Exposure: Steven Zaillian

It’s not like screenwriter Steven Zaillian hasn’t plumbed the darkness in the human heart before he adapted David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on the first novel in Steig Larsson’s worldwide bestselling trilogy, Millennium. Zaillian’s sublime script for Schindler’s List, based on Thomas Keneally’s book, found hope in the bleakest of all human experiences, and won an Academy Award. And, over the last quarter century, Zaillian has been responsible for some of the most heart wrenching moments in cinema, most often adaptations of literary works like 1985’s The Falcon and the Snowman all the way up to this year’s Moneyball (written in conjunction with Aaron Sorkin). Novels and non-fiction have been fertile ground for Zaillian, who has also left his computer to direct projects he’s written, including Searching for Bobby Fisher, A Civil Action (which received a Writers Guild Award nomination), and All the King’s Men. Zaillian, who was also an executive producer on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, has awards from the WGA, BAFTA, and the Humanitas Prize, to sit alongside his Oscar. Chris Wolski caught up with Hollywood’s most respected scribe via email to talk about punk hackers, political evildoers, and finding a kindred spirit in Conrad Hall, ASC. Read more

Girl, Interrupted

How do you shoot a movie in freezing cold Sweden, from a book the whole world has read? David Fincher and Jeff Cronenweth, ASC heat up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. By Chris Wolski. Photos by Merrick Morton. Read more

President’s Letter – December 2011

Skating to the Puck

There’s been a lot spoken and written about the passing of Steve Jobs in the last few months, but I’d like to offer one more example of how attitude and purpose of vision can make all the difference in one’s career. Jobs, talking at the 2007 Macworld Conference and Expo about how Apple products have stayed ahead of the curve, famously quoted Wayne Gretsky, who advised to, “skate where the puck’s going, not where it’s been.” Read more

ICG December 2011

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
DP Jeff Cronenweth, ASC
by Chris Wolski

WAR HORSE
DP Janusz Kaminski
by David Heuring

GENERATION NEXT
by Margot Carmichael Lester

PO AND THE GRASSHOPPER
by Pauline Rogers

SCHOOL DAZE
by Pauline Rogers

EXPOSURE: Steven Zaillian

REFRACTION: Daniel Pearl, ASC

DEEP FOCUS: Chris Norr

GEAR GUIDE: Generation NEXT

DEPTH OF FIELD: Taco Bell’s “Graduation to Go” Studios

On A Mission

Filmmakers from around the industry talk about saving our shared cultural history in the new PBS documentary, These Amazing Shadows. By Bob Fisher.

These Amazing Shadows is an 88-minute non-fiction film that artfully tells the story of the Washington- D.C.-based, The National Film Registry, which has been tasked by the federal government with the mission of preserving worthy fiction and non-fiction films for posterity. The documentary blends comments made by a diverse range of 65 people with clips from movies they recommended for preservation. Read more

Exposure: Clint Eastwood

Over the course of winning four Oscars, director/producer/actor Clint Eastwood has built a wide-ranging resume – everything from comedies, thrillers and those famously iconic Westerns, to complex and sophisticated adult dramas. A consummate craftsman, whose career stretches all the way back to the studio contract system, Eastwood appears at ease in any genre he chooses. That’s never been more true than recent non-fiction projects like Invictus, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of our Fathers, and his newest, J. Edgar, a biopic about the FBI’s powerful long-standing chief. An “actor’s director,” who always puts his cast first, Eastwood is also famously efficient with schedules and budgets. Many say his ease behind the camera stems from the confidence he places in the collaborators he’s brought along over decades. Or as cinematographer Tom Stern, ASC (now on his seventh Eastwood project) describes the many creative partnerships: “a jazz quintet,” in that Eastwood is the leader, but gives everyone the freedom to contribute with their own particular talents. How fitting that the man who gave us Bird approaches filmmaking as one inspired piece of improvisation, where every single person on the set has a key note to play. Read more

ICG November 2011

J. EDGAR
DP Tom Stern, ASC, AFC
by Ted Elrick

FIVE
DP Christopher Popp
by Pauline Rogers

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD
by Matt Hurwitz

GREAT UNION LOCATIONS
by Pauline Rogers

DREAMS FULFILLED
Photos by Richard Ducree

EXPOSURE: Clint Eastwood

REFRACTION: Albert Maysles

DEEP FOCUS: Robert Chappell

GEAR GUIDE: Non-Fiction

KEY LIGHT: Bill Birch

Private Eyes

Tom Stern, ASC, AFC, rips out all the “bugs” in Clint Eastwood’s new biopic, J. Edgar. By Ted Elrick. Photos by Keith Bernstein. Read more

President’s Letter – November 2011

Pros and Cons

How will the world of non-fiction filmmaking be impacted by the amazing new array of prosumer tools to hit the market? I’m talking about iPhones that can shoot at1080P and a tiny HD camera like the GoPro® that can fit literally anywhere. There’s even a new support rig (the Smoothee) made by the same people who brought us the legendary Steadicam. There are also new mini (and mighty) camera systems from Sony, Panasonic and others some, of which, are 3D capable! Read more

Working Through The Flow

ICG writer Carolyn Giardina keys in on the latest trends from Europe’s biggest trade show. All photos courtesy of IBC 2011.

Overcoming the challenges of new workflows was one of the most discussed topics at the 2011 International Broadcasting Convention, which occurred Sept. 8-13 in Amsterdam. Though really, few expected anything else. Read more

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