American Cinematographer (2013) - An Auteur's Angst
Details
- article: An Auteur's Angst
- author(s): Jay Holben
- journal: American Cinematographer (01/Jan/2013)
- issue: volume 94, issue 1, pages 78-88
- journal ISSN: 0002-7928
- publisher: American Society of Cinematographers
- keywords: "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho" - by Stephen Rebello, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV), Alfred Hitchcock, Alma Reville, Anthony Hopkins, Chicago, Illinois, Cinematography, Danny Huston, Gus Van Sant, Helen Mirren, Ingrid Bergman, Janet Leigh, Jeff Cronenweth, Jessica Biel, John L. Russell, North by Northwest (1959), Notorious (1946), Psycho (1960), Sacha Gervasi, Scarlett Johansson, Stephen Rebello, Vera Miles, Whitfield Cook
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Abstract
Article about the production of "Hitchcock" and interview with the film's cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth.
Article
Hitchcock, shot by Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, dramatizes the pressures the filmmaker endured on and off the set while making Psycho.
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) was the directors most commercially successful film, but also one of the most difficult for him to make. Studios refused to finance it, so he paid for it himself, using the crew from his television show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, to shoot quickly and inexpensively. He also chose to shoot black‑and‑white, even though color had been in vogue for more than a decade. The new film Hitchcock, based on Stephen Rebello s book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, tells the story of the production and chronicles some behind‑the‑scenes drama involving Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife, Alma (Helen Mirren).
Director Sacha Gervasi, a documentary filmmaker Anvil: The Story of Anvil) making his first foray into dramatization, teamed with Jeff Cronenweth, ASC to make Hitchcock. Cronenweth recalls that when he first heard about the project, "I was working on commercials and actually wasn't looking to do another feature so soon, but my agent sent me the script. It was so well written, and Sacha had lined up such a great cast, that I decided to meet with him and see what it was all about. I was so taken by Sachas passion and his intuition about the script that I was inspired to shoot the film. The fact that we would be shooting in LA. on a short schedule made my decision that much easier!
Much like Psycho, Hitchcock was shot quickly, in 35 days, on a modest budget. Initially, Gervasi was keen to shoot 3...
