{"id":408093,"date":"2022-02-20T16:00:18","date_gmt":"2022-02-20T13:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/26-things-we-learned-from-chloe-zhaos-eternals-commentary\/"},"modified":"2022-02-20T16:00:18","modified_gmt":"2022-02-20T13:00:18","slug":"26-things-we-learned-from-chloe-zhaos-eternals-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/26-things-we-learned-from-chloe-zhaos-eternals-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"#26 Things We Learned from Chloe Zhao&#8217;s &#8216;Eternals&#8217; Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e80bdf3498\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e80bdf3498\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/26-things-we-learned-from-chloe-zhaos-eternals-commentary\/#Eternals_2021\" >Eternals (2021)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/26-things-we-learned-from-chloe-zhaos-eternals-commentary\/#Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\" >Best in Context-Free Commentary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/26-things-we-learned-from-chloe-zhaos-eternals-commentary\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/26-things-we-learned-from-chloe-zhaos-eternals-commentary\/#Recommended_Reading\" >Recommended Reading<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#26 Things We Learned from Chloe Zhao&#8217;s &#8216;Eternals&#8217; Commentary<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<figure class=\"sf-entry-featured-media \">\n                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"334\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Eternals-Team-Shot.jpg\" class=\"articlethumb wp-post-image\" alt=\"Eternals Team Shot\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Eternals-Team-Shot.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Eternals-Team-Shot-768x321.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/>                            <\/figure>\n<p>        <!-- START BYLINE --><\/p>\n<div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center my-4 text-center medium dark-gray\">\n            By\u00a0Rob Hunter\u00a0\u00b7 Published on February 20th, 2022\n            <\/div>\n<p>        <!-- END BYLINE --><\/p>\n<p>        <i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Welcome to\u00a0<\/i><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Commentary Commentary,<\/i><\/b><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits Chloe Zhao\u2019s Eternals<\/i>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><strong>Chloe Zhao<\/strong>\u2018s <strong><em>Eternals<\/em><\/strong> is one of the Marvel films that opened during the pandemic leading to a \u201clow\u201d box office and a litany of think-pieces, but the movie is what it is. Fans will <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>reciate what Zhao and Marvel have done with the characters and storylines, but it remains something of a tough sell for newcomers. The film is new to home video, and among the handful of featurettes included on the disc, there\u2019s also a commentary track.<\/p>\n<p>Keep reading to see what we heard on the <em>Eternals<\/em> commentary!<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Eternals_2021\"><\/span>Eternals (2021)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Commentators: Chloe Zhao (director, co-writer), Stephane Ceretti (visual effects supervisor), M\u00e5rten Larsson (additional visual effects supervisor)<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong>1.<\/strong> Zhao wanted to open the film with a <em>Star Wars<\/em>-like text crawl providing background information leading into the movie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> The opening with the object floating past the sun is one of Zhao\u2019s favorite shots in the movie. Seems odd from someone with her filmography, but the pull of the dark side is strong I guess. She had been reading Arthur C. Clarke\u2019s <em>3001: The Final Odyssey<\/em> and liked the idea of a monolith in space.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> Arishem\u2019s chamber was designed to resemble a place of worship with <strong>Jack Kirby<\/strong>-inspired cuneiform on the walls.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong> Zhao insisted on filming as much on location as possible. \u201cThat\u2019s something you can\u2019t invent in a studio, obviously,\u201d says Ceretti in regard to the opening battle on the cliffs of the Canary Islands, although he adds it made things harder on the visual effects side of things.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.<\/strong> They couldn\u2019t stop the dog at 10:15 from wagging his tail while the monster rises in the water, and it had to take it out in post-production.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> Disney\u2019s <em>Pocahontas<\/em> was a reference for Zhao when it came to visualizing Sersi\u2019s nature-infused powers. \u201cI love the idea that she\u2019s not turning things into ping-pong balls, it\u2019s always something beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<\/strong> They don\u2019t explain why Makkari (<strong>Lauren Ridloff<\/strong>) uses American Sign Language in 575 BC and includes the sign for \u201ctime\u201d \u2014 pointing at her wrist \u2014 when wristwatches weren\u2019t invented until the 1800s.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.<\/strong> She recalls Marvel head honcho <strong>Kevin Feige<\/strong> saying \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be great if kids watch this movie and then become more interested in history?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.<\/strong> Zhao has South Dakota in all of her films and wanted to continue that trend here. \u201cObviously we couldn\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> there,\u201d she says, but they did find one place in the UK that \u201ckind of looked like\u201d the state. The corral at 32:20 is modeled after the one in Zhao\u2019s <em>The Rider<\/em> (2017).<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.<\/strong> They tried to capture the idea that an entire cosmos can be found in the smallest grain of sand to explore both \u201cthe grand and intimate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> Thena (<strong>Angelina Jolie<\/strong>) suffers from mahd w\u2019wry (aka \u201cmad weary\u201d) which Zhao equates to PTSD.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.<\/strong> Kingo\u2019s (<strong>Kumail Nanjiani<\/strong>) Bollywood costume was handmade in India and is a riff on Ikaris\u2019 (Richard Madden) hero costume.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.<\/strong> Ceretti cameos at 46:31 as the guy holding a \u201cdeviant\u201d head.<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.<\/strong> The Canary Islands were a stand-in for Australia as the red dirt helped with the illusion. London was a stand-in for Chicago.<\/p>\n<p><strong>15.<\/strong> The overhead shot of the Amazon river at 1:04:47 is full CG created by ILM.<\/p>\n<p><strong>16.<\/strong> The forest fight at Druig\u2019s (<strong>Barry Keoghan<\/strong>) was among the first things shot for the film, and rather than begin with two weeks of night shoots Zhao suggested they just build s soundstage. Zhao wanted to shoot on a soundstage! Anyway, other minds prevailed, and they filmed on location.<\/p>\n<p><strong>17.<\/strong> The deviants show a hint of gold in their colorful design starting with the forest sequence as they\u2019ve gained elements absorbed from Ajak (<strong>Salma Hayek<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p><strong>18.<\/strong> The Hiroshima sequence was difficult to conceive as Zhao wondered, \u201cHow can we show this crime against humanity and yet not sensationalize it?\u201d Nobody asked <em>why<\/em> they should show it, though, apparently.<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.<\/strong> The sequence in Phastos\u2019 (<strong>Brian Tyree Henry<\/strong>) home was among the most difficult for Zhao. \u201cI already don\u2019t know how to film inside of a house, I like to go into a field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.<\/strong> \u201cI think one thing that I was most humbled by,\u201d says Zhao, \u201cwas just how much visual effects and CG as a tool of storytelling can change the landscape of cinema moving forward.\u201d She adds that she wishes film school taught more around this as she herself learned nothing about it and \u201cwas afraid of it.\u201d She didn\u2019t trust fx\/CG and feels there\u2019s an unfortunate stigma attached to it. Zhao feels similarly about reshoots\/additional shooting saying it has a bad reputation, but if you have the opportunity to take advantage of it you\u2019d be a fool not to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.<\/strong> The beach scene during the film\u2019s climactic battle presented its own on-location challenges as the incoming tide was a daily interruption. They weren\u2019t surprised by it, obviously, but they did lose a some equipment on occasion that sometimes made its way back to them a few days later.<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.<\/strong> In case you missed it, that\u2019s <strong>Bill Skarsg\u00e5rd<\/strong> voicing Kro.<\/p>\n<p><strong>23.<\/strong> The 2014 book <em>History of the World in 1000 Objects<\/em> was a major inspiration for the end credits.<\/p>\n<p><strong>24.<\/strong> The last few visual effects were completed just a week before the film\u2019s premiere.<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.<\/strong> Zhao loves Oliver Stone\u2019s <em>Alexander<\/em> (2004).<\/p>\n<p><strong>26.<\/strong> Larsson will be spending a lot of time working with that mystery voice at the end of the final credits scene as he\u2019s Production Visual Effects Supervisor on the upcoming <em>Blade<\/em> starring Mahershala Ali in the title role.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\"><\/span>Best in Context-Free Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote\">\u201cLet\u2019s talk a little bit about shooting on location for this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were sandblasted on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Pink Floyd is playing continuity doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to make sure we separate Icarus from Superman as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShout out to Wong Kar-wai!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet your audience just discover what\u2019s in the frame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a real sunset, untouched.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span>Final Thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">It shouldn\u2019t surprise as Zhao is joined on the <em>Eternals<\/em> commentary by two visual effects artists, but the vast majority of the talk here is focused on the visuals. Comments about the cast are minimal, but we do get a little bit about the story and themes. It\u2019s an interesting enough listen, though, in part because Zhao acknowledges a pretty seismic shift in her filmmaking sensibilities when it comes to effects. Whether or not that\u2019s a good thing is debatable, and something her future choices will reveal, but it\u2019s an honest revelation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.<\/p>\n<p>        Related Topics: Commentary Commentary, Eternals<br \/>\n        <!-- AUTHOR BOX --><\/p>\n<div class=\"gray-bg p-4 border small mb-5\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center text-md-center\">\n<div class=\"col-md-2\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dca6f7118e64ea9aa6ef4f60221cfe7e?s=96&amp;d=mm&amp;r=x\" class=\"circle img-fluid\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\"\/>\n        <\/div>\n<div class=\"col-md\">\n            Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he&#8217;s so damn young. He&#8217;s our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists &#8216;Broadcast <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>&#8217; as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FakeRobHunter\">@FakeRobHunter<\/a>.        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>        <!-- START RECOMMENDED READING 1 --><\/p>\n<section class=\"recommended py-5\">\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Recommended_Reading\"><\/span>Recommended Reading<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/section>\n<p>                <!-- END RECOMMENDED READING --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/chloe-zhao-eternals-commentary\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=chloe-zhao-eternals-commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#26 Things We Learned from Chloe Zhao&#8217;s &#8216;Eternals&#8217; Commentary&#8221; By\u00a0Rob Hunter\u00a0\u00b7 Published on February 20th, 2022 Welcome to\u00a0Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits Chloe Zhao\u2019s Eternals. Chloe Zhao\u2018s Eternals is one of the Marvel films that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":408094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Eternals-Team-Shot.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-408093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}