Echoes of Hollywood

After getting out of the car, Montreal showed his credentials and, led by a staff member from the "Inglourious Basterds" crew, walked towards the outdoor set inside the filming location. However, equipment like cameras and video recorders couldn't be brought in and had to be left in the temporary storage, to be collected upon leaving.

This is a rule observed on film sets worldwide, and most media journalists adhere to it as well. Before becoming a journalist, Montreal had also spent time in Hollywood. He graduated from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts and worked as an assistant director in a film crew. When he couldn't find a breakthrough in his career, he switched fields and unexpectedly became the chief film reporter for "Entertainment Weekly."

Interviewing a top Hollywood director like Murphy and watching the shooting of his new project in person certainly requires a journalist of equivalent industry status.

Inside the open-air set, a large temporary lawn was laid out. Murphy met the journalist that 20th Century Fox had contacted right in front of this lawn.

Such interviews seldom reveal much. Montreal only asked a few simple questions.

"Director Stanton..." He held out a voice recorder to Murphy and asked, "Is the shooting going smoothly?"

"For the first 2 to 4 days, we were almost in a frenzy because everything happened so quickly."

Due to promotional needs, Murphy added a few more words. "I was practically fighting jet lag non-stop, including handling staff allocation and accounting issues. Because we all knew we were fighting for a special project, we needed to focus everyone's attention. If we couldn't gather an excellent team, we wouldn't be able to complete the film on time. Fortunately, we do have an extraordinary and unique crew."

Montreal then asked, "How do you evaluate the actors' work? And your own?"

"I think the actors' work so far has been instinctive," Murphy explained in detail. "The more instinctive it is, the better the results. The director's work, on the other hand, is more rational. When directing, you need to conceptualize, explain to the technical staff and actors, and then everything falls into place."

Gal Gadot came over and said something to Murphy. He excused himself to Montreal and returned to the set to discuss the scene layout with Helena Espola.

Murphy went to the camera lens used for long shots, glanced at the finished set, and shook his head. He said to his art director, "Helen, the scene needs adjustment."

Not far from the lens was the completed outdoor set: a farmhouse, a cow, some drying clothes, a working farmer, and a stretch of green grass.

Murphy thought for a moment and said to Gal Gadot, "Call David Roby over."

In the crew, Gal Gadot received no special treatment. She never considered herself special, taking on every aspect of the film production with the attitude of an intern eager to learn.

Gal Gadot found David Roby almost immediately.

"Helen, move the cow thirty feet to the left."

Time was of the essence, so Murphy kept it simple. "David, I need you to use low-intensity lighting to enhance the texture of the grass. Philip, increase the contrast during the shoot to create long shadows for the house and the cow."

Then, pointing to the uneven grass in front, Murphy said to Helena Espola, "I need a lot of open foreground to show the vastness of the place and provide a sense of space, especially when the long shot shows the grass almost level with the farmer."

"And," he pointed behind the house, "I remember there's a backdrop of distant mountains? Set it up later."

Helena Espola nodded, understanding that the backdrop would significantly enhance the depth of field.

These preparations immediately began. An hour later, Murphy's shoot started on time with the scene slate's call.

Accompanied by two staff members, Montreal stood in the observation area left for him and carefully watched the shooting process.

Due to his professional training and experience as an assistant director, Montreal's practical skills might not be strong, but his professional knowledge was undeniable. This was his greatest asset as "Entertainment Weekly's" chief film reporter.

Compared to the layman media reporters, Montreal was an industry insider in the field of journalism.

From this high observation point, the outdoor set was clearly visible. With one glance, Montreal nodded in appreciation. The balance between the house, cow, distant mountains, and trees was perfect, making the actors appear smaller in the frame.

Then he glanced at the camera positions nearby and quickly judged that Murphy Stanton was using the triangular composition technique. Large reflectors were bouncing sunlight onto the actors' faces, and the farthest camera was clearly shooting with a wide-angle lens, effectively highlighting the remoteness and loneliness of the scene.

As the takes progressed, the entire crew and set were completely under Murphy Stanton's control. This young director demonstrated exceptional professionalism, comparable to the top Hollywood directors, and his thinking was even more dynamic. Some of the on-the-spot adjustments he made turned out to be strokes of genius.

For instance, he temporarily used reflectors for supplementary lighting, and when the shoot was over, Montreal saw that the relevant shots had an outstanding depth of field effect.

Yes, after the morning shoot, he saw some of Murphy Stanton's completed shots.

Montreal had initially asked the crew if he could see some of the finished shots, given his background and professional reputation in the industry. Often, when he entered film sets for interviews, he could achieve such requests.

This time was no exception. Murphy Stanton readily agreed, although the number of shots provided was extremely limited, and they signed a temporary agreement that all viewed content could not be photographed or recorded, nor directly mentioned in the report.

The crew did this to leverage Montreal's writing for better early publicity.

The unprocessed footage was quite rough, but standing in front of a monitor, the first shot left a deep impression on Montreal.

Seeing Murphy Stanton's film footage ahead of others, Montreal knew this was a rare opportunity, so he was very attentive.

In the shot, a girl was hanging sheets. Neither the girl nor the light-colored sheets on the clothesline existed as isolated elements; they were all part of the narrative.

The sheets were cleverly used as a revealing element and were finally pulled back to show soldiers approaching from afar. The dark chocolate brown uniforms contrasted nicely with the white sheets, temporarily diverting attention from the background and the imminent events. Simple items like baskets helped balance the composition and might have been strategically placed to hide the bottom of the clothesline.

The costumes, all in brown, white, or gray, matched the overall tone of the shot.

Then, the reveal moment arrived! The effect was impressive... The soldiers' distant position indicated how long it would take for them to arrive. The beautiful S-curve led the eye's direction—this was evident in the winding roads and fields.

The second shot was a full view of the house. As soon as it played on the monitor, Montreal saw a farmer walking towards the house.

"Murphy Stanton's composition is so clever!"

Even someone as experienced as Montreal couldn't help but exclaim.

In the monitor's frame, the foreground tree stump helped balance the composition, its size contrasting with the house and actor, adding depth. The ax handle stuck in the stump directed the viewer's attention towards the house.

The entire composition, based on triangles, perfectly showcased the shot's three-dimensionality.

Then, a few girls appeared near the house. The color coordination between their clothes, the blue stones, and the purplish-red plants was perfect, highlighting their skin tones and making them look healthy.

Whether it was through special processing techniques or not, the sky in all the shots seemed a bit overcast, fitting Murphy Stanton's usual visual style. However, if the sky were blue, the color contrast wouldn't be as vivid.

If this shot were done by another director, it probably wouldn't look as beautiful.

Montreal could only see these two shots, but after watching them, he thought for a while and then watched them again. Fearing he might forget, he pressed the button on his recorder and quietly said, "These two shots are so perfectly paced. Murphy Stanton's shot composition tension is almost palpable! The actors' performances are outstanding, excellently delivering Murphy Stanton's almost genius lines. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing a bit of insight in the media: Well done, Murphy!"

This recording would be reviewed by the crew's public relations before being published in "Entertainment Weekly," ensuring there wouldn't be any issues.

During the filming of "Inglourious Basterds," although Murphy maintained his usual visual style, he balanced the colors appropriately and paid unprecedented attention to depth of field and details.

During a filming break, Murphy also returned to Los Angeles to attend the upcoming 80th Academy Awards ceremony.

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