[1]Filmmaker Alexander Payne brought his black and white film Nebraska, the screening of which was much attended. While speaking with the media, Mr Payne said that while he made the movie last year, the screenplay reached him nine years ago. “You make a film at a given moment in time. I got the screenplay nine years ago.
It’s a story that’s both funny and sad, a bit like life. The writer had really lived what happens in the story, so he’s describing his personal experience. It’s a film from the Depression era, which is why I wanted to make it in black and white.”
Payne reflected a lot on the relationship between the father and the son in the film, and those who have watched Nebraska say that this aspect was very sensitively portrayed. “The father wants to offer his elderly father a moment of dignity. My parents are getting on and it’s a question that affects me because I would also like them to grow old with complete dignity. Old age can diminish us, and make us lose our dignity. We have to hold on to it,” he says.
Actor Bruce Dern confirms that Payne extended that sensitivity to the sets even with his interactions with the actors. “There’s a difference between asking an actor to do something and telling him. (Payne) looks closely at the different takes and asks you to change and develop as things progress. It wasn’t like Hitchcock. One day Hitchcock told me, ‘I took you on because I think you’re funny. I’ve got 15 perfect takes here but none of them is funny.’ But Alexander Payne, is there for you. He has a whole team in place to help you relax. You don’t get the feeling you’re taking risks.”
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/t14jpg-119