Creatives the Worlds (CFA’02) We Make Documen- Tary Filmmaker Rel Dowdell (COM’96)
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IN THIS SECTION Composer Missy Mazzoli Creatives The Worlds (CFA’02) We Make Documen- tary filmmaker Rel Dowdell (COM’96) Author Weike Wang (GRS’15) “With the Tonya Film Harding story, the absurdity comes to it naturally,” says Riegel, “just because of the Piecing people involved.” Together I, Tonya Tatiana S. Riegel (CAS’86) earned Oscar nod for movie’s editing / BY AMY LASKOWSKI TATIANA S. RIEGEL WAS skeptical when offered the editing job on a film about disgraced skating star Tonya Harding. But her attitude changed once she got her hands on the script. Riegel (CAS’86) was further reassured because she had worked on four films with Craig Gillespie, the film’s director. “Craig is very good with that unique tone of doing something that’s emo- tional and yet funny at the same time,” she says. “And then when I started hearing about the cast, I was all over it.” Riegel’s agreement to take the job was clearly the right decision. Her work on I, Tonya earned COURTESY OF TATIANA RIEGEL TATIANA OF COURTESY Summer 2018 BOSTONIA 53 critical commendation, including the way about her mother hitting her, and Margot Robbie is not a professional Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature he saw this interesting thing that hap- skater, so special effects were required Film, Comedy, from the American Cin- pens with people when they are abused: for the film’s skating scenes. Had you ema Editors, and an Academy Award they detach and disassociate emotion- ever done anything like that before? nomination for best editor. ally from what’s going on with them. I had done other films with lots of visual I, Tonya, which stars Margot Rob- So, he tried to come up with a way to effects, like The Finest Hours, and a bie as Harding and Allison Janney as bring that into the film. little head and face replacement, but her abusive mother, tracks the skating certainly not like in this film. star’s rise from scrappy, determined The film is shot in a mockumentary style. It was fun to learn how to do all the child skater to Olympic athlete, and Can you talk about that approach? head and face replacement—it’s hard her involvement in the infamous 1994 In order to tell Tonya Harding’s story to do. Fortunately, Margot could skate attack that sidelined competitor Nancy appropriately, you needed to have the a fair amount, so we had a good amount Kerrigan. The film, which cuts back and reality of the abuse she was experi- of her as well. But she can’t do the stuff forth in time, doesn’t shy away from the encing. To offset that, Craig wanted that requires decades of training. physical and emotional to show her ability to Every film now has visual effects, abuse Harding suffered survive and get past this even if they don’t think they’re going at the hands of her and detach. So that’s how to, just for cleanup: a boom gets in the mother and husband, or the idea came to break shot or you have to fix something in the the skater’s own strug- the fourth wall. background like a billboard, a geogra- gles with violence and In the sequences where phy issue, a clearance issue. You have to anger. Janney won the she’s getting beaten take them out. Oscar for best support- up by her husband or ing actress for her work thrown into a mirror, You’ve said that you view a film editor in the movie. you cut to her turning almost as an audience member who “I’ve seen the film to the camera and sort can bring fresh eyes to the project. Can 500 times, and I can of speaking more as the you elaborate? still watch it again and 45-year-old Tonya talking I really like keeping that distance. One again,” says Riegel, back to us. You get this of the hardest parts about editing is try- whose three decades of film editing in- sort of subconscious sense of survival ing to keep it fresh and real and trying clude work on The Way Way Back, JFK, and emotional detachment all at the to remember what it’s like watching and Pulp Fiction. same time. And I think for an audience it the first time. So, I do purposefully When Bostonia spoke with her last member, it just makes it somehow a try to do that and not go to the set very winter, Riegel was in Berlin, editing for little more possible to survive when it’s much. For example, the second you the thriller The Girl in the Spider’s Web, a pretty brutal scene. walk onto a set, you know its geography. the latest installment in The Girl with Whereas if stuff is coming in on film the Dragon Tattoo series. What went into editing the skating and you’re watching it, you’re like, wait, sequences? this room doesn’t make any sense. I’ve Bostonia: When you were editing They were very planned out. Since it’s had that happen many times where a I, Tonya, were you worried about how a relatively small film, Craig had to be director will go, “Well, it’s right there, to strike that delicate balance between very efficient and plan out his shooting. the door’s right there,” and I’m like, the film’s humor and violence? They had a 31-day shoot and 260-some- “Well, how am I supposed to know the RIEGEL: That absolutely was the biggest odd scenes, so it was a very compressed door is right there? I don’t see it, how challenge. We talked about it a lot. The schedule and a small budget. am I supposed to know?” first film Craig and I did together was The skating sequences of Harding And sometimes there’s something Lars and the Real Girl, which is a very were based on all of her real choreog- very funny happening on set, and you sweet, lovely story about a very odd raphy. Each skating sequence has its have a whole crew of 100 people laugh- topic. So, I knew that Craig would bring own personality, and we talked about ing because it’s very funny in the mo- sensibility to this. this a lot early in the process, so Craig ment, but sometimes that doesn’t come With the Tonya Harding story, the shot it that way. In the very beginning across on the screen. absurdity comes to it naturally just of the film, she’s younger and much So, when I’m watching a film just because of the people involved, and the more aggressive, so the scene where on my monitor, I can really judge in reality of the story is that it is just crazy she’s skating to ZZ Top is much faster a very realistic way what works and and absurd. and cut faster with many more angles. what doesn’t work. There’s so much in Craig had seen a documentary featur- At the end of the film there is one long editing that starts getting manipulated ing a 15-year-old Tonya Harding, and take, which is actually three takes put anyway, in terms of performance and there was a moment in it that he was together as one, to really build the pres- pacing and time compression, so you very touched and moved by. She was sure and the tension of what’s going on really want to keep it as fresh and clear speaking in this very matter-of-fact in her mind. as possible. kONLINE: Watch one of the skating sequences in the movie I, Tonya at bu.edu/bostonia..