The French Dispatchcrew explains how it pulled off the movies quietly impossible tracking shot.
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If I didnt tell you what I did, youd never know what I did.
But Anderson didnt want to use a Steadicam.
He wanted the entire scene to unfold in a single continuous motion.
No shake, no drift.
The stability, the rigidity, of a dolly is what makes it a Wes Anderson shot.
This wasnt the first time Anderson had asked Sami to work a miracle.
The first was when they madeThe Darjeeling Limitedtogether.
film in anamorphic wide-screen format, which requiresbigcameras.
After that, Sami became Andersons resident miracle facilitator.
The Mangalore rig would never be used again.
None of the contraptions that Sami creates for Anderson are ever used again.
Wes is well aware of the obsessional nature of these sorts of shots, Sami says.
One time he confided in me, Sanjay, I think my condition might be getting worse!
He is certainly becoming more exacting, Sami says.
To me, a stop in a dolly move is a form of punctuation, Sami says.
We have to figure all of that out as we go along.
Sami knew the police-station tracking shot would test everyones patience.
I wrote an email to Wes and said, It looks like one shot.
He said, Thats because it is.
You could look at a diagram of how it was done and still not understand it, says Peissel.
Roebuck begins the finalFrench Dispatchstory as a guest on an early-1970s talk show.
But Peissel and co-producer Jeremy Dawson credit Wright with the decision to recite the story within the tracking shot.
I thought we were going to be doing it where Im justsayingthe lines, Peissel says.
I was sitting there thinking that the way wed been doing so far was great.
Now here was Jeffrey wanting to give it a try in a whole different way.
Jeffrey nailed it on the first take.
The boom operator, Damien Luquet, was just as impressive, adds Dawson.
Hes shown us the shot before weve done it.
Of course, molding life to animation is easier said than done.
But you just have to accept that Wes is right.
Even when hes completely mad, hes right.
This article was adapted from an excerpt of Matt Zoller Seitzsforthcoming bookabout the making ofThe French Dispatch.
