Wednesday,December30,2015The Nugget Newspaper,Sisters,Oregon13
Filming ‘The Revenant’ was an epic challenge
By Jim Cornelius
News Editor
“The Revenant,” which
comestoSistersMovieHouse
on January 8, was inspired
bytheepicsagaofmountain
manHughGlass.Mauledby
a she-grizzlyin1823,Glass
wasleftfordeadandforced
tocrawlmorethan200miles
toafur-tradingoutpostonthe
MissouriRiver.
Filmingthatstorybecame
an epic in its own right.
AndJohnT.Connorwasan
integral part of a crew that
broughtthestorytoglorious
lifeonthescreen.Connor,the
sonofSistersresidentDiane
Goble,wasthe“focuspuller,”
or assistant cameraman, on
thearduousshoot.Hevisited
GobleinSistersthisweekand
sat down with The Nugget
atSistersCoffeeCo.tospin
a tale of rugged wilderness,
frayed tempers, and one of
thetoughestfilmshootsinthe
historyofthemedium.
“TheRevenant”isapas-
sionprojectofOscar-winning
directorAlejandroGonzález
Iñárritu. Everyone involved
inthepictureknewtheshoot
wasgoingtobeexacting—
bothintermsofmeetingthe
director’sartisticvisionandin
copingwithwildernesscondi-
tions.According to Connor,
therewasadeliberatemission
tomakethefilmingarduous,
epic—andlegendary.
“Thewholeideaofitwas
tough,” Connor told The
Nugget. “Everything around
themoviewastough.”
Tootoughformany.Some
gotfired;otherswalkedaway,
unabletocopewiththecon-
ditionsorafterbuttingheads
withthevisionarydirector.
“It was very grueling, to
saytheleast,”Connorsaid.
Connorcameonasfocus-
puller to replace someone
whohadleftthepicture.
Ittookalotofpersuading.
After a career that included
workonthefirst“StarTrek”
movie and the “Mission:
Impossible”franchise,hehad
taken the step up to direc-
tor of photography and was
notinterestedinreturningto
assistantstatus.Butthepro-
duction really needed him.
And they were willing to
meet his terms, because, as
heputit,“nooneintheworld
—the world—woulddothe
movie.”
Thefocuspullerisrespon-
sible for making sure every
shotinamovieisinperfect
focus.Itisprecise,exacting
work—andobviouslyarole
thatnoproductioncangetby
without.
Connor’s work started in
Vancouver,BritishColumbia
— in the rain.The unpleas-
antconditionstookatollon
equipment and personnel.
Starts
Friday
Fri., Jan. 1 – Thurs., Jan. 7
Dec. 31 / Thurs. / 9 PM
A Mardi Gras New Years
With Zydeco Virtuoso
Andre Thierry
& Zydeco Magic
If you like to dance, Andre
will have you moving
your feet all night long!
Joy (PG-13)
Fri 1:45, 4:30, 7:30
Sat 1:45, 4:30, 7:30
Sun 12:45, 3:30
Mon-Thurs 4:00, 6:45
The Big Short (R)
Fri 1:15, 4:15, 7:00
Sat 1:15, 4:15, 7:00
Sun 12:30, 3:15
Mon-Thurs 3:45, 6:30
Star Wars (PG-13)
Fri 1:00, 4:00, 7:15
Sat 1:00, 4:00, 7:15
Sun 12:00, 3:00
Mon-Thurs 3:30, 6:30
Jan. 19 / Tues. / 6 PM
January
Dinner Show
Save the date!
Jan. 22 / Fri. / 8 PM
Dennis McGregor
and The Spoilers
PUB OPENS ONE HOUR
PRIOR TO SHOWS
BelfryEvents.com
Call for Details
541-815-9122
Sisters (R)
Fri 2:00, 4:45, 7:30
Sat 2:00, 4:45, 7:30
Sun 12:45, 3:15
Mon-Thurs 4:15, 6:45
Movie times and titles are
bsite
subject to change. Visit we
n.
atio
rm
info
st
late
for
or call
WWW.SISTERS
MOVIEHOUSE.COM
541-549-8800
ThentheymovedtoCalgary,
Alberta—andwinterhit.
“The winter came really
hard,reallyfast,”hesaid.
“TheRevenant”wasshot
accordingtothechronology
of the story, not in different
pieces.Thatcausedhugecon-
tinuity problems when two
feet of snow fell overnight
betweendaysofshootingone
scene.
Then,afterdumpingsnow
onthemandplungingtemper-
aturesdowntoaslowas-29
degrees,winterabandonedthe
production.
“WecamebackinJanuary,
and it was the warmest
January and February on
record,”Connorrecalled.
Theproductionhadtoshut
downforthreemonths,then
headsouth—waysouth—to
filmtheendofthemoviein
southernArgentina.
Connor’s work was sig-
nificantly complicated by
the wilderness conditions.
Extremecoldmessedwiththe
focus point of lenses, so he
hadtoruntestsatnightafter
agruelingdayofshootingin
ordertodetermine
howtogetthecor-
rect focus on the
nextday’sshot.
And Iñárritu
insistedonshoot-
i n g t h e f i l m
entirelywithnatu-
rallight.
“That was a
huge pressure,”
Connorsaid.
The film crew
would drive for
an hour-and-a-
halftoaspotnear
the filming loca-
photo provided
tion, hike in with
The
Revenant
is
coming
to
Sisters.
their gear, set up,
rehearse and go
forashotinthenarrowwin- visuallystunningmasterpiece.
dow of opportunity Mother Thosewhohaveseenadvance
Nature provided. It didn’t screenings have been blown
alwaysworkout.Sometimes awaybytheshotsConnorand
theyjustcouldn’tmakeithap- therestofthecrewstruggled
pen—whichfeltlikeasting- sohardtoget.
“I get a text every day
ingdefeat.
“That happened a few from somebody just going,
times,whenwedidn’tgetthe ‘Wow!’”Connorsaid.
“ T h e R e v e n a n t ” i s
shot,”Connorsaid.
Yet all the hardship and Connor’s swan song as a
tumult has yielded a picture focuspuller.Itmayproveto
that is, by all accounts, a bealegendarysong,atthat.
ENTERTAINMENT . ARTS . SPECIAL . EVENTS
Wed.~Dec. 30
Black Butte Ranch Snowshoe
& Campfi re Adventure Tour
4 to 6:30 p.m. Free! Snowshoe
to a secret forest location for
a bonfi re, cocoa & s’mores!
Snowshoe rental available
at the Glaze Meadow Rental
Shop. Sign-up at 541-595-
5879. Limited to 20 people.
Black Butte Ranch Horse-
drawn Carriage Rides 11 a.m.
to 2:30 p.m. $9 per seat (kids
under 5 on laps free) includes
cocoa, coffee or hot cider at
the Lakeside Bistro. Call to
reserve at 541-595-1252.
Friday~Jan. 1
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Black Butte Ranch Horse-
drawn Carriage Rides 11 a.m.
Thursday~Dec. 31 to 2:30 p.m. $9 per seat (kids
under 5 on laps free) includes
Hardtails Bar & Grill 5th
Annual New Year’s Eve Bash cocoa, coffee or hot cider at
the Lakeside Bistro. Call to
featuring Live Music with
Tommy Hogan 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. reserve at 541-595-1252.
Don’t miss Hogan’s electric
Saturday~Jan. 2
blues. Never a cover! Free
champagne toast & balloon
Black Butte Ranch Horse-
drop at midnight. For additional drawn Carriage Rides 11 a.m.
information call 541-549-6114
to 2:30 p.m. $9 per seat (kids
or go to hardtailsoregon.com.
under 5 on laps free) includes
cocoa, coffee or hot cider at
The Belfry Mardi Gras New
the Lakeside Bistro. Call to
Year’s Eve with Andre
reserve at 541-595-1252.
Thierry & Zydeco Magic
9 p.m. An unparalleled musical
experience that will captivate
Sunday~Jan. 3
your soul! Doors open at
Aspen Lounge at the Lodge
7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25
at Black Butte Ranch Live
online at belfryevents.com
Music with Brendan Booher
or $30 at the door. For more
& Elisha Voetberg 6:30 to
info call 541-815-9122.
8:30 p.m. For additional
Hoodoo Annual New Year’s
information please call the
Eve Celebration 9 a.m. to
Lodge at 541-595-1260.
9 p.m. Followed by fi reworks
and live music until midnight!
Saturday~Jan. 9
For additional information go
online to skihoodoo.com or
Stitchin’ Post Preview Party!
call 541-822-3799. Ski report
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Come to the
number is 541-822-3337.
celebration and check out all
the class offerings for 2016!
Faith Hope & Charity
For additional information call
Vineyards New Year’s Eve
Celebration with Live Music 541-549-6061 or check out the
website at stitchinpost.com.
by CinderBlue 7 p.m. to
midnight. Five-course wine-
Deadline to submit items
paired dinner. $125 per person.
for the Events Calendar
21 and older, reservations
is
5 p.m. Fridays. Email
required. 541-526-5075 and
teresa@nuggetnews.com
faithhopeandcharityevents.com.
Monday~Jan. 11
Sisters High School BINGO
& Community Dinner! 5:30
to 6:30 p.m., dinner just $2 a
plate! BINGO at 6:30 p.m., 11
games for $15. Fundraiser for
SHS athletics. Great prizes!
Info: Tim Roth, 541-549-4050
or tim.roth@sisters.k12.or.us.
Saturday~Jan. 16
HarmonyHouse Live Music
with David Jacobs-Strain
& Bob Beach 8 p.m. (doors
open at 7 p.m.) at 17505
Kent Rd. Suggested donation
$20. A special evening with
David UNPLUGGED! BYOB
and a favorite snack to share
if desired. For additional
information call 541-548-2209.
Sisters Schools Sisters
Shootout Basketball
Tournament 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The annual tourney is for boys
& girls grades 5-8 from all
across Oregon. Presented
by Sisters Park & Recreation
District. For additional
information call 541-549-2091
or go to sistersshootout.com.
Sunday~Jan. 17
Sisters Schools Sisters
Shootout Basketball
Tournament 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The annual tourney is for boys
& girls grades 5-8 from all
across Oregon. Presented
by Sisters Park & Recreation
District. For additional
information call 541-549-2091
or go to sistersshootout.com.