‘Eddington' Cinematographer Darius Khondji on Shooting Ari Aster's Western Dark Comedy: ‘It's So Bright, It's Never Bright Enough'
'We wanted the exterior to be very bright, like, garishly bright, like the light has almost started to take off the color and the contrast a little bit because it's so bright, never bright enough,' Khondji said.
More from IndieWire
Jamie Lee Curtis Decries Stephen Colbert Cancellation
Jennifer Love Hewitt on How Her Teen Career Mirrors Britney Spears': 'I Realized I Was Crying For Me'
Khondji is a legend worldwide, having shot some of the greatest films of all time — 'Seven' and 'Amour' among them. He landed Oscar nominations for his work in 'Evita' and 'Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.' While a longtime fan of Aster's — and a defender of Aster's controversial 'Beau Is Afraid' — the two had never worked together before 'Eddington.' Each said that the collaboration went smoothly.
'Ari and I have a common language,' Khondji said. 'We discovered quite early on working together that we have a very similar taste for dark films, not dark in lighting but in storytelling.'
Aster said that Khondji even rewired how he looks at visuals. 'Darius and I hate unmotivated camera movement,' Aster explained to the LA Times. 'But there are certain things that never would've bothered me compositionally that really bothered Darius, and now they're stuck in my head. For instance, Darius hates it when you cut off somebody's leg, even if it's at the ankle. A lot of Darius's prejudices have gone into my system.'
Khondji did say that while he has his guidelines, they aren't necessarily set in stone. 'You have a rule, and then you decide this is the moment to break the rule,' he explained.
Speaking with IndieWire in 2023, Khondji gave insight into his theories behind how best to shoot a film. 'And it's not just about what's in the frame. The world outside the frame is very important. It's good not to have flags or equipment in the way of the actor's gaze because I want them to feel the scene,' he said. 'The world of cinema is not only technical. It's about feeling the world around the actors, becoming them.'Best of IndieWire
Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See
'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie
Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'That kind of thing really dings Trump hard,' former Congressman Joe Walsh quipped of the opening episode to the show's 27th season.
A top former member of the Republican Party has explained why the opening episode of South Park's 27th season hit President Donald Trump where it hurts. 'Remember, a lot of Trump's base, they're not Republicans. They're just men—they're guys who typically don't belong to a party, they don't vote all the time, and they watch South Park,' former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh, who's since defected to the Democrats, told MSNBC. 'They watched an episode this week where Trump looked really silly and stupid—a big fat man with a teeny, tiny penis. I think that kind of thing really dings Trump hard, too,' he added. 'No pun intended.'
Gizmodo
8 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
‘Solar Opposites' Creators on Crafting the Show's Final Season
A lively crowd turned up for what may be Solar Opposites' last San Diego Comic-Con panel—the animated Hulu sci-fi series will end after its sixth and final season drops October 13. But executive producers Mike McMahan and Josh Bycel told fans they'll walk away satisfied, even if they also feel like they still want more. 'We were starting to write this season when we found out that it was most likely going to be the end,' McMahan said. 'And then we were scrambling around panicking, trying to make them not let it be the end. But just in case, we figured there's some stuff we have to do with [side plot] the Wall, there's the stuff we had to do with the Solars, there's some really cool stuff coming. So, we've been saying that this kind of feels a little bit like our Fellowship of the Ring. Like this is the end of the first book of Solar Opposites. So, we do culminate some stuff, we do get some storylines finished, but we leave it open to more adventures too, at the same time.' The SDCC panel included a screening of a season-six episode that—no spoilers—digs into the deep family relationships that've formed between the Solar Opposites aliens. They may have started off the show merely as partners on a scientific mission, but that's definitely transformed into something far more emotionally resonant. 'That's the most heart we've ever done in an episode,' Bycel said. 'And it ends in this amazing, unexpected way when you realize the family stuff. But because we were sort of cosplaying as drama writers, we knew that we backed ourselves into a corner with [side plots] the Wall and Silver Cops. And our big goal was to sort of take all these breadcrumbs we've done throughout the years and wrap them up with the Solars. So it really makes you realize that the Wall and Silver Cops, they all come back to the Solars, because without them, none of those stories would be able to live. So that was really important for us.' Added McMahan, 'It was all about balance, where it almost had to be funny and dumb and then smart, and we had to pay attention to everything we had said and done. When you're going into the season, I really recommend you go back and watch your favorite episodes, especially the '99 Ships' episode [season three, episode six] before you finish the season because it all ties together. The whole series ties together.' You still have time to rewatch that particular episode or even the whole series to date (including the holiday specials) if you want: Solar Opposites releases all 10 episodes of season six October 13 on Hulu. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Digital Trends
8 minutes ago
- Digital Trends
10 best Netflix original movies to watch this summer
For a decade now, Netflix has been making original movies of varying kinds and qualities. Frankly, most of them have been pretty bad. At some point, though, Netflix decided that it wanted to try to win Oscars, which meant that it had to, at least sometimes, make good movies. Not every movie on this list was an Oscar contender, but Netflix has built an impressive library with many original gems. These are 10 of the best Netflix original movies to watch this summer. To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018) Is this the most serious movie on this list? Absolutely not, but Netflix deserves credit for producing a teen rom-com that is something more than just slop. To All the Boys I've Loved Before is, in most ways, an utterly predictable romantic comedy. Recommended Videos It follows a love–obsessed Korean American teen who pretends to date the most popular boy in school, only to find herself falling for him. What's shocking about this movie is how stylish it is, how funny it is, and how utterly winning its two central performances are. It's basically guaranteed to leave you smiling. You can watch To All the Boys I've Loved Before on Netflix. The Irishman (2019) Martin Scorsese's late-period masterpiece, The Irishman, is a gangster movie that reminds us of the horrors of that lifestyle. The story centers on an Irish American who gets involved with the mob and becomes a close associate of Jimmy Hoffa. As he becomes one of the mafia's principal enforcers, he begins taking out every person he once had a relationship with. The lasting images of this movie are of a man utterly alone, recounting the life he lived to people who no longer care who he was or what he did. You can watch The Irishman on Netflix. Da 5 Bloods (2020) One of the best Spike Lee movies of the past decade, Da 5 Bloods tells the story of a group of Black Vietnam veterans who reunite in the present day to get the treasure that they buried in the jungle decades ago. As they move toward the treasure, their disagreements about politics and the world come to the surface, as does all the trauma they experienced during the war. Da 5 Bloods is one part action movie and one part meditation on how Black men have been abused by this country. Plus, it features a career-defining lead performance from Delroy Lindo. You can watch Da 5 Bloods on Netflix. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) This sequel, Knives Out, had a lot to live up to after Netflix gave Rian Johnson hundreds of millions of dollars to make it. Thankfully, Glass Onion didn't disappoint, even as it followed a very different murder mystery that is just as intriguing. The film follows brilliant sleuth Benoit Blanc as he is invited to attend a reunion of old friends after one of them has become fabulously wealthy and used that wealth to elevate the others. When the bodies start to pile up, Blanc must figure out exactly what's going on and who might be responsible. It's just as funny and inventive as the first film and looks even more expensive. You can watch Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery on Netflix. The Lost Daughter (2021) Olivia Colman is one of the great actresses of the past decade, and The Lost Daughter features one of her best performances. The film tells the story of a college professor who becomes obsessed with a young woman and her daughter while vacationing in Greece. As we learn more about her difficulties raising her own children, we come to appreciate exactly why this character is motivated in the way that she is. The Lost Daughter is, above all else, a movie about the joys and perils of parenthood, and one that provocatively asks us to examine whether having kids is really worth it after all. You can watch The Lost Daughter on Netflix. Marriage Story (2019) A heartbreaking movie about the loss of love, Marriage Story tells the story of a divorce between two people who love each other but no longer want to be married. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson deliver heartrending performances, but what makes Marriage Story so special is how real it all feels. In a movie where the two people at the center agree to the divorce, things get contentious nonetheless as lawyers get involved, and their son becomes a casualty of their desire to defeat one another. You can watch Marriage Story on Netflix. Mudbound (2017) A harrowing story of life in the South in the early 20th century, Mudbound is told from two dueling perspectives. The film follows two veterans of World War II, one Black and one white, as they return to Mississippi after the war and deal with the poverty and racism that awaits them there. Because of its multiple perspectives, Mudbound highlights the widespread suffering experienced by many, particularly emphasizing how Black individuals often faced the harshest consequences. It's not an easy movie to watch, but if you can sit through it, it's deeply rewarding. You can watch Mudbound on Netflix. The Power of the Dog (2021) One of the best thrillers Netflix has ever produced, The Power of the Dog tells the story of a rancher living in the 1920s who lives with his brother. When his brother chooses to marry a widow and brings her and her son into their home, he disrupts the carefully structured lives they have maintained. As the young boy gets closer to the reclusive, curmudgeonly rancher who has been antagonizing his mother, he comes to realize that there are things about himself that he's hiding from the world. Surprising, unsettling, and moving, The Power of the Dog is not what you might expect. It's even better. You can watch The Power of the Dog on Netflix. Okja (2017) Anyone who has seen Parasite is likely aware that Bong Joon-ho is not a subtle filmmaker, and Okja is definitely not a subtle film. The movie follows a young girl and her genetically engineered superpig, Okja, after they are separated by a corporation that wants to capture creatures like the pig and create exceptionally tasty meat. As this young girl tries to rescue her closest friend, she meets animal rights activists, butty doctors, and other superpigs that need her help. It's a movie about the evils of the meat industry, and it's certainly not subtle. But man, does Okja rule. You can watch Okja on Netflix. Private Life (2018) A heartbreaking movie about two people who are trying to navigate the world of infertility and adoption, Private Life is small, quiet, and heartbreaking. Anchored by two incredible performances from Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn, this movie is really about two people who are trying to make their marriage work, even as they deal with what often seem like impossible circumstances of trying to have a child. In particular, Hahn is incredible as a woman who worries that she's missed her chance and wants to change the circumstances of her life. You can watch Private Life on Netflix.
