Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/618780
dga quarterly 33 SCREENPULLS: (TOP TO BOTTOM) MGM HOME ENT.; CRITERION COLLECTION; UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENT. John Avildsen | Rocky (1976) >We were at the [Philadelphia Art] museum for about two hours that day; I just told Sylvester [Stallone] to start at the bottom and sta- tioned [Steadicam inventor] Garrett [Brown] near the top. I explained to Garrett that when Sylvester ran up and was opposite him, he was to run right along with him and up the stairs, hold on to him as a full figure, then come around and move in closer for just a head-and- shoulders shot at the end. That's what was so great about using the Steadicam—we could do all of this stuff without having any big crews and a fancy crane and god knows what else. If it wasn't for the Stea- dicam, it would have been a very time-consuming exercise. "Because Rocky had tried to run up the stairs earlier but failed, we now had to show the joy he expressed from finally reaching the top. We needed to show the pride glowing in Sylvester's face. " —JOHN AVILDSEN Michael Cimino | The Deer Hunter (1978) >The Russian roulette was a shorthand way of showing what it means to wait. It's a dramatic de- vice, a way of demonstrating the real terror of war, which is waiting. The question is, how do you dra- matize waiting? This is the perfect metaphor. I did as much as I could to get the actors into a combat- ready mode. I asked Bob [De Niro], Chris [Walken], and John [Savage] to wear their clothes the whole time we were in Thailand, to sleep in them, and not to take a shower. So the three of them stunk like hell. I didn't want a wardrobe person cleaning them up just to have a prop man dirty them up. Milos Forman | Amadeus (1984) >Mozart laughs because he sees the smiling face of [his father's] mask. But then the father takes off the mask, and under this smiling mask is this very stern and severe and judg- mental look of his father. I wanted to have this kind of a contrast there. It was very important for me to see the desperate Mozart's effort to placate his father. This is probably a 75 mm lens. I never use storyboards. I always like to come on the set and see the reality around me. Then I rehearse with the actors in the space [and] only then do I decide how to cover the scene. I do a composition so that it pleases my eye. Of course, whatever composition and angle I choose has to serve the story. ˘