Page 23 - The Hollywood Reporter (January 2020)

What’s been the most surprising interaction
Was the plan always to shoot it in this uniquely
one-shot style?
That was on the very first document I saw.
It’s not that I think Sam’s a particular evan-
gelist for one-shots — he’s not going to make
everything in this way. I just think he wanted
to tell a very intimate story set against a vast
landscape, both literally and metaphorically.
And he felt very strongly that if you could stay
close and connected to the leads throughout
and follow their journey, literally step by step,
that it would be a really immersive way of tell-
ing this particular story.
As a producer, what sort of challenges did this
style of filmmaking create?
The actual truth is that I don’t think any
of us really knew the complexities or chal-
lenges of it all! It was only when we went on
the first location scout that it became clear
we weren’t going to find our landscapes
anywhere close to each other, and we were
going to be stitching them together. There
were 12 or so major locations, which were
geographically so far apart, and these all
had to link up and be conceivably one piece
of one journey, and that was very tricky. The
other big challenge was the weather. We shot
across 65 days and the weather had to look the
same. Once we started, we knew we wanted
it overcast, because we didn’t want bright
sunshine, which would cast a shadow. And
we became slightly obsessive weather geeks.
My fellow producer Callum [McDougall] and
I were rivals in terms of who could find the
most obscure weather app with the most
up-to-date information. There were very few
interior sets, so it wasn’t a case of “OK, it’s
bright sunshine, let’s shoot something else.”
Was there a lot of waiting around for the right
shade of gray?
Not so much waiting around, but we got
into a slightly odd rhythm because we didn’t
actually film on the first day, which you can
T H E H O L L Y W O O D
“On a film like this, you just have to forget what you’ve
prepared and be real and raw.” DEAN-CHARLES CHAPMAN
imagine for Amblin [one of the film’s produc-
tion companies] was slightly disconcerting.
We obviously rehearsed and rehearsed and
rehearsed. And on the second day, when the
weather was spot-on, we just went for it. And,
in fact, we shot everything scheduled for
Monday and for Tuesday and we got ahead on
Wednesday’s work. So we would sort of get
behind and then ahead of ourselves, which
was a real challenge for the locations depart-
ment and production design.
1917 came into the awards race pretty late in the
day but had an instant impact. Did you always
have this dramatic last-minute entrance in mind?
I would love to say that this was a sort of cun-
ning plan. But the reality was that we started
filming in April and finished in July, and the
plan had always been that it would be released
in January. And I think Sam and I just hadn’t
factored in the whole “OK, if you want to be
eligible for the Globes, you need to screen by
X date.” And so it just so happened that we
finished the film and I think two days later
had the first screening for the HFPA, and then
went straight into all the guild screenings.
From left: Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Dean-Charles Chapman,
Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and George MacKay at a Dec. 15
screening of 1917 in New York City.
R E P O R T E R 1 9 J A N U A R Y
you’ve had in the awards season so far?
Well, I did meet Taylor Swift at the Golden
Globes, which, in terms of my daughter who’s
nearly 16, was the most cred thing I’ve ever
done. But you do find yourself in these strange
scenarios where you walk into a room and
Dexter Fletcher is on one side and Brad Pitt’s
on the other, and it’s just very odd. Sometimes
it’s really lovely, because Sam and I are mas-
sive fans of Succession, so we were following
them around like groupies [at the Globes].
I’m sure Brian Cox thought we were pursuing
them. We kept saying how much we loved the
show, which was probably a bit embarrassing.
Did they reciprocate and tell you how much
they liked 1917?
They did, actually. They were very nice
about it.
Have you learned anything new about your
cast or crew while on the awards circuit?
Not so much the awards process,
but on one of our very first panels,
Dean-Charles Chapman talked about how,
when he’d been doing his initial research,
he’d read a book of war diaries from
World War I. In it was a diary entry by
his own grandfather, which he’d
known nothing about. That was pretty
extraordinary.
Are there any other films or performances
that you’ve seen recently, and are perhaps
in the awards season discussion, that you’ve
particularly admired?
Oh God, masses. I’m a huge fan of Florence
Pugh, so I was thrilled that she was
nominated for both BAFTA and the Oscars.
She reminds me of Kate Winslet a lot.
She has a sort of really rooted quality where
you totally believe her and whatever she
does, and she brought a passion and an
energy to that performance in Little Women.
Among all the reviews and recognition 1917
has received so far, is there anything in particu-
lar that stands out or is special for you?
The thing that I found, which I’ve never
had on previous projects, is that I’ve had
so many people saying, “I saw your movie,
I loved it, and I’m going to see it again.”
I spoke to someone yesterday who’d seen
it three times, and I think that’s a real
testament to the immersive nature of it.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
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