How was The Dutchess received in Britain?
Quite well, as not only did it get favourable reviews but it also performed well at the box office. This is quite unusual because costume films usually generate more news than cash. But we were dissatisfied with the film's promotional tour because it was advertised with Princess Diana. Its preview was built on photographs of Diana and even though the Princess of Devonshire was indeed a direct descendant of the Spencer family, I and the creators of the film thought this was going a bit too far. However, we did not have a word in it. Even Keira made statements in connection with this and she was also disturbed by these forced comparisons and the disrespectful use of a deceased person's images.
Is Keira Knightley so resolute and assertive?
She is a very nice person, I like her a lot. I was surprised to see that at age 22 she could be so mature and professional. On top of that, I think she is getting better in every role she plays. She is very controlled, clever and hard-working, I have met few people who spent as much energy on their work as she did. I would be more than happy to work with her again. Of course, I also feel sorry for her, because the paparazzi do not let her live, she cannot go out in the street as a normal person and she can only have dinner with someone if she invites them to her house. We had a lot of problems during the shooting of the film because the paparazzi would keep climbing in and appearing on the set so we had to stop shooting from time to time.
I heard that it also caused difficulties that you could shoot only in small parts of several castles as other parts were still inhabited by their owners.
These were monumental locations and they would have been very expensive to build. We were very lucky because we got the support of the Devonshire family and since they have kept their influence even today, many doors opened for us. All they had to do was make a phone call and we were allowed to shoot in certain castles and even though the production paid for the locations, the possibility to work there cannot be expressed in monetary terms.
Was the commission to shoot The Duchess a result of your work in Britain after you graduated from film school or was it because of your successful Hungarian and American films?
Both. I have an agent in Britain who arranges my work but I am still surprised every time I am invited to work somewhere that the people I get to work with had seen Kontroll and Fateless. Of course at first there are 10-15 cinematographers in competition for the job, then it is down to just a few and eventually a personal meeting and discussion with the director that decides whether we will be able to work together. I got on very well with Saul Dibb, the director for The Duchess and we understood each other right from the start.
What had he done previously?
He made documentaries for the BBC, then with a few friends they got together and shot the film Bullet Boy about street kids. Knowing this, it was a brave move by the studio to give him such a huge production but he stood the test very well. Costume films are very time-demanding, a strange animal, where six hours every day are spent just on makeup and dressing, and for that he was a little unprepared. Fortunately, he was very good at working with his actors and he managed to keep external factors from dominating. Instead, he focused on the sensitive relationships between people.
During your career, your have worked with many big names. Do actors sometimes have concrete expectations about how they should appear on the screen, perhaps a certain angle that they look more favourable in?
I have heard of such cases, but have not experienced any. Indeed, there are some very respected cinematographers who are fired during a film because it may happen in the American star system that an actor or a studio decides that the given character does not appear attractive enough on the screen. You need a certain skill and sense to make an actor aged 50 appear 30. I have never had such conflicts but indeed, I was very careful when shooting with Sharon Stone that she should not have a reason to complain.
Do you think there is a chance for you to work with Nimród Antal in America?
Yes, we speak to each other on the phone regularly, we stay in touch. He would have wanted me to work in the two films he made in America, but during Vacancy, I was shooting Evening, and during Armored, I was shooting The Duchess. I hope next time we manage to work together.
Source: est.hu
