Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/16039
DIRECTOR’S CHAIR [ cont. from 12 ] POST: Was cutting between the kids and their different POVs tricky? REINER: “It was, almost as confusing as the shoot, but we knew what we had and how to tell the story, and it fell into place fairly quickly.” POST: You’ve never been a visual effects-heavy direc- tor, but you’ve always used them when necessary. REINER: “Exactly. Bucket List had quite a lot of vi- sual effects, but all in service of making it look like there’s none in it at all. Most of the time when movies have visual effects, it’s to create a whole new world, huge. It’s like Photoshop — you can manipulate col- ors, take out blemishes, change the sky, a million things. I’ll give you a great example. On this, Maddy’s and Callan’s eyes are both brown. But the little boy and girl who played them at age 7 both had blue eyes.So we just changed their eye color like that.” POST: Did the film turn out the way you hoped? REINER: “Absolutely. And that’s usually the case for me. If something didn’t work it’s usually not be- cause of what I tried to do, but probably because it wasn’t a great idea in the first place.” Mila Kunis, directed by Will Gluck.We have another that just wrapped, called Faster, with The Rock, who’s great.Then we have another starting later this year, called Damsels in Distress, directed by Whit Stillman. So we’re quite busy.We try to make about three or four films a year, plus we have several other projects in de- velopment.” POST: Hollywood’s gone 3D crazy it seems. Any in- terest in doing a 3D film? REINER: “Yes, but it depends on the story. I think it works great for films like Avatar, but Flipped doesn’t need to be in 3D. For a big superhero comic book type film, it obviously looks fantastic if it’s done right.” POST: What’s your take on the current state of Hollywood? REINER: “I think it’s healthy.You go to Comic-Con and it’s pretty crazy. Everyone’s buying up super- heroes and making more movies with them, and the fans are there if it’s done right. My end of the film business isn’t so healthy. I’m a dinosaur. Studios are far more interested in tent pole franchises.They’re not re- ally interested in adult human dramas.They’re rele- gated to the low-budget indie world. So there’s not much in the middle anymore. And it’s getting harder, especially for the kinds of films I want to make.And it’s a struggle to raise financing.” POST: Do you feel you can only make a few more The film got its DI at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging, with colorist Maxine Gervais. like with Avatar, or big explosions and so on. My visual effects are always trying to make it look like there are none.” POST: So how many visual effects shots are there in Flipped? REINER: “Quite a few, all done by Kaliber Visual Ef- fects who did The Bucket List. Everything we shot in- side Bryce’s house, looking out the window, is all vi- sual effects, as we shot it all on a stage. Everything in Juli’s house was real, as it was a location.Then the big sycamore is a mix.We found a real tree in a park, but then used visual effects to put it in the street scenes. And the beautiful sunset she sees from the top of the tree is a real sunset we shot, which was then compos- ited into the scene in post.” POST: How important are sound and music to you? REINER: “Hugely important for setting a mood and tone. I love The Everly Brothers, so we used a lot of their songs, along with “One Fine Day” by The Chif- fons, and Ben King’s “Stand By Me” — again — and so on. I love working on the music and sound.” POST: Did you do a DI? REINER: “Yes, at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging, with colorist Maxine Gervais.The first DI I did was on Rumor Has It… and since then I’ve always done it. I couldn’t go back. The advantages are so POST: How’s filmmaking changed since you began directing? REINER: “So much. Look at the huge changes in editing.We began on a Moviola, then the Kem, and then the Avid. I resisted all the changes to Avid, though I love it now. I used to say, I don’t think the Avid’s a good idea because you need that time to let the process gestate and so on. But once I began working on the Avid I was like, this is the greatest thing ever! You can make changes instantly and right away see if it works or not. I could never go back.” POST: Is film dead? REINER: “It’s becoming dead. It’s on life support. I don’t know if they’ll pull the plug yet, but within a few years it’ll all be digital. I’m happy with that. I love digital and I’ve really embraced the new technology.” POST: You co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment and you’ve also produced all your films.You must love producing? REINER: “I do, because it means I can control pro- jects far more. I’m not at the mercy of people telling me “You’re over budget.” I know where the budget is. I know exactly what I need to do! Castle Rock’s still going strong.We’ve got several films we’re doing this year, including one we’re shooting right now called Friends With Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Flippedwas edited by Reiner’s long-time collaborator Robert Leighton on an Avid system. movies of the type you love? REINER: “I honestly don’t know. Look at Clint Eastwood or Woody Allen. I idolize Clint, and he’s 80 now and still making films. I’m 63 now, and I don’t do one a year like those guys. It’s more like one every two years now. It used to be one every year and three months. I’d do it quicker if I found the right pro- jects.You know what happens? It’s not so much that you get older and slow down, but that your interests narrow in terms of what really resonates with you. I can’t just do anything. It has to be something I really connect with. I’m always looking for human stories I can relate to. No robot movies for me!” POST: What’s next? REINER: “I’m working on a script right now, tenta- tively titled The Magic of Bel Isle. It’s a very real story about a guy who moves into a lakeside community for the summer and how he impacts the family next door and vice versa.And it’s not another period piece — it’s set in the present.” www.postmagazine.com September 2010 • Post 47