This week we were treated to a special live member event — Rebecca: Ben Wheatley in conversation with Jane Crowther.
Ben spoke to Jane about the film’s use of location, its eye-catching design, assembling his cast, and not editing his film for the first time. Ben also answered plenty of questions from our members.
If you missed the event or just want to re-live it, you can catch up with the live-tweets below.
We're excited for this evening's Directors UK member event, where we'll hear from the amazing Ben Wheatley about making #Rebecca! Ben will be in conversation with @totalfilm_jane, with plenty of opportunities for member questions. Follow #DUKRebecca for the live-tweets! pic.twitter.com/Nz3V0HtqGn
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
Jane starts by asking what went through Ben's head when he first read the script and considered making Rebecca. "I did think it would be slightly bonkers to do it, but at the same time, that's the main reason I do stuff." #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
Jane asks if Ben used Hitchcock's classic adaptation as a jumping off point. "I did, but just for due diligence. It wasn't in the back of my mind — it's hard enough to make a film without having to worry about that!" #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
#DUKRebecca pic.twitter.com/34RMyokglp
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
Ben: "Rehearsals were useful for finding the balance for Maxim de Winter's character — we were able to work out how far to take his meanness, and how for the audience would go along with it." #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
In terms of design, Ben says he and Sarah Greenwood studied colour photography from the period, and examined the differences between the British and French versions of Vogue. #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
On budget, Ben says: "It's tricky — a lot of the things that are most expensive don't help you out all that much during the day. You have more money, but less time to work because everything takes longer." #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
Jane asks why Ben decided to use six different locations for Manderlay: "We Frankenstein-ed it to make the most impactful possible impression, and our research showed the houses would have had a mixture of different architectural styles." #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
What was the most challenging sequence? Ben: "Bringing the boat out of the sea — the tide was a brute! But the most rewarding scene was the blackmail plot scene with Sam Riley, it was a complicated sequence but it came together and cut really smoothly." #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
Ben: "I'll do that thing where you watch a film without the sound on, and I've reverse-storyboarded films. I've even done my own recut of Terminator to break down the shots — there are hardly any!" #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
Ben: "Netflix asked me to make this a Ben Wheatley-style film, they didn't try to push back on me being too weird! Most of the time, I've been working with my own company so I've been quite lucky. There aren't too many people I've had to convince." #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
This is the first film that Ben has not edited himself. On the new experience, Ben says: "I felt like I could sketch it, rather than refine it. Sometimes, when you edit things yourself you can become dogmatic and resist change." #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
On how he chooses his projects, Ben says each new film has to be different to the last: "It keeps it fresh to jump about — over time, though, I think all the films will look the same because my taste keeps coming through." #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
Ben: "If you can make low-budget films, you can make a lot of films." #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
Ben tells us he'd still love to direct a Sci-Fi film, or a cowboy movie — as well as a Rom Com and a kids' film. #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
Ben tells us he'd still love to direct a Sci-Fi film, or a cowboy movie — as well as a Rom Com and a kids' film. #DUKRebecca
— Directors UK (@Directors_UK) November 4, 2020
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