The thing about boys and girls is written and directed by the very realistic filmmaker Whit Stillman . "DAMSELS IN DISTRESS" shows us a college campus life in which men dominate absolutely. And the depressed girls, there is bound to appear the day when they want to break free and seek ultimate liberation. Since Stillman’s last work " The Last Days Of Disco ", 13 years have passed. Time is running out, and the reason why he decided to focus this time on the controversial topics of male rights, women’s rights and gender discrimination among college students also stems from some insights he had when he returned to his alma mater to visit old friends. Stillman recalled: "I believe that deep in the memory of any person, they are full of all kinds of nostalgia for their college years, and they often have such a group of girls in their minds, and their existence can be said. Bringing a revolutionary impact to the social life in the school-they always dress up and spray refreshing perfume, which directly changed the monotonous and demanding university-based social philosophy of our generation."
In fact, at the beginning, Whit Stillman, who had been silent in the industry for too long, just tried to submit an application to the film company. He hoped to get the corresponding approval to make a comedy with the focus on college life. Stillman said: "From my personal point of view, in fact, I didn't have any specific concepts and plans in my mind at the beginning, because I didn't have the opportunity to meet such a girl, and there was nothing to do with their abnormal derailment. Substantial understanding. But then I found out that if I returned to the budding initial stage of co-education, a similar group would appear in almost every university-suddenly, I knew that I should What kind of story is described in the latest movie." The co-educational system in American universities began to prevail in the late 1960s, especially in the early 1970s, and it has almost become widespread. Whit Stillman explained: “Even so, in the past few years or even decades later, there is still such a very obvious male-dominated general atmosphere in some universities. It is difficult for women to find one here. Comfortable and suitable location——According to this situation, I created a very dramatic movie story. The film shows a relatively extreme university environment, although the co-educational school has been developed for decades. , But the barbaric and primitive male status is still in a state of blind worship here."
Soon, the idea of this movie conceived by Whit Stillman gained wide recognition and affirmation, especially the partner and partner who had had a very happy collaboration in " Barcelona " and " The Last Days Of Disco " before. Herman said: "After more than 10 years of window-free period , it is indeed a very lucky thing to be able to regain this pleasant working relationship with old friends. I still remember that it was January 2010. At the end of the month, it only took about a month. I submitted the first draft of the script. After another month of waiting, I finally received the call I had been looking forward to for a long time-as long as I polish and revise it, the story will be fine. It can be put on the big screen." For Whit Stillman , the most critical period of the whole process was the spring when they discussed how to collect funding for "DAMSELS IN DISTRESS". For such an independent film, unless The budget is in place, otherwise there will never be a day for the trip, Stillman described: "Usually, the obstacles we need to face are actually from all aspects, from casting to overseas pre-sales to how to calculate. With a proper budget range, the most important thing is how to find a distributor in China who truly appreciates us.Because before that, I have witnessed two very good works sinking into the quagmire because of similar problems. I can’t move forward, so I’ve been thinking about how to effectively avoid the situation that may occur-our first film "Metropolis" presents a very good start, no matter what we have in our hands. What kind of resources or materials can be guaranteed to be combined into a perfect whole.
Basically, if we are completing a film with a relatively small coverage, then personal investment becomes the most feasible and effective solution. What we are pursuing is indeed a small cost in a certain sense, so we can only compress the overall production process of the film as much as possible, so that it has a concise and compact cycle as much as possible. "A relatively young cast. Because "DAMSELS IN DISTRESS" mainly revolves around college campus life, it is understandable that what this film needs is a cast of mainly young actors. Whit Stillman said: "I First came to Los Angeles with the two casting directors, Amy McEntire Britt and Anya Croft, and started a series of auditions.Through them, we quickly discovered that 3 were very suitable. The young actresses we requested were Anna Lei Tipton who played Lily, Aubrey Christina Plaza who played Debbie , and Megalyn Echikunwoke who played Ruth . Maybe it’s because I have lived overseas for a long time, so most people respond to my name in a blank and blank state. After all, what this film needs to follow is similar to the'mumbling core'. The storytelling style describes an independent film genre that focuses on the emotional life of young people around the age of 20 and contains a lot of improvisation. Although I often hear about it, I have never been able to try it. Later, I met Greta Gerwig, who was highly recommended, A pretty dazzling blond woman. At first, she came for the role of Lily, but slowly, she digs out more resonance from Violet West. Fortunately, West is not the type of actor who sticks to the rules. She prefers challenges and changes, so she accepted my suggestion naturally and transferred the direction of the audition to Violet, including the role needs. The finished singing and tap dancing scenes also couldn't trouble her. After leaving Los Angeles, we came to New York to continue the work of selecting actors, and the other two casting directors Paul Schnee and Kerry Baden were the other two casting directors, Paul Schnee and Kerry Baden, and before that, Baden. I also assembled a cast lineup for " The Last Days Of Disco ", which made me feel very smooth. "
Among the numerous auditions, the one that impressed Whit Stillman the most was an actress named Lena Dunham who came to audition for Siser . Stillman described: "I still remember it was a In the morning when people were quite depressed and discouraged, the feeling of Durham we were interviewing was not at all the same as Siser. I even became desperate and discouraged. But suddenly, I didn’t think this at first. The right actor instantly gave me a completely different feeling from before. It was from that time that I realized that I had already entered the category of'mumbling core' without knowing it-even though To be a truly good actor, one must also be appreciated by a very discerning director. Therefore, we can see what an amazing attempt Duham made in " Miniature furniture ", and she has also become an incarnation A very powerful female director. In this extremely critical meeting, although I know that Duham is not suitable for the role of Cather, we have become good friends who meet and hate late, it is in her With the help, we had the opportunity to get to know Alicia Fancon Wolin and Cecilia Kate Rock. In the end, they both joined our film production as producers, and they played a crucial role. An important role, because they are all experienced filmmakers, who have brought us a lot of valuable knowledge and resources."
When Whit Stillman returned to New York with his growing team and continued his casting work there, he quickly finalized three actors who would add a great funny atmosphere to the film, and they also represented the school. The "Supreme" patriarchal class, they are respectively played by Frank's Ryan Mikaff, Billy Mangnussen's role is Thor, who has tangled muscles, and the quite sleek Charlie. The actor Adam Brody , who together perfected this youthful performance system, Stillman said: "The feeling is still quite weird, as if every face that appeared in the camera did not exceed 25 years old, either in college or just stepping out of campus. The undisguised immaturity and youthfulness gives "DAMSELS IN DISTRESS" a very strong realism color, and then combined with the corresponding Musical notation , it is really unique. The taste is in my heart." Except for the indoor scenes that need to be completed in the studio, and it only took a day before and after, "DAMSELS IN DISTRESS" is almost entirely a scene taken from the ice-free port and surrounding areas on Staten Island— —Although it is a legitimate part of New York, it has a more profound connection with the Mid-Atlantic region from the geographical environment to the culture. Whit Stillman admits: “After many inspections and on-site exploration, we are in agreement We think that what we have found is the most possible location, and it is entirely possible for the university campus fictitious in the film to be located here." Nakhodka Port is also known as Nakhodka Port Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, where all 19 are gathered. A very representative architectural system of the century. Once it was the home of the elderly sailors in their old age. Now it has developed into a beautiful urban park, including 26 buildings with Greek Renaissance, Art, Italy and Victorian styleThe building, Whit Stillman said: “It is of incredible significance to us to be able to shoot this film on the ground in Nakhodka. It represents an unparalleled remnant of New York’s 19th-century maritime career, endowed with "DAMSELS IN DISTRESS." It is an irreplaceable historical atmosphere
."
