoir, ASC, AFC about his work on Orson Welles’ 1969 production created for French television, Une Historie Immortelle (The Immortal Story).
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Denis Lenoir, ASC, AFC won an ASC Outstanding Achievement Award for Uprising and a Bronze Frog from the Camerimage International Film Festival of Cinematography for Demonlover. His credits include Monsieur Hire, Carrington, Fin août, début septembre, The Clearing, Angel and later this year Righteous Kill and The Vintner's Luck. He is also recognized for his artful still photography and author of a book about John Cassavetes.
Willy Kurant, ASC, AFC began his career shooting television news film and documentaries. He was on the leading edge of the New Wave in France. His body of work includes some 60 narrative films, including Masculin Feminin, The Immortal Story, The Night of the Following Day, Je t’aime, moi non plus, Sous le soleil de Satan, Trans-Europ-Express, Le Depart, and such contemporary films as China Moon, A Business Affair, Delivering Milo, Pootie Tang and White Man’s Burden.
Photos by Douglas Kirkland, courtesy of Kodak.
The Immortal Story (Une Histoire Immortelle)
Written by Welles, based on a story by Isak Dinesen. Photographed by Willy Kurant. With Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Roger Coggio, Norman Ashley.
Immortal Story was directed by Orson Welles, who also stars as a fabulously wealthy, but bitter and dictatorial, European merchant. Soured on life, Mr. Clay (Welles) decides to play games with the lives of others. He decides to make the “immortal” legend of a sailor seducing a rich man’s wife come true and even picks the sailor (Roger Coggio) himself. Through Mr. Clay’s machinations, the sailor beds a beautiful younger woman (Jeanne Moreau) whom Clay pays to pose as his own wife. There’s little more to the story than that, but Welles weaves his short tale with an economy and expertise which proves he hadn’t lost his touch by 1969.
Based on a story by Isak Dinesen, The Immortal Story was originally made for French television; it was also the only Orson Welles-directed film to be released in color.
An exclusive collection of ASC- and Oscar-nominated films of 2006: Apocalypto, The Black Dahlia, Children of Men, The Illusionist, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Prestige
An exploration of the on-set communication between cinematographers, directors and production designers, with an eye towards how digital technologies affect budgets and communication.
Ideas and collaborationson how to keep the vision of the film consistent through post, including the importance of pre-production and, conversely, the increasing trends towards image-building in post.
Willy Kurant, ASC, AFC began his career shooting television news film and documentaries. He was on the leading edge of the New Wave in France. His body of work includes some 60 narrative films, including Masculin Feminin, The Immortal Story, The Night of the Following Day, Je t’aime, moi non plus, Sous le soleil de Satan, Trans-Europ-Express, Le Depart, and such contemporary films as China Moon, A Business Affair, Delivering Milo, Pootie Tang and White Man’s Burden.
