Behind the Scene with Lizzy & Adam in "Bachelorette"...
Sunday, August 26, 2012 at 1:57AM ...Or, 'How Public Transportation, Running Out of Time and "Party Down" Created Two Perfect Movie Minutes'
-by Leslye Headland
If there’s one thing I learned making a movie, it’s that every frame has a pretty epic story behind it. Here’s one about the scene with Lizzy and Adam on the bed in Bachelorette.
In 2007, during a bus ride from Beverly Hills back to Hollywood (I didn’t have a car for two years), The Proclaimers “500 Miles” came on my iPod shuffle. It was a song that meant so much to me when I was little (Benny & Joon!) but I hadn't heard it in forever. I decided to put it in the scene where my pokerfaced ex-lovers, Gena (Lizzy Caplan) and Clyde (Adam Scott), reconnect. There’s nothing like nostalgia to melt a cynical heart.
Fast forward to 2011. I’m in my first week of shooting. I’m on set with Lizzy and Adam. [Click for More]
I'm still nervous around them because I'm the HUGEST "PARTY DOWN" FAN EVER. They were a DREAM pairing for these characters. So I'm sort of awkward and not really sure how to talk like a human. Anyway we're preparing to shoot the Proclaimers moment. And we’re running out of time. Our schedule for the film was crunched in general, being a low budget indie, but this particular day was wildly stressful. And now I'm really scared because I'm gonna have to tell the Tracy and Hepburn of my lifetime that:
We're gonna do their love scene in the master. No coverage.
Now I had always this weird idea that this scene should be done in the master. It felt to me like the opposite sentiment of the last shot of The Graduate. Elaine and Benjamin were mismatched by their spontaneity. Gena and Clyde were connected by their history. To me, it made sense to shoot two completely different scenes the exact same way.
But NO COVERAGE at all. That's pretty bold.
Lizzy and Adam were hesitant at first. Only because they loved the scene too and didn’t want me, as a first time director, to sacrifice anything important for the sake of making the day. All the actors on the film were supportive and protective like that. I assured them this was what I had always secretly wanted. It’s just that now we HAD to do it. No safety net. They were on board.
We rehearsed. They took their places. I called Action. I played the first few bars of the song then turned the music off. And then I watched Lizzy and Adam embody the melting of two like-minded cynical hearts. What you see in the film they did without music. Without a lot of discussion ahead of time. With very little direction from me. They just got it. All in one long take.
Some weeks, later in post-production, I was shocked to discover, when my music editor laid in the Proclaimers track, that the music timed out perfectly. It’s as if the ghost of the Proclaimers had scored the scene even though we filmed it in silence. He even mixed it so it went from source to soundtrack almost imperceptibly.
Whenever I watch that scene, I’m blown away by what filmmaking is. A small little random idea. Followed through by expert artists. Fine-tuned to make it magical. It’s almost like Gena and Clyde’s kiss itself. Painful reality melting into cinematic romance. Sweeping you off your feet. Falling in love all over again.
[Editor's Note: A huge thank you to writer/director/trueoriginal Leslye Headland for guest blogging for the day. Previously she blogged about films that shaped her life and how she cast her leading ladies -Nathaniel R]
Adam Scott, Bachelorette, Leslye Headland, Lizzy Caplan, Mix Tape, Party Down
Reader Comments (10)
This was a fantastic series of posts. BACHELORETTE was on my radar before this (how could it not be with that cast?) but now I. am. desperate.
(I'm also in Australia, so I will need to be extra patient.)
Are you looking to cast your next feature with quirky parts for bit players (amateurs)? I'm based in Los Angeles.
I love this story. I love behind the scenes stories in general and the use of music in movies is so magical; it's wonderful to know that it's magical to you as well.
Steve -- so i hear. mostly from Glenn ;)
deborah -- i know! the thing that got me was the timing out perfectly in editing. Having experimented with editing more than any other film art (besides writing) i know that timing is just so difficult to control and when something clicks it can just be like a bolt of joy meant--to-be ness
I will sprint to any movie that handles a big scene all in one master shot. So excited about this.
The other thing I forgot to mention that helped me sleep that night is George and Mary's first real love scene in It's A Wonderful Life (the scene where they are on the phone with Sam Wainwright) is done almost entirely in the master and in profile as well. It's nail-bitingly romantic.
Leslye -- YES. my favorite two hander in the master is probably "THE LADY EVE" though. 8 glorious minutes of just Stanwyck and Fonda faces emoting and teasing and romancing and lying and everything else, too.
NR -- oh my god OF COURSE!! Those kinds of things make me wonder if as a cinephile you learn some filmmaking tools by osmosis. Like they are ingrained in you. So it explains why my instinct was master two-hander love scene even though I didn't know why. You just know what you like.
I just ordered this On Demand yesterday. Really well done. Familiar enough to be an easygoing good time at the movies, but also departs often enough from conventions of story, performance, and technique that the film remains artistically intriguing.
Obviously, comparisons to Bridesmaids are inevitable, but Bachelorette is its own unique creature.
And the performances by the four ladies at the heart of the story are excellent.
Thank you so much for sharing the story behind that scene – I loved Bachelorette and that scene in particular. In fact it stands out in memory more than any other part of the film for me, and your piece perfectly sums up why.