Looking down into a massive water tank meant to mimic the depths of the Straits of Florida, director Chai Vasarhelyi watched Annette Bening swim across its length and back again. Bening spent a year training to swim at a world-class level in order to play the long-distance champion Diana Nyad. The believability of the biopic hinged on her stroke being effortless—and on her ability to spend up to six hours filming in unheated water. Until that first swim, all Vasarhelyi could do was hope it would come together. “When she first got in the water, I felt a sense of relief, a sense of awe,” she remembers. “It was one of those wondrous things.”
Codirecting Nyad, with her husband Jimmy Chin, required Vasarhelyi to plunge herself into a new world. The couple is known for high-octane films, like their Academy Award–winning 2018 documentary, Free Solo. Filming a biopic gave them a different set of skills: Rehearsals with actors, visual effects, and stunts were all things they’d never dealt with before.
Denne historien er fra December 2023/January 2024-utgaven av ELLE US.
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Denne historien er fra December 2023/January 2024-utgaven av ELLE US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Mikey MADISON
With her breakout role as a sex worker, the Anora stay learned much more than how to dance.
What a Trip DREWSTARKEY
Along with his capital-Pperformance as bad guy Rafe in Outer Banks, Drew Starkey has scored his big movie break. He tells us about his buzzy role in Queer, based on the William S. Burroughs novel.
Demi MOORE
The Substance star has reached a State of enlightenment.
Cynthia ERIVO
For the Nicked star, every character is achance to know herself more deeply.
Karla Sofia GASCON Selena GOMEZ.&Zoe SALDANA
Three very different actresses found sisterhood and career-transforming rolesin Emilia Pérez.
Saoirse RONAN
The Irish actress became an unlikely American everygirl. But at 30, she's ready to paint with a darker palette.
Danielle DEADWYLER
The Piano Lesson star is highlighting Black history through her film roles.
Julianne MOORE & Tilda SWINTON
For these two Oscar winners, a long-hoped-for collaboration in The Room Next Door feels meant to be.
IN THE LAND OF WOMEN
With The Room Next Door, Pedro Almodóvar tackles a new language, but his ability to translate the experience of women remains rock solid.
In the Public Eye
When Shiori Ito's sexual assault investigation was dropped. she de the camera on herself to find justice.
