Making Premonition Real
Although PREMONITION was set to film in New Orleans, Louisiana, the filmmakers had to make a last minute change when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. After postponing the start of production for a few months, the filmmakers opted to remain in the state and film in Shreveport. “We had the opportunity to go to various other parts of the United States,” recalls Amritraj. “Then the Governor of Louisiana called and asked for our support, so we decided to stay. It worked out beautifully. It’s a great city and the people have been wonderful.”
A great many of the crew were experienced production personnel from New Orleans who were displaced by the hurricane. Happy to have film production staying in the state, they staged an impromptu Mardi Gras party on set. The spirit of New Orleans was alive and thriving in Shreveport.
As for the serious business of making the film, however, it was decided early on that PREMONITION was going to be a thriller rooted in the familiar of the everyday. No hocus pocus magic tricks. Says Yapo, “I wanted to focus in on the characters and stay in reality. I wanted to elevate inwards and not put something on top of it, visually or effects wise. I wanted this movie to be real.”
Production designer Dennis Washington was given the task of making a small town atmosphere feel both recognizable and foreboding. Filmed in primarily practical locations, the filmmakers wanted to create the feeling of “anywhere USA.”
“My longtime art director Tom Taylor and I mixed many locations with a mix of alterations, adjustments and additions to make reality “real.” “The atmosphere was very important,” says producer Ashok Amritraj. “We wanted to make sure it didn’t feel too claustrophobic, that there is enough breathing room while at the same time letting the audience experience what Linda is feeling.”
Yapo brought in his “Lautlos” director of photography Torsten Lippstock to help him create the look of the film, which had to closely hew to Linda’s psychological state. Says Yapo, “When Linda was experiencing something strange, we changed to a handheld camera. This was a more vivid nightmarish approach that we added to a few scenes. The tone changes right away. When we are in regular classic composition we jump to hand-held. It elevates the whole experience and puts the audience very close to Linda.”
Of the many things the camera had to accomplish, it had to lead the audience, but also show things that Linda may have not yet noticed. “It’s all about Linda’s emotional journey and technically, we need to do whatever we can to support that journey through the film,” says Yapo.
One of the ways Yapo thought he could stretch the confines of reality was in the car crash. “The film is about loss, grief. A woman loses her husband in a car accident. So, if we do this car crash it has to be the most devastating car crash ever seen on film. It’s the only time we can exaggerate in the movie.” The scene was shot on a remote highway outside of Shreveport with the help of veteran stunt coordinator Joel Kramer and co-coordinator Steven Ritzi.
Out of Order
One of the challenges in shooting a movie where the days are out of order is coming up with a shooting schedule that allows the actors to stay focused. Yapo had a clear idea on exactly where the actors were in the trajectory of the story.
“My main directive was to get a shooting schedule that was pretty much in the continuity of the movie, not a continuity of the shooting days. Bullock had an emotional line that she needed to follow. For example, in the bedroom she awakens six or seven times. We did not go into that bedroom for two days and shoot all the different wakeups.
That would have been fatal because we would have run out of ideas. You aren’t fresh anymore. So, we scheduled it where we could come back several times,” says Yapo.
It was a unique challenge for Bullock to keep her own linear life and Linda’s jumbled existence in the same mindframe, and even though Bullock had a script to consult and the character of Linda has a secret calendar she keeps, it was never easy. Says Bullock, “It was insanity. We had a really hard schedule, and it was pretty much a state of chaos. At one point I went to Mennan and said ‘I feel like I’m going insane.’ He said, ‘You need to be in this place. This is the character.’ I’m like, ‘Oh great.’ So it was really interesting for me to just let go and use the fact that I was so frustrated as Sandy trying to figure out this schedule, and then on a daily basis immerse myself into this woman’s life and unravel. There was a method to his madness, and I got to the very core of myself.”
Bullock knows it’s those scenes of internal terror that are as effective as any surface surprises in a classic psychological thriller. “Everyone’s fascinated by the breakdown of the mind. Is she crazy? Is everyone else crazy? That sort of film. But when those films are lacking in emotion, lacking a grounding story, they don’t work. If there’s a story that is very real, I think it makes everyone on edge in a good way. Maybe this will scare everyone into living their life.”
Ultimately, what everyone involved wanted to create was a gripping, suspenseful and emotional experience. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to become a director,” says Yapo. “To entertain people and take them on a ride. I want audiences to follow Linda on her journey and say wow, this could happen to me. It’s why psychological thrillers are interesting, because they’re about people, and what’s in their mind.”
Producer Ashok Amritraj loves the idea of giving moviegoers a trip that not only leads them along, but continually overturns their expectations: “You unravel the mystery a little bit, then there’s another layer, and another layer. You’re thrown a curveball often through this movie, and today I think the atmosphere is right for that kind of thriller.”
And who’s to say premonitions don’t exist? Throughout the centuries there have been reported cases of women with this particular foretelling gift. Many of the cast and crew told tales of their premonitions, the most interesting being Kate Nelligan’s, “I did believe long after I should have that I would have a child and he was exactly as I saw him,” recalls Nelligan. “I saw what he would look like in various stages of his life, and that is exactly what he looks like. Actually, it was a dream. The happiest dream I ever had and it was absolutely accurate.”
Premonition (2007)
Directed by: Mennan Yapo
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Jeff Galpin, Nia Long, Amber Valletta, Marcus Lyle Brown, Shyann McClure, Kate Nelligan, Irene Ziegler, Courtney Taylor Burness
Screenplay by: Bil Kelly
Production Design by: J. Dennis Washington
Cinematography by: Torsten Lippstock
Film Editing by: Neil Travis
Costume Design by: Jill M. Ohanneson
Set Decoration by: Raymond Pumilia
Art Direction by: Thomas T. Taylor
Music by: Klaus Badelt
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violent content, disturbing images, thematic material, brief language.
Distributed by: Sony TriStar Pictures
Release Date: March 16, 2007
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