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DGA QUARTERLY 21 PHOTOS: (LEFT) DAVID JAMES/AMAZON STUDIOS & ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS; (RIGHT) COURTESY LEV SPIRO DOUG LIMAN, OF Swingers and Bourne Identity fame, is used to shooting in actual loca- tions. But on the upcom- ing war thriller The Wall, in which an Iraqi sniper is pitted against two U.S. Army soldiers (one wounded) pinned in the desert, he was working with a miniscule budget and a 14-day shooting schedule. So the desert just east of Palmdale, Calif., dou- bled for the Middle East. With the start date pushed back three weeks, the weather pattern changed, with howling, 50 mph winds, not to men- tion blistering 120-degree heat. So the script was rewritten to refl ect these severe conditions. "That's the kind of sur- prise Mother Nature can give you that no amount of money can really rep- licate," says Liman. "Not only are they common in the Iraqi desert, but given that the fi lm is a cat-and- mouse between two snip- ers, a dust storm is one of the only defenses you have against a sniper, so I was able to weave it into the plot in really interest- ing and exciting ways." The sandstorm would hit every afternoon with- out fail for the entire shoot, making the tight schedule work to the L.A. crew's advantage. The Wall was shot on fi lm using an Arrifl ex IN A KEY SEQUENCE from the "People Persons" episode in Season 4 of Orange Is the New Black, the character of Sam Healy, an inmate coun- selor, attempts suicide by walking into a cold lake at night. Director Lev Spiro had meticulously planned 12 setups for the character's 40-foot walk out into the chilly waters of Long Island Sound, includ- ing the use of a 50-foot Technocrane to "shoot a variety of cinematic shots." But after some delay, "The producer told me [the actor] was feeling very ill, and we weren't sure if we'd be able to shoot with him at all that night," recalls Spiro. After another two hours, adds Spiro, "The 1st AD asked the line pro- ducer if we could write it o to insurance and come back to shoot it at the end of the schedule." P R O B L E M S O L V I N G Doug Liman » A delayed start, and severe weather, work in The Wall's favor Lev Spiro » A director places an actor's health above all else Making Lemons Into Lemonade TWO FILMMAKERS OVERCOME PHYSICAL AND MEDICAL CHALLENGES | BY STEVE CHAGOLLAN "I got six camera angles and the sequence turned out beautifully, out of one take." — L E V S P I R O FOCUS CONTINUED PAGE 22 CONTINUED PAGE 22