American Cinematographer - January 2000 - 54

Calling the Plays

Stone takes refuge in his "cocoon," a
distractions and "backseat directors."

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651/ 646-1780

tented

finale in Texas Stadium.

Why didn't the NFL sanction
Stone:

team
not

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They didn't like the

reality, I think it would have been a
lesser-looking film. It looks really

movie

was

that much of the book left in

to set

us

the movie in the

future. I asked

our

our

costume

near

designer,

uniform textures, and she devised

an

interim solution,

the old and
than

better

something between
the new style. They're
the

current

uniforms. We have

some

NFL

beautiful

with

really saturated

Could you

explain the genesis

uniforms
colors.

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beautiful. The three stadiums
used look

tising around the walls of the
Orange Bowl?
Stone: We had problems with
our budget, and we were looking for
product-placement money. We had a
lot of sideline shots, so we picked up
a lot of money by doing that. I also
wanted the walls built high to knock
out

the demand for consistent live

pushing for 6- to 12-foot
walls if possible. I think we settled for
7 or 8 feet in places. We built up the
walls and repainted the fields. We

we

remarkably different from

each other.
Totino commented that

early
you're not very direct or verbal in
describing what you want visually,
that you try more often to invoke
'feelings' in the cinematographer.
Stone: I think he may be talk¬
ing about light. I'm very specific with
camera positioning. I pretty much
on

know where I

want to

be for

a

shot,

although I'm open to suggestions or
reasoning. I'll always listen to a better
idea. But I always know which shot I
want first, and where I'm going to
put the camera.

of the idea for the continuous adver¬

extras. I was

re
KISH
K OPTICS

film] freed Victor [Kempster] to go

was written by some NFL
trainers in the '70s. But there's

our

Mary Zophres, to look at old

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sanction the

not to

into the future. If he'd been bound by

which

screenplay. We modernized it. The
NFL just does not want any negative
portrayal of their association.
It all turned out okay, though,
because in the long run it was better
for

have strange advertising that looks as
if it's from another time period. [The

based,

on

which

www.cinequipt.Gom

that allows him to avoid both

NFL's decision

the movie?
book

area

He

wanted

a

the Miami

mentioned
certain

warm

that

you

feeling for

scenes.

Stone: I wanted to be

on

the

yellow side of the spectrum. I was
going for saturation - yellows,
tobaccos,
Those

reds and terra-cottas.

colors

are

definitely

my

favorites, and I've used them through
all of my

films. This was a chance to
all out, since I was in the
Southland. I was not going to pull
any punches by going with some

go

technical, TV commercial, muted
American Cinematographer - January 2000

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