Though having tackled time-travel adventures and classic fantasy stories, Robert Zemeckis says that Here is probably the most difficult movie he's ever made. The cast of Here reunites Zemeckis with Forrest Gump stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, while also starring Paul Bettany and Kelly Reilly. Based on Richard McGuire's graphic novel of the same name, the movie is set in only one room in a home, and follows several families who occupy the house over the course of a century. In addition to the limitations that filming in only one room provides, the story of Here also required Hanks and Wright to be de-aged.
In an interview with Variety, Zemeckis delved into why Here was such a challenging movie to make, stating that the film would have been impossible to make five years ago due to the technical challenges they faced. The director explained what it was like to only film in one room (also with only one camera angle) and detailed the process of de-aging iconic actors Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. Read his full quotes below:
We could not have made this movie five years ago. It turns out to be maybe the most difficult movie we ever made. Every single scene and every single moment had to happen and work perfectly in this frame.
De-Aging Has Come A Long Way In Recent Years
While filming in one room with only one camera angle is a challenging endeavor, that could have been achieved five years ago. However, the fact that the creative team behind Here had to de-age Hanks and Wright is why Zemeckis stressed that this movie wouldn't have been made without various technological advancements. To de-age Hanks and Wright, who play teenagers at one point in the film, the movie's creative team used thousands of archival images to create a sort of "digital makeup" for both actors, then superimposed that on their faces during post-production and filming.
Directing Here was unlike anything Zemeckis had ever done before.
In the same interview, Zemeckis explained that he would look at two monitors while they were filming in order to see the actor's real faces and to see their faces with their "digital makeup" on. Therefore, directing Here was unlike anything Zemeckis had ever done before. Speaking about the process of using two monitors, Zemeckis did at least acknowledge that it was a "great tool" for both him and his stars, but that their performances were what made "the illusion work".
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Why The Camera Only Moves Once In Here & What It Means
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While he may consider Here to be his most challenging film to date, it's certainly not Zemeckis' only movie to require extensive visual effects to keep viewers immersed in their respective worlds. Between creating his own vision of the future in Back to the Future Part II to bringing cartoons and live-action characters together in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, inputting Hanks' Forrest Gump into notable historical moments, or being one of the earliest motion-capture filmmakers with both The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol, the filmmaker has tried his hands at a variety of technological challenges.
Our Take On The Challenges Of Filming Here
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon There is no doubting that Here was an incredibly hard movie to make. While de-aging actors is becoming a more common practice in Hollywood, it is still controversial since audiences can usually tell if someone much older is playing a character who is supposed to be younger. Therefore, this method of filmmaking could be distracting to the viewer. In the case of Zemeckis' newest movie, reviews for Here have been quite negative, which suggests that the film's story and the filmmaking techniques implemented have not resonated with audiences.
Source: Variety
A young couple expecting their first child takes in the husband's estranged, ailing mother. Set in a single room, the story spans multiple generations, capturing moments of love, loss, and everyday life in the same space. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and featuring performances by Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and Paul Bettany, the film uses groundbreaking technology to de-age actors and presents a unique, stationary camera perspective throughout its runtime.
Director Robert Zemeckis
Release Date November 15, 2024
Studio(s) MiraMax , Playtone , ImageMovers
Writers Eric Roth , Robert Zemeckis
Runtime 104 Minutes
English (US) ·