American Cinematographer (2013) - Dramatizing the Master of Suspense
Details
- article: Dramatizing the Master of Suspense
- author(s): Sacha Gervasi
- journal: American Cinematographer (01/Jan/2013)
- issue: volume 94, issue 1, page 82
- journal ISSN: 0002-7928
- publisher: American Society of Cinematographers
- keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, Helen Mirren, Hitchcock (2012), Psycho (1960)
Links
Article
Making this movie was a rapid‑fire process. Our production schedule was 35 days, and we went from the first day of principal photography, on April 13, to locked, colored, scored and done in six months. That only happens when you get really lucky. We were on location with two hours of prosthetics every day, so it was very intense. But Hitchcock only had 30 days or so to make Psycho, with no money, and we were sort of in the same position. If you want to make a robot movie, they give you $100 million, but if you want to do this kind of film, they don't!
Fortunately, I came to this project from a documentary that I made and paid for myself [Anvil! The Story of Anvil\. Obviously, a documentary is different by its very nature because it's a real story, and production can unfold over a couple of years. But in terms of the energy of it, and the feeling you have to create within your crew and around your actors, it's actually exactly the same. Before starting Hitchcock, I thought, 'My god, it's such a big thing working with actors,' but after you've directed 'Lips' [Kudlow] and Robb [Reiner] from Anvil, trust me, Tony Hopkins and Helen Mirren are a walk in the park] It was a madness making that film, just as it was a madness making Hitchcock, but in a good way, because creative people thrive on that. Sometimes when you're under pressure, you come up with your best ideas. We were all in it together, and no one was doing it for the money. We were doing it because we love...
