Dancing, singing, conducting! Behind the scenes wizards shape Hollywood's biggest roles

Record ID: 1771172

  • Title: Dancing, singing, conducting! Behind the scenes wizards shape Hollywood's biggest roles
  • Date: 8th March 2024
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (MARCH 5, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHOREOGRAPHER, CONSTANZA MACRAS, SAYING: “We had to put the microphone in there in the ear and just tell them the, name every step and tell them the sequence during, I mean, that was my assistant doing that for the whole shooting day, which was like 14 hours. She kept on repeating the name of the steps to the extras so they knew what happens after, because otherwise they wouldn't know. I mean, I think I was telling you, but it was because it was a very, very arbitrary order of steps. It was not following like a logic of a normal dance, you know. So that was the biggest challenge. With Mark Ruffalo and Emma Stone it was actually a pleasure to work because they were really, they were great. And they have and also they, they put it in their bodies and they really have fun. So it was really, you know, that came, this dance - it became part of that in that shooting, it felt so natural. So, yeah.”
  • Embargoed: 22nd March 2024 23:22
  • Keywords: MAESTRO actors behind the scenes below the line conductor dance films movies oscars poor things voice willie wonka
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film,North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA004667208032024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: While actors sometimes get all the praise for their award winning roles, there are many people behind the scenes helping them transform into each character.
    Acclaimed choreographer Constanza Macras was tasked with creating the dance sequence in "Poor Things" that highlighted the main character's developmental transition, a character caught between childhood and adulthood.
    "It was... in which moment she was of development in the movie because she was still, in between childhood and growing up very fast in this body, which was the body of an adult,” Macras explained.
    Drawing inspiration from Portuguese dance folklore, she created a unique dance sequence that was both exciting and challenging.
    “It was working with this and translating movement, which was very exciting and fun. Many of them were Portuguese dance folklore that I would completely alter, but as an inspiration, as a background inspiration, because it were in Lisbon,” she added.
    Macras said working with stars Mark Ruffalo and Emma Stone was a delight.
    "They were great… they put it in their bodies and they really have fun.
    Los Angeles based voice coach Eric Vetro, is renowned for his work with many Oscar winners.
    His office wall decorated with his a-list clients including Ariana Grande and Halle Bailey.
    Most recently Vetro worked with Timothée Chalamet on "Wonka" and Austin Butler on “Elvis”.
    Vetro revealed that actors often approach singing with vulnerability and gratitude.
    "They want to do a great job, and they're so grateful to you for helping them. The process is always pretty beautiful," said Vetro.
    Vetro's coaching style involves a series of exercises designed to make the actors' voices more flexible and limber, akin to training an athlete.
    "You're conditioning their vocal cords, then doing exercises that will strengthen it so they have more stamina," he explained.
    Despite the accolades his students have received, including Oscar nominations and wins, Vetro insists that the experience and the journey are more important than the awards.
    "If the experience was great, if I loved the song, if I think they came a long way and did a beautiful job, then I don't really care what number or what somebody else is going to put on them," he concluded.
    Bradley Cooper called upon the music director of the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montréal), the Metropolitan Opera, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin to help him prepare for his role in “Maestro”.
    Cooper portrayed American conductor, composer, pianist, Leonard Bernstein in the film and performed some of the musician greatest works.
    Cooper, in his preparation for the role, needed to master technical and believable conducting.
    "He didn't need help to see what made Lenny so special, but he needed help in training to make sure that he would stay on time and have the technical and believable gestures," said Nézet-Séguin.
    The conductor praised Cooper's dedication and virtuosity in balancing technical precision with the passion of the character.
    "It was a real feat of virtuosity, I think, to be able to train and know what to do so that every musician in the world could understand what he was doing," Nézet-Séguin said.
    One of the most challenging scenes involved the London Symphony Orchestra and a complex piece of music.
    "We worked so hard in this scene... It's one of the most difficult pieces of music ever. And I know how invested he was. It was that really cornerstone of the film,” Nézet-Séguin recalled.
    (Production: Remi Acosta, Alicia Powell, Ulrike Heil)
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