“Paul is one of the few people I’ve worked with that has a poetic temperament. That allows him to do things in his films where you know the result will be more than the sum of its parts. It’s a combination of the way we shoot it and light the picture, the way it’s performed and edited, the way everything resonates with everything else.Each scene is doing more than just telling a story; it’s doing something you can’t put into words. And that puts him, I think, in the land of people like Bergman, Kurosawa, Ozu and Ford.”You can read the whole thing if you're a magazine subscriber. (Thanks to our readers @jblots, @damitago, @mertsrocket for their help!)
As we wait for news on PTA's next project, (it has been especially quiet these last few months) we've seen more than a few people voicing their admiration for his work. (Absence makes the heart grow fonder, doesn't it?) The latest is Greg Mottola, director of "Paul," "Adventureland," "Superbad," "The Daytrippers" as well as episodes of "Arrested Development" and "Undeclared." He recently rewatched "Magnolia" and had this to say on his Twitter:Watched 'Magnolia' on blu ray over the weekend and it was just as audacious, heartbreaking and lovely as the first time I saw it. Robert Elswit's cinematography is unbelievably great. [And] it looks incredible on blu-raySomeone responded that they'd recently watched that and "Boogie Nights" recently on Blu-ray and he added that "the lighting is spectacular and perfect for both movies." He also admitted it was the first time he'd seen "Magnolia" since it was released over a decade ago.
As you may have heard, Roger Ebert recently rebooted his "At The Movies" with co-hosts 24 year old Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and former AP critic Christy Lemire. To help introduce the pair, the two have recorded a series of videos on The Movies That Made Us Critics and Lemire has chosen "Magnolia" as one of her picks. She says of the film:"Now, I saw MAGNOLIA when I was just staring out as a critic in 1999, and I found it really polarizing. People were either wowed by it, like I was, or they thought it was over-long and pretentious. It’s one of the first films that forced me to stand my ground, and here I stand today."Hard to believe that was 11 years ago. You can watch the full video over at Ebert's site. (thanks Matt Martin!)
C&RV: Introductions: Name, Current Project & Occupation
M"J"P: Michael "Jocco" Phillips, First Assistant Director BONES
C&RV: For those who may not know exactly what this job entails, can you sum up your daily tasks/responsibilities.
M"J"P: My job divides into two phases, prep and shoot. During prep I am responsible for breaking down the script into it's individual elements (cast, locations, props, etc) and then scheduling the filming in the most efficient way possible. On the set I run the day-to-day operations and make sure all of the elements are available at the right time so the director can maximize his/her shooting day.
C&RV: You've worked on Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love. How did you get yourself embedded into The Family?
M"J"P: John Wildermuth and Adam Druxman, the assistant directors I worked for on my first big movie in LA (THE FAN) were hired to do BOOGIE NIGHTS and called me to ask if I wanted to work on their next movie. I said "yes!" immediately and drove to the production office in Hollywood to pick up the script.
I read it when I got home and was terrified! What have I gotten myself into? I had only been in LA a few months from Texas and come from a rather conservative family. Pornos? "Joy Juice"? So after panicking for a few hours I read it again and was able to see beyond the salaciousness of the subject matter and realized this was an amazing script.
When I met Paul his passion and energy were so overwhelming and I knew we were in good hands. One of Paul's greatest attributes is his accessibility to the cast and crew. His love for actors is well known but I was a green Production Assistant and we could talk and joke around like I was an old friend.
Adam was hired to do both MAGNOLIA and PDL and so I was able to work on both of those films as well. It was a very special time in my life.
C&RV: What, if any, are some of the advantages to working on a production with Paul that you don't necessarily experience on other sets.M"J"P: Well, I partly answered this question in my previous one but Paul knew exactly what he wanted, especially on MAGNOLIA. We would be on the Tech Scout (where all the Department Heads travel to all of the locations) and he would walk into a room and say "24mm lens here... tracking across to here. Dolly track here." Four months later we are in that room to film and sure enough there was a 24mm lens here with dolly track there. It may not seem like a big deal but after 19 years in the industry you realize that that kind of vision and decisiveness is extremely rare. Another thing about Paul that I find unique is that everything is in the script. Shots, angles, ideas, his scripts are very visual.
C&RV: Best On/Off Set Story/Experience That Won't Get You In Trouble/Blacklisted, Go:M"J"P: BOOGIE NIGHTS - We are shooting 16mm footage for the Brock Landers movies during prep (before principle photography) and Paul decides he needs more "bad guys" for a fight sequence to be shot later in the day. Adam is going to call extras casting but I say "Hey! I could be a bad guy! We can shave my head, give me a moustache or something!" Adam tells Paul and he says "Great!"
Later that day, with a freshly-shorn cranium and big bushy 'stache I make cinematic history fighting with Mark and John C. smashing a bottle over my head (six times!) We develop a back story for my "character". He is a low-level thug that works for Ringo and his name is... Jocco. A nickname is born.MAGNOLIA - When we finished principle photography Paul was generous enough to hire me as a personal assistant during the post-production process. When he decided to include the Frank TJ Mackey Infomercial on the dvd he allowed me to film a "product shot" and record voice-over for an end-tag to the actual commercial you see in the film. As with my stunt work in BOOGIE NIGHTS, Paul required a level of amateurism that you just can't fake. I delivered that level of amateurism.Footnote: Paul sent MAGNOLIA to Harry Knowles' Butt-Numb-A-Thon with a video introduction to the film. I was PTA.
C&RV: Sandler, like PTA, is well known for repeating crews and cast. After Punch-Drunk, you had a solid string of work on Adam's films. I assume this stemmed from the two of you becoming friends during Paul's production?M"J"P: Absolutely. I spent a lot of time in Basecamp on PDL and got to know Adam and his crew very well. They are some of the friendliest, generous, down-to-earth and loyal people it has been my pleasure to meet. I got my first big DGA feature credit on Adam's film FIFTY FIRST DATES. They even named the walrus in the film after me. I didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted. (I was flattered)
C&RV: You were not involved with There Will Be Blood. Was that due to scheduling or you just weren't involved?M"J"P: A little of both. Paul had decided early on that he wanted to work with new assistant directors (Adam Somner, Spielberg's First Assistant). Once in production I was pleased to receive a call to come fill in for the second assistant director but unfortunately I was already in production of season two of PRISON BREAK.
C:RV& Speaking about graphic design briefly, you are co-responsible for one of my favorite cover designs ever: Fiona Apple's "When The Pawn..." What was the pitch/process/story etc -- have you done any design work for others as well?M"J"P: Again a case of being in the right place at the right time. When I was working for Paul on MAGNOLIA he and Fiona were together. She had this idea that she wanted for the album artwork.
I simply helped her with some photo & lyric layouts on the computer. It was great and pleasant surprise when the cd came out and she had included me in the liner notes. I was just a monkey at a keyboard. It is a testament to her kindness that my name is there and it is something I will always treasure.(C&RV Note: Michael also mentioned he was the author and cover designer of the 6 Music Videos By PTA DVD that we originally gave out on the site many years ago)
C&RV: You seem t have migrated primarily into series television. Has this format evolved into your preference over film work, or do you go where the most appealing meal is?M"J"P: I do enjoy the stability that comes from working on episodic television. I had a nice four-year run on PRISON BREAK and I'm just starting my second year on BONES. I was able to move up much faster in television than I would have been able to in features. That being said, I still have a great love for telling one story from start to finish. We'll see what the future holds.
C&RV: After initially scanning your IMDB profile and seeing "Black & White" I knew the plan would be to close with a question about Mike Tyson. Turns out you worked on a different "Black & White." Not one to give up on a plan: Do you have any thing to say about Mike Tyson?M"J"P: We were watching the Tyson-Holyfield fight at a friend's apartment on a television that was nearly as big as the room. I saw him bite that ear off in way-too graphic detail.I'm sure he's a lovely man.
C&RV: What is coming next for you sir? Continued work on Bones? Plans to venture into directing or is that not something that appeals to you?M"J"P: Had PRISON BREAK gone another season or two I definitely would have pursued a shot a directing an episode. I had a very intimate knowledge of the show creatively and from a production standpoint. My real desire is to eventually work as a creative producer. I want to find and develop good stories and assemble the creative team necessary to bring it to the audience. Show Business is one of the few industries in which you must take a pay cut to get a promotion but I will not rest until the sign on the hill says "JOCCOWOOD". ;)
C&RV: How did you get started in the acting business?
PH: I came out to Los Angeles in the Spring of 1998. I had done a lot of series television prior to that. I did guest appearances on The Practice, Profiler, NYPD Blue & Buddy Faro (with Dennis Farina). That show didn't last too long. I think it was cancelled after they ran the opening credits. How about "Turks," does anyone remember that one? Hello.....
C&RV: How did your part in Magnolia happen?
PH: My agent had a relationship with the casting director Cassandra Kulukundis. So I sent her my picture. Paul had her looking for real unknown people to populate the world that he created. He wasn't looking for anyone to too familiar for the supporting roles.
C&RV: So she called you in for an audition?
PH: Yeah, I went in on short notice just to be put on tape. She & I just hit it off & we talked for about an hour. I then ran through the scene with her. She left the room & came back with Paul. I was totally blown away. Because I was already a "geeky fan boy" of his anyway. We're roughly the same age & have the same interests. We're both total film geeks.
I did the scene for him a bunch of times & he said, "You can have this part if you want it." I was like, "OK. I have never had that happen before." He said, "It's going to be great. We have the whole day to shoot the scene & Julianne is going to be there." So that's it. He gave me the part.
C&RV: Did you get the whole script at that point?
PH: I didn't have one at the time. I had to sign like two or three confidentiality agreements. It was pretty tight. Then I got the script which looked like a phone book. Every script had the actor's name & it was numbered with the actor's name on every page.
C&RV: So you were only aware that you were doing the part of the young pharmacist?
PH: Yeah. He hadn't talked to me about the prologue scene as Sir Edmund William Godfrey. I had read it in the script, but it never even occurred to me. I didn't know that I'd be doing that part until about five months later. Paul knew all along. I just got a call that they wanted to some additional scenes.
C&RV: How was that to shoot with the Pathe camera on the Universal lot for the prologue scenes?
PH: It was really exciting. Everybody was really excited because no one had used that camera before. They did some tests, but they're weren't sure how everything would turn out. They had a metronome to keep the timing. Paul was still able to move the camera the way he liked.
C&RV: Any problems during that part of the shoot?
PH: No. Except that the little girl who played my daughter was terrified of me. I had the long cape, big hat & mustache on. She was supposed to jump into my arms, but she would stand in the corner. Paul would try to coax her, but with not much luck. You don't end up seeing her much at all.
C&RV: Did you have to do the scene any slower when using the Pathe camera?
PH: No. We did it at normal speed. It's very strange. For example, when I get punched, the arm was nowhere near my face. But because of the speed of the camera, it looks like it hits me right in the face. But it wasn't even close.
C&RV: Tell me about shooting the scene with Julianne Moore in the pharmacy?
PH: It was shot in one, long twelve hour day. He shot her coverage first which was really great. I got see what see was doing which gave me plenty of time to prepare & know how to react to her. She was incredible. Paul shot her breakdown first & she just nailed it in three takes. I think the scene that was used was like the first or second take. She's just amazing.
C&RV: How is Paul to work for in terms of what he gives to you as a director?
PH: He's great. He's just a fan of actors, so he's completely supportive of anything & everything that you want to bring to the role. His writing is good, so there's just no need to a lot of improvising or adding on to the scene.
He's like a kid. He gets really excited about the camera & the actors. He gets you excited about it. He was really generous while shooting the pharmacy scene, we did it a couple of times & he was like, "OK, that's great, we got it."
I didn't say anything, but I had a look on my face & he looks at me & says, "What?" I told him that if we did it one more time, I think I could really nail it. So he says, "OK, everybody, set it back up, we're gonna do it one more time". Which was really great, because who the fuck am I?
C&RV: Do you find it easier to act the way that Paul writes or do you like more specifics about the character?
PH: I like the way he writes. He really trusts his actors. I just shot my first short film "Mullitt" & found that really good actors will bring a lot to the part. It's been submitted to the Sundance Film Festival. Henry Gibson is in it. He plays a gay landlord.
C&RV: How did you get Henry Gibson?
PH: I met him at the first cast & crew screening of Magnolia. He came up to me after the movie & was very complimentary of my work. He was just a really sweet & nice man. While I finished writing the screenplay, I was watching Magnolia & thought he would be perfect. So I sent him a script & a letter never thinking he would have time or anything. Then a week later I got a call from him & told me he really liked the script. He had some great ideas & said that he'd really like to do it which was great.
C&RV: Any experiences or advice while making your own film that you can share for aspiring directors?
PH: This was a really interesting experience for me making my own film. Just write something that you would like to see & everyday just do something to get it done. Whether that's talking to somebody about being in the film, trying to get your crew, give your script to people, etc.
When you start working on films, you meet people & develop relationships. If you write something good, you'll find that people will want to help you make it. Don't listen to any of the conventional wisdom. You don't have to kiss up to people or sell your soul to make a film.
A huge lesson that I learned from Paul is that he's really excited about what he's doing. More importantly, he's a nice man & he's nice to his cast & crew, so they have a tremendous amount of respect for him.
They all have a good time on the set. If people believe in the project, they will do anything to help out. Paul shot Magnolia for six months, but everyone remained positive & would do anything for him. He also comes to work extremely prepared.
If you think everything out ahead of time, half of your job is done when you get to the set.
C&RV: What else is on the horizon for you?
PH: In the spring, I finished filming In Memory of My Father, Ghost World with Steve Buscemi & I have a small part in Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor. But I've had the most fun shooting my own short film which I'm also acting in.
C&RV: Thanks for your time.
PH: Thanks a lot man. I frequent your site & I'm really honored to be a part of it.And now, the moment some of you have been waiting for: The Winner Of The Poorly Planned Facebook/Twitter Contest. The winner is Max Watts. Max wins a copy of PTA's 6 Music Videos DVD and having any future contest regulations/limitations named in his honor.
Reliving "That Moment" with Mark RanceMark Rance & his company, 3 Legged Cat has been a pioneer in creating supplemental footage for special edition releases. Mark made a name for himself working for Criterion on their LaserDisc releases such as Silence of the Lambs, This is Spinal Tap, El Cid & Lord of the Flies from 1991 - 1995.
Mark then helped establish New Line with the ground breaking Platinum Series DVD’s. Mark was an integral part of many of the early releases including Spawn, Blade, Lost in Space, Nightmare on Elm Street Collection, Detroit Rock City, Austin Powers, Dark City, The Corrupter, Pleasantville & more.It’s Mark’s work with Paul Thomas Anderson that immediately comes to mind. He worked on the commentary tracks for both the Criterion LaserDisc of Boogie Nights & New Line’s first DVD Platinum Release.
He followed that up with his work on the Hard Eight Special Edition for Columbia/Tri Star before tackling his most ambitious DVD project to date. That Moment, A Magnolia Diary, is a 74 minute intimate look at the creative process following PTA’s latest film from conception to creation.
Not your typical promotional documentary or featurette, That Moment shows you the highs, lows & especially the hard work required to make a film. I spoke with Mark about his relationship with PTA, making “That Moment” & his future projects.
C&RV: When did you first meet PTA & get involved with the Boogie Nights releases on DVD & LaserDisc?MR: I had already been given the assignment to work on the Criterion LaserDisc of Boogie Nights, when we met really briefly at the Los Angeles Film Critics Award luncheon. I went over to an apartment where he was living. I got there early so I was in the building sitting on the steps across the door from the apartment & he comes up carrying groceries.
There's this young woman following him carrying groceries as well. "Hi I'm Paul, how are you doing?" I really didn't put two & two together until everybody sat down for the interview & I realized, "Oh, that's Fiona Apple." She sat there during the interview drawing pictures & listening. We did that in the living room of his apartment in January 1998.C&RV: How did the Hard Eight DVD come about. Did PTA seek you out?MR: Yeah. I was at a screening of one of my friend's films & we ran into each other. Paul says, "You gotta help with this thing". We began recording the tracks with Philip Baker Hall while he was still writing Magnolia. We probably did about six hours worth of recording. This is my tendency. I like these longer interviews & try to reduce them down to fit. Edit them to sound chatty without them being chatty.
There was a lot to talk about on this film. When it was edited down, we had one full track & a half hour worth of material for a second track. We dedicated the first track to PTA & Philip on his first film & making the thing. The second was dedicated to isolating the soundtrack cues & talking about Rysher. I wanted to make the ultimate commentary about first films, bad experience & successful experience.C&RV: Rumor has it that Columbia/TriStar was not happy with one of the commentary tracks that PTA did & his comments about Rysher. The word inflammatory comes to mind. Did anything have to be reedited for the release?MR: Yes. When the thing was submitted to Columbia, they reviewed it with their legal department & asked us to take out all the stuff referring to Rysher. Around that time, MGM had been sued by a writer who did not receive proper credit on a commentary track. The suit went through & the guy won.
That made some of the studios nervous about what people might say on these things. It's that whole issue when an opinion is libel. It took them months to decide this & Magnolia was in production. I came on the set & I was thinking exactly what Paul said. Let's go around & interview everybody that worked on Hard Eight.C&RV: Whose idea was it to isolate the score on the second commentary track?MR: I wanted to do that because I'm always fooling around with the format. I loved the score & sort of by accident put it up against the picture without any dialogue. I thought in that in a couple of cases, when you do that with a movie, it becomes a different movie in a good way. In addition, the soundtrack's not available, so it seemed like a good idea.C&RV: And include the alternate closing credits song [Aimee Mann's "I Should've Known"]?MR: Yeah, it was a surprise because he was singing that song during one of the commentary recordings to loosen up. I knew the song really well & thought these lyrics are kinda cool for this movie. I had it better in a rough cut, the timing was cooler.
They're was a better edit. It's off a few frames. The really interesting thing is that it's the exact running time of the original credit sequence. The great thing about working with Paul is that he lets you surprise him & I try to.C&RV: Tell me about recording his commentary tracks. I know you prefer to do extensive interviews & then edit them coherently to the film? Is that what you did with the Boogie Nights & Hard Eight?MR: There's a lot of stopping & starting. I'm a firm believer in not forcing people to watch the movies. It's the technique that a lot of studios have adopted because it's fucking cheap. But I also think it's the technique that's killing commentaries.
That's why a lot of people don't want to do them anymore. There's so much resistance at this point from people who have heard all the dumb ones. There's more of those than the smart ones, that the idea of being trapped, having to come up with something as fast as the movies are generally cut is criminal.
MR: In all of these cases & especially with Paul, I like just sitting & talking, seeing where he's at, trying to understand where he's coming from. Finding more if I can about the background to a particular movie, a particular scene, working with an actor, an idea in the film, films that he likes, what he admires in those films. Let those digressions take the conversation where it goes because often enough, it comes back.C&RV: It seems that PTA went from house to house doing segments with all the principal actors on Boogie Nights, were you involved with the recording?MR: Paul & Dylan Tichenor did the original actors & I helped with the new additions of Melora Walters & Luis Guzman. When I got it, I made separate tracks with each voice. We dropped in the new interviews where Paul's solo commentary used to be since it duplicates the other commentary track. The new material will hopefully make the "Is Luis Guzman High?" joke pay off.C&RV: Your condensed version of what happened to Exhausted?MR: Paul toyed with the idea of including WADD: The Life & Times of John C. Holmes but decided to stay with the Exhausted footage from the Criterion LaserDisc. It ultimately came down to money & the director of Exhausted & New Line couldn't agree on a price.C&RV: Moving to the Magnolia DVD, with PTA’s public comments about not wanting to do a commentary track for this film, did you explore other possibilities such as a cast & crew, actors, composer or film critic [Roger Ebert recorded one for New Line’s Dark City Platinum Edition]?MR: No commentary period. No analysis.C&RV: Did you guys explore other supplemental material such as the Charlie Rose Show, The "Cops" Footage or the Worm subplot?MR: We did talk about all that kind of stuff, but he really didn't want any more of the deleted scenes on the disc. He was very specific about that. Paul's vision here was a simplified DVD with the fewest buttons to push. After Paul saw the work done on New Line's Detroit Rock City DVD, he called me up & said, "OK, Mark we got to talk about this. What the fuck were you doing?"C&RV: I assume PTA chose the Magnolia 12 chapter stops as well?MR: Yes, I think the beauty of it is that it emphasizes, as Julianne Moore says, the operatic structure. It's in movement, it's in passages. It's not in scenes. These scenes interconnect. There's an association building up between the characters, the lives they lead & the meaning of those lives. Paul is dead on about this & he told me that you could probably do it with one button or chapter. It's probably coming. Someone's gonna do that again.C&RV: How did “That Moment” come to fruition?MR: It was Paul's idea. He told me that I would be the only one on the set & "do my thing." He had seen a documentary I made called "Mom". He told me to try & document everything. It was that simple. There was no other direction or list of things to get.C&RV: Tom Cruise, was noticeably absent from the film. Were there any limitations to your filming or access?MR: Cruise's people asked that he not be filmed. The only limitations were my availability as I was working on multiple projects for New Line.C&RV: It's surprising to see Tom Cruise in the outtakes then?MR: We thought since we didn't have him in the documentary & Tom liked those outtakes, thought they were hysterical, & that they would represent his participation. Paul & Tom had a great relationship, so it really wasn't a stretch to include them.C&RV: Was there every any tension on the set between you & the cast & crew?MR: The only time that happened was when one of the actors was ready to start work & didn't want to be distracted. He made a good point that when the second camera is there, his peripheral vision would catch that & he's not sure where to play. It throws him & I understood that. The way that I was taught to make films is that it's not the camera, it's you. It's your job as a filmmaker to be human, to be present, to be the person you are. You just happen to have a camera.
You do things to make them familiar with you holding the camera. In this way, you develop a more intimate relationship with everyone around you. Try to minimize the idea that they should feel like there's something different between you with the camera & without. That's just the whole style. Not to over analyze this, but interviews tend to separate you. The power switches from the star to the interviewer. In that imbalance, you get less.
Tomorrow we will have details for an interesting upcoming screening of There Will Be Blood.People are less willing to talk. They become guarded. If you show that you are not threatening them, then you get different kinds of footage. Like walking up to Bill Macy to ask him what he thinks about the script is sort of like walking up to Macy for the umpteenth time & asking him a stupid question. That's the way he talked to me all the time. If you needed a laugh, just go say something to Macy.C&RV: How much footage did you shoot?MR: 128 hours. I had two very good people logging the stuff. We started thinking about structure & because we didn't have a lot of time to edit. I kept shooting. We decided on the most linear structure. It could been much more of a mosaic or organized in a different manner. The diary thing just became the guiding rule because there was no time to play with it more than once. The first edit was eight hours. The second edit was four. Then it hovered around 2:20 - 3:00 hours for a couple of weeks. I showed the cut to Paul three times after it was less than three hours. Paul gave me notes three times & we finally ended up at 74 minutes.C&RV: Did you have complete freedom in what footage was ultimately included?MR: Yeah. Paul did give me suggestions on where to trim it. There was plenty to choose from & that is always a problem. Throwing away a lot of good stuff early was kind of painful, but it was the only way. If you hang on to something, then you would have to hang on to two other things to explain it. You want to try to avoid adding voice over & let it evolve from the camera's point of view.C&RV: Was the very funny exchange between Paul/Fiona spontaneous or scripted? How did it come to pass?MR: Spontaneous. I came upstairs & Paul said watch this. They did it again later in the evening at dinner. It wasn't quite as funny because she couldn't move around as much. They probably did some version of it at home. It was on the night it went into wide release (January 7th). We were about to get in a car & drive around to the various theaters & see the audience reaction.C&RV: The last shot shows PTA listening to Aimee Mann’s Red Vines & working. Was this actual footage shot during the editing process?MR: Paul was working on Fiona's Limp video. There was still this residue from the release of the film. Articles were lying around. There was just this feeling of exhaustion. I don't even know why I started shooting. I was just goofing around. I really love that song, too.C&RV: What are your thoughts now looking back on the Magnolia Diary?MR: The beauty of what Paul asked me to do...He's like the first person who really believed me as a filmmaker in ten years. I can't thank him enough. Making that thing for Magnolia was maybe the most challenging & the most fun thing I've had to do in all of this. As much as I like meeting all my cinema heroes & making these commentaries that is more meaningful to me. The fact that he liked it is even better.C&RV: What future DVD projects can we expect from 3 Legged Cat productions?MR: We're working on the Seven Platinum Series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me & a John Waters box set for New Line. A Crow box set & Red, White & Blue for Miramax. I really want to do more work on foreign films but the market still isn't there yet. The market is still heavy into the science fiction films because they are the big sellers.
Minutes with Melora
After numerous TV appearances in such shows as Roseanne, The Wonder Years & Seinfeld, Melora Walters appeared in supporting roles in the feature films Dead Poet's Society, Ed Wood, Cabin Boy & Eraser. But it's her roles in Paul Thomas Anderson's films that have propelled her into the spotlight. Each of her roles have continued to increase in PTA's films culminating with her starring role in Magnolia. I spoke to Melora about her relationship with Paul, bringing her characters to life & future film projects.
C&RV: How did you first meet PTA & get involved with Hard Eight?
MW: I auditioned for Paul. You know, one of those audition things? I guess Gwyneth Paltrow wasn't going to do the part of Clementine for a while due to a scheduling conflict, so I actually auditioned for that part. I read the script & thought this was the most wonderful script that I'd ever read. Then when I met him, I thought he was amazing.
Anyways, Gwyneth ended up doing it & in the middle of shooting there was this little part & they asked if I wanted to do it & I was like "Yeah!" I wanted to work with Samuel L. Jackson & I wanted to work with Paul & I wanted to be part of that story.
C&RV: So, did he mention the Boogie Nights script to you during or after filming Hard Eight?
MW: No. It came up a few days before he started shooting Boogie Nights. Paul said, I want you to read the script & look at the part of Jessie St. Vincent. I said they'll never let me play that part. Paul said, "Trust me." I told him that I didn't want to read it & fall in love with it & not be able to do it. That would kill me. He said, No. Trust me." Three days later, they were dying my hair that color!
C&RV: What kind of research did you do for your character in Boogie Nights? Were you involved in the infamous porno film visits?
MW: No. I did watch the "Exhausted" documentary & that was very important, but I didn't want it to be about the way porno is now. I felt Jessie St. Vincent was just so much of a misfit among these people. She was very genuine. She didn't take drugs. She was just an actress. She got married, had babies & she was an artist. That was what it was about.
C&RV: Did you have fun doing the commentary track with Paul on the new Boogie Nights DVD?
MW: It sounded kind of crazy with my children in the background. I drove Paul home afterwards & told him that I think we should do it again. He said, no, It was fine." I told him that we should do it again because I thought I was acting like Jessie St. Vincent & the kids were talking.
C&RV: How did you become involved with Michael Penn's "Try" music video?
MW: Paul just said, "Will you come down & be in this video?" I said sure. It was only one day of shooting & was a lot of fun.
C&RV: How flattered were you that after the success of Boogie Nights, Paul specifically wrote the part of Claudia, the center of Magnolia, for you?
MW: It was the most amazing gift in the world. I was completely flattered. It's an opportunity that you dream of.
C&RV: When you first read the Magnolia script & your part, were there any doubts that you could handle the emotional intensity of Claudia?
MW: Not really. I did get scared. I get scared every time I start something new. I told Paul that I will go in my darkest depths as long as he was there to save me if I start drowning. And he was always there.
C&RV: So, did you lean on him heavily for some of the more intense scenes? Did he provide you direction or just let you go?
MW: It guess it was a combination. He created her. It's all there. You just know this person. She's alive on the page. So, then you just follow what he's created & he kind of steers you. It was very intimate & very intense.
C&RV: What sort of research did you do for Claudia?
MW: I started with the script & Aimee Mann's music. I had some friends in New York who had really horrid childhoods. So, I've been around people who have been damaged. I suppose we all have been damaged in one way or another. I don't know how, but she just made sense to me.
C&RV: Was it hard to escape the character & not take it home with you?
MW: It's funny because when I think of it, it was very cathartic & I went home happy because all my demons came out during the day. But my husband did say later, when the film was finished, that he was glad I was done, because I was starting to bring it home. I didn't think I was, so that's kinda of telling right there.
C&RV: Tell me about singing Wise Up?
MW: That was the scariest part, because I can't sing. I was absolutely terrified. I listened to the music a lot. The whole movie set was such a safe, nurturing, intimate environment. That provided a great place where you were safe to do anything.
C&RV: How many times did you have to shoot the last scene?
MW: I can't remember how many, but we did it quite a few times.
C&RV: What's it like working with John C. Reilly?
MW: He's amazing. He's really funny. He's really sweet.
C&RV: How has Paul helped your personal development as an actor?
MW: Paul was the first one who saw how I can change into different characters & he's taken advantage of that. Because his films are so amazing, then people see that, & it's giving me wonderful opportunities.
C&RV: Why is it that virtually everyone that works with PTA devotes themselves to him for the rest of his life? What does he have that no one else does?
MW: I don't say genius lightly. I really think that's what he is. He really taps into something very deep when he creates these stories. Whenever somebody can do that, the people around cannot help but be touched by it. You feel it & then you're just committed to it, because it's rare. It's like Mozart. If you listen to his music, it touches something in you. Paul's films touch something very primal within you & how can you resist that?
C&RV: Paul is so vocal about his respect for actors in general and for specific actors (you included). Does this respect ever lead to expectations that you have found difficult to live up to?
MW: I try not to think of those things. I try to simply focus on the part I'm playing completely & make that person as true & real as I can. I can't worry about the rest or I would go crazy. Paul is always communicating with me & making constant adjustments when necessary. I would do anything for him.
C&RV: Were you disappointed over the lack of recognition you received for Claudia?
MW: No. I just think that the only thing you can do is just try to do really good work. The rest is all gravy. I was disappointed that Paul didn't win because I think in the whole film business, he is one very unique voice. I mean he doesn't make big special effects movies. Although the frogs were a special effect. [Laughs] That made me really mad that he didn't win.
C&RV: Let's talk about your upcoming films. Tell me about Desert Saints with Kiefer Sutherland?
MW: I play an undercover cop. It was really fun. I haven't seen a final cut yet. Kiefer is a bad guy & you get the sense he can kill you at a moment's notice. And you think, don't go with him, but I turn out to be worse than him! So I thought this is gonna be fun!
C&RV: What about Speaking of Sex with James Spader, Jay Mohr & Bill Murray?
MW: I finished that in July & it was so much fun. It's a big comedy farce about marriage, sex, marriage counselors, therapists & divorce lawyers. I'm married to Jay Mohr & he has a problem. In the process of trying to save my marriage, I end up sleeping with my therapist & then all hell breaks loose.
C&RV: Tell me about Rain, which is being executive produced by Martin Scorsese?
MW: I'm getting ready to do that now. It takes place in a very small town with deep, dark secrets. I will be filming this in Iowa.
C&RV: What do you think about Paul working with Adam Sandler?
MW: I think it's great. We talked about me being involved, but I don't think I'm supposed to say anything about it yet. It's top secret! [Laughs] It should be really interesting & fun.
Design director Randy Balsmeyer and his team at Balsmeyer & Everett designed and produced the opening title sequence for P.T. Anderson's enigmatic film Magnolia. Working from abstract design directions born out of Anderson's mental imagery, Balsmeyer and his team combined a blooming magnolia flower with street maps and images from the film to create a poignant and provocative sequence. The result is a dynamic explosion of contrast and color that heralds the fortuitous character intersections of the film's intricate storyline.
"Director Paul Anderson and editor Dylan Tichenor were incredibly secretive about the film. We never got to see the whole thing -- only the first reel and numerous scene clips -- so the project was quite mysterious. We knew only that the film was about the intersections of people's lives. The creative thrust for the title sequence came from Paul.
The veins in flower petals had always reminded him of street maps, and he wanted to tap into that idea to communicate the notion of the characters' lives crossing and connecting, almost tangentially. He also wanted the opening to include a montage of images from every scene from the film so the viewer would subliminally recognize each scene when it played.
He couldn't really define what he wanted much more tightly than that, so it was a question of us trying to see things as he saw them -- all in a six-and-a-half second graphical sequence. We came up with three ideas and showed video tests to Paul and Dylan. We had no way of knowing if we were on the right track, but one of our tests was exactly what Paul wanted. It would have been just as easy to completely miss the mark, but what I saw in my mind turned out to be the same thing Paul was seeing.
"We thought we were going to have to shoot original time-lapse photography of a blooming magnolia flower, but our research revealed that magnolias bloom only once a year, and we had just missed that year's bloom. We opted to use stock photography instead. After coming up with three or four passable clips, we found one that was outstanding. We had it scanned, skipped out a number of frames to get it to bloom in the allotted time, and brought it into Photoshop to do the paint work.
We removed a number of branches that crossed in front of the petals and added all the veins in the flower." "The street maps were scanned from a poster-sized version of the Thomas Guide to Los Angeles and combined with satellite photos of the corresponding geography. We turned them into 10K-20K textures in Photoshop and used After Effects to edit them into the order we wanted. As the sequence progresses, the map layer evolves from the street map to the satellite photo. We constructed the final layer of the sequence out of single frames from every scene in the film.
Our original plan was to use high resolution film scans to preserve the image quality, but time got short and we realized it would be much more expedient to work off videotape. Everyone was nervous about it, but we ran a film-out test with a few dozen digitized frames from the dailies and were pleased with the results. In terms of the balance between the film frames and the other two layers, we didn't tweak the color of each frame individually; it was more a question of selecting the right frame to complement what was happening in the other two layers.
We did quite a few passes like that, and subject matter made a big difference; for example, one particular iteration had a film frame with a big sign in it. Having the text from the sign showing up underneath the 'magnolia' title was very distracting. It was a one-frame blip, but it brought the whole sequence to its knees. In other iterations we had light-colored frames that washed everything in the frame out. We focused on the overall composition -- a balance of light and dark and considering the interplay of tonal values rather than colors. We wanted a feeling of randomness, so if we had too much repetition, the whole sequence would stall.
"The title sequence remained in three layers until the end, allowing us to manipulate any part until we were satisfied. As we developed each layer, we checked it against the other two. We'd look at a portion, and think for example, 'The picture looks good but the flower's overpowering it, so let's bring the flower down.' It was always a question of balance, which amounted to a great deal of fussing over six seconds of image.
When we got the sequence to the point where we were happy with the total composition, we brought it together in After Effects and added the solarizing effect on a secondary pass. Gray Miller was the principal hands-on guy for the After Effects work, and he certainly deserves the lion's share of credit for making it work.
In retrospect, there was some trepidation on our part going in because the project was so loosely defined. I was concerned that we could go around in circles for months, but it turned out to be one of the most straightforward, streamlined projects I've been involved with -- none of those horrendous dead-ends that you sometimes run into. In spite of our initial concerns, everything came together beautifully."
INT. HOLDING ROOM - THAT MOMENT
CAMERA pushes in on Marcie. She's crying and looking down. She lifts her head, speaks to an UNSEEN OFFICER nearby, guarding her cell;
MARCIE I wanna confess what I've done.
INT. LAMPLIGHTER - THAT MOMENT
CAMERA with Stanley, sitting alone in a booth with a Coke and a cookie. He's reading a book. BEAT, HOLD, THEN:
CAMERA pans/dollies away and booms up -- moving across the restaurant -- across the way, sitting in a booth by the opposite window, out of view from Stanley;
Dixon, the little kid from earlier, sitting in a booth with a young black male, WORM (20s) This is clearly the back figure we've been seeing glimpses of --
ANGLE, AT THE BOOTH.
Dixon eats same pudding. Worm mumbles to him, various jabs. "...sit up straight..." "...world is hard..." "..little brat..."
HOLD. Worm glances across the coffee shop -- he sees Stanley.
Worm HOLDS his look, thinks a moment. He looks up at the WOMAN behind the counter...she's doing a crossword puzzle.
Worm looks back to Dixon, subtle mumbles and gestures and few moments later, Dixon stands from the booth and exits the coffee shop.
HOLD w/WORM. He sticks a finger down his throat, makes himself well with tears. He stands up OUT OF FRAME.
ANGLE, COUNTER NEAR STANLEY. Worm sits into FRAME, near to Stanley. Stanley glances up, they make a quick moment of eye contact, then look away. BEAT. HOLD.
CUT TO:
EXT. PARKING LOT/BEHIND LAMPLIGHTER - MOMENTS LATER
CAMERA follows Dixon as he walks towards an old beat up PARKED CAR. He stops, hesitates, looks across the way -- LINDA'S MERCEDES is parked.
He hesitates a moment, looks left and right and all around and then he starts to walk over to the car...
AT LINDA'S CAR. Dixon sees that she's passed out, knocks on the window...
DIXON Lady...hey Lady...Lady....you ok? you alive...huh...hey?
He looks around again, then gets in the passenger's side of the car, shakes her same more.
DIXON Lady. Lady. Hey wake up. Lady?
Dixon reaches down and takes her PURSE, takes the MONEY out of the WALLET and then reaches for her CEL PHONE and dials 911.
DIXON Hello? Hello? I have an emergency situation -- this lady -- this lady seems like she's dead -- hello? She's in the parking lot -- (etc. gives information regarding location. etc.)
Then he gets out, walks back across parking lot...and into the concealed parked car he came from –
(Jimmy confesses to Rose)
INT. LAMPLIGHTER - THAT MOMENT
Through the window, the AMBULANCE passes in the b.g., heading nearby...and OC we hear the siren throughout scene;
Stanley looks up at Worm, who's crying harder now, they make another moment of eye contact. BEAT, THEN:
WORM Hi.
STANLEY Hi.
WORM ..sorry...
STANLEY It's ok.
BEAT.
STANLEY Are you alright?
Worm looks up.
(Frank with Earl on his deathbed)
INT. LAMPLIGHTER - THAT MOMENT
Worm is in tears, talking to Stanley. SLOW ZOOM IN.
WORM ....you have it...easy....you know? You have a father who loves you, huh?
STANLEY Yes.
WORM You know what it's like to come home scared, scared that maybe if you don't have the money you're supposed to go out each day and get that you're gonna get beaten....by a belt...he hits me with a belt, Stanley....
(beat)
I'm supposed to sell those candy bars, and if I don't, I come home without the money....
STANLEY ....Why does he do it...?
WORM Cause he hates me....he hates me so much.
STANLEY It's not right.
WORM I hate it.
CU - Worm. He hesitates...looks at Stanley and says:
WORM I'm sorry to put all this on you, Stanley --
STANLEY I have money.
WORM ...what...?
STANLEY I have money to give you.
WORM No. No. I have to do this on my own.
STANLEY I can take you to get money. I don't need it...I don't need it -- listen to me: I can let you have money so your father won't hit you ever again -- you'll have the money because I don't need it.
CAMERA pushes in a little on Worm, he looks up. 30fps.
WORM Where do you have it?
CAMERA holds 2-shot, looking out the window onto the street. We PUSH PAST THEM AND THROUGH THE WINDOW, picking up with a YELLOW CAB as it drives by, PAN with it....
(The rain of frogs has begun.)
INT. LAMPLIGHTER - THAT MOMENT
Stanley and Worm. CAMERA holds as all around...through the glass windows...it RAINS FROGS....smashing to the ground.....hitting a couple odd parked cars...they sit, watching, stunned...in a sort of daze. Stanley seems almost happy. Worm shocked, scarred;
WORM What is that?
STANLEY It's frogs. It's raining frogs.
WORM ...fuck you mean, it's raining frogs?
STANLEY It's raining frogs from the sky.
WORM ....what the fuck, what the fuck....
STANLEY This happens....this is something that happens.
WORM What the fuck is goin' on, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?
CU - STANLEY. HOLD ON HIS FACE extremely tight.
In the reflection of his eye, we see the Frogs falling.... past the neon sign that reads "Fresh Coffee."
ANGLE, DIXON. He comes running into the Lamplighter and over to Worm and Stanley....he's scarred shitless and frantic --
DIXON DADDY! DAD! DAD WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN' ON?
WORM Stay quiet...stay quiet, son --
DIXON LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GET HIS MONEY AND GO -- DID YOU GET HIS MONEY? DID YOU GET IT? DID YOU GET HIS MONEY, DAD?
WORM No, Son...be quiet...be quiet now...
DIXON C'mon, Dad. We gotta just GET HIS MONEY AND GO, LET'S GO. Let's get the money --
WORM We're not gonna do that now. We're not gonna do that now and that's over.
DIXON BULLSHIT. BULLSHIT, DAD WE NEED TO GET HIS MONEY AND GO.
Dixon takes out a large POLICE ISSUED REVOLVER, AIMS at STANLEY'S FACE.
DIXON GIVE US YOUR MONEY MAN.
WORM Son, don't --
DIXON BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT DAD WE GOTTA GET HIS MONEY --
WORM -- no.
DIXON (to Stanley) GIVE US YOUR MONEY.
WORM Put the gun down, please, boy.
DIXON GIVE US YOUR MONEY, KID.
WORM Son, please, now....
DIXON DAD --
WORM Please, boy, put it down and it's ok.
Dixon starts to get nervous and well with tears...he shakes a little....
WORM It's ok --
DIXON We gotta get his money so we can get outta here -- we gotta --
WORM That idea is over now. We're not gonna do that now.
Dixon starts crying and shaking and backing away --
DIXON DADDY, FUCK, DADDY, DON'T GET MAD AT ME. DON'T GET MAD AT ME -- (to Stanley) JUST GIMME YOUR MONEY.
WORM I'm not mad, son, I will not be mad at you and it's ok and please put it down and I won't be mad and I won't --
DIXON DAD.
Dixon starts to lower the gun a bit, crying and shaking....He lowers the gun and hands it over to his Father....Dixon is sort of flinching....the possibility that his Father may strike him...
...Stanley is frozen...Dixon is hyperventilating....
DIXON I - just - thought - that - I - didn't want - I - didn't - I - didn't -
WORM It's ok, boy.
HOLD. Que. "Bein Green," by Kermit the Frog/Aimee
CUT TO:
EXT. LAMPLIGHTER/VENTURA BLVD. - THAT MOMENT
CAMERA holds a wide angle on the Lamplighter Coffee Shop. Frogs falling from sky onto and around the streets....
CUT TO:
EXT. THE SKY - THAT MOMENT
CAMERA up with the Falling Frogs....CAMERA is moving down with them... it becomes almost musical....like Busby-Berkely-style choreography of Frogs That Fall In The Sky...
MUSIC/KERMIT THE FROG "It's not that easy bein' green... Having to spend each day the color of the leaves..."
EXT. EMPTY PARKING LOT AREA - DAWN
CU - Dixon as he gets into the old beat up car with Worm. Their call pulls away and drives off. Dixon looks at Linda's Mercedes which is still parked way across the lot -- they exit FRAME.
CUT TO:
EXT. MAGNOLIA - DAWN
Worm's car drives down the street. LONG LENS. ANGLE, at the car, Dixon leans up and out the window a bit....he's got the gun wrapped in newspaper, taking the fingerprints from the gun....he throws the POLICE ISSUED WEAPON from the speeding car...
CUT TO:
INT. LAMPLIGHTER - DAWN
Stanley sits in the back of a squad car....an OFFICER watching him...probably supposed to be comforting him, but instead drinking coffee, chatting with other OFFICERS questioning the coffee shop employees --
(Right after Earl's body is taken away)
INT. POLICE STATION - MARCIE
Marcie looking down at the table in front of her, tape recorder and microphone in front of her, (and all that goes along w/full confession/etc.)
MARCIE I killed him. I killed my husband. He hit my son and he hit my grandson and I hit him. I hit him with the ashtray and he was knocked out and I killed him, I strangled him. I strangled my husband to protect my boys. I protected my boys.