Auto Focus : Production Notes


In 1996, writer Michael Gerbosi was working at Jerry's Deli. While he was out making deliveries one day, a customer named Todd Rosken mentioned that he needed to find a writer for a feature project based on the book The Murder of Bob Crane.

Together Rosken and Gerbosi bought the option, and began to flesh out the story in a treatment that had as its centerpiece Crane's involvement with Carpenter. "It's really a cautionary tale about celebrity and fame, because I think what got Bob into trouble was his ability to attract women just by virtue of being who he was," says Gerbosi.

Of course, as Gerbosi soon discovered, there's a world of difference between writing a treatment and actually getting someone in Hollywood to read it. "I pitched the idea for the movie around town and received the kind of response that crazy people get. " Undeterred, Gerbosi decided to approach Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the creative team behind "Ed Wood," "The People vs. Larry Flint" and "Man on the Moon. "

Despite their predilection for "making biopics about people living on the fringe of pop culture," Alexander and Karaszewski initially were underwhelmed by Crane's story. Explains Alexander, "When our agent called to say that Michael and Todd had purchased the rights to The Murder of Bob Crane, we just started laughing. But then we went back and forth with Michael on some treatments and found that we were inadvertently getting sucked into this weird world. "

Having agreed to come on board as producers, Alexander and Karaszewski worked with Gerbosi over the next year and a half to create a polished screenplay. "Our philosophy," says Alexander, "is that you take these stories about these fairly marginal, obsessive characters who are running totally counter to the grain of society, and you make a case for them. "

As he and Karaszewski went about trying to secure financing for the project, Alexander happened to read an interview with Greg Kinnear in the "Los Angeles Times" accompanied by a photo of the actor that looked for all the world like . . . Bob Crane. "Greg was talking about how he'd been cast in a lot of these light parts and how he wished people would look at him as a more serious actor capable of more challenging material, which is essentially the same thing that Bob says in the script. "

Not that the producers were indifferent to Kinnear's proven talent as a comedic leading man. Explains Karaszewski, "There's a very dark theme running through this film, but it's also quite humorous, and I think a lot of that is what Greg brings to it. He's got a great, light tone that makes the story not as scary as you might think it would be. "

That interplay of humor and darkness ultimately proved decisive for Kinnear, who leapt at the chance to portray one of his childhood idols. "Growing up, I watched 'Hogan's Heroes' religiously - Hogan was so cool because he knew how to deal with the Germans in such a funny and heroic way. But Bob Crane was like most people-complex, full of contradictions. And at some point, when his libido met up with his passion for photography, he had a difficult time keeping his appetites in check. "

As intriguing to Kinnear as Crane's obsessions was his symbiotic relationship with John Carpenter. "John's that person in your life that you may be much better off never having met. Had Bob not come across John when he did, he might have avoided slipping into that lifestyle. I think their union was the thing that powered Bob and at the same time was very hurtful to him. "

In addition to dyeing his hair black and wearing tinted contact lenses, Kinnear also poured through boxes of background material to get into character, including audio tapes of Crane's radio show, articles, family home movies and, of course, the infamous pornography tapes. "I'm trying to bring as much truth to the character as possible. I spoke to people involved in his life and familiarized myself with all of his shows. But at a certain point you have to let go and let the script speak for itself. "

With Kinnear on board, the producers set their sights on the man whose impressive career rests on the exploration of obsessive characters, from Travis Bickle ("Taxi Driver") to Wade Whitehouse ("Affliction"). "Paul Schrader has made a lot of great films that parallel this one in terms of obsession and addiction and falling into a black hole that you can't get yourself out of," explains Alexander. "We were hoping that putting Paul and Greg together, literally yin and yang, would make for a really dark, funny and challenging movie. "

As the producers had anticipated, Schrader was fascinated by the opposing forces at work in Crane's life. "I love people who do the right things for the wrong reasons and the wrong things for the right reasons. The interesting thing about Bob Crane is that all his life he wanted to be the nice guy, he didn't want to offend anyone, and all the while there's this tail growing behind him that he's trying to ignore. "

Like Kinnear, Schrader also found a wealth of dramatic potential in the Crane-Carpenter dynamic, which he hoped to exploit by refocusing the screenplay. "The script that Michael wrote was a bit more of a straight biopic, but underneath was a very interesting relationship between these two men. In the course of rewriting, I tried to make it more of a folie deux, a story about the enabling power of certain friendships that allow you to do things you wouldn't do on your own. "

To ensure that Crane's life was depicted as accurately as possible, Schrader consulted with Bob Crane, Jr. , who served as a technical advisor. "Paul and I literally covered every page. We went through names, places, dialogue-my father would have said this, he wouldn't have said that. So I have good feelings about the film because it captures both his good and bad sides. "

Having fleshed out the emotional tension behind the film's primary relationship, Schrader then hit on a casting idea that ensured it would translate to the screen. "One day I was looking at photos of Carpenter and it occurred to me that he looked like Willem Dafoe. So I thought, why not cast him, that would be simple because he's a personal friend as well, so it makes the work very easy. "
For his part, Dafoe jumped at the chance to reteam with Schrader, with whom he had collaborated previously on "Affliction" and "Light Sleeper. " "Paul is someone I feel really comfortable with because I trust his personal stake in telling these stories. So even if I don't immediately relate to the material, listening to him talk about it usually sparks my interest. "

When it came to Carpenter and his relationship to Crane, however, Dafoe didn't require any convincing. "Some of the material read like little domestic scenes, except that they were between two heterosexual men who had this intimacy and dependency on each other. In looking at footage of John during the time he was on trial (for Crane's murder in 1992), my sense is that he had the personality of a salesman-well-meaning, warm, upbeat. I think his creativity was expressed in his social dealings and in his relations with lots of different women. "

The pairing of Dafoe and Kinnear, so markedly dissimilar in appearance and bearing, brought an added touch of verisimilitude to the project. "Greg and I are coming from different places," says Dafoe, "and I think that's what makes it a good combination, much in the same way that Bob and John are coming from different places. " Adds Schrader, "Greg has the breeziness and the air of Los Angeles, while Willem's roots and creative life are in New York experimental theatre, so it's a nice mix. "

For the role of Anne Crane, to whom Bob was married for 21 years, the filmmakers approached actress Rita Wilson, who was intrigued by the film's complex themes. "One of the interesting things about the movie is that it examines the bi-products of celebrity. I think that starting out, Bob and Anne probably thought, 'Isn't it great to get a job in Hollywood. ' But no one can really predict how someone will react to fame. "

To prepare for the part, Wilson took advantage of Anne Crane's offer to meet with her. "When there's an opportunity to meet the person you're playing, you have to decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. In this case I thought it would be beneficial because Anne has a certain elegance and integrity that I really wanted to communicate. "

Unlike Wilson, actress Maria Bello ("Permanent Midnight," "Coyote Ugly") didn't have the benefit of meeting with her real-life counterpart, Crane's second wife Patricia, who chose not to participate in the project. Fortunately, she found plenty of detail in the script from which to work. "Patricia is a very clearly defined in the writing. From the beginning you get the sense that she's a free spirit - she's real and funny and alive. "

That sense of openness extended into the couple's sex life, which Bello approached with typical candor. "I have one or two scenes that are a little edgy and that require nudity, but it doesn't really bother me because it's reflective of the times, which were free love, free body. I love that we're all bringing that to the project as actors, that we're not judging it by contemporary standards of morality. "

Once the cast was in place, Schrader and his production team set about trying to recreate the Los Angeles of the period, not an easy task given that many of the actual locations have long since disappeared. Says line producer Alicia Allain, "Digital Film Lab really got behind the picture and helped us recreate the Sunset Strip using CGI. We were able to get in touch with the woman whose late husband owned the Classic Cat. She found a picture of the club and from that we made a model to recreate it digitally. "

Creative license was required for the interiors as well, which included not only the clubs, but also the myriad hotels in which Crane and Carpenter videotaped their liaisons. "The owners of The Deep on Hollywood and Vine are friends of mine, so they let us come in and shoot under the radar," explains Allain. "And we used the Ambassador Hotel downtown as a stand-in for Salome's and the Classic Cat. Our designers did a great job of taking these dilapidated old rooms and really making them come to life. "

As luck-and the Internet-would have it, the production team was able to procure enough vintage video equipment to recreate Crane's expansive collection. Says Allain, "We went online and found a man in San Jose who offered to donate a bunch of great, old cameras. Then we got the first color projector that Sony manufactured from someone in Tucson. "

With its emphasis on the devolution of Crane's personal life, "Auto Focus" necessitated a very specific visual palette to create a palpable sense of degeneration. Explains Schrader, "The idea was to slowly degrade the quality of the film, but to do it in such a way that the exact moment of change would be imperceptible to the audience. Then it was just a matter of mapping out the various stages in that arc and how they pertained to color, lighting, camera work and wardrobe. "

For the latter element, Schrader turned to frequent collaborator Julie Weiss, who takes a decidedly philosophical view of her craft. "To dress these people, you still ask the same questions you would for a contemporary piece, because ultimately, no matter what my interests as a designer, the costumes have to evolve into clothing. So I go through each character and say, who do they get dressed for, what is their income, how innovative are they, do they want to be seen, and so on. "

As Weiss saw it, even as their private life crumbled, Bob and Anne Crane remained pillars of conservatism. "Bob was a man of image, so he dressed as the public expected. He wore alpaca sweaters, knit shirts, khaki pants and then slowly swung over into polyester pants, nylon print shirts and wide loafers. He was not someone who was supposed to set a visual precedent, which is why his lifestyle was so irreconcilable with the way he looked. Patty, on the other hand, had a certain domestic responsibility, so she dressed for her husband and to set an example for her children. And whatever was going on in her life, she had that front that preceded her. "

If there was one character whose costumes embodied the freewheeling spirit of the early '70s, it was Patty. Explains Weiss, "The times evolved into more of a celebration and more of a dressing that was consistent with the mood, and that's what Patty represents. Still, her clothes weren't intended to show cleavage or skin; but there's a languid quality that allows her to be free and to enrapture. "

With all of the design elements in place, Schrader turned to veteran cinematographer Fred Murphy ("The Mothman Prophecies," "October Sky") to fill out the film's unique aesthetic. By using a shifting pattern of films stocks, developing techniques and lighting set-ups, the Director of Photography was able to visually mirror Crane's inner devolution. "Paul wanted the beginning to look bright and clear, like a Technicolor movie, so we used a very rich, saturated film stock and open shadows. Then, as Bob starts going to the strip clubs, the film becomes much darker and full of contrast, which we achieved with brighter bulbs and by switching to a higher speed stock. And for the scene where Bob's body is discovered, which bookends the movie, we used a full skip bleach process on the negative to give it a burnt out, monochromatic feel. "

"My visual strategy was rather simplistic," says Schrader, "but I think it's effective. It is just an arc from clean lines to clutter, an arc from stable cinematography to shaky cinematography. An arc from saturated color to desaturated color. So it's just a whole gradual arc, the world becoming less stable, less predictable. "

The film's changing tone also allowed Schrader, for the first time in his long career, to experiment with a hand-held camera. "I started off shooting the way I always have, which is cut-to-cut, organized, planned. But then we progressed into scattergun shooting, where you just fire away with the hand-held and then clean it up in the editing room.

For the scenes involving Crane and Carpenter's videotaped liaisons, Schrader and Murphy got a hold of a very old tube camera similar to the one Crane had, which they used side by side with a standard camera. "It turned out a truly bad image-blurry and murky, with a lot of ghosting," says the D. P. "And we put a diffusion filter on it to make it even worse, because we didn't want the audience to see the images clearly. "

For the film's score, Schrader collaborated with with Angelo Badalamenti ("Twin Peaks," "Mulholland Drive"), with whom he had previously teamed on "The Comfort of Strangers," "Witch Hunt" and "Forever Mine. " "So far," says Schrader, "Angelo and I have collaborated on one jazz, and two classic old-time film scores. I think of all the scores I've done with Angelo, this one would be closer to the thing he's known for, which is the kind of David Lynch synth score. It is a mixture of jazz and synth. "

That the filmmakers were able to achieve so much within the span of a tight, 33-day shooting schedule is, according to Allain, a testament to Schrader's meticulous preparation and collaborative style. "Paul is very precise, knows when he has the shots and understands the restraints of the budget. At the same time, he's very fair and likes to listen to his support team and make his determinations from that. "

Author : © Sony Pictures Classics