Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/813438
DIRECTOR'S CHAIR What sort of themes were you interested in exploring through this? "It has a lot to do with ideas about family and how we differ and also fit in. We may not always be born into a successful family, and I think it's OK to build families that are supportive of each other, even if they're not traditional. And the best fami- lies are not always the ones we're born into. That's the message that really resonates with me." The story is set in Florida, but I assume you shot in Georgia because of tax credits? "Exactly, and it was all locations — no sets at all — shot in and around Savannah, including Tybee Island, which we chose for its similarity to St. Petersburg. There was no one looking over my shoulder there, which gave us a feeling of ownership I hadn't had in a long time. When you do a huge film with a beloved character like Spider-Man, you really have to surrender yourself to the whole operation, whereas this was like going back to a little sand box and having fun with my friends. We shot for just 30 days, on film, so it was pretty tight, but very relaxed in another way. We did longer takes, with the occa- sional dolly, and used a lot of hand held, and just let the camera watch people's behavior. And because it was a small film, I knew I wouldn't have to answer to tons of people, which made me very present during the shoot. When you know you don't have the time or money to go back and re-shoot something, it makes you especially alert." Where did you do the post? "All in New York, with the editing at Postworks, all the sound work and mixing at C5, Inc. and Warners, and the DI at Company 3 with Stefan Sonnenfeld." Do you like the post process? "I really love it. When I started off, I was an editor, and my very first job in the business was re-cutting music videos for labels and doing documentaries and EPKs, and then I directed a bunch of music videos and shorts, so it's a process that I'm very familiar with and understand the power of. So I feel very much at home in an edit bay, and I edit the movie in my head as a shoot." The film was edited by Bill Pankow; can you tell us how it worked? "We hadn't worked together before, so we met a few times and I really liked his calm manner and approach. He has a very thoughtful way of working and is a very steady hand, and he also found all these comedic beats that were really impressive. He never came to the set. He was in New York while we shot, and we'd talk a lot on the phone as he started working on sequences and assembling scenes, and sometimes we'd use Pix, and occasionally I'd do some pick-up shots as needed here and there, to enhance scenes." What were the main challenges of editing this? "Obviously you're not dealing with tons of VFX and a million moving parts, so it was basically all about polishing performance, which was crucial. The big challenge was finding the right tonal bal- ance, as you're trying to make the kid funny, but not absurd, or too cutesy so you stop believing in the emotional stakes. So finding that performance that's both emotional and funny is very tricky, and that took time. But all the structure was there and stayed intact in the edit, so that was all pretty straightforward. It was a very seamless process, and one of the easiest edits I've ever done. The first test screening we did was resoundingly suc- cessful in terms of the audience reaction, so the whole process was quite painless." The Spider-Man films obviously had a huge number of very complex visual effects shots. By comparison, this must have had hardly any? "Right, it couldn't have been more different in terms of what we had to deal with in post, and to be honest, it was a nice change after dealing with thousands of visual effects shots and lots of dif- ferent vendors. The big one here was taking out Fred's eye, to make the cat one-eyed. Brainstorm Digital, which is in New York and I've worked with on stuff ranging from The Da Vinci Code to The Wolf of Wall Street, did all our effects work and did a really good job. We did a bit of clean up, too, but not much, and we brushed the negative. When we shot scenes on the beach, we got stuff in the mags and they jammed — more than I ever remember, but I still love shooting on film." Can you talk about the importance of music and sound? "It's always huge for me, and I play a lot of music on the set, as that really helps the actors and crew — as well as myself — get into the right mood for a scene. Music is so deeply related to how I start- ed off making movies, because of all the music video work I did. So music immediately helps me understand a scene and how to tell it the best way. From the start, I wanted it to be a very warm movie, so the Cat Stevens songs are a big part of that. This isn't a cinematically challenging film, or a revolutionary one, but it has a big heart, and the score was so much fun to do. I tried to find more regional stuff and music cues that helped paint a feeling, as Florida isn't a region that people readily identify a specific sound with, maybe apart from Jimmy Buffet!" What's next? Another huge superhero film? "I love making big films, but I don't think I'll do another superhero one for a while. I'm currently posting The Only Living Boy in New York, a dramatic comedy for Amazon, starring Jeff Bridges and Kate Beckinsale." Georgia substituted for Florida. The feature was shot on film. Webb plays music on-set to inspire performances.