The Lantern was present at a media day to hear director Martin Scorsese, actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Sir Ben Kingsley, and others discuss the making of the new film “Shutter Island.”
Paramount Pictures hosted the media junket in New York City for a small number of college publications. The event offered an advanced screening of the film and a chance to talk to key figures in the movie’s creation.
The press conference portion was split into two parts. The first featured producers Mike Medavoy and Brad Fisher, screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis and Dennis Lehane, the author who originally published the novel “Shutter Island” in 2003.
A majority of the questions were aimed at Lehane, whose novels have provided the basis for several successful film adaptations in recent years. Ben Affleck directed the film version of his 1999 novel “Gone Baby Gone” in 2007 and Clint Eastwood helmed the 2003 film “Mystic River,” which garnered six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
Lehane said that when he agrees to have one of his novels turned into a film, he doesn’t worry about the result being shoddy.
“I get involved with very good people,” he said, before pointing out the cast and crew of “Shutter Island” as an example. “It’s a talent clinic.”
Lehane, who has worked as a writer for HBO’s “The Wire,” said that he considered himself a film connoisseur, but that he found Scorsese’s knowledge of film staggering.
Lehane’s only complaint was that the writers had made the film too faithful to its source. He said he hates authors who complain about film adaptations. For Kalogridis, Lehane has been one of the easiest authors to satisfy.
“You don’t get as much artistic generosity as you get with Dennis,” she said.
Medavoy praised the acting and directing of the film. He went as far as to say that watching DiCaprio’s performance “reminded me of a young Brando.”
There was a brief break after the first session, and the mood in the room became one of excitement. Scorsese is one of the most acclaimed directors of modern times and Kinglsey won an Oscar for his role in “Gandhi.”
Scorsese would dominate most of the conversation. He began by explaining his approach to directing a film version of the novel. He said that there wasn’t a high level of preparation on his part.
“I just tried to approach it from my own reaction to reading the material,” he said. “We didn’t know where we would be [in shooting] at any given time.”
He did mention that he intentionally referenced the styles of other film genres, such as gothic horror and German expressionist movies.
“The more you see in the past, the more you draw upon that, the more you can make it the present and the future,” he said.
Scorsese soon fell into the role of film expert and began diverging into discussions on film methodology. While Scorsese spoke, Kingsley scanned the room casually waiting for a question to come his direction and DiCaprio found himself monitoring the array of recorders placed on the table in front of him by eager journalists.
One had begun beeping intermittently and he stared at the pile with a bemused intensity. One reporter’s iPhone, which was being used as a recorder, began ringing and DiCaprio picked the phone up but denied the caller a good story by not answering it.
When asked about Scorsese’s direction however, the actors heaped praise upon him.
“Everything is held together by affection,” Kingsley said. “Affection for his craft, affection for his actors, affection for his crew.”
Kingsley also said that the director’s trust for his actors was extraordinary. He said the actors were free to engage a scene based
on what felt right.
“Nothing needs to be demonstrated,” he said.
DiCaprio, who has worked with Scorsese for two other films, said that the director brought out the best from the material.
“It took us to places we could not have foreseen. It got darker and darker,” he said. “It is what Martin Scorsese does best: portraying something about humanity and who we are as people.”
Scorsese has a history of films fashioned in a similar style, such as “Taxi Driver.” Viewers will be able to compare those classics to “Shutter Island” on Friday.
