Nicole Kidman co-stars, producer
In the film "Rabbit Hole", Nicole Kidman plays a mother who has lost her son. Her performance was so good that Variety magazine even used adjectives like "textbook level" and "expert level". In fact, for this film, Kidman is not just a starring role, she is also the producer of the film. With her discerning eyes and perseverance, the adaptation of "Rabbit Hole" from the play was born.
Speaking of Kidman's interest in "Rabbit Hole", we have to go back to 2006, the year "Rabbit Hole" had just premiered on Broadway. Kidman said: "I didn't watch Rabbit Hole in the first place, I got interested in it after seeing a review and an article about the play in Nashville. That review was about the play. Filled with compliments and sighs, it seemed like a rare good drama. Then I called the company's producer, Per Surrey, and asked him to see the drama and tell me how it was Sai Rui went to see it that night, he told me that the talk drama was very good, and then gave me a script. That night, I read the script, and after reading it, I was shocked except like it. Because of this The play is so well written, and all the circumstances and woes of life are written out at a glance. Then I contacted the author David Lindsay-Abel, hoping to get the rights to the film and let me He came to write the script for the movie. I can only say that I was lucky because he agreed to adapt the script. The script for the movie is a beautiful script, it is sentimental and tender, humorous and moving, and it seems to touch me The softest thing in my heart is something I can't resist."
For such a project, Kidman will definitely not let it fall into the hands of others, so the next step is to choose a suitable director who knows how to save money and an equally good actor. Kidman said: "The crew didn't have much money, and the budget for the whole movie was always tight. All we had was a good script and some of the equipment we needed to make the movie. But with that, I found John Cameron. Ron Mitchell came in to direct. Mitchell didn't have the money either, so he had to find ways to save money for the crew. I was hesitant when it came to casting the male lead. Finally Aaron Eckhart popped into me In my mind, I immediately realized that he was the most suitable candidate. It can be said that without Eckhart, this film would not have been possible, because in addition to being the leading actor of the film, he also brought a lot to the film. Investing. Eckhart is money." In fact, after getting the call from Kidman, Eckhart agreed to be in the film without thinking, because he had always been a Kidman fan. Eckhart said: "I have always admired Nicole. She has qualities and acting talents that I admire. I have always looked forward to the opportunity to work with her on a film, and now this opportunity has come, I am sure not. Would have let it slip away so easily. I felt during the filming that there was a tacit understanding between me and Nicole, that kind of feeling between old friends. That feeling gave us a great deal during the filming. Great help, because "Rabbit Hole" is a film that is very difficult to 'act' and 'act', and it needs an outpouring of true feelings."
From a drama to a movie
From the perspective of literature and art, movies and dramas are similar , but by no means the same. For director John Cameron Mitchell, the difficulty of filming "Rabbit Hole" was how to convey the content and power of the drama on the screen. Although the original author of the play, David Lindsay-Abel, adapted the script, Mitchell did not dare to take it lightly, because in his eyes, the screenplay adapted by Abel was still too "dramatic".
Mitchell said: "While a play script is a rare good one, that doesn't mean the screenplay is equally good. Abel is a great playwright, but he doesn't quite understand how a movie works. A lot of Sometimes, in the process of writing, he will fall into an obsession with 'dramatic elements'. For example, he likes to use dialogue too much, and there should not be too much dialogue in the film. In the film, many emotions can be expressed through music. , the expressions of props and actors, as well as the switching and editing of shots, do not necessarily need language to express. But Abel prefers to use lines. But in the process of writing the script, I did not point fingers at his script. , because that's disrespectful to people. After he's finished writing the script, I'll edit and revise it further, and as a director and collaborator, I'll make sure to revise his script until it's suitable for filming. And while filming In the process of filming, I used a multi-camera shooting method, which is rarely seen in the shooting of similar films. In fact, this is all because of the tight production budget and the short shooting cycle. Two cameras The shooting of the film is not easy, especially when dealing with some dialogue shots, the angle is not mastered well, and it is necessary to cut through. However, this method can capture the most natural moments of the actors. It should be said that Abel's script is still very good, but It's too serious. If you want to move people on the screen, you must not use deliberate, sensational, and crying methods, but do the opposite, and use some humorous plots to shape sad emotions. Exaggerate the tension. For example, one of your relatives passed away, after attending the funeral, you are at your elders' house. You must not cry with those people, you will deliberately say something innocuous, even some jokes Only in this way can the emotions in the film appear believable. On the contrary, on theatrical stage, when everyone hugs and weeps, it will have a 'dramatic' effect."
Mitchell can be said to empathize with the pain and complex emotions of losing a loved one expressed in the film. Because when he was 14 years old, he lost his 10-year-old brother to an accident. He has personally experienced the pain of losing a loved one and witnessed the mourning of his own parents. "It was an accident that changed the face of my family forever," Mitchell said. "The scars and emotions that people have inside don't really go away with time. Just thinking about those things, the pain remains. And trying to make this a memory is something we've been trying to do. This drama strikes me because it expresses this irresistible emotion so fully, figuratively and concretely."
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