Daily Dialogue — September 2, 2017

“I know, we’re all gonna die. Everybody knows that. But I’m going to die today. Funny that… you know, to know. But the thing is, is that I’m still scared. Really scared. Nobody will mourn for me, no one will pray for my soul. Will you mourn for me? Will you say a prayer for me? Or is it too late… ah, I mean I’d say one for myself but I’ve never prayed in my life. Nobody ever taught me how… nobody ever taught me how…”

— Gravity (2013), written by Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: All Is Lost, suggested by Gisela Wehrl.

Trivia: To prepare for shooting, Sandra Bullock spent six months in physical training while reviewing the script with Alfonso Cuarón. Cuarón said, “More than anything else, we were just talking about the thematic element of the film, the possibility of rebirth after adversity.” They worked out how she would perform each scene, and her notes were included the previsual animation and programming for the robots. Cuarón and Bullock zeroed in on Stone’s breath, “and how that breath was going to dictate her emotions,” he said. “That breath that is connected with stress in some instances, but also the breath that is dictated by lack of oxygen.” Their conversations covered every detail of the script and Bullock’s character. “She was involved so closely in every single decision throughout the whole thing,” Cuarón said. “And it was a good thing, because once we started prepping for the shoot, it was almost more like a dance routine, where it was one-two-three left, left, four-five-six then on the right. She was amazing about the blocking and the rehearsal of that. So when we were shooting, everything was just about truthfulness and emotion.” James Cameron, best friend of Cuarón and a huge fan of the film, said “She’s the one that had to take on this unbelievable challenge to perform it. (It was) probably no less demanding than a Cirque du Soleil performer, from what I can see. There’s an art to that, to creating moments that seem spontaneous but are very highly rehearsed and choreographed. Not too many people can do it. … I think it’s really important for people in Hollywood to understand what was accomplished here.”

Dialogue On Dialogue: Astronaut Ryan Stone faces her imminent death amidst the specter of doing so in total solitude. It’s ironic in that it’s she who chose to go to outer space to avoid the inner space of her home, the void created by the death of her young daughter.