TheFitzyreport

Christopher Nolan has written and directed some very imaginative films, including the Batman trilogy, the Prestige, Insomnia and Inception. So when we went to see him talk about behind-the-scenes aspects of Batman, I was surprised to find he was so conservative in dress and in manner. He seemed almost bored – maybe there is so much going on in his head that he has to keep a cool countenance just to be focused. He is English as well – that accounts for keeping calm and carrying on. But while I didn’t find him inspiring, he did make some interesting comments. He talked about casting Heath Ledger for the role of the Joker, and how Heath originally turned the part down. It was only when he was allowed to put his own vision of craziness in the role that Heath became interested, and of course won an Academy Award for it. Nolan also talked about a scene where Heath and Batman were sparring and where the footage was slightly out of focus. But when they tried to recapture the emotion of the scene with another take, it just didn’t have the same magic. So the final cut was slightly fuzzy. I feel so vindicated!

Emerging into Gotham after the event, it was so cold we jumped into a cab for a comfortable ride home. But when Columbus Circle was blocked by a bus and taxi collision, the driver assumed batmobile capabilities and overrode the curb. So we were flying high – until we hit 5th Avenue, where the Rockefeller Center was barricaded bumper to bumper for the lighting of the Christmas tree. What luck to have a caped cabby! He managed to wrangle position just at that electric moment when the crowd said ‘Ahhhhhhh!!!!!’ and there we were, in full view of the most magnificent glowing Christmas tree in the city.

Last night I discreetly joined a full house of SAG ( screen actors guild ) members to see the film ‘The Grey’ and to meet the director and 2 of the actors – including Liam Neeson. Being without membership, I  felt a bit like a vegetarian at a carnivore’s picnic – a feeling that only grew as the film proceeded. The picture was about a group of men from an Alaskan oil field that survive a plane crash, and then try to survive extreme conditions of cold and snow while being picked off by a fierce pack of wolves.  Not my usual choice of film, and not one that I would have expected to see Mr Neeson act in, but he had an ulterior motive. The character Liam played in the film had recently lost his wife in tragic circumstances and the parallel to his own life when Natasha Richardson died in 2009, gave him an opportunity to work carthartical through the death, the grieving and the subsequent search for meaning. It wasn’t my kind of film, but the personal aspect was so raw, I felt like I had been witness to a very private grief. Liam was playing himself.

When Mr Neeson joined the others on stage afterwards he carried a coffee, which an assistant topped up through the Q&A. He didn’t appear to be 6’4″, spoke quietly without using his microphone, and the stories of the film – shooting in -36*, crew becoming snow blind – were only just balanced with the camaraderie of the actors and some comic moments. Questions from the audience focused mainly on the acting perspective, and others about his personal journey were quickly deflected.

It was a strange but interesting evening and one that I felt lucky to witness. It was an actor talking to actors, and although I was sad to see the spark of the Irishman dimmed, he didn’t get that nose by boxing shy…