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WEDNESDAY,AUGUST 26, 2020 :: LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR

MOVIE REVIEW Ethan Take Hawke me out sparks to the ‘Tesla’ e-ball biopic game ‘Blaseball’ is the new ’s word-of-mouth unconventional film baseball-inspired gives the pioneering video game hit. scientist his due. TODD MARTENS GAME CRITIC VICTORY JUSTIN CHANG Melanie Ramos rolls for the opening credits on July 5, a few days after rain canceled a first attempt. FILM CRITIC Baseball right now is weird. The past few years have It’s nice, of course, for brought a fresh resurgence fans to have something to of interest in the life and lega- watch, but with empty stadi- cy of , the popu- ums, games postponed be- larity of an Elon Musk elec- cause of players becoming tric car being only the best- sick with COVID-19 and au- known example. You can diences represented either find Tesla’s tall, dark-suited by cardboard cutouts or vir- frame and mustachioed tual avatars, something feels frown in graphic novels and ... off. video games; you can hear But thereis a version of his innovations extolled in baseball that has taken the the lyrics of rock songs and summer by storm, an online even a 2018 stage musical. universe where teams such The movies have done as the Baltimore Crabs, the their part to exploit his con- Hades Tigers and the siderable mystique without Charleston Shoe Thieves necessarily drawing him in seem as popular and hated from the sidelines: David as the Dodgers, Yankees or Bowie played him as the the Cubs, complete with fan- drollest of enigmas in “The run Twitter accounts and Prestige” (2006), and Nicho- social media feeds that act las Hoult gave us a peek at as fictional news networks. Tesla the wily young upstart It’s weird, yes. Umpires in “The Current War” (2017 ). have the seemingly unpre- You could say that his- dictable ability to disinte- tory itself consigned Tesla to grate players with their eyes. asubordinate role, that of The woeful Los Angeles Ta- the tragically thwarted ge- cos are currently without a nius —remembered as much city, as the team appears for his lopsided rivalry with SET SAFETY trapped in multiple dimen- Thomas Edison and his ill- Director Betty Kaplan on set with actor Esai Morales, who is unmasked to shoot a scene. sions; and peanuts — or a fated dealings with various peanut — may or may not titans of industry as for his have deity-like abilities. groundbreaking advances in With no advertising and the study of electrical power no real graphics to speak of, and wireless communica- the free, Web-browser-based tions. “Blaseball” has become so In their quietly entranc- popular that its creators, ing new drama, “Tesla,” writ- L.A.-based game studio the er-director Michael Alme- Game Band, had to hit the reyda and his star, Ethan pause button and figure out Hawke, have conspired to away to regroup (just under give this Serbian-born, 1,500 donors support the American-made visionary game on crowd-funding site his cinematic due. Their aim, Patreon). It also gives those superficially stated, is to illu- who aren’t playing a chance minate how a turn-of-the- to partake in “Blaseball’s” century iconoclast managed fourth season, which began to anticipate and revolution- Monday. Each season lasts ize a future that few of his only a week andbuilds upon contemporaries saw coming. the rule changes of the previ- But Almereyda, never ous one, meaning the under- one to embalm unconven- lying narrative of the tional minds in conventional “Blaseball” of today looks storytelling, has no interest different from the “Blase- in a mere recitation of his ball” of July, when it began. subject’s accomplishments. The core hook is that As in “Experimenter,” his players pick a favorite team, aptly titled, thrillingly un- follow them, bet on them orthodox portrait of the so- and use their fictional win- cial psychologist Stanley nings to vote on elections — Milgram, he infuses classical successful ones generally narrative with an invigorat- Photographs by Laura T Magruder garner more than 10,000 ing formal playfulness. NIGHT SHOOT votes — that changes the If “Tesla” emerges a re- Director of photography Sonnel Ve lazquez gets a shot on the set of “Simone” in San Juan, Puerto Rico. outcome of future seasons. markably intuitive match of While this work clearly filmmaker, actor and sub- comes from pandemic-chal- ject, it is one that took its lenged imaginations, its idea time coming together. Alme- was seeded in a prior base- reyda wrote the script dec- ball season during a playoff ades ago (Polish filmmaker game at Dodger Stadium, Jerzy Skolimowski was eye- when two anchors of the ing it in the early ’80s), ‘MAGIC Game Band asked them- though it wasn’t until re- selves what would happen if cently that the stars aligned baseball could break free and the financing was ac- from its “chains of tradition quired. and history.” There is nothing new “It was a pretty big about the challenges of game,” says Joel Clark, a bankrolling an intelligent Game Band designer and drama for discerning adults HAPPENS’ Dodgers fan who went to the or about the oversights of a postseason bout with studio film industry where poten- founder Sam Rosenthal. tially great projects can lan- “But we sat there the guish for years. But they are An inside look at film production during a pandemic whole time and riffed on the especially worth noting in rules of baseball, and how it the case of “Tesla,” which is, could be different. It’s a in more than one sense, a BY JEN YAMATO >>> Betty Kaplan was nine days away from wrapping her latest film [See ‘Blaseball,’ E2] movie about the uneven dis- tribution of power. It’s the when COVID-19 prompted closures in Puerto Rico in March, halting her production with story of a stubborn, uncom- no guarantees of when it could resume. Tears were shed. Someone passed around a bottle [See ‘Tesla,’ E3] of vodka. The future of the movie was suddenly thrust into question, but Kaplan, the writ- Harnessing the er-director behind literary adaptations “Of Love and Shadows” and “Doña Bárbara,” was mystery of trills no stranger to perseverance. What to listen for in Franz Schubert’s She’d spent seven years fighting to get her fifth feature, “Simone,” made, navigating fi- extraordinary 21st nancing setbacks, false starts and, in 2019, her own cancer battle. Adapted from Eduardo sonata. E6 Lalo’s award-winning novel of the same name, it had finally gone into production in San A film and TV Juan, where Lalo’s tale of a university professor entangled with a mysterious admirer is set actress in 1950s and where the New Yo rk-born, Caracas-raised Kaplan is now based. Lori Nelson, who worked with James That afternoon in March, on Day 13 of the shoot, she gathered her crew and cast, led by Stewart and Jerry Esai Morales and “Tigertail” actress Kunjue Li, and delivered the news: The entire island Lewis, has died. E6 Cara Howe IFC Films was shutting down. Comics ...... E4-5 stars What’s on TV ...... E6 in the biopic “Tesla.” “There’s a line in the film the [protagonist] says: ‘We’re on a voyage [See ‘Simone,’ E2] E2 WEDNESDAY,AUGUST26, 2020 LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR Filming during a time of pandemic

[‘Simone,’ from E1] master, two shots and close- to where there are no ups, and then do the scene maps,’” Kaplan said from prior to the party outside in her home last month, where the writer’s car. Our trans- after finishing the film under port team had studied and COVID-19 guidelines she is gotten their authorization to now in post-production, disinfect cars. Our editor working virtually with an Luis Colina had sent the L.A.-based editor. “That line edited scene so we could all has become where we all match, tone, texture, move- are.” ments and wardrobe. In June, after a three- “We shot the missing month hiatus, “Simone” be- scene. Then moved on to do came just the second U.S. asmall scene without ac- production allowed to shoot tors.” amid the pandemic, the film- makers say. With strict new Day 4 | July 5 health and safety processes Masks were required on in place, Kaplan and her set, though the actors could crew finished their shoot and remove theirs to shoot. “Ev- wrapped in July, without a ery four hours, we had to single case of COVID-19. stop,” Kaplan said of in- “I don’t think I’ve ever creased protocols. “And we made a film that’s had this coordinated it so I would be much magic happen,” Kap- blocking the actors while the lan said, “in more ways than camera crew was disinfect- one.” ing the cameras.” Morales had long been at- tached to star as a writer and “Call is 6 a.m. in the mid- professor who enters into an dle of the financial zone of intriguing relationship with San Juan. You could call it an aspiring artist, played by Puerto Rico’s Wall Street. Li, in the Santurce neighbor- We had wanted to do the hood of San Juan. Kaplan scene in the middle of decided to film in reverse Laura T Magruder Muñoz Rivera, the main chronology, a choice that BACK TO WORK street running between all would prove fortuitous as it Production resumes June 30 on “Simone” in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with safety protocols in place on set. the iconic buildings, but meant intimate character could not get the permis- scenes had already been sion. However, I had a little completed. ing in the age of coronavirus: limited to those authorized shooting the opening of the serpent in ‘Blade Runner,’ card up my sleeve: a side While waiting for the go- protective gear and social within each zone. Cast and film, with Esai Morales as who had the courage and street with the most iconic ahead to resume production, distancing measures on set, crew members had their the writer and Melanie guts to come out here and view of all. Kaplan worked virtually on testing and contact tracing temperatures taken, and Ramos as the little friend was perfect. The [crafts] “The drone operator and an animated sequence for for all, increased daily sani- they filled out question- skateboarder, and a cloud union rep of IATSE visited pilot were as excited as all the film, rewrote and con- tizing measures, additional naires for contact tracing. bursts over us. We decide we the set without our even the crew… a naked man face densed the rest of the script crew and, as a result, greater With a nightly curfew in will have to circle back on knowing about it… approved down in the financial district and finished scripting an un- constraints on time and place, the production had se- this scene, as we are running and suggested changes, to be seen from all high. related TV project. Mean- money. cured special clearance to out of time to accomplish which were immediately put Wardrobe is ready with while, Li returned to Los An- With extra work required film beyond the 10 p.m. cut- the big scene on the beach, into effect. towels, bathrobe and cups geles, while Morales stayed for COVID-19 protocols, 12- off. Kaplan’s diary described leaving the color chalk “Had to get another for the privates, as our actor, in Puerto Rico. hour days suddenly became the new reality. words of ‘San Juan, San COVID-19 molecular test, as abody double for Esai Mor- By the time production 10 -hour days, “so every take Juan’ disappearing in the did the actors and others in ales, and an actor in his own resumed, the pandemic had means something,” said Li. “It was to be a beautiful rain. my Zone A. Production right, Ely Cay, will be naked exploded — and so had anti- “We can’t ask for another day. We had beautiful scenes “Our island has been brought nurses to the set, so face down in a spread eagle Asian sentiment, spurred by take for everything. You’re to shoot. And it was our first declared in emergency due it saved time. position on the pavement. President Trump’s use of losing two hours a day, so es- day out of the gate, and we to a severe drought, and to “We did a lovely scene in a Pavement has been watered terms like “Wuhan virus.” Li, sentially you’re losing 12 were jumping for happiness, our surprise, it rains all day, doctor’s office, where the down and disinfected. who is from China and based hours a week. You’re losing all COVID-19 free. forcing us to shoot between characters talk about love “Later, the sun drilling in L.A., encountered this un- one shooting day per week, “We listened carefully to raindrops. But my crew are and writing, and amid the down on us, SAG rep has expected byproduct of the and for indie films, that’s the instructions from our amazing. They push patients, a sax player plays a suggested a change in our coronavirus on her return, huge.” head doctor, Dr. Ivan Ir- through the rain… and we mournful tune.” watering holes: individual which she says made her But Kaplan’s career in in- rizary. Had a safety meeting get our scene. However, we bottles instead of a cooler. want to visibly show others die films prepared her for the and are gearing up to go. are not sure how it will Day 3 | July 2 We are all willing to learn. that she was not the virus. new challenges. “I come from Also added to our team is match — dry surface and On their last day in “I am moved by my crew’s “Because I’m Chinese, Latin America, shooting for MJ Delgado, suggested by wet surfaces. However much March, the filmmakers had bravery, precision and work. when I first was there ... peo- no money,” she said. “This is our completion bond as the pain the clouds and rain raced to squeeze in Italian As I wait for preparations, ple were like, ‘What’s it like in abig film that we were sched- health and safety produc- gave us, we were blessed actress Caterina Murino’s my co-producer, Frances China?’” Li said. “When I uled to shoot in 20 days, and tion supervisor, an addi- with an amazing sunset.” half of a crucial scene before Lausell, informs me the went back, Esai said, ‘I was we shot in 22 days — and tional medic and a crew she returned to Europe. much-fought-for location of talking to my friends and that’s very little time for the sanitizing everything… Day 2 | July 1 When production resumed, the market in Rio Piedras said my costar is Chinese, quality that we are aspiring “It took the producers With interactions among Kaplan and her crew had to has a likely infection and and I had to defend you.’ to. So we had to make hard every ounce of their fibers crew members reduced, Li match the previous footage. they are waiting for the When my costar has to de- decisions, my [director of and brain cells to get the dressed herself in her trailer tests. In the meantime, she fend my ethnicity because of photography] and I, when approval from the unions, and went through makeup “This day was hard. All would like me to switch out the whole Trump ‘Wuhan we saw that the time was the government, the mayor with artists who wore masks departments had to re- days. I have no problem, virus’ thing — it’s those drowning us.” of San Juan, the police and and face shields. “It’s not create a scene which we had except the safety team now things that are subtle and As productions forge a the night shooting waiver to that hard to adjust to,” Li started brilliantly three has disinfected the place different. So I wanted to be way forward without a vac- film over the limit of the said. “Everything is very pro- months ago and had to stop again. Well, as Simon Boli- more fearless, because I’m cine for the disease, set pho- curfew. Kudos to them. And tocoled. The only hard thing due to COVID-19 … var says, when you do things Chinese.” tos and Kaplan’s daily diary here we are masked — 6 feet is the unknown. Everything “The crew who were twice, they come out twice To return to set, produc- entries, edited for length and distancing, hygiene stations is so up in theair.It’s more for there that day we had to as good. ‘O no hay mal que ers implemented new proto- clarity, offer a glimpse at how for washing hands and people to coordinate.” shoot out Caterina Murino por bien no venga.’ cols per union and industry filmmaking looks now: alcohol sprays before using remember it as an out-of- “At 8, we start a little guidelines that made up an “We all had our COVID-19 the water coolers. “This was a day we were body experience of sheer action scene, which in Holly- estimated 12% to 17.5% of the molecular tests, which were “Sixty beings COVID- looking forward to: two adrenaline and determina- wood standards is nothing, budget, according to the sent to the doc, who cleared tested, temperature taken actors in controlled sets, tion. but for us here on the island filmmakers. A doctor walked us for takeoff,” Kaplan wrote and signed in depending our also the pivotal moment of “Our supportive casting is something. We finish early Kaplan and her department the day before filming re- Zone A or B or C. Our trans- the film. We had worked out agent, Bonnie Wu, did a and are able to move back to heads through the new pre- sumed. “It almost felt like go- port is a big, old yellow all shots in our pre-produc- miracle of finding an actress our original location to cautions, and the filmmaker ing into space.” school bus. Flashback to all tion, pre-COVID tech scout, who not only had similar shoot the beginning of the started a diary documenting our school days. so we were confident we hair to our Caterina Murino, film, which the rainstorm of the voyage. Day 1 | June 30 “Today our bus takes us could make our day. but fit into her wardrobe. the first day prevented us After wrapping, Kaplan The 60 people on the crew to a hill on San Jorge street “Our producer, Peter “We had only filmed one from doing. and her collaborators dis- were separated into badged between two churches to Rawley, had a brilliant idea side of the 11-page sequence, “A director friend lends cussed their experiences as zones according to their shoot the walking scenes [to fill a key role]: Joanna so we had to film all the us a GoPro camera to shoot unexpected pioneers of film- roles on the film, with access through San Juan. We start Cassidy, the girl with the footage of the other sides, [See ‘Simone,’ E3]

debates and allow fans to construct storylines around Beloved sport ateam. “We’ve never had the ab- sence of sports in any na- tional or global tragedy,” says meets ‘D&D’ Rosenthal. “Even during wartime, there are tradition- ally sports that are played as avice people can turn to. We [‘Blaseball,’ from E1] normalcy that they’re trying were going to try to fill that game that’s been set in its to paint over everything that gap. And it’s always been sur- current set of rules — and its you can see through pretty prising to me that a lot of vi- unwritten rules — and has so quickly,” says the studio’s deo game fans aren’t sports much difficulty changing. It’s Stephen Bell, referring to fans. Sports are the longest natural to think about how it MLB. “So I think our fans lasting form of iterative game could work differently or peo- have found some gallows hu- design. Every year there’s ple could affect it. We were mor comfort.” Thus, it’s not some small rule change throwing out weird rules. no-hitters that are exciting; that’s hotly contested and ‘What if players had buckets it’s umpire-driven incinera- debated endlessly. As a game of water on their head?’ They tions. And it’s not grand designer that’s really inter- can dive for a ball, but then slams that matter as much esting to me.” water splashes out and as “grand unslams,” a tech Baseball, of course, is also breaks the game.” glitchthaterased ahome run agame of myths, such as And in 2020, when so but then became a world- called shots, bloody socks much of so-called normal life shifting narrative moment. and Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World has been postponed, can- Yet for all its surrealism, Dania Maxwell Los Angeles Times Series pinch home run. celed or simply gone bank- it’s also a game of beautiful, “BLASEBALL” founders Stephen Bell, left, Joel Clark and Sam Rosenthal. The “Blaseball” toois creating rupt, “Blaseball’s” ridicu- communal idealism. The text-based “Blaseball” allows the game to exist largely in players’ imaginations. fairy tales, where a solar lousness feels just right, per- game shifts because of the eclipse can grant participa- haps even more so than Ma- whimsy of its fans, who vote ball” as being written and Many of the in-game mea- themes they allude to are nts unpredictable abilities jor League Baseball games. for rule changes and game imagined as it happens, as its sures up for debate hint at simply the reality of making a and players forge their own The latter are trying, duti- additions or subtractions core three-person devel- wealth distribution or efforts game in 2020. The studio’s bats. See star Jessica Tele- fully, to pretend that things and then simply watch opment team outlines a to increase parity, enforcing first game, “‘Where Cards phone, whose bat, the “Dial are as commonplace as usu- games unfold as if participa- loose narrative skeleton and teams to trade top players to Fall,” is a melancholic work Tone,” is as feared as her on- al, a tactic that often serves ting in a rotisserie baseball then improvises based on level the playing field or that used relaxing puzzles to field prowess (she also may to highlight rather than ob- league. how the community re- changing the rules to benefit discuss the fragility of life’s be a demon of some sort). scure our current challenges “It’s asking the player to sponds. They are the ones theless fortunateteams.Bad choices. It was released last “Blaseball” strips base- and anxieties. exploreand to try to uncover voting for “Blaseball’s” teams, for instance, were year on Apple’s mobile sub- ball of its emphasis on com- “Blaseball” has no inter- mysteries with everyone else tweaks and rule changes and blessed recently with an ex- scription service Apple Ar- petition and reminds us of est in pretending anything is playing the game,” says turning to social media to tra strike. There was also a cade and boasted simple why we love the game to be- ordinary. Or, rather, “Blase- Rosenthal, acknowledging help flesh out the game’s measure that would require touchcontrols in the hopes of gin with: It’s the personal ball’s” fans don’t, and the that newcomerswho don’tgo story. There is a that the luckiest of fans re- appealing to non-gamers. stories sports inspire us to Game Band compares them- venturing online to find the “Blaseball” rulebook, but distribute part of their fic- That’s a goal toowith “Blase- have with our friends or loved selves to dungeon masters in tales behind the players and much of it is redacted like an tional winnings to the league ball.” It does so by revealing a ones. Today’s high-priced agame of “Dungeons & the team may wonder what FBI document made public, at large. sports secret that every tickets and multimillion dol- Dragons,” rolling out scenar- all the hype has been about. with certain fan actions trig- “We started the Game baseball fan knows but lar contracts that put players ios that are presented only “That type of mindset, if gering more reveals. Band to make games that doesn’t always acknowledge: on a pedestal can distract with text prompts and box you haven’t played a lot of Arriving as it did during were really different and re- We’re investing in teams not from such simple joys as hav- scores, allowing those follow- games before, it’s not a natu- an election year, “Blaseball” flective of the world we lived solely to admire celebrity or ing a conversation in the ing along to dream up tales ral one to fall into,” says is a not entirely just goofi- in,” says studio founder athleticism or even hero wor- stands about, say, imagining based on exaggerated rules. Rosenthal. Think of the silly, ness. Its voting system shows Rosenthal, noting the game’s ship; we care because sports buckets full of water on “There’s this facade of absurdist world of “Blase- the power of democracy. voting mechanics and the create a community, inspire everyone’s heads. LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR WEDNESDAY,AUGUST 26, 2020 E3 Safety first, safety last on movie set

[‘Simone,’ from E2] as did I. my skateboarder crossing “We got everything we the colored chalk letters of needed. Very exciting. Esai ‘San Juan, San Juan,’ which was prepared by the stunt had been washed away on drivers and performed his the first attempt. skid with skill and safety. “We finished two hours “A grand ending to a early, and I call the crew to- hard, yet fruitful, week. gether to tell them how much “I slept for 10 hours, re- Iappreciated their hard lieved to know the most work and respect for the new difficult is behind us.” protocol, and to warn them about the next day, where we Day 9 | July 12 all need to be precise, fo- After wrapping “Si- cused and careful to make a mone,” Kaplan and her crew day that even pre-COVID toasted. “We all got some would be challenging. cold beer and celebrated, be- “Good-natured as they cause we were thrilled — we are, I even got applause. had our hearts in our Maybe it is my Venezuelan mouths for nine days. humor!” “Every day was full of a mine-filled schedule, be- Day 5 | July 6 cause there were so many The toughest day of the variables, so many people. shoot was to be at the his- We were blessed, is the wordI toric Teatro Paradise, says can use. We finished ... and Kaplan. “We had to lift the no one got sick.” cameras up in a mechanical lift, because the stairwell “Today’s location is one doesn’t go all the way up to we thought we might not be the projection room. Then able to film. Our location there was the rain. But it was manager, Jose Hilera, did avery important location. It miracles, just like our health was the fine arts theater in and safety production su- Rio Piedras that older peo- Laura T Magruder pervisor, Maria Jose Del- ple remember, where they MAKING RAIN gado. used to go see Visconti, Kunjue Li and Esai Morales get doused on the set of “Simone,” courtesy of a contraption affixed to a car. “The Rio Piedras market Bertolucci, Truffaut — it was was officially closed on an iconic theater, which is Sunday yet open for us, the completely destroyed at the into one shooting day, which bar their customers. In passes, we are ready to shoot back monitors on set and best option. It was disinfect- moment.” would require disinfection despair, I called the writer of once again.” limiting the number of peo- ed. The art department before and after filming. Af- the novel on which the film is ple in physical contact with went in to do their magic. “This is our most chal- ter one location fell through based, Eduardo Lalo, to Day 7 | July 8 the camera equipment. “The “That morning, I was lenging day. It was an iconic on Day 6, novelist Eduardo discuss possible bookstores Kaplan filmed after cur- only ones allowed to touch it picked up by an office PA. scene in the remains of the Lalo suggested an alternate and he told me that the few in the Rio Piedras neigh- were the operators and the She took a route to Rio old theater Paradise, where site that ended up working bookstore where we had borhood, where Lalo’s novel assistants giving us sup- Piedras which I would not so many remember seeing even better. “Magic hap- filmed the day before had was set, and where the sto- port,” said Velazquez. “We have taken. And we crossed the classics and the Europe- pens,” Kaplan wrote. The opened a new venue. So I ry’s protagonist, a professor didn’t let the grips pick up the Moscoso Bridge, which an films older generations so same day, the production got called our location manager at the University of Puerto the camera, because that miraculously had all its flags loved. its first COVID-19 scare when and production designer Rico, lives. was another person in the up and flowing, a rare event “Now what remained was it was discovered that a crew and they went to see it and chain.” and unseen in the last three ametallic structure of a roof, member at base camp had loved it. My DP and I “Today was a day I was Although the pace of film- months. A spectacle I had aprojection room full of possible off-set exposure to dropped down to see it. Yes, looking forward to — a scene ing was slower, the experi- always wanted to film. leaves, which our art depart- the virus. it was far better than the one with rain that I fought so ence was “very good,” said “Upon my arrival at set, ment did wonders with but we had originally wanted to hard to have through budget Velazquez. “It gave me confi- and after the safety protocol, had to clean, disinfect, and “Not an easy day… but shoot in. Magic happens. cuts and schedule cuts. Our dence that we could work Itold my team we needed to the materials and cameras never thought impossible. “At dinner/lunch, my crew call was at 4. When we with the COVID protocols be focused and fast so we had to be lifted in by a scis- “Our location manager co-producer comes to see do night shoots, I can never and be safe, and here I am. could get the shot on the sor lift. The empty, dark worked miracles, as the me. I had asked to have sleep more than four or five Nobody got sick. That’s the bridge. This we did. remains of this old projec- safety manager was not printed out the night waiver hours. best thing about it.” “I also did a little bit of tion room were brought to going to allow us to work in signed by the secretary of “Today is beautiful. Noth- Live TV [technique] to unite life. this iconic Art Deco stair- the governor for all the crew. ing doing tai chi on the beach “This is a long setup day two shots, which would be “In an aside, I feel when a well I wanted. He managed With all the shooting on the in the hot sun and a quick for a near-crash on a rainy edited together yet filmed spirit is near me. I get goose to control the site, disinfect mainland, my guys were dip in the sea can’t fix. day. I could not get rain, had [with one set-up]. Fun and a bumps. All day shooting at it, speak to each of the 14 worried if they pulled out “The entrance to the set, to settle for a wet-down. creative solution to cutting the theater, I felt a spirit and families living there to make their cellphone to show the temperature and question- “This is one of the scenes time. was trying to figure out who adeal with the owners to waiver they might be shot. naire. It took about three covered under the waiver “Then outdoors to a was visiting and why. Later allow us. My DP and I Although that has never hours to set up the rain shot, given to us by the governor, scene of the arrival of the that day, my producer hus- thought we needed only an happened here in Puerto but when finished, it worked. as we need to shoot way past little family that will not be. band told me that my favor- hour, but the heat, the tight Rico — caution. As we say in “The creativity of our the10 o’clock curfew. Crew Art department just didn’t ite composer, Ennio Morri- quarters proved very chal- Spanish, ‘mujer precavida special-effects man here, call 3:30. Shoot at 8. have the time or resources to cone, had passed and that lenging indeed. We all joked, vale por dos.’ A cautious Rafi Perez, is brilliant. He “An intersection in Rio bring it alive. We managed to ‘Cinema Paradiso’ was one apaid sauna and weight woman is worth her weight invented a structure where Piedras, the University get the flags on the flag post, of his favorites. So much loss… we left ‘sangre, sudor y in gold. he puts a contraption and Town, is closed off for us. and I suddenly thought — magic has happened on this lagrimas’ on those steps. We “She also told me my tank on the ceiling of the car With the university closed, pigeons, my friends from my film… it is like it has a mind left pounds of sweat. base camp 2nd AD had been so you don’t have to create Rio Piedras is a ghost town, tai chi classes in my neigh- of its own. “My co-producer had to in contact with a COVID- rain for a block. so with our two state police- borhood park. I asked my “We are doing very well. change water coolers, which positive person, so now our “I rehearsed actors in a men we could control the prop set man, Danny, to Right on schedule. she had installed to save the doctor quarantined her until beautiful old church which streets. start feeding them where “I was called to do my planet from plastic, to bot- the results came in. She can has been gutted, yet the “Once again, we are the hero car arrives… fourth COVID-19 molecular tled individual bottles for work from home, but since remains of its altar and blessed. The patch of pave- “That he did, and the test — the swab up the nos- the COVID protocol re- our [unit production man- stained glass remain. ment in the intersection shot worked. tril to the brain. I thought, quests. It took us double the ager] Colleen Comer was “Kunjue and Esai are a where the skid is to happen “I got my bridge shot, and because our doctor said I time, but we got our shots working with her, she had to poem in the rain! Esai was a little rough when we we all gathered in the open- was clear till Thursday, that that were beautiful. I think be quarantined as well as dances like Fred Astaire. had done our pre-COVID air basketball court that maybe, maybe I would be this might be one of the the base camp [production “Walkthrough with team tech scout. Miraculously, served as our lunch base to spared to next week. But most beautiful scenes in the assistant]. Later it was of the action scene for to- when we returned post- have a humble toast with no… I am Zone A and have to film. proved that she did not have morrow. Love action COVID lockdown, that piece cold beer to wrap the film. be tested three times a “Next location is interest- COVID-19. scenes!!” of pavement had been “We were all thrilled and week.” ing. It speaks to the heart of “Onward. A storm breaks repaved, which made it relieved. My producer spoke, this film that has a mind of out and we fear we might not Day 8 | July 9 easier to do the skid. Magic Ispoke, we laughed, ap- Day 6 | July 7 its own. be able to shoot. New COVID precautions happens. plauded and drank a toast. With time already short “We were going to do a “I am amazed at our for DP [Sonnel] Velazquez “During the set-up, two “We had climbed such a becauseof COVID-19 precau- bookstore across the way, team. They continue work- and his department included nurses are in a van. One by steep mountain and had tions, Kaplan often had to but it had put up acrylic ing, dismayed by nothing, disinfecting cameras every one, the A Team went in summited the highest peak squeeze several locations protections and would not and by the time the storm four hours, reducing play- for another COVID-19 swab, of the COVID-19 challenge.” Hawke delivers in the magnetic biopic ‘Tesla’

[‘Tesla,’ from E1] wall by whipping out a Mac- promising genius in conflict Book and running a Google with a series of dubious bene- For your safety Image search on some of the factors, many of whom want movie’s real-life figures — in- to funnel his gifts into more The Los Angeles Times is cluding her wealthy father, conventional and lucrative committed to reviewing banker J.P. Morgan (Donnie forms. new theatrical film Keshawarz) — a nifty fact- Almereyda doesn’t bela- releases during the checking gag that also ties bor the metaphor, and he COVID-19 pandemic. Tesla’s moment to our tech- probably would be the last Because moviegoing nologically advanced pre- person to describe himself as carries inherent risks sent. Sometimes Anne in- any kind of visionary. But it is during this time, we forms us that something Cara Howe IFC Films hard to shake the sense that remind readers to follow we’ve just witnessed didn’t EVE HEWSON,right, plays Anne Morgan, daughter of banker J.P. Morgan. he and Hawke, who starred in health and safety actually happen, just in case his offbeat Shakespeare guidelines as outlined by you were confused by that George Westinghouse, who layered score). Cinemato- What comes through adaptations “”and the national Centers for scene of Tesla and Edison supports Tesla and makes grapher Sean Price Williams most in Hawke’s brilliantly “Cymbeline,” have forged a Disease Control and (Kyle MacLachlan) attack- his AC innovations a force to draws us into a world of dark internalized performance is Prevention and local kinship with their subject ing each other with ice cream be reckoned with — at least shadows and richly burnish- Tesla’s intense commitment health officials. We will that goes beyond mere em- cones — a deft, ego-deflating until the company faces ed lighting, cast by candles as to his work as well as his continue to note the pathy. It is also hard not to various ways readers can visualization of the rivalry bankruptcy and the two are well as electric bulbs: We are weariness about having to view “Tesla” as the latest of see each new picture, that develops after Tesla forced to part ways. remindedthat this seemingly continually explain and de- Almereyda’s movies — in- including drive-in theaters asks the veteran inventor to Much of this narrative distant, technologically fend it to men of deeper pock- cluding “Experimenter” and in the Southland and finance his new project. ground was covered in the primitive moment was also a ets and lesser minds. The his melancholy futuristic VOD/streaming options Since that project is a mo- 19 80 Polish film “The Secret time of extraordinary, world- progress of human civiliza- drama “” — to when available. tor that makes use of alter- of Nikola Tesla,” a creakily ef- altering flux. tion can be infuriatingly ba- explore the intrinsic connec- nate current, a more elegant fective dramatization best Tesla is an observer, agent nal, which doesn’t mean our tions between science and and efficient means of har- remembered for Orson Wel- and sometimes victim of that biopics have to be. filmmaking, to treat the cin- asuperior skater and the nessing power than Edison’s les’ commanding turn as J.P. flux: His grand visions are ematic medium as a rich movie’s shrewdly counterin- direct-current methods, no Morgan. But the movies the definition of “ahead of amalgam of the rational and tuitive choice of narrator. such support is forthcoming. could hardly be more differ- their time,” at times leading the poetic. Providing a rare woman’s But if the movie’s Edison is ent in style and sensibility. him into eyebrow-raising ‘Tesla’ It begins with Hawke’s voice in a story dominated by arrogant, thin-skinned and For all its arch devices and realms of study. And Hawke, Tesla stumbling around a the whims and aspirations of easily threatened, MacLach- anachronisms, including a without exaggerating or di- Rated: PG-13, for some courtyard on roller skates, men, she adroitly navigates lan’s witty, sympathetic per- wonderfully straight-faced, luting Tesla’s eccentricity, thematic material and then a fairly recent invention this story from one funny-sad formance resists the yoke of go-for-broke cover of a 1980s distills his strange, some- nude images —afunny, gently disorient- vignette to the next while easy villainy. (It’s an inspired pop hit, the effect of Almerey- times contradictory essence. Running time: 1 hour, ing image of a wildly adven- providing her own crucial reunion too: MacLachlan da’s “Tesla” is hypnotic. Carl He is a man apparently with- 42 minutes turous mind, forever chasing perspective on Tesla, one played Claudius to Hawke’s Sprague’s production design out greed who acquired enor- after new concepts and expe- that is by turns appreciative Hamlet.) has a quasi-Brechtian spare- mous sums and lost them, a Playing: Mission Tiki Drive-In, Montclair; and in riences while often struggling of his genius and critical of his Asimilar emotional gen- ness; the very air seems thinker who boldly reima- general release where to master its environs. He is shortcomings. erosity informs Jim Gaffi- charged with a strange and gined the parameters of the theaters are open; also on accompanied by his friend On occasion, Anne will gan’s big-hearted turn as en- lyrical intensity (deepened possible but was ultimately VOD Anne Morgan (Eve Hewson), neatly demolish the fourth gineer and entrepreneur by John Paesano’s delicately stymied by those boundaries.