Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/877064
DGA QUARTERLY 51 PHOTOS: (TOP TO BOTTOM) EVERETT; PHOTOFEST (2); MARY CYBULSKI/AMAZON STUDIOS; (OPPOSITE) MARY CYBULSKI/AMAZON STUDIOS & ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS H E N T O D D H AY N E S WA S an up-and-com- ing filmmaker with a couple of celebrated in- dies to his name, he saw Light Sleeper and mar- veled at the shots of Willem Dafoe being driven around a nighttime Manhattan, "shadows skating over his face slowly," he recalls. "It was so sensitively achieved, so beauti- ful and specific, I thought, 'If I'm lucky, someday I'll get to work with this DP.'" That DP was Ed Lachman, a veteran of documentaries and indies who shot for Werner Herzog and Wim Wenders early in his career, and later burnished his reputation on mov- ies with Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides) and Steven Soderbergh (The Limey). For Haynes, "someday" came when Lachman signed on for Far from Heaven, the director's painstakingly embroidered, color-rich hom- age to Douglas Sirk melodramas. The acclaimed release earned them both Academy Award nominations. Lachman has been Haynes' cinematographer ever since, including on I'm Not There, the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce and the sumptuous period love story Carol. Their latest collaboration is Wonderstruck, an adaptation of Brian Selznick's dual-narrative novel about children from different time periods on separate adventures in a wide, wonderful, universe-expanding New York. The partnership is one steeped in respect for research, curiosity about the power of cinematic language, and dedication to the prep work nec- essary to bring whole worlds and complex emotions to life. In conversation with DGA Quarterly, the pair elaborate on what drives their teamwork. W DGA: How does your collaboration on a given project usually start? HAYNES: Since Ed and I share a love of movies, photography and art, and for the historical back- drop of whatever period we're exploring together, I spend a lot of time putting together an image book. It's really my first way of communicating with Ed in a fully nonverbal, visual method. It opens up the conversation. L ACHMAN: His look book really creates an emo- tional structure for me, and for all the departments. It illustrates a lot of his ideas, the politics, the history, the demographics, the art, the fashion—even the cin- ematic language of the time periods Todd's working in. And when you look at the films we've worked on— Wonderstruck in the '20s and '70s, Far from Heaven in the late '50s, Carol in the early '50s… HAYNES: Mildred Pierce throughout the 1930s, and I'm Not There, which is the era of the '60s and early '70s… L ACHMAN: …each one brings its own language. It creates the authenticity to the world. I always feel like the audience feels they've experienced the sto- ries as if they were in that period themselves. DG A: How did that style immersion manifest itself on Wonderstruck, which captures the New York of the silent era and the city's funky street vibe 50 years later? HAYNES: I had heard forever about The Crowd by [DGA first president] King Vidor. It's a hard film to find these days, but it's a masterwork. It's lyrical, but very naturalistic, shot in New York in 1927, using a M U T U A L V I S I O N S : Among the projects on which Todd Haynes and Ed Lachman have collaborated are, from the top: Carol, Mildred Pierce, Far from Heaven and their latest, Wonderstruck. CONTINUED ON PAGE 66