Director Patricia Riggen and her husband, cinematographer Checco Varese, were partners above and below ground on the mining disaster film, "The 33"; Boston Globe reporter Mike Rezendes is played by Mark Ruffalo in the film, "Spotlight"; Song Exploder dissects a song by Dan Auerbach's side project, The Arcs.
Song Exploder breaks down The Arcs' 'Put a Flower in Your Pocket'
Hrishikesh Hirway is a musician and the host/producer of the podcast Song Exploder. On his podcast he sits down with musical artists to deconstruct how they create their work.
This time around we hear from members of The Arcs, a side project for Dan Auerbach, whose main gig is with The Black Keys. Auerbach, who won the 2013 Grammy for Producer of the Year, is joined here by bandmates Richard Swift and Leon Michels.
The band breaks down its song, "Put a Flower in Your Pocket," from The Arcs' debut album, "Yours, Dreamily."
To hear a longer version of this segment, head over to Song Exploder's website.
Filmmaker Patricia Riggen: 'It's harder to be a woman than Latina' in Hollywood
Chile gained the attention of the world five years ago with the collapse of the San José Mine near Copiapó. Thirty-three men had been inside the mine when it caved in, with only three days' worth of food. But seventeen days after the accident, responders learned that the men were still alive, trapped deep within the earth.
Relatives built an encampment by the mine site, refusing to leave until the last man was retrieved. They erected shrines, held Mass, and marshaled further support from the government. Finally, after 69 days underground, all of the miners were rescued.
Now their story has come to the big screen. "The 33," adapted from Hector Tobar's book, "Deep Down Dark," opened in theaters this week.
Patricia Riggen directed the movie, and her husband, Checco Varese, worked as the cinematographer. They spoke to The Frame's John Horn about shooting in a mine and what it's like collaborating on set. The Frame also has a particular interest in covering diversity issues in Hollywood, and we asked about Riggen's experiences as a female director.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
Checco, do you enjoy working with your wife?
Checco Varese: It’s the same as anything else. I say yes and I follow orders. The only difference in any other marriage is I’m getting paid for it. The second thing is, it’s fascinating to work with somebody in as close and creative a relationship as this twenty-four-seven. In a movie, you’re married to the director anyway.
Patricia Riggen: As a female director, it’s very nice to know that that person is not going to stab you in the back. It’s a very tricky relationship, the cinematographer and the director as a woman.
At what point does the marriage become part of the collaboration?
Riggen: The marriage is never part of the collaboration. Ever. In fact, when we go home, we never talk work. I always have the last word and there’s no question about that in the set. We met working and it makes no difference. The good thing is I know I can count on him no matter what.
Varese: I would be the same for any director. I don’t think there’s a difference between me on a set with Patricia and me on a set with any other director. It’s following the lead of somebody’s vision and trying to make that vision go through. When we go home, we have a daughter, and we talk about home things.
The miners were trapped for a very long time. Your movie is about two hours long. When you were talking to the miners about what to portray in that window, what was important to you, and what was important to the miners?
Riggen: I wanted to be as truthful as possible to their true stories . . . I didn’t want to talk about the bad side of who they are, but the good side. I was interested in this story because it’s an example to the world of what you can accomplish when you all work together, with a goal. These guys were able to stay together under the worst circumstances one can imagine, being trapped and hungry. That’s why they survived. And I admire that. And I think that’s one of the highlights of the movie. So I think they’re fine with the portrayal.
You say these guys — and the miners are all guys. There are some women above-ground. How did you feel your relationship to all of the men — not just the actors but the miners — was affected by being a woman director?
Riggen: At the beginning they were probably suspicious that a woman was coming in to direct. But now I hear interviews where they say, “I think she did a good job because she was a woman. She was able to capture our pain and how we felt about our families and loved ones.” So I think there is a sensibility that I put into the movie . . . In my case, thinking about the family members outside was very important. I believe that those women out there fighting are very much responsible of forcing the government to rescue these men and not forget them.
We talk a lot about diversity on this show. Do you guys feel that you are offered a variety of stories, or do people steer stories about people who speak Spanish, or immigrant stories, to you? Do you feel pigeon-holed?
Riggen: I think the three Mexican directors that came before me did a very good job in Hollywood because they came in and started directing things like "Harry Potter."
This is Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro, and Alejandro Iñárritu.
Riggen: I think we owe them the fact that Hollywood opened up to non-Latino stories for Latinos.
Yes, I do find that it’s easier to get Latino-themed movies . . . but I don’t think there’s that stigma anymore. I think that what’s harder is to be a woman, not to be a Latina.
And what’s hard about that?
Riggen: People don’t believe, ever. In what I say. It's just the way it is. I have years of saying ideas that are not listened to. Then, weeks after, of producers finding out that I was right when some other guy comes in and says it. Sometimes I just tell my idea to my editor or to some other guy with maybe gray hair to share it, and then it’s brilliant! It’s like that. And it is changing. And we have to make a change very quickly because we’re kind of fed up.
We've heard from other female directors that they have to work harder when they get a job because the crew or others are doubtful that they can pull it off. I’m wondering if you have sensed that yourself on this movie, that you actually have to prove that you’re more competent than a man. Checco is nodding very hard here.
Riggen: I have had to prove that I know what I’m doing from the very first short film I made to the very last movie I wrapped. Every single day to each one of my collaborators.
And now I think women are being brave to say it. I question myself every day, Why is this job so hard? It makes me wonder many times, is it worth it? Should I just switch and do something else? Because it’s damned hard.
"The 33" opens in theaters November 13th.
Mark Ruffalo turns the tables on 'Spotlight' reporter Mike Rezendes
The movie “Spotlight” has only been in a limited number of theaters for a week. But it’s already being hailed by many Oscar watchers as one of the year’s best pictures.
The film is based on the true story of the Boston Globe reporters who investigated how the Catholic Church in that city covered up the behavior of pedophile priests. And it’s the rare example of a movie that gets old-fashioned, shoe-leather journalism exactly right. Perhaps that’s due to the involvement of the actual reporters who are depicted in the film.
Mike Rezendes is one of those Globe reporters who won a Pulitzer Prize for the story. In the movie, he’s portrayed by Mark Ruffalo. Rezendes spoke with Frame contributor Collin Friesen about becoming a subject of a major motion picture.
Excerpts from Rezendes on what it was like to have Ruffalo study him for the film:
I had no idea it would be so intense. Ruffalo [called] and said, Let’s hang out. He showed up at my apartment on a Sunday afternoon and he came into living room and sat down and immediately turned the tables on me, so to speak, because he was the reporter and, just as I would in his situation, he pulled out a notebook, pulled out his pen and started asking me questions and taking copious notes.
And he also took out his iPhone to take pictures of my living room, my coffee table. Call it an interview because that’s what it was. So as soon as he turned on his iPhone to record the interview I thought, Well, I deserve this, because I’ve done it so many time so to so many people. Normally, I’m the one who’s putting people on the hot seat and recording them. And this time there was someone sitting across from me who was not really putting me on the hot seat, but grilling me pretty good about all manner of things, and recording the interview. So I thought there was some justice in that.
We chatted for several hours and finally we got hungry and walked up the street to an Italian restaurant a couple of blocks from my house, and everyone recognized him and wanted to talk to him and wanted to take a selfie with him. And we walked around my neighborhood for a few more hours until fairly late into the evening, until he finally packed up and went to his hotel.
They filmed the first scene in Fenway Park during a game, and I’m watching them film this with one of my colleagues, Sacha Pfeiffer. And as we’re watching them film the fifth or sixth take, she grabs my arm and says, “Oh my God, he’s got your laugh!” It wasn’t a laugh but more of an odd chuckle that he used when he began a sentence, and I wasn’t even aware that I did that in conversation. So here’s a guy portraying me in a way that was showing me things about myself I didn’t even realize were true. It really was like being on a cannonball back in time.
I have no idea how it’ll change my life or if it’ll change my life. Winning a Pulitzer Prize didn’t change my life at all. And, by the way, I’m still [reporting].