Aloha – Fandango

In case you missed the chance to say aloha to Aloha director Cameron Crowe when he stopped by to hang out, hang loose and chat with fans, you can still check out the Fandango Facebook Q&A to find out about what it was like to film in Hawaii, work with Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper, pick up some filmmaking advice and lots more. Mahalo!

Laureen O’Brien: Other than Billy Wilder, who are your favorite directors and what are your favorite movies?

Cameron: I love Hal Ashby’s movies — Shampoo, and Harold and Maude are big favorites. Sitting in an audience and watching a new film from Wes Anderson or Brad Bird or Edgar Wright is a truly great thing. Pedro Almodovar too. I love the detail in their characters, and the sly genius of their storytelling. Can’t leave out Judd Apatow, he’s another guy who creates characters who make you feel like you’re watching real life at it’s funniest and deepest. Also loved Whiplash, a real gem from the recent past. 

Sherlane Yuen: My all time favorite actress and trail blazer is Emma Stone, how was your experience working with her in this movie and do you think you will work together again in the future?

Cameron: Emma Stone is a force of nature. I think you get an Emma Stone only once in a generation. Drama, comedy, verite, musical theater. She can do anything, she’d be classic in any era too. She would have been just as big a star in the 1940’s as she will be in the 2020’s. It would be a dream come true to work with her again. I’ve got a number, I’m standing in line. Same with Bradley Cooper and Rachel McAdams, by the way. Bradley is a brilliant actor who knows every corner of the story, he is the rarest combination of soul and craft. And Rachel is pure magic. Bradley would sometimes step away after a scene with Rachel, shaking his head, saying, “that girl is an emotional assassin!” You can’t say it any better.

Tyler Scott: Mr. Crowe, my question is: what process do you go through to select the songs for your film soundtrack?

Cameron: It begins early, Tyler. I just start making playlists of songs that evoke the feeling of the story. I’ll hear something and just slam it into a big mix of stuff that we’ll use during writing, and then later auditions, filming, editing and more. By the time you’ve finished the movie there’s a big pool of stuff to work from — and usually one song that started it all. For “Aloha,” it was Cyril Pahinui’s live version of “Hi’ilawe” and also Lord Huron’s “Ends of the Earth.”

Paul Garcia: Cameron, you are a golden God. Seriously you are my hero. What advice would you have for somebody trying to write funny, honest, personal films(like yours) in a world of super hero films? I know you can’t explain to me how to make it. Just need some optimism.

Cameron: Sounds like you’re already there, Paul! Whether you’re writing or directing, you always end up putting your own personality into the work… why not go all the way? When you’re writing for “them,” it’s never going to feel as authentic and true as when you’re writing to get your own personal feelings on paper… to understand yourself better, sometimes you have to hold up a mirror. Those stories are often the most universal. And, of course, the best “superhero” movies are the ones made by people who make it from a very personal, sometime obsessive place.

Ryan Kelly: If you can direct and remake and movie, what would it be and why?

Cameron: Good question, Ryan. I really enjoyed making “Vanilla Sky” as a kind of companion piece to Amenabar’s “Abre Los Ojos.” If I were to do it again, it might be fun to take something loose and vibey, like “The Endless Summer” and update it with a similar feeling in a different time. But honestly, there are too many other projects I’ve written that I want to make first.

Katy Kernen: Was Penny Lane a real person in your life?

Cameron: Penny Lane was mostly one girl I knew. There were others who had similarities to her, but there was always one true Penny Lane. She knows who she is. The coat was courtesy Betsy Heimann, my friend and costume designer. Thanks for the question Katy.

Harry Medved: “You had me at ‘Aloha!'” Cameron, did you create special mixtapes for your ‘Aloha” stars to help them get into character? if so, can you name a song or two that you provided for the stars?

Cameron: Oh, I made a lot of mixes and kept sending them songs before, during and after filming. Emma and Rachel are big music fans, so is Bradley… actually the whole cast. Neil Young was a big favorite on set. Also Pearl Jam. But for Rachel, whenever it was time to get emotional, I often cheated and went straight for “Harvest Moon.” Bill Murray loved Linda Ronstadt, so we played a lot of Linda’s stuff too. Also Elvis because of his Hawaiian movies… sometimes Bradley would break into a full-on Elvis voice and we even played a whole scene with him as Elvis. DVD extras, baby!

Jen Vinuya: What process did you do to choose your actors in the movie? How was working with Emma Stone? She’s so precious, right?! 

Cameron: It began with Emma, we wanted to do a movie together. We started shaping from there. Bradley came next. We had a work session, and read the script and they just exploded with chemistry. Then came Rachel, who I’d always wanted to work with, and then Danny McBride and by then, why not try for Alec Baldwin and Bill Murray too? John Krasinski is a friend, and he jumped in to play Woody. We built it carefully, and crafted it to the kind of personal chemistry that you’d naturally have between characters who had all worked together before in the story. Continuing with the metaphor of music, it’s like making a musical mix with real personalities and actors. Everything should flow together, along with a few surprises, and so it did.

Ara Diaz: Do you have any other film projects for the future?

Cameron: We’re doing a show for Showtime called Roadies with a wonderful cast, that’s been a blast… looking forward to you seeing that soon, and then there’s a project that Rufus Wainwright has written the music for. It’s been very inspiring to collaborate with Rufus, a true genius.

Marby Tibon: What is your most unforgettable experience with Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper?

Cameron: Probably the last two days of filming, Marby. Everyone had been working hard on the movie for months and we were down to the most emotional scenes. Everyone was raw and funny and it was almost Christmas, and out of nowhere came a smallish scene with Bradley and Danielle Russell, the young actress who plays Rachel McAdams’ daughter in the movie… and Danielle just floored us all. In the middle of this already emotional human stew came this incredible moment on film between Bradley and Danielle… and it ends the movie. After that we kept filming with Emma and Bradley until the sun came up. It was giddy fun. It’s the sequence in the movie set to the Fleetwood Mac song “I Know I’m Not Wrong.” We ran out of the film, and wrapped the movie under a double-rainbow. 

Laureen O’Brien: What inspires you as an artist? For instance, what made you want to make this movie, and not let go of it until it was done?

Cameron: I always wanted to tell a story set in Hawaii.  I have some family history there, my mom was a schoolteacher in Honolulu.  The first time I was able to actually visit, on an assignment to write about Lynyrd Skynyrd for Rolling Stone, I fell in love with the people and the world. Music and life just feels different there.  Later as I came to know more about how multi-layered it was, with the military and the native community, and the tourist trade, and the spirituality of the Hawaiian people… all of them (*) co-existing on the tips of those volcanos… I thought it could be a powerful setting for these characters.  And it was, thanks to the people of Hawaii who welcomed us with such soul.  I hope we’re able to reflect that soul back to them in the movie.  That was always the dream.

Kenneth Huang: What is your favorite film you’ve made?

Cameron: Almost Famous.  Almost wrote Say Anything…, but I gotta say… something happened the other night… across the canyon from where I live is a park and they were showing Almost Famous on an outdoor screen.  And I heard all these audience voices drifting across the canyon, singing “Tiny Dancer.”   I stood out in the street and listened and had this overwhelming feeling of appreciation for all the people who kicked ass to make that movie right.  It was such a great feeling.  I’d be a fool not to pick Almost Famous.  Thanks everybody.

Courtesy of Fandango – May 29, 2015