‘Eddington’ | Anatomy of a Scene

My name is Ari Aster. I am the writer- director of “Eddington.” As we start, I just want to say that this is a pivotal scene in the film, and it is best for you to have watched the film before watching this, as this is a spoiler. So we are nearing the midpoint of the film here, and we are now following Joaquin Phoenix’s character, Sheriff Joe cross, who’s the sheriff of Sevilla County, as he investigates a noise complaint on the property of incumbent Mayor Ted Garcia, played by Pedro Pascal. Emma Stone on the TV there. That is Joe’s wife. She is denying a recent statement by her husband, which is now being used against him. That’s why he’s unplugging the TV. One thing I like about long unbroken takes is that you can follow the actors around and really just allow them to live in a space. And I find Joaquin’s body language here really great, especially when you’re just on his back for so long. Like, Joaquin’s one of those physical actors where sometimes his back tells you even more than his front. And so this is a Steadicam shot. Not too crazy, but difficult enough because there’s a lot of choreography here. Ted Garcia is Joe Cross’s nemesis. “What are you doing?” “You’re not here on rape charges?” “Didn’t really pan out for you, did it?” And this is a scene where I’m playing a lot with sound. It took a little while in the sound mix to get this, because you have music playing from a source that, based on where the camera is, keeps moving around. And I do like panning sound around the room in a theater. The song that’s playing right now is “Firework” by Katy Perry. I just needed the song to really sound like the culture. There have been a lot of words exchanged. So far in the film. A lot of strategic moves made by both of these characters, and this will be the point of no return. Turn the noise down! II like how it kind of knocks Joaquin’s glasses off. And Joaquin really excels at moments like this. And just… What he can do with really stillness. He’s kind of frozen in a state here, and I find what he’s doing really mesmerizing.