Monumental Task: Phedon Papamichael talks about The Monuments Men

“George Clooney approached me during the filming of Descendants [2011] at the halfway party on the dance floor and nonchalantly asked me if I wanted to shoot his movie The Ides of March [2011],” recalls Phedon Papamichael who was shooting his second project for filmmaker Alexander Payne at the time with Clooney cast in the leading role.  “That was a direct response to observing how I work with Alexander and that involves having an intimate, active and friendly set which is without a lot of technical restrictions to the actors.  George Clooney and a lot of actors prefer not to repeat things over and over again as it feels like a lot of wasted or unnecessary coverage to them.   We’re economic and specific with the way we cover scenes resulting in short shooting days which George also likes.  On The Ides of March we worked in a similar way.  We didn’t design things in advance but rehearsed and blocked and then designed the shots quickly on-set.  George is often satisfied with the first take and wants to move on.  My ability to be able to deliver was something that makes me attractive to him and also I’m fast with lighting and flexible.”

“Going to Monuments Men [2014], it’s a much bigger picture,” states Phedon Papamichael.  “It’s a period piece with lots of extras.  But don’t expect a big action war movie.  It’s still an intimate character piece. There are a lot of small moments that take place in tents and small rooms.”  Performing in the historical story with George Clooney about a group American soldiers assigned to protect artwork being looted by the Nazis during World War II are Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Matt Damon (The Adjustment Bureau), Bill Murray (The Grand Budapest Hotel), John Goodman (Argo), Jean Durjardin (The Artist) and Bob Balaban (Gosford Park).  “It’s a great cast to enjoy and watch.  It’s in the spirit of the movies from the 1970s like A Bridge Too Far [1997] and The Guns of Navarone [1961]. George likes that.  It’s traditional Hollywood filmmaking.”

Unlike his Oscar nominated cinematography for Nebraska (2013), Phedon Papamichael was not required to create black and white imagery.  “Going back to colour, dealing with the art world, and the pieces they’re trying to save become a major character in that film so all of the compositions and lighting are more lush and painterly.  That’s what makes our job interesting as cinematographers; we’re always assigned a new story, and get to find and apply a new visual language for it.” Changing weather conditions had to be dealt with when capturing exterior scenes.   “On Monuments Men we started in the spring and went all of the way through summer in Germany with rain and snow.  When you watch the whole movie for an hour and a half or two hours there’s a consistent tone and the photography feels like it was designed and maintains itself; that’s always for me the most satisfying part and also the most challenging.”