Nightmare Alley crew praises Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro’s latest film, Alley of nightmares, hits theaters on December 17th. The film mixes del Toro’s style with black elements in a carnival setting. Alley of nightmares follows the manipulative pursuits of Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) as a crook turned mentalist. To bring this film noir to life, the Oscar del Toro winner relied heavily on his acclaimed team, a mix of new and old collaborators, including producer Miles Dale (The shape of waterr). At a press conference for Alley of nightmares, Dale explained what it’s like to work with del Toro.
“This is the best we can hope for because [del Toro] is a visionary, but he also really knows what he wants, and he’s able to spell it out in detail, ”Dale said.“ So there’s not a lot of guesswork. There is not much doubt. There aren’t a lot of complaints. You’re really able to keep up with him, and it’s made easier by the fact that almost everyone in that group has worked with him for quite a while, so we have the benefit of great shorthand and hardworking. ‘team. Instead of starting a movie with a bunch of new people, you’ve got such a great, proven chemistry, and it’s important to him, and it’s important to us. “
Dale continued, “I feel like, from my perspective, I have a pretty good idea of his tilt now. I can see around the corners, knowing what he wants. I’m able to follow along. this using vision, so it’s great for all of those reasons, but it’s also great because the work is really wonderful in general, and it keeps getting better. So for all of us, I think I can say that there is no better version of the collaboration than what it has been with Guillermo for all these reasons: the vision, the quality of the work. I say the predictability as if it was a boring thing, but it can turn you on.
Sharing his feelings, Luis Sequeira, Alley of nightmarescostume designer, explained how del Toro creates a collaborative environment that values each other’s contributions. Like Dale, Sequeira worked with del Toro on The shape of water. “What I find remarkable about Guillermo is that he is the conductor and the master of everything, but we are all allowed to paint with our own brushes, to bring together this wonderful collaboration,” said Luis. “There’s a tremendous amount of passion I can speak to, that we each bring. We always want to do the best job at every turn. There is a lot of pressure to do the best job every day, every setting, every costume under. all angles. I feel very lucky to be a part of it. “
Another person returning from The shape of water for Alley of nightmares is Tamara Deverell, the film’s production designer. Like her colleagues, she praised del Toro’s approach to filmmaking, focusing specifically on his attention to detail. “He knows everything,” she shared. “He’s such a fountain of knowledge, and he has macro vision, but he has micro vision, so you end up paying attention not only to the big, wide of the set, but the small accessories become intensely important. . It’s not just Guillermo’s red, it’s pigeon red from the Chinese Xin Dynasty. The red lacquer that we have to copy. As head decorator, you embrace everything about Guillermo. It’s visual, visual visual. I soak up it. I’ve been absorbing it for years. “
In addition to those returning to work with del Toro, new associates are working behind the scenes, including cinematographer Dan Laustsen. Laustsen pointed out that del Toro isn’t the type to take shortcuts, which benefits the production as a whole. “[Del Toro] knows exactly where he wants to go and what he likes to do, “Laustsen said.” Of course he brings all the people here in the room together to work in the same direction with him, but you have a very clear idea of the style he wants to go … The color scheme is, as Lewis said, it’s so important for the film and for him and for everyone to work on the same color scheme and the same mood .. . We make the films as a group, with him. “
Another new del Toro collaborator is Nathan Johnson, Alley of nightmaresthe composer of. One of the things about del Toro that stood out to Johnson was his wisdom and the freedom he granted to his collaborators.
“[Del Toro’s] constantly dropping these wisdom bombs throughout the process, ”Johnson said. “You just want to pull out your notebook for those little nuggets of wisdom, but what’s amazing is that he’s not trying to duplicate anything. He didn’t give me any music to listen to, there was no temporary music. It was just, ‘This is the story we are making.’ He said, ‘I don’t want to tell you too much. I want you to do your thing. Having that freedom is something that feels really, really special. Guillermo knows where the whole train is going, but he wants each employee to contribute their part to the train, and what is clear in every decision is that we are all at the service, Guillermo has a vision. Guillermo is at the service of the vision of history. I have to say, it’s really easy to make a movie where you all make the same movie, and you’re all in the service of one master. “
It’s no surprise that del Toro’s cinematic knowledge has been so recognized by his team, with the editor of Alley of nightmares, Cam McLaughlin, also noting that del Toro is a “film historian” as much as a filmmaker. “To be able to work with him and absorb so much information and so much experience on a daily basis through his own craft,” McLaughlin said, “and to learn from it, and like everyone else says, to give back and playing within her sandbox in her world is truly one of the most rewarding things about what we do as filmmakers. “
See all of the Nightmare Alley pieces come together on December 17th in theaters.
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