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Hot on the heels of the announcement of this year’s Academy Award nominations, Best Picture contender “The Revenant” is rife with interesting, behind the scenes trivia. A tale of survival and revenge, here are eight facts you may (or may not) have heard about the film.
1. LEONARDO DICAPRIO’S CHARACTER GETS MAULED BY A BEAR.
While the bear itself was a fully rendered CGI creation by visual effects company ILM, everyone is buzzing about just how realistic it actually is. Apparently director Alejandro G. Inarritu spent days studying behavioral patterns of the fearsome beasts and even consulted “Grizzly Man” director Werner Herzog in an attempt to come up with a fresh approach to directing that scene.
2. EXCEPT FOR ONE SCENE, THE ENTIRE FILM WAS SHOT IN NATURAL LIGHT.
While this wasn’t a cinematic first (early silent films utilized sunlight to such an extent that soundstages would rotate to follow the position of the sun. And Stanley Kubrick had developed a high iso film for the lamp-free “Barry Lyndon”), Director of Photography Emmanuel Lubezki used light sensitive Arri Alexa 65 digital cameras and fast lenses with a large depth of field. Even thoughoriginally wanted to shoot on film, he found that digital technology was better under extreme low light conditions. However, there was one scene (and only one scene) where light bulbs were used to offset the unwanted effect of campfire flames. According to Lubezki, the wind was causing the fire to pulse in distracting ways and this was the only solution he could come up with.
Director Alejandro G. Inarritu and lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Photo credit: Kimberley French/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
3. IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT SHOOT.
Last year The Hollywood Reporter detailed the extreme weather conditions while addressing accusations that Inarritu was a very difficult director to work with. Actors were forced to drop other projects due the increasingly extended shooting schedule, the project was put on hold for a six-week hiatus as producer Jim Skotchdopole was apparently “barred from the set” and Innarritu needed time to find his replacement. According to Inarritu, “but as a director, if I identify a violin that is out of tune, I have to take that from the orchestra.” In fact, there were many crew defections and dismissals throughout the duration of the production. Plus: snow. Production was initially set to shoot in Canada. Once Calgary got too warm (and the snow began to melt), they packed up and moved to Argentina. But Inarritu remained undeterred. In the article he states, “when you see the film you will see the scale of it. And you will say ‘wow!'” Although reports say the film went way over budget (some estimates are over $100,000,000), Inarritu felt he was on top of it, responding with “I’m absolutely, even stupidly conscious about it.”
4. SOME PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN SERIOUSLY HURT
As a sort of “part two” to fact numero three, not only was “The Revenant” a difficult movie to shoot, but, like, some people were put in serious harm’s way. Notwithstanding the borderline hypothermia experienced by the cast (see fact #8), according to the same Hollywood Reporter article, an actor was dragged naked along the ground during the lensing of an outdoor battle scene that got quickly out of control (it grew from the use of 30 extras to 200). However, Inarritu denies that the actor was in any sort of danger. “I asked him several times, ‘Are you fine?’ ” Inarritu is quoted as saying. Apparently the actor responded with “I’m fine” everytime. “I was super considerate because he was a nice, 22-year-old guy,” says the director. Although crew members claim the actor was in pain, the article has Inarritu dismiss this by saying, “it’s a lie.”
5. “THE REVENANT” WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO STAR SAMUEL JACKSON.
When development of “The Revenant” began way back in 2001, “Pulp Fiction” star Samuel Jackson was set to play the lead with Korean Park Chan-wook attached to direct. The project then fell into the hands of director John Hillcoat and actor Christian Bale. Inarritu didn’t sign on until the summer of 2011.
6. ” THE REVENANT” IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Hugh Glass was a real-life frontiersman living in post-colonial America. He was a fur trapper, trader, and explorer who lived from 1780 to 1833. Historical accounts claim that Glass did actually survive a bear attack and was left for dead. He then trekked 200 miles to Fort Kiowa after being abandoned by members of an expedition.
Richard Harris as Hugh Glass in “Man in the Wilderness.” Warner Home Video.
7. “THE REVENANT” IS NOT THE FIRST FILM ADAPTATION OF THE HUGH GLASS STORY.
Nope. That would be 1971’s “Man in the Wilderness” starring Richard Harris and directed by Richard C. Sarafian.
8. LEONARDO DICAPRIO EATS RAW BISON LIVER ON CAMERA (AMONG OTHER UNENDURABLE THINGS).
The Oscar-nominated actor was given the option of either eating a fake liver made of jelly or the real deal. For the sake of verisimilitude (or something like that), DiCaprio affirmed his dedication to the role by consuming the real deal. But that sounds like the least of his challenges on set. In an interview with Yahoo! Movies, DiCaprio states, “I can name 30 or 40 sequences that were some of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. Whether it’s going in and out of frozen rivers, or sleeping in animal carcasses, or what I ate on set. [I was] enduring freezing cold and possible hypothermia constantly.”
