On the set with the stars: how I taught DiCaprio to speak Russian and why I avoid Jennifer Lopez
'30.03.2021'
Source: Cinema Wine and Domino
My name is Tatyana Rodina, I am the author YouTube channel "Kino Vino and Domino", I work in the American film industry and I will talk a lot of interesting and unusual about how American film is shot. So to speak, an inside look. And I will also share my impressions of the Hollywood stars with whom I was lucky to work.
I'll tell you about how I worked with Leonardo DiCaprio and other Hollywood stars. I ran into DiCaprio at the very beginning of my acting career. I took part in the filming of The Wolf of Wall Street twice. In one scene, we portrayed stock exchange workers - selling, buying, the viewer heard an incredible noise on the screen, but in reality everything was filmed in perfect silence. One scene was without Leonardo, we all shouted something in it, in particular I shouted: “Million dollars! Buy! For sale! " And the second scene was almost at the very end of the film, when the hero is giving a lecture.
She was filmed in Manhattan, in a huge hotel room. There were rows of chairs - it was an audience that listened to a billionaire sharing his experience. Our role was that we sat and listened to him. I was put closer to him - the fifth or sixth row. I was on the edge when he walked off the stage to the director Scorsese, all the while passing by me.
It was a 17 hour day of shooting. The first few hours each time it was like this: “Ah! Leonardo DiCaprio! ”, And for the last three hours it was like this:“ Ah ... again Leonardo DiCaprio ... ”The seat itself was so exhausted that nothing was of interest - even the great actor who was next to you.
But I'll tell you in essence. It was 2012 - DiCaprio looked fantastic! So beautiful that you look at him like a painting. He is very charming and charismatic, I heard that he is very arrogant. I noticed this a little: when he was acting out the scene, they said: “Cut”, he always went to Scorsese to see how he played. Scorsese sat in the back at the very end. And across this huge hall, DiCaprio walked there. Many drew attention to this - not just how a person walks, but literally with his nose up. But he played brilliantly.
I probably reviewed all the films in which he played - there is absolutely nothing to complain about. He plays great, and I don't understand why he was not given an Oscar for so long.
I remember we came to shoot at 4: 30 in the morning, started shooting hours at 7 in the morning, and at about 12 we were given a break. Usually it lasts half an hour or an hour, but we sat for three. Everyone drew attention to this: the film crew went back and forth idle. It turned out that Scorsese went to his trailer for a nap, because an elderly person needs a break from work. Then he came back, and we started working again.
And here I am sitting in the corridor, charging my phone (right on the floor). When Leonardo DiCaprio went to the toilet, security was always with him - she went there first, the actor followed her, and then no one was allowed into the toilet. Fortunately, he did not stay there for a long time, and the whole procession returned back. On one of these trips, he went with an assistant. I heard him walking and trying to say the word "Azerbaijan". And he doesn't succeed. I instantly understand that this is my chance!
I sit with the phone, raise my eyes and say very loudly: "Azerbaijan!" He looks at me and says, “How did you say this? Are you from there? " - “How did you say that? Are you from there? "
I replied that I am from the Soviet Union, and Azerbaijan is a former socialist republic. In general, I try to spell this word for him, but he does not succeed, especially “jan”. He cannot pronounce it, he sounds in every way: both "jiyan" and "zhan", whatever, but not our way. He tried to say it several times, in the end he waved his hand, smiled and went. We had such a two-minute conversation.
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It was very pleasant that, firstly, they did not shoot me - it’s forbidden to come close to such actors, especially since they should say something. They didn’t fire me, they didn’t expel me from the casting agency and I had such a short conversation. And, guys, I’ll tell you: you can lose consciousness when you look into his eyes and this person looks into your eyes and smiles. And I was just starting to work, I recently arrived, got to the shooting of such a film and immediately saw a mega actor, and even talked to him! It was possible to lose consciousness. I don’t know how to convey this feeling: I remember when he left, I sat on the floor with this phone and for another 5 minutes I had a state of euphoria. Then, of course, I quickly posted it all on Facebook, my journalist friend wrote about it. And then I took a picture of Leonardo DiCaprio, although this is strictly forbidden, but I took a photo right on the set. Here it is:
The next actor I want to talk about is Jon Voight, Angelina Jolie's dad. I worked with him for four days. Despite the fact that he is already over 80, he is a world man with a great sense of humor. We worked on the series "Ray Donovan", it was filmed in New York. He is one of the main characters there. In the story, the heroes rob a regular bus, Vojta's character and his relative. During the break, I took a photo of my friend, who is very similar to Angelina Jolie, went up to him and said: “John, look, this is my friend. She looks a lot like your daughter. ”
He replies: “Oh! Wow! Where is she?" I explained that my friend lives in Moscow. Voight asked: “Does she want to come here?”, To which I replied that she doesn't want to be the second Jolie in America. And we started communicating with him.
They talked about everything. He told how he was in Moscow, how he flew to Kiev, what adventures happened to him. We also shared something with him. 20 minutes we just talked during the break. Naturally, I did not miss the moment and asked me to take a picture with him - Voight did well, but I didn’t. And not a single assistant approached us, drove us away, we had nothing for it.
I think it all depends on the actor himself. If he does not set a strict framework, then communication is possible even on the set, and you will not be punished for this.
The opposite situation with Jennifer Lopez. It seems to me that she gave clear instructions to everyone so that they would not even look at her.
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When the series "Shades of Blue" was filmed here, I worked there a couple of times and didn't want to. The attitude was just awful. We were even warned not to face her with our eyes, not to look at her - how is that possible? She's incredibly beautiful. I understand that a lot of money is invested in the face and body, I want to look at it, but we were warned not to do it. Several times it happened by chance that I bumped into her eyes and smiled at her - she did not smile back at me. At all. It made me uneasy.
A well-known fact - each actor has stand-ins, these are people who do rehearsals for them. Jennifer Lopez on this series has changed 6 stand-ins, the girls were fired at a time. Someone is too beautiful, someone has more breasts than hers, and so on. Behind the scenes everyone was talking about it. I worked with her twice and there is no desire anymore.
I spent two years with Kevin Bacon on the set of Followers, and I even have a little episode of him. In the first season I played a journalist, in the second and the third I was taken to the core - this is when you constantly act in films and go there as if to work. I was an FBI agent, filmed all the scenes, it could be 3 times a week.
In the third season, at the very end, we somehow began to communicate with him. It is clear that I was the initiator. I googled and found out that he plays 7 instruments and he has his own band. I asked him if it was true. He said yes, and we began to communicate on occasion. Mostly I asked something, and he always answered. Then, when I came to the shooting and we ran into him, he smiled and asked how things were going.
As soon as I started to communicate with him more or less, the series was closed. There was no fourth season. But now the most interesting point. This year in one of the parts of the series “God Freed Me”, in which I worked, there was Bacon - it turned out that his wife was filming the film. I was wondering: will he know or not? In the last series, I was an FBI agent in a strict uniform, but here in an evening dress, with a beautiful haircut.
Can you imagine, to my wildest delight, when he met my eyes, he looked at me and smiled. He recognized me! When the scene ended, I approached him and we talked, although 4 of the year passed. It was unrealistically nice!
