Ballhaus interview
Michael Ballhaus has apparently retired. At least from American films. I had hoped he would get to shoot Silence, if it ever gets made... Here, he says a few things about filming The Departed. Some of them we've heard before... “Working with Jack Nicholson was complex and complicated. Scorsese was drawn into a state of insecurity when up against Nicholson and consulted him a lot. As a result of this, Nicholson took the reins into his own hands, and had changes made in the script, practically rewriting it. The problem was he not only broadened and made his own role bigger, he actually cut back the other characters’ roles. The other actors rebelled against this. Scorsese feared that his authority was being undermined by Nicholson’s charm and charisma, the actor who he adored and had three Oscars in his possession.” Scorsese, Ballhaus says, was convinced that this will be the worst movie ever to be made by him, and believed it would finish off his career for good. But later on, “The Departed” turned out to be his most profitable movie and will be remembered, Of course, for the film that earned him the coveted Oscar. “Since Marty won the Oscar, he is a changed man, happy and showing interest in many things.” The interview has more about working with Scorsese, and also this, which made me laugh: He tends to rule out any movie who is sloppily photographed even if the reason for this is a low budget, and even if its plot is complex or thought provoking more then a film which is shot with much talent but doesn’t leave any other mark. An over-frantic cinematography in a Polish movie agitates him. “Why shoot this way? I can’t understand it. Why not just bring in a tripod?” he gruffs.