“He’s like a jazz musician,” Matthew Libatique explains when quizzed on his longtime collaborator Spike Lee.
The 2 filmmakers, each native New Yorkers, have labored collectively on 5 options: Inside Man, She Hate Me, Miracle at St. Anna, Chi-Raq, and, most just lately, Highest 2 Lowest, which opens right now in U.S. theatres. Solely Ernest Dickerson, the good cinematographer behind Lee’s most well-known works, Do the Proper Factor, Malcolm X, and Jungle Fever, has labored with the filmmaker extra.
Highest 2 Lowest is Lee’s first New York-shot and set movie since 2014’s Da Candy Blood of Jesus. A remake, or, as Lee has described, a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s Excessive and Low, it’s an formidable movie set throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, with a number of the most spectacular motion sequences in Lee’s decades-long profession. (After the movie drops, there can be vital dialogue concerning the Puerto Rican Day Parade sequence, which is an on the spot traditional of New York filmmaking).
The crime-thriller stars Denzel Washington as a music trade exec who turns into a sufferer of extortion when his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom. The broader ensemble options A$AP Rocky, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, and Elijah Wright.
Beneath, Libatique shares a number of the secrets and techniques behind the movie’s manufacturing, together with how he and Lee managed to shoot on dwell Subway vehicles, how they executed the expansive Uptown sequence within the shadow of Yankee Stadium, and dealing with Denzel Washington. Libatique additionally talks about his time engaged on the now-stalled Blade sequel for Marvel.
Highest 2 Lowest is in theatres now and can drop on Apple TV+ on September 5.
DEADLINE: Matthew, you’re from New York, proper? You’ve had a protracted collaboration with Spike. How’d that come about?
MATTHEW LIBATIQUE: I’m from Elmhurst, Queens, however I met Spike for the primary time in California. I used to be in my early 30s, and I received a name from my agent on the time. She stated, ‘Guess who known as?’ It was Spike Lee. I freaked out. I bear in mind assembly him on the Mondrian in Hollywood. I needed to hold convincing myself to be skilled. However we hit it off immediately, and the remaining is historical past. I want I had completed extra movies with him. I’m grateful for our relationship.
DEADLINE: Spike’s carry such a novel and indescribable feeling. It’s very him. As somebody who has labored with him, what do you assume creates that vitality. What does he completely different from the others?
LIBATIQUE: He’s fearless in how he executes every day and accomplishes a scene. He’s not within the custom of Ridley Scott, the place he shoots every part with three cameras. He’ll do a complete two pages of dialogue with one shot. It’s actually only a feeling. He’s like a jazz musician. The digicam, lens, and performances aren’t Spike’s solely concerns. He additionally has an concept of the ultimate music and cadence whereas we’re taking pictures. He’s a real craftsman, however he’s additionally a inventive pressure. He doesn’t see the world the identical approach as everyone else. And whenever you discuss to him, you see that he’s a pupil of filmmakers like Billy Wilder, John Ford, and Alfred Hitchcock. So he’s an amalgamation of how he grew up as a child. Standard tradition personified. And a real craftsman.
DEADLINE: What was Spike’s pitch to you for this movie?
LIBATIQUE: There was no pitch. Spike stated, ‘Matty, I’m doing Kurosawa’s Excessive and Low with Denzel.’ When someone says that to you, there’s no pitch—that’s it.
DEADLINE: You’ve been fairly busy over the previous few years. You shot ‘Caught Stealing’ and ‘Is This Factor On?.’ How’d this movie match into that schedule?
LIBATIQUE: After the strikes, I used to be going to do the sequel to Blade. I used to be in Atlanta, and deliberate to maneuver to New York after the shoot. However the writers’ strikes occurred. Blade shut down. I used to be caught in Atlanta when Spike known as. I lastly moved to New York and began prepping with Spike two months later, so it didn’t have to slot in. I couldn’t consider how wonderful a venture it was, simply the reunion of Spike and Denzel. It was an honor.
DEADLINE: The opening sequence: I’ve to ask, that wasn’t scripted, was it? How’d you execute it? Did you employ drones? How’d you decide the music?
LIBATIQUE: I didn’t know what the music was going to be; Spike simply got here out of left area with it. Who would have anticipated it? I might’ve thought it may be one thing else, maybe a rating from Branford or Wynton Marsalis or possibly a Hip Hop monitor, nevertheless it was an outdated traditional. And that’s what I’m saying, if Spike had been a chef, he would make the oddest meals ever. You assume what he does is anachronistic, nevertheless it all works as a result of it’s so constant.
The opening wasn’t actually scripted. His first concept was to go over the welcome sign up Brooklyn. After which go in the direction of the constructing, however they wouldn’t allow us to fly over the Brooklyn Bridge. You’re not allowed to fly over the Brooklyn Bridge, so we ended up flying in the direction of the constructing from the opposite facet of the bridge. After which we had the drone up there and began taking pictures. We additionally combined in some helicopter work, which we needed to do as a result of later within the movie, there’s a chase scene up the East Facet Freeway, which we shot utilizing the helicopter.
DEADLINE: Folks usually discuss concerning the difficulties of taking pictures in New York. What makes it so powerful past the expense?
LIBATIQUE: The town is full of people that aren’t within the movie trade, and there’s not a excessive tolerance for taking up a complete block to shoot one thing. It’s not like Los Angeles, which is an trade city, so you must negotiate with actual folks, which is a problem for the movie fee in New York. For instance, we used to have the ability to shoot two folks in a automotive up and down Fifth Avenue. Now, simply getting the placement is an issue as a result of they gained’t actually shut down a street, so then you definately’re beginning and stopping. Additionally they have limits on how lengthy you could be in a neighborhood to guard the inhabitants. And it’s costly. However it’s value it.
DEADLINE: And the Uptown Puerto Rican parade sequence. It instantly goes down as one of many all-time New York film sequences. Did you actually shoot that on the bottom within the Bronx?
LIBATIQUE: Yep, we shot proper within the shadow of Yankee Stadium. We shot the massive social gathering sequence at a skate park about three blocks away from Yankee stadium. As soon as Denzel’s character leaves the confines of the house, the language of the movie modifications. We transition right into a extra handheld surroundings. I even switched lenses. I switched from an anamorphic lens, the Mercury Atlas 1.5 Prime, to outdated Canon rangefinders for extra aptitude and softer distinction. That’s after we launched 16mm and Tremendous 8 cameras. Spike is down for something, and that’s why it’s so enjoyable to work with him. At some point, he stated to me, ‘The place can we slot in movie?’ And I stated, the Puerto Rico Day Parade and the Subway. As quickly as he leaves the home, it wouldn’t be one format, as a result of he’s out in the true world. This prosperous and well-known man needs to be out with the remainder of us. I needed to really feel just like the cinematography had completely different views.
DEADLINE: How lengthy did it take to shoot?
LIBATIQUE: It was a couple of days right here and there on the Subway. We shot on the precise Subway vehicles. In New York, you possibly can solely shoot on two or three Subway platforms. Working with the MTA in New York is extraordinarily troublesome. Clearly, the Subway is utilized by actual folks in any respect hours of the day. There are some outdated platforms that you simply’re allowed to shoot on. Once you watch the movie, the prepare goes from Wall Avenue to forty second Avenue, 14th Avenue, all the best way Uptown. However it was all only one platform. We had been simply altering the angle and altering the indicators. Additionally they solely gave us one prepare to shoot on, and we may solely run it from one cease to a different. It took just a little time to cheat that.
DEADLINE: What was it like working with Denzel once more?
LIBATIQUE: He’s a really demanding individual. There are a lot of film stars, however he’s past a film star. He’s simply an entity. And the digicam loves him. Once more, I’m going again to the jazz reference. For instance, you see him rhyme on the finish of the movie with A$AP. That was all him. It wasn’t scripted. There’s the second the place he’s speaking to Jeffrey Wright, and he’s simply so pissed off that he begins slamming stuff onto his desk. Once more, not scripted. He simply creates. So you’ve Spike individual creating behind the digicam, and Denzel creating in entrance of it. It’s a magical mixture. Working with him is only a pleasure to look at.
DEADLINE: You missed the Cannes premiere. Had been you taking pictures Aronofsky’s movie?
LIBATIQUE: I wasn’t taking pictures, I used to be coloring the movie. I simply completed it. It took some time, and I simply couldn’t take myself away from my focus. So I opted to not go.
DEADLINE: One main change since we final spoke in 2023 for Maestro is the dialogue round AI in filmmaking and cinematography, particularly. What do you concentrate on all of it?
LIBATIQUE: It’s piqued my curiosity. You’ll want to sustain with expertise as a cinematographer or filmmaker. Some stuff I’ve seen appears photo-real, whereas different issues appear like I’m taking part in Name of Responsibility. I do know from coloring a film how AI instruments have modified the sport. We used to farm out pictures for rotoscoping to completely different nations as a result of it was a laborious course of that was costly to pay for after we did it in the USA. Now we will do it in actual time. We had a shot in Highest 2 Lowest the place Jeffrey Wright is in Denzel’s workplace, and there’s a light-weight in his glasses. Prior to now, you’ll simply take the L as a result of there was nothing you would do about it. However utilizing AI instruments, they had been capable of take earlier frames, reconstruct his eye, and take away the sunshine.
It’s incumbent upon us to know the expertise. Every thing is being redefined now, just like the workflow. I believe it is going to be akin to how the animation workflow works. I’ve experimented with prompting AI, and I by no means get good outcomes, so it’s attention-grabbing. I’m not gonna sit there and be doom and gloom. We gotta face it.
DEADLINE: Final query: You talked about Blade. When the movie will get again transferring will you return and shoot it?
LIBATIQUE: It depends upon the script and the filmmaker. However it’s all the time enjoyable to reunite with outdated associates like Marvel.
