The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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42 • LMGI COMPASS | Summer 2018 When the sequel picks up the story, Mexican cartels have begun trafficking ter- rorists across the US border. That's enough for the powers that be to unleash Graver, who in turn, reenlists Gillick, assuring him "there are no rules this time." Fair warning to those who found the violence in Sicario shocking: Sheridan has hinted that his sequel "makes the first one look like a comedy." Emily Blunt's character, FBI agent Kate Macer, does not return in Soldado, pre- sumably having followed Alejandro's parting advice that she move to some "small town where the rule of law still exists." Taking up her mantle as the movie's moral compass is newcomer Isabela Moner, playing the kidnapped daughter of a cartel kingpin. Catherine Keener also has a new role as Graver's boss, opposite Matthew Modine as defense director. Some of the biggest changes from the first film took effect behind the camera. Sicario's director Denis Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins, who had also worked together on Prisoners, were both tied up shooting Blade Run- ner: 2040. For Soldado, the producers hired Italian helmer Stefano Sollima, who was known for his work on the series Gomorra and the mob feature Suburra, and paired him with Dariusz Wolski, a seasoned director of photography who cut his teeth shooting music videos for the likes of Aerosmith and Van Halen, and now specializes in blockbuster studio features. Sollima had never shot a film in the United States before, but Orona says the director had a clear vision for the sequel. "He wanted it to be vast and expan- sive so there was a sense of panic in one's isolation. So in that sense, it's a very different film from Sicario. That was important to him. He loved Sicario and he and Denis spoke quite a bit, but he wanted it to be, not only his film, but something quite different." Translating Sollima's vision across cultural and language barriers proved to be a new challenge for the Location Department. They struggled to find loca- tions that matched the idea of Mexico and America the director had pictured before coming over from Europe to scout both firsthand. "It was interesting because what we would think of for locations wasn't what he was thinking of," says Ariel Lopez, LMGI, a key assistant LM who also worked on Sicario. "When we think of a big box store, we think of a warehouse. It was literally written as a Costco with a giant parking lot, but when we showed him a Costco, he didn't like what it looked like. He wanted something that felt more subtle, like a smaller store. So for us, it was seeing in a new light." Sollima's idea of Mexico called for vast, desolate locations, but in New Mexico, Orona says those can only be found on the To'hajiilee and Laguna Pueblo Res- ervations, presenting more limitations than her director was accustomed to. "One thing he could not wrap his brain around, even to the last day, is that we have a very specific permitting process, especially on tribal land where they have certain spiritual protocols. We kept saying we can't even point our camera there, and he'd say, 'But I shot in the Vatican.' It was very frustrating to him." A key set piece featured in Soldado's trailer—when Graver and Gillick's convoy gets ambushed—was filmed at To'hajiilee. "We found a great location on a de- serted road with this incredible landscape of nothingness," Kavanaugh recalls. "Then you have these Humvees barreling down the road and they get taken out by an RPG and that starts this escalation of the movie. Everyone has their own agenda, no one trusts each other and it all goes haywire." The production spent a lot of time at To'hajiilee, in part because extreme wintry weather kept forcing schedule changes. Key assistant LM Erik Keeling-Torrez, LMGI had a previous relationship with the tribe from his work there during the filming of Hell or High Water, and he says Soldado had a heavy impact on the reservation. "Every time we were there for the convoy scene, it rained or snowed Josh Brolin (right) Benicio Del Toro