WHO SAID IT WAS EASY

There has been a lot of talk about the "living hell" conditions on the shoot of The Revenant. Charges that the crew were put in dangerous situations in brutal locations. That director Alejandro Inarritu veered away from what was rehearsed which caused the problems. Crew members quit and some were fired.

I’m with Inarritu on this.

A crew member said that they should have shot most of the film on green screen. And that wherein lies the problem I have. A culture of laziness has pervaded filmmaking brought about by technology.

Shooting a film includes getting down on your hands and knees and not pushing a button. I saw a film shoot in the Philippines where the director sat in a tent far away from the location, watching the scene unfold in a monitor while getting a massage. I’ve never seen so much disrespect in regards to the craft.

Inarritu is one of the few that understand what it takes to make a film and he has a right to change his mind as he goes along. Such is the director’s prerogative. If getting the perfect shot means making the shoot a living hell, then so be it. If Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy can wallow around in the cold mud with no complaints, then what’s the problem. It should be an honor to be part of something epic. Something different.

If that’s too hard, get an office job instead. You can get a massage while sitting down pushing buttons.