Letters from readers translated from Roger Ebert's website
Original: Roger Ebert website
(Treasure unearthed on Roger Ebert's website...?)
For many years, the audience has been arguing whether there was a dead body in the park in the movie "Zoom In". This letter from the reader seems to give the answer to the question. -Roger Ebert
Sender: Ronan Okasi
February 10, 1999
Los Angeles, California 90046
Dear Mr. Yibert:
Recently, a friend of mine showed me your column in the Denver Post on November 8, 1998, and commented on the movie "Zoom". In view of the fact that I played the role of "zooming" in the film, I think you should be interested in the behind-the-scenes footage of the film and how it was filmed (in fact, how it was not made). You wrote in the column that this is a great movie, and I will not try to question this view. In spite of all this, the film is a semi-finished product, and it also raises interesting questions: In the final version of a film, how many of its artistic achievements are intentional, and how many are accidental products?
My name is Ronan Okasi, and I play the gray-haired lover of Vanessa Redgrave in the movie. The script of the movie was written by Antonioni ("Just call me Michelangelo"), Tonio Geila, and Edward Bond. The outline of the story is a deliberate murder. But it describes scenes such as conspiracy and the aftermath of the crime-these scenes include Vanessa, Sarah Miles, and Jeremy Graff. He plays Vanessa's new young boyfriend, and they work together. Want to murder me-these scenes were not filmed at all, because the movie was far beyond the budget.
The original storyline was like this: This young boyfriend, with a pistol, came to Mayen Park in London before Vanessa and I, hiding in the bushes and waiting for us. I drove a handsome dark green new Jaguar to pick up Vanessa through the city of London—and also gave Antonioni the opportunity to photograph this swaying and fashionable city of the 1960s, where the Beatles, Officer Mary, Rolling Stone and Carnaby Street. Then we stopped and I bought a men's watch for Vanessa, which she wore for the rest of the movie. Then we strolled slowly to the park and stopped to kiss from time to time (I was lucky). In the middle of the park, Vanessa gave me a warm hug and a long kiss, and took a peek at where her new boyfriend was hiding. He shot me (not so lucky this time), and the two of them left the park, intending to drive away. But at this time it did not proceed as planned, because the murderer noticed Hemings and the camera in his hand, and feared that Hemings would have taken a picture of her. And the facts are indeed photographed.
None of the above scenes were shot. There are some other scenes, such as between Sarah Miles and Grove, which were not filmed either. (Sarah even asked her name not to appear in the movie's subtitles, because she appeared for too little time.) Some scenes were related to the premeditated homicide. They were made, but they were very confusing to the audience in the movie. For example, there is a scene where Hemings and Vanessa are in a cafe. A young man approached her, found that she was with Hemmings, and ran away. That is Grove. This place is strange and mysterious, because the audience has no idea who this person is.
You wrote in your article that Antonioni must be very happy when he made the movie. Well, yes, at least he was very happy when he was lavishly squandering production funds. The entire crew had spent several days painting the entire road surface darker gray. There is also the famous slow-motion camera. A mysterious neon sign (designed and built by the art department of the film) was photographed along a row of houses on the top of the mountain. Those houses are really occupied, but Antonioni doesn't like their colors. So he called people to repaint the house, and the owners were naturally very happy because it was the producer who paid for it.
The producer was Carlo Ponti, and he had another film to supervise, so he delayed coming to London. When he arrived, the whole popularity exploded. "This bastard, Michelangelo, it's over, don't shoot!" The shooting ended immediately, and the whole team returned to Italy. Antonioni integrated the various fragments of the filmed pieces to create the ultimate "mystery". Of course it's very mysterious! The film is not finished at all!
Of course, it is highly possible that Antonioni filmed the script completely and then edited it into the same finished product. Although the film is not finished, it also shows Antonioni's great interest in playing with fantasy and reality. But at the time, I did feel that he had conquered the audience and film critics, and everyone was full of praise for the film. Except for one person-Del Spiegel, a magazine reporter, who interviewed me with the article titled "The Dead Speaking". He kept saying, "But this movie doesn't make sense at all, there is no narrative, no plot!" There is no realism. No logic at all.
By the way, this movie has another interesting gossip. You must remember that there was a scene where Hemings was photographing two models, and they were rolling in a large roll of brightly colored paper. This shot was nearly thirty years earlier than Sharon Stone’s famous exposure shot in "Instinct." One of the models, Jane Birkin, did not wear panties, and then the camera swept over, showing that she was unobstructed. Lower body. In 1969, this scene caused quite a stir. The entire United States, whether it was a big man or a little boy, was lining up to see the spring.
A few years later, I ran into Carlo Ponti at Cinicita Studios in Italy. He sarcastically said to me that after the film was screened, more than 200 sets of films were shipped back, and each set was better than the original one. A few feet less length: Jane Birkin's naked body exposure shots were cut clean by the projectionist. So all the men who look hard at this lens are actually brain-filled.
At that time, I was able to get a role in the film. I was very excited to play with Vanessa. The director was Antonioni. Although I played a dewy lover, I was killed in the end. But this letter is definitely not a dissatisfied actor who came to grief over the years—it means that it is very difficult to accurately understand the meaning of a work of art and the purpose of the artist. The truth is multifaceted, especially at 24 frames per second. Antonioni is a great director, and you think "Zoom" is a great movie. This may be correct-I certainly hope that no one will finish the film.
Sincerely,
Ronan Okasi
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