“I didn’t want the movie to be a parody of black and white,” reveals “Mank” director of photography Erik Messerschmidt in an exclusive interview with Gold Derby about the greyscale cinematography of the period biopic on Netflix. “I was concerned that that could absolutely happen and if we leaned into it too heavily that the audience would be distracted by the fact that they were watching a black-and-white film,” continues Messerschmidt. He muses, “In many cases, by the way, the photography doesn’t have to take the front seat.” Messerschmidt concludes, “I adored the experience of shooting in black and white. It was fantastic and it was a challenge that I’ve never really had before.”
This illuminating roundtable features the 2021 nominees for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures.
Participants include: Monica Levinson (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Charles D. King (Judas and the Black Messiah), Todd Black (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Ceán Chaffin (Mank), Christina Oh (Minari), Dan Janvey (Nomadland), Jess Wu Calder (One Night in Miami…), Ashley Fox (Promising Young Woman), Sacha Ben Harroche (Sound of Metal) and Marc Platt (The Trial of the Chicago 7).
Moderated by PGA President Lucy Fisher.
Our nominated producers discuss how their films, whether long in development or securing financing on the cusp of production, were driven by a sense of authenticity to their subjects and in some cases, an urgency to reflect the current cultural and political climate.
Recorded live on Saturday, March 20, 2021 during ‘A Day with the PGA Awards Nominees.’
Presented by The Hollywood Reporter. Additional sponsors include: General Motors, Greenslate, Honolulu Film Office, Panavision, Light Iron and Produce Iowa.
The Producers Guild of America is a non-profit trade organization that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media. The Guild invests in its core values that benefit the industry at large. These values are rooted in facilitating employment of its members, advocating for sustainable practices in production that minimize human and environmental harm, ensuring a set culture that advances safety and creates viable pathways into the guild for the next generation of producers, particularly those from populations under-represented in the industry. Year-round it hosts a number of educational, mentoring and professional networking programs.
Join Adobe for an exciting discussion with the editorial team from Netflix’s Mank featuring special guests Kirk Baxter, ACE, first assistant editor Ben Insler, and assistant editor Jennifer Chung. The team goes behind-the-scenes of the critically-acclaimed, Oscar nominated film to share their creative editing process and collaborative workflows for in-house VFX. Learn how they crafted a modern-day homage to one of the most celebrated films of all time, and overcame the challenges of a remote workflow using Premiere Pro Productions and After Effects.
Kirk Baxter, ACE, has been recognized with Academy Awards for his work on The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, an Academy Award nomination for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and multiple nominations from the American Cinema Editors. The Australian native is a long-time collaborator of David Fincher, including five of the director’s films and two of his series, Mindhunter and House of Cards.
Ben Insler currently works as a feature film assistant editor in Los Angeles, most recently on David Fincher’s Mank. He has previously assisted on television series, documentaries, and commercials, as well as edited for television, independent features and numerous shorts.
Jennifer Chung is an assistant editor working in Los Angeles. Originally from the midwest, she graduated with a BFA in Cinema Art + Science from Columbia College Chicago. She works in scripted tv and film, most recently on the “Blindspotting” series and David Fincher’s “Mank”. Along with assisting, she has also edited numerous shorts, music videos and promotional content.
Adobe® Video & Motion tools provide comprehensive video editing, motion design, VFX, sound, & animation for beginners to professionals. All tools are available through Creative Cloud membership.
Mank visual effects supervisor Simon Carr walks you through his team’s subtle work in David Fincher‘s award-winning film and the use of time-tested techniques like rear projection to bring Hollywood’s Golden Age to life on screen.
Two-time Oscar®-winning film editor Kirk Baxter takes you through his decision-making process for an early sequence from David Fincher‘s Hollywood Golden Age drama, which features the interplay of a number of central characters and relationships.
Mank makeup department head Gigi Williams explains her work on David Fincher‘s black-and-white dip into Hollywood lore, particularly the way she captured the eponymous screenwriter during an exhausted, overworked state.
Mank actors Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried sit down with casting director Laray Mayfield to discuss their work in David Fincher‘s acclaimed film. Oldman discusses tapping the vulnerability of the eponymous screenwriter and using his actual physicality for the portrayal, while Seyfried speaks to Marion Davies‘s legacy and how it shaded Seyfried’s depiction of her.
Mank star Amanda Seyfried sits down with costume designer Trish Summerville, makeup department head Gigi Williams and assistant head hair stylist Colleen LaBaff for a deep-dive discussion of their efforts in bringing Marion Davies to life on the screen for David Fincher‘s black-and-white ode to Hollywood’s Golden Age.
The Fincher Analyst 