Frances McDormand And Joel Coen Talking Movies
This video just dives into the Q&A part of a screening where we immediately get them talking about the Coen Brothers' classic, Fargo. It's a movie packed with unique dialogue, punctuated by pregnant pauses and the now-iconic "yahs."
Joel Coen revealed that these weren't improvisational quirks but were meticulously scripted, creating a "musical score" that defined the film's rhythm. He humorously recalled that many Minnesotans, while not recognizing the speech pattern in themselves, would often say, "I don't talk like that, but I know people who do".
As someone who is married to a Minnesotan, I can confirm this is true.
A Response to a Cultural Movement
Frances McDormand then shared her personal connection to the film Women Talking, which she stars in.
She explained that the novel was sent to her by a colleague. She started reading it in the wake of the Me Too movement, and found it to be a powerful tool for processing her own feelings about the cultural conversation.
McDormand was particularly drawn to the way the story portrayed a community of women who, after experiencing trauma, engaged in a nuanced debate about how to move forward.
The Three Acts of Filmmaking
The Coens and Frances McDormand have been around for a long time, making some of the greatest movies we've ever seen.
Joel Coen shed light on his and his brother's filmmaking journey for each of their movies, which he divides into three distinct acts.
The first is the solitary act of writing, a process he likens to that of a novelist or painter. They sit there and just work out the story together.
This is followed by the "extremely fraught and large social construct" of production, an intense and collaborative period on set. You shoot the movie and work with the actors, trying to make what you put on the page.
Finally, there is the more relaxed and structured environment of the editing room, which he humorously compares to a "bank," with regular hours and less pressure than other filmmakers might experience.
For Coen, it is the ever-changing nature of these phases that keeps him engaged and passionate about his craft.
On-Set Laughter
In the final portion of the video, McDormand adds a lighthearted anecdote about her and Coen's on-set dynamic, admitting they are "notorious" for laughing and ruining sound takes when a scene is going particularly well.
Those takes are the joyous times ot be on set, and it sounds like they'd be fun to work with, regardless.
Summing It All Up
I love small videos like this. They range in topics, and you get a lot of cool anecdotes and can dig deeper into process and the origins of movies.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
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