Jim & Andy

There were a couple of things I hadn't realised when I wrote the Phantom Thread post. 

Firstly, Paul Thomas Anderson was not alone amongst this year's award contenders in choosing to shoot on film and do his bit to keep the medium alive. In fact, according to this blog, of the 9 films nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, 4 of them were shot entirely on film (Dunkirk on 65mm, Phantom Thread, Call Me By Your Name and The Post on 35mm) and two films nominated for Best Editing were partly shot on film (I, Tonya and Baby Driver).

Secondly, as is his way, Daniel Day Lewis chose to stay in character as Reynolds Woodcock throughout the Phantom Thread shoot. Vicky Krieps who plays Alma found it strange that the first time they met on set was during the first take of the first scene they shared together. It was interesting to read that she got sick of not being able to speak to him between set ups and ended up breaking protocol, knocking on his dressing room door and inviting herself in for tea, echoing the rebellious way her character reacts in the film when she tries to break Woodcock's routine by making him a surprise dinner. 

Actors who choose to go 'full method' can sometimes prove detrimental to the film making process as can be seen in the recent Netflix documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond that chronicles the shoot of Man on the Moon, Milos Foreman's Andy Kaufman biopic of 1998. Jim Carrey took the concept way too far, staying in character either as Kaufman or his alter ego Tony Clifton (above) and causing all kinds of mayhem on set; getting drunk, crashing cars, wrestling with his co-stars, refusing to answer to the name Jim and generally being a massive pain in the arse to the whole cast and crew and poor old Milos. The backstage footage is amazing and the behind the scenes documentary is actually far more entertaining to watch than the finished film.