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Director Benjamin Millepied Talks Working With Paul Mescal & Melissa Barrera In His New Romantic Musical Drama [Interview]

April 30, 2023

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Benjamin Millepied is finest identified for his work as a dancer and choreographer, from becoming a member of the New York City Ballet within the mid-90s to director of the Paris Opera Ballet, the choreographer for 2010’s “Black Swan,” and the thoughts behind the choreographed “sidewalk” in “Dune.” Now, in his directorial debut, he marries dance and theater with movie in “Carmen,” a modern-day retelling of the traditional opera of the identical identify.

Melissa Barrera, Paul Mescal, and Rossy de Palma star with a rating from composer Nicholas Britell. The movie made its premiere ultimately yr’s Toronto International Film Festival. We spoke with Millepied about what led to capturing the movie in Australia, working with Britell, and discovering the proper performers for the lead roles.

What initially drew you to the challenge, and the way lengthy was the method to get it up and going?
It was a really lengthy course of to get it up and going. It’s my first movie, and it’s a movie that I wished to make with a specific amount of freedom which is actually onerous on this enterprise, particularly for the primary time. “Carmen” me for a lot of causes, like the concept of reinventing a classical story, the liberty of this character she embodies, and her fearlessness, braveness, and somebody who sincerely is aware of who they’re. And then the way it pertains to life is magical and magical via her connection to her mom and Masilda (Rossy de Palma).

You talked about this being your first movie. Before searching for tales that appealed to you, do you know you wished the challenge to be musical?
Yes, undoubtedly. And I wished to make use of the chance to have Nicolas Britell write a rating that was additionally releasing for him. To have this form of sound panorama the place the items are heard from starting to finish and never lower and paste, to have the ability to unleash the music.

When did you begin working with Nicholas Britell on the challenge?
About 2010, we began speaking about music and films, and I believe he would possibly’ve began writing music for the movie in 2017 or 2018. Maybe I’m unsuitable, and I’m exaggerating, but it surely was undoubtedly 2018 or 2019 after I heard the primary tracks.

With how lengthy the writing course of was, had been there quite a lot of totally different variations of what the movie would appear like?
The first time I requested somebody to work on it, they thought it wanted to be set in a spot and time when society felt prefer it was falling aside. Since I used to be residing within the U.S. and residing in L.A. I made a decision to adapt it to the Mexican border as a result of that was part of my life and part of what was known as the emotional and mental setting. I used to be residing in L.A. and seeing immigrants and seeing immigrants with out papers and having this paradox of this nation that’s so corrupt in so some ways and has such darkish tales each day that we don’t need to face. And how immigrants are taken care of and handled is actually darkish.

After locking down the story, what was the casting course of like? For a film that nearly requires a triple menace because the lead is a part of that casting course of, from the singing or dancing you discover most necessary? Because I don’t suppose Paul Mescal was identified for dancing earlier than this.
No, no, and I wasn’t apprehensive about that as a result of I might see that he was a bodily actor, and I didn’t need my Aidan to be this man who might out of the blue dance fluidly and flawlessly like a dancer. It wanted to be a marine who might dance. And then for Carmen’s character, she actually wanted to have the ability to sing and dance and act, and I wished her to be a Mexican actress. Essentially I seemed for her, and Melissa Barrera was on “So You Think You Can Dance” in Mexico and was simply forged in “Vida,” so she was beginning out.

I do know you shot the movie in Australia; what led to that call?
Well, that was the circumstance as a result of I scouted Mexico, and nonetheless, with the cash we needed to make the movie, I had such a good schedule, and it was actually scary – it was beneath 30 days in Mexico. When COVID hit, we had the chance to go to Australia since [editor’s note: his wife], Natalie [Portman], was making a movie there, and I spotted I might probably make a movie there. It was an enormous tax credit score in Australia. So we ended up capturing in Australia for that motive, however COVID led us there.

“Carmen” is in theaters now through Sony Pictures Classics.

Director Benjamin Millepied Talks Working With Paul Mescal & Melissa Barrera In His New Romantic Musical Drama [Interview]

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