October / 2009

Deluxe Screening Series:
Bill Pope asc in Toronto

by Lance Carlson

Bill Pope asc, having just wrapped the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in Toronto, accepted an invite to appear at a screening of The Matrix and a little Q&A moderated by Luc Montpellier csc, at Deluxe Toronto on Sunday August 30.

If first impressions mean anything, Bill Pope is a pretty down to earth, laid back and very knowledgeable old school kind of guy. Which may be a tall order in most individuals, but as one of Hollywood's current hottest DOPs he pretty much succeeds with flying colours. With five Matrix films over the years (three theatrical and two direct to DVD) and two Spider-Man movies (2 & 3 with 4 coming in 2011), plus a substantial string of others under his belt, Pope's cred has climbed dramatically since being coaxed (yes coaxed) to shoot The Matrix in 1999. At the time he had only shot under-$5M movies such as Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness (1992) and didn't feel he wanted to put his neck on the line on a $100M super-spectacular. But directors Larry and Andy Wachowski were very persuasive, and based on their experience shooting the sexy neo-noir crime thriller Bound (1996) with Pope as DOP, they insisted that they were confident he was ready to move on up. He landed the job on Bound because the original DOP couldn't deal with a lowly $3M budget and that seems to characterize Pope's modus operandi.

He is famously quoted in an earlier interview as requesting a credit as "photographic administrator" on The Matrix, as he had never done a film on which he did not operate, and he also had B-camera and C-camera crews to supervise. He revealed that it was a somewhat tongue-in-cheek remark. Actually, he pulled it off in spectacular style, and confirmed that it was in fact not only the largest lighting job that he had ever attempted but also the largest lighting job ever accomplished in Australia to that time.

Despite the cyber environment, most of The Matrix effects was shot in-camera and were so convincing that they didn't need further enhancement. Bill Pope prefers not to be typecast and likes to bring a new approach to each new project. He has done a lot of commercials and music videos, which he feels has kept him grounded to a more flexible and efficient approach to things, and he applies this effectively to his larger projects with obvious excellent results.

When asked about the challenge of working for two directors, he clarified that the Wachowski brothers are unique and seem to think as one, with no confusion, conflict or argument - sort of joined at the hip or, perhaps, by the brain stems. He feels this is unlikely in most other partnered directorships.

I think the cinematography is by far the best aspect of The Matrix, and even though he pointed out several miscues, such as his reflection in a doorknob in one scene, there is really nothing Bill Pope has to apologize for in the film.

Luc Montpellier csc, left, and Bill Pope asc. Photo by Lori Longstaff.

[ Magazine ][ Archives ][ Search ]