What is the biggest struggle when it comes to production? I recently listened to an interview with Ari Aster where he discussed the behind-the-scenes journey to filming Eddington. There are many points he touched about the film, one of which I find is most likely relevant for most writers is that when the pandemic was in full effect, he moved back home to New Mexico and revisited his first draft of EDDINGTON, a draft he says is very different from the end product. He also mentioned that they started scouting in Mexico in hopes of finding somewhere to film that looks like New Mexico and soon realized Mexico looked drastically different from New Mexico and settled for the first town they found, Truths and Consequences, NM (he explained a fun backstory to this town's namesake). Though they were reluctant to film in this town due to the fact it would be more expensive.
What I find most interesting and believe is the most productive luck magic is the fact that they spoke to many people in NM and interviewed a bunch of sheriffs, eventually finding one sheriff, who Aster and Joaquin Phoenix would draw inspiration from.
I find that at the independent level, these stories are much more common but can produce a highly successful end product. What kind of miracles have you encountered when shooting your films? Do these stories resonate with out, and if so, what do stories like this offer for you as a filmmaker?
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What I find stunning about creative processes in general is how unpredictable events or things that happen accidently while creating, often lead to magical solutions. We probably wouldn't use certain elements and effects in film and music today if it weren't for someone accidentally pressing the wrong button at the wrong moment while recording — and somehow creating magic.
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I find the biggest struggle is finding actors that can do a story justice.
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True filmmaking is all in your mind before it hits paper or even a lens.