July 2007 interview with Pierre Tremblay on FindingBrokeback

[tamarack]

What Fran said.  But I sure look forward to a Michael Hausman interview in partickeler.

Duly noted, Clarissa. I'll see if there's anything we can do.   

Why the partickeler interest in M.H.?

[Ellemeno]

Duly noted, Clarissa. I'll see if there's anything we can do.  

Why the partickeler interest in M.H.?

Based on what I keep hearing about him, especially from Pierre Tremblay.  The list of movies he's worked on.  The fact that he teaches at Columbia, and is supposed to be extremely knowledgeable, generous with the knowledge, fair, passionate about quality, and frankly, probably one of the older people involved. 

But he's not the only one - all of em!  Including Scott Ferguson, who apparently Michael Hausman handpicked out of a class he taught at Columbia and Scott was a student.

Here's a list of people I've wanted to know more about and from (it's me copying the cast and crew list from IMDb, and then deleting the ones I haven't realized are also fascinating).  I know Finding Brokeback has already interviewed some of them, and supermuchas gracias for that!

Ang Lee
Annie Proulx (short story)
Larry McMurtry (screenplay)
Diana Ossana (screenplay)
Lachlan Mackintosh    ...   Chilean Sheepherder #2
Mary Liboiron    ...   Fayette Newsome
Ken Zilka    ...   Roughneck #1
Michael Costigan    ....   executive producer
Scott Ferguson    ....   co-producer
Michael Hausman    ....   executive producer
Larry McMurtry    ....   executive producer
Diana Ossana    ....   producer
William Pohlad    ....   executive producer
James Schamus    ....   producer
Gustavo Santaolalla       
Rodrigo Prieto           
Dylan Tichenor       
Judy Becker       
Marit Allen       
Tom Benz    ....   unit production manager
Scott Ferguson    ....   unit production manager
Sara Ossana    ....   assistant to production designer
Ken Wills    ....   property master
Kirk Jarrett    ....   stunt coordinator
Peter Wunstorf    ....   director of photography: second unit  (now that you've introduced me to his existence!)
Marcelo Zarvos    ....   composer: additional music
Karen Bédard    ....   script supervisor
Neil Bell    ....   assistant: Mr. Ledger
T.J. Bews    ....   wrangler coordinator
Joy Ellison    ....   dialect coach
Ross L. Kulma    ....   medical advisor
Darryl Solly    ....   location manager
James Tyce    ....   stand-in: Heath Ledger (as Scott Urquhart)

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

Here's a list of people I've wanted to know more about and from (it's me copying the cast and crew list from IMDb, and then deleting the ones I haven't realized are also fascinating). 

.....
Marit Allen   
.....
   

Sadly, Marit Allen died last November in Sydney....



From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marit_Allen

Marit Allen (September 17, 1941 – November 26, 2007) was an English fashion journalist and costume designer who specialized in costumes for films. She designed the costumes for several successful Hollywood films, including Mrs. Doubtfire, Eyes Wide Shut, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Brokeback Mountain and La Vie en Rose (nominated posthumously for an Oscar, and won BAFTA and César Awards). Her career as a film costume designer last over 33 years.[1]

From The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/arts/13allen.html

Marit Allen, Costume Designer for Movies, Dies at 66

"Marit Allen, a British fashion writer and editor in the miniskirted 1960s who went on to design costumes for film characters as varied as the frumpy cross-dresser in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” the cowboys of Brokeback Mountain and the purple stretch-panted creature in “Hulk,” died on Nov. 26 in Australia. She was 66 and lived in London.

The cause was complications of a brain aneurysm, which Ms. Allen suffered while working on a film, her agent, Sara Pritchard, said.

With a flair for style that ranged from flowery period piece to sultry gown to slim-fit western wear, Ms. Allen designed costumes for 41 films in as many years. This year her work was seen in “La Vie en Rose,” the biopic of Édith Piaf, and in “Love in the Time of Cholera,” based on Gabriel García Márquez’s novel about a man’s enduring passion for a woman from the late 1800s into the 1930s.

Not all of Ms. Allen’s costuming was ornate. In 1973 she worked on Nicholas Roeg’s “Don’t Look Now,” in which Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland portrayed a couple haunted by the spirit of their recently drowned daughter. Last week Mr. Roeg told the online version of The Telegraph of London that Mr. Sutherland found his character only after Ms. Allen provided him with a large pair of woolly gloves, which he wore throughout the shoot.

(....)

While preparing for Brokeback Mountain Ms. Allen and the film’s director, Ang Lee, studied Richard Avedon’s photographs of the American West. Two of the snap-front shirts that she tailored for the movie’s ill-starred lovers — one a muted plaid, the other denim — sold on eBay last year for a total of $101,100. "




Sad, yes. I hope someone is seriously thinking about making this book ("The Making of Brokeback Mountain") happen soon so the principal players can be interviewed now.

[Artiste]

May I agree with you !

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

http://wetdarkandwild.blogspot.com/2007/12/jake-its-little-bit-of-tease.html

A tribute to Brokeback costume designer Marit Allen

The Daily Telegraph has published an obituary of British costume designer Marit Allen who died on November 26. Among other projects, Marit was the designer of the iconic wardrobes of Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1571515/Marit-Allen.html

'Marit Allen was the only costume designer to have worked on more than one of Ang Lee's films. She worked with him on Ride with the Devil, Hulk and, in 2005, Brokeback Mountain. For Brokeback Mountain she, Lee and the cinematographer, Rodrigo Preito, studied Richard Avedon's book Photographs of the American West. Marit Allen said: "Heath was deeply involved with his character. He worked with his clothes, using everything he wears to convey Ennis' repression - the jackets, done up; the cowboy hats, to hide behind. Between him and Jake the hats became an integral part of what they were doing."'

It's difficult to imagine how the clothes worn by Jack and Ennis in Brokeback Mountain could have been more evocative of time, place or character, or how any actor could have used the clothing - especially the hats - with any more feeling for their characters' questions and struggles than Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger.




RIP, Marit Allen.

[BlissC]

I have to admit, though I've got Finding Brokeback bookmarked, it's not something I've ever investigated in any great depth, but after reading that interview and having a look round there I can see I've got a lot of reading to do - I'll cancel everything else for the next 6 months! 

[Ellemeno]

I have to admit, though I've got Finding Brokeback bookmarked, it's not something I've ever investigated in any great depth, but after reading that interview and having a look round there I can see I've got a lot of reading to do - I'll cancel everything else for the next 6 months! 

That's what happened to me too, a few months ago.  They have worked really hard and there is a bounty of info over there.  I know that the more organized types who went on the Alberta Pilgrimage used Finding Brokeback as a main source of guidance.

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

del Mar Wedding Photo



Wow. That's all I have to say. Wow.

[Front-Ranger]

What an incredible interview! Thank you so much, Lauren!!

Here's a little quote from the interview:

"It would count as one of the best films in the history of American cinema. At its heart it is a romantic tragedy, but it explores a situation that has never been addressed before. So whether it won Best Picture, or not, does not really matter. In the end, it is—will always be—an important and unique film, a story superbly told."

and

"This may be the peak [of my career]. And if that proves to be the case, I accept that, because Brokeback Mountain will be very difficult to top. Not just because of the material, although it is a rare thing when you have the opportunity to work on a film that is so important, of such quality, a great story, and with a team of gifted professionals."

[tamarack]

You're very welcome, Lee! Did you just notice that this interview existed? What a huge amount of information he gave us.

(I'm starting to plan a trip to Wyoming for next summer, and I'm considering whether I will drive to AB from there or go back to Denver and fly. I really hope that we can get together at some point. The very short time that we spent talking in Canmore just isn't sufficient. I have no definite plans yet, other than ending up out there at some point in July or August, but I'll start zeroing in on some things pretty soon.)