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In the two years since the release of Alejandro González
Iñárritu’s Amores Perros, nearly everyone involved has been
catapulted onto Hollywood’s A-List, including cinematographer Rodrigo
Prieto. After proving his cutting-edge style on Perros, he has gone
on to work with some of America’s most celebrated auteurs, including
Spike Lee and Oliver Stone. Currently, his work can be seen in Curtis
Hanson’s gritty urban drama 8 Mile and Julie Taymor’s Frida, a lush retelling of the legendary life of Frida Kahlo.
And being released this December is Spike Lee’s eagerly awaited
follow-up to Bamboozled, featuring an all-star cast that
includes Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson,
Anna Paquin and Barry Pepper.
Prieto is currently in Memphis, Tennessee, preparing
to re-team with director Iñárritu, screenwriter Guillermo
Arriaga and production designer Brigitte Broch (all Amores Perros collaborators) for 21 Grams. The film stars Sean Penn,
Benicio del Toro and Naomi Watts. The ultra-hot Prieto took time
from his incredibly hectic schedule to talk about his quick rise
to the top, how being a DP is like being a psychologist and how
a children’s haunted house started it all.
Jennifer Wood (MM): When did you first become
interested in film? Was there a particular movie or event that really
initiated your desire to become a moviemaker?
Rodrigo Prieto (RP): I think I first became
interested in filmmaking as a 10-year-old kid, when my brother and
I made a three-minute 8mm monster movie for a Halloween party. Each
year we used to throw Halloween parties with a haunted house, in
which we had floating objects, background music and miniature horror
landscapes with clay monsters. A friend’s father suggested using
stop motion animation to make our clay monsters come to life. We
had no idea what this was, but my father lent us his Bell &
Howell 8mm camera.
We learned how to use it, and shot short animated
clips of the monsters roaring and menacingly waving their arms at
the camera. We then rear-projected this footage on white sheets
hanging from the ceiling as the climax of the haunted house. Needless
to say, the impact was amazing and I discovered the power of pictures
in motion. From then on, we shot many short science fiction or horror
movies, each time with more sophisticated special effects. I haven’t
stopped filming stuff since that Halloween party.
MM: Was your initial desire to be a cinematographer,
or did your first interest lie elsewhere?
RP: As you can imagine, I didn’t even know
what a cinematographer did, since all the jobs blended together
when we made our short movies. We took turns with the camera, acted,
directed, edited, etc. It wasn’t until I worked as an assistant
in a still photography studio with photographer Nadine Markova,
that I became more aware of the use of lighting and composition.
I worked as an apprentice in the camera department
on a movie that Nadine shot called Welcome Maria, and it
was during that shoot that I fell in love with the camera. Right
after that movie, I enrolled in a film school in Mexico City, Centro
de Capacitación Cinematográfica. By that time I knew that I wanted
to be a cinematographer. I also discovered, in film school, that
when I directed school assignments, I got bored waiting for the
DP to light. It was much more fun to be constantly active setting
shots up, lighting them and operating the camera.
MM: What do you consider the complete definition
of what a cinematographer does? From the actual preparing and shooting
of the film to your role on the set, relationship to the director,
etc.?
RP: The cinematographer’s work starts as soon
as you read the script. Inevitably, you start visualizing the movie
and translating things you felt at your first reading into images.
When you meet the director, you need to listen to his (or her) ideas
and visual concepts with an open mind. It is the cinematographer’s
duty to try to get into the director’s mind and understand his vision
and communicate it through the lighting and camerawork.
I try to take the director’s concepts further, and
shoot as many tests as possible during prep to show him different
possibilities and ideas I have. This gets the dialogue going with
the director and production designer in very specific terms. You
can conceptualize as much as you want, but until you actually see
images projected on a screen, you can’t get exact feedback from
the director on what ideas of yours he likes or not.
For me, the collaboration with the director before,
during and after shooting the movie is essential to establish the
visual language of the film. You just can’t approach cinematography
as a means to make beautiful, dramatic or “cool” shots. Every shot
has to be organic with what the director and production designer
are trying to do. On the set, I try to attune myself to what the
director is feeling, and hopefully I can help transmit that on screen.
You have to learn to read the director’s body language because sometimes
it is difficult to express with words what he wants from the lighting
or framing or camera movement. You also have to be a little bit
of a psychologist to know how and when to sell your ideas to the
director.
MM: How did you land your first feature
film gig?
RP: I started my career as a DP on commercials
in Mexico when I was 22 years old. I shot my first feature while
still in film school. It was a low, low budget murder thriller.
The producer had seen some of the shorts I had shot in film school,
as well as my second unit work for Emmanuel Lubezki on Sólo con
tu Pareja, and hired me for ridiculous money to shoot the movie
in three weeks in locations around Mexico City.
MM: In the past few years, helped along
by great movies like Amores Perros, American moviegoers have
shown an increased interest in Mexican cinema. How do you think
the Mexican film industry has changed, if at all, since you first
started working there? What are the major differences between working
in Mexico and the US?
RP: It seems as if each year a film comes out
of Mexico that promises to revitalize the industry. After Amores
Perros came Y Tu Mamá También, directed by Alfonso Cuarón,
and now El Crimen del Padre Amaro, directed by Carlos Carrera.
Unfortunately, economic circumstances have not permitted the industry
to expand and meet the challenge of foreign movies in Mexico.
I would say the main difference between shooting American
and Mexican movies is the freedom allowed to the filmmakers. In
Mexico, producers don’t use sophisticated marketing research to
determine what will make a movie successful in the box office, so
directors are generally left alone to do the movie they envision.
In the U.S., it seems to me, the almighty dollar has the loudest
voice in the end. Directors have to be very intelligent in their
relationship with the studio to deliver an artistically and commercially
viable film.
MM: Do you consider Amores Perros a turning point in your career, at least as it relates to your opportunities
to work in Hollywood. Certainly you’re a very in-demand DP, with Frida and 8 Mile in theaters now, and 25th Hour opening in December.
RP: I moved to the U.S. right after shooting Amores Perros, so the first U.S. film I was offered happened
before the movie was shown. Michael Cristofer had seen Un Embrujo and hired me to shoot Original Sin. When Amores Perros was released in the U.S., many other directors became aware of my
work, and it opened more opportunities for me. The next few months
will be interesting because Frida, 8 Mile and 25th
Hour are all very different in style from each other, and are
being released almost back to back. Also, soon to be released are
two documentaries I shot on DV cameras for Oliver Stone. I don’t
pick the projects I shoot thinking of “career builders.” I try to
photograph the films that feel close to me at that particular moment
in my life.
MM: Briefly, what was the main reason that
you were attracted to each of these three projects- Frida, 8
Mile and 25th Hour?
RP: For many years, I had been aware of the
project to take to the screen the story of Frida Kahlo. I knew that
I wanted to film that movie no matter what, because it deals with
one of the most interesting moments in Mexican history, particularly
in relation to the visual arts. When Julie Taymor became attached
to direct, it was clear to me that I had to shoot it. And
fortunately, Julie liked what I proposed for Frida, and I
was hired.
When I was about to finish shooting Frida,
I got a call about Curtis Hanson wanting to meet me. I flew to LA
for the meeting after having read the script. My concern was that 8 Mile could have easily been interpreted like an extended
music video. When I met Curtis, we both agreed that we wanted to
avoid the MTV clichés and make a truthful, realistic film. This,
plus simply having the opportunity to work with Curtis, convinced
me to pursue getting that job.
25th Hour was offered to me because Ellen Kuras
was not available to shoot Spike’s movie and she recommended me
after seeing Amores Perros. I loved the script, the cast
was incredible and with Spike directing, well, what else could you
want?
MM: Is it easy for you to quickly adapt
to a new working environment? Each of these films-in terms of location,
story, look, etc.-are very different. Do you actively seek out new
“challenges”?
RP: I thrive in finding new challenges and
working with people with very different views and perspectives.
I feel that I grow more as a person and cinematographer by working
on very different environments, keeping myself open to learning
from new places and people. I don’t believe there is a “right” way
to shoot a movie. Each project and every director has a different
point of view on a story, and I enjoy immersing myself in the process
of understanding that perspective without my preconceived ideas.
In that sense I am very flexible.
On the other hand, I have found that it is not necessary
to change my way of working because I am now in “Hollywood.” Since
my days in Mexican movies, I have been very hands-on and hyperactive
on the set, and the crews may be startled at first, but they quickly
adapt to my rhythm, and things flow the way I like them.
MM: Is there anything specific you hope
an audience will see or notice about your cinematography? Some sort
of “signature” that you would like to make? What would be the best
compliment you could hear from someone who just watched one of your
movies?
RP: It is inevitable that a certain “style”
is present in any cinematographer’s work. I would prefer to not
have a trademark way of lighting or framing, since this works against
the idea that the visual language of a movie should emanate from
the material you deal with; from the story, the locations and the
director’s needs. The best compliment I could receive on my work
is: “What a great movie you worked on!” This means the cinematography
doesn’t stand out from the film, but rather enhances the storytelling
in ways that the audience doesn’t notice.
MM: You’ve had the opportunity to work with
some of our most celebrated contemporary directors. Before deciding
on a project, what are the most important questions you ask of the
director? What questions do you hope they ask of you?
RP: I don’t know how to answer this. Each situation
is different, and I take them as they come. I like to work with
collaborative directors who will be looking for my input, and who
will listen to my ideas, but who will also discard my suggestions
if they don’t fit their concept.
MM: A more personal question: The past few
years have been such a whirlwind for you. Have you had a chance
to sit back and enjoy your success?
RP: It has been pretty crazy lately, but I
can’t complain. I wasn’t able to attend the premieres of Frida (except in Mexico) or 8 Mile, and will not be present at
the premiere of 25th Hour. This is sad, but I try to see
the films at normal cinemas instead and feel the true reaction of
a typical audience. I miss out on the “glamour,” but I get to see
the real thing.
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