Author: Aaron Hunt
Translator: Yi Ersan
Proofreading: Issac
Source: Filmmaker (January 5, 2021)
In the world of Creed created by Christopher Nolan, people from the future have figured out how to reverse the entropy of people and objects and make them "reverse space-time." For reversed objects and people, the result precedes the cause. The reversed bullet is fired back into the barrel from the bullet hole, and the battle between a reversed soldier and a soldier in regular spacetime looks like a deformed puppet show, and the language of the reversal sounds like a dream in the red room in Twin Peaks.
The Creed (2020)
To transition to a reversal state, all anyone needs to do is enter a revolving door – it will spit them out from the other side in an opposing pattern. To complicate matters further, the film's protagonist— whose name is "Protagonist" and played by John David Washington — is required to travel back and forth through the revolving door during the same event, and later appears in a combat scene in a different state of reversal.
The plot that underpins all of these actions is equally confusing, but when a character in the film tells the protagonist not to try to sort things out of the chaos, the audience is hinted at following suit, surrendering to the sheer amount of time spent on the screen.
But unlike audiences, Steve Gerrke, who often serves as Nolan's screenplay consultant, must always understand the entire film — knowing exactly when what happened, and who and what were reversed. Before Creed landed in home theaters and video-on-demand, Gelke spoke to us about what it's like to be part of a film that subverts continuity and logic.
Reporter: What do you think of this movie?
Gelke: That's an interesting question. I don't watch every movie I'm involved in. I knew it was weird, and I should have seen what the movie turned out to be like, but my job actually ended on set. At this point, I don't have control over a project. I would go see a movie I produce myself if I could, but I've seen on set how a movie was made and I already have memories of it.
I treat my work like I was the first audience to see it. It's my responsibility to make sure the film makes sense and that the continuity should be seamless. So that's my top priority, and then I'm going to make sure the story makes sense and the lines. If something goes wrong, I have the right to question it, so essentially, I'm the first viewer.
On your question, due to the impact of the epidemic, I have not yet watched "Creed" in the cinema. It's a shame, because this movie is worth watching on the big screen in theaters. Yes, its DVD version will be released soon, but the film was made to be viewed in crowded movie theaters. This makes me a little sad.
Reporter: What does your job on set include?
Gelke: The role of the script consultant changes every day, every scene. Rehearsals are where many changes occur. It is important to be aware of any potential changes that may affect other scenes or story structure. Usually a model is shot first – it's the blueprint for a scene. Then, when a scene actually starts shooting, I try to make sure things don't change too much, undermining the integrity of the template. The dialogue always seems to change as the plot changes, but I'm more concerned with making sure the overall context doesn't change.
It's important to have a good relationship with directors because they always need someone to pay attention to detail. My work has been described as a court recorder or historian. When we start/end, I archive the progress of each day – keeping track of the progress of each scene, how much was shot, how much was left, etc.
On set, I would take notes on every shot, good and bad, and provide a template for the editor to be able to build the director's vision. I had to work with the director, the actors, the camera and lighting team, the hairstyles and makeup, the props, the sound effects, the costumes and the art department. I am honored to work with every department. I'm like a safety net for every department, hoping to minimize mistakes.
Reporter: Over the years, have you learned anything about script coaching that you wish you had known from the beginning?
Gelke: Before entering the industry, everyone was scored (in film school) based on whether they had the potential to be a director. Scoring criteria are based on your work. What the school didn't tell you is that there are all sorts of job opportunities in the film industry. I wish I could learn about and learn about different types of work. My first job on the crew was logistics, providing food and supplies to the crew. Everything I did wasn't to be on camera, but to make the whole crew happy.
One day, I had to go back to the office to copy the script consultant's notes, and I printed an extra copy to see what she was doing. I looked at it and thought, "I can do this too." I've been doing this job for 35 years. Everything I know is learned on set, reacting and improvising on set. No training. Only 35 years of personal experience. I learned everything in this job, so I think my wish would be to know something about the job before I started, but I don't have anything to regret.
Reporter: When and how did you transition to the job of script coaching?
Gelke: My first job was as a production assistant at ABC at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. There, I met Andy Sidaris, who had made films about cheerleaders on the sidelines of a rugby game. His role in the Big World of Sports programme was crucial. I always thought my career would be to broadcast live sports events, and before starting my film career, I did live broadcasting of over 110 sporting events.
One day, Andy said to me, "What do you think of going to Hawaii to make a movie?" How can I refuse? My first film job was as a director's assistant... In Hawaii. I later did editing and distribution work with him, and I learned more from him than in school. When he was making the next film, he asked me, "Would you like to be my screenplay director?" I replied, "Sure, what am I going to do?" So, my career started with a chance encounter. I had a lot to learn, but I wasn't learning very well. Soon I was back to logistics.
Reporter: The first time you met Nolan, it should be when you filmed "Memory Fragments", what was it like? Was there anything different about the work you were doing at the time?
Gelke: Yes, Fragments of Memory was the first film I worked with Chris. A friend of mine was the director of production, and she sent me the script, shot it in 24 days, invested $10 million, and the new director. After reading the script at that time, I felt that it was the best script I had ever read, and it still is to this day.
Fragments of Memory (2000)
We sat at the picnic table outside the costume room for 20 minutes and had a great chat. He understood that I understood the story and was different from others. I've heard that they interviewed a lot of people for this position and I'm glad they did. Today, 21 years later, I still work with him.
I was already working with Sam Remy on Ghostbusters 3: Heroes of the Demon World, which was shot for over 100 days, and if I said at the beginning I thought Fragments of Memory and Nolan would be a big success, I would be lying. I just see it as another job. But after participating in the production of Fragments of Memory, things changed. It made me who I am today. There is no doubt that that time with Chris changed my life. He turned my job into a career.
Reporter: Has there been any change in your working relationship? Should his workflow be scaled up since then?
Gelke: I wasn't involved in Insomnia (because it was filmed in Canada) or Batman: The Mystery of the Shadow (shot in the UK). We started working together again when we made Deadly Magic, and then there were others. There has been no drastic change or development.
Deadly Magic (2006)
He always wants you to be the best he can be and I'll give it my all. We didn't talk much outside of the scene; it felt more like one big project after another, only the script changed. I think a long-term relationship is a relief for him because he doesn't have to adapt to another person. I'm a constant in his films, it's just that the scale of the films has gotten bigger, but our expectations for quality work have never changed.
When you find a problem, who are you to tell first, and then how do you communicate with it?
Gelke: It depends, and if it's a big deal, I'll go straight to the director, or the first assistant director. If it's simple, I'll go to the specific department to explain my concerns.
Reporter: Does Nolan retain a lot of old employees who have followed him since the early days?
Gelke: Chris is a nostalgic person, otherwise we wouldn't be around him. My tenure is probably the longest, unless his wife and producer Emma Thomas is counted. Chris has long-standing relationships with staff in many departments. I think we were like a pair of comfortable slippers. For reasons of efficiency, there will always be personnel changes in the team, but everyone enjoys the opportunity to work with him.
For 21 years, I never imagined that I would work for his next work. I think every movie is a hammer deal, and of course, I'm happy every time the phone rings. If the phone didn't ring and he chose the other direction, I would respect it. I think getting a call means I'm doing a good job.
Reporter: When did you start to participate in the discussion of Nolan's script?
Gelke: It was about two weeks before filming started. Do I want more time? Sure, but Chris gave me two weeks. This process is as normal as any other project. I broke it down, exchanged views with him to make sure my thinking matched his ideas, and then we started shooting. I also have to negotiate with the clothing, makeup and hair departments to make sure that our information is synchronized. For example, Chris and I discussed the Timeline of Dunkirk from three different perspectives, as well as the feasibility of weather issues. Things were out of our control at one point, but we had plenty of discussions.
Dunkirk (2017)
Reporter: How much do you need to fully understand the rules of "Creed" on the reversal of time and space? Does this complicate your job?
Gelke: Let me start by talking about how I felt at the end of filming — like the end of Creed. It's the hardest movie I've ever made. Usually when we finish a movie, everyone gets sad and starts the next project. I rarely say goodbye to people because I just want to get my job done and get out there. I'll also meet you on other projects.
But I really cried when I made Creed because I could finally release a lot of information that I had stored in my brain over the course of 7 countries and 5 months. It's the most massive amount of information I've ever gleaned, and I can actually remember the impact this film had on me. Imagine 5 months in a row, upside down, eating and sleeping thinking the same story, and then traveling to 7 countries. There's so much information to keep in mind – 96 shooting days!
It's a big relief and I just want to hit the delete button right away. When a project ends, it probably takes a day to decompress. In the case of the Credo, stress reduction happens immediately. I cried a lot, and my hard drive was overloaded.
We need to understand concepts such as entropy, annihilation, and space-time reversal every day. These are all conversations that take place on a regular basis on set, and everyone collaborates in these areas, coming up with different perspectives and ideas. This is a real collaboration with many sectors. People question, watch, re-watch — isn't that exactly what the director wants? The first thing we have to do is create a closed vacuum environment.
A lot of movies are made for interpretation, but I think this one is more precise: "Don't try to understand it." I think what Chris is trying to say is, "Join me on this journey, believe in everything in front of you, and I'll take you on a crazy journey." Forget about the world you know, enter my world." People may need to watch it 1 million times to learn something they haven't noticed before, or to try to find holes in the story. I'm proud to try my best to avoid these loopholes.
Reporter: But you're both on the road and have to understand every detail of the trip.
Gelke: Every movie is a journey, and every story needs to be immersed in it, like Inception. I don't understand dreams, not even my own dreams. But when you enter the world and follow the rules, Dunkirk is historic, so it's "normal" in Nolan's world. If the characters were on a stretcher for 5 miles on the beach, the crew would have to walk 5 miles on the beach — it would have been the fifth day of filming, I remember. We're going to go back to shoot the next shot.
Inception (2010)
Reporter: Does Creed require you to do some additional research? Did you and Nolan talk for a long time before reaching a consensus?
Gelke: I wouldn't say that any extra research was done. Once Chris had the script, the research was done. All I need to do is understand the principles involved.
After reading the script for the first time, I thought, "Why should I agree to this project?" I have a lot of questions. I got up and walked around the set at Warner Bros., just to clear my head. Maybe I wanted to be inspired by the sacred venue of the studio. I watched it again and asked the VFX team and our long-time editor, John Lee, for answers. The more I read, the more confused I became. But by the time the shoot starts, we're all ready, which doesn't mean there's no need for communication and exchange, we'll exchange ideas in real time.
Reporter: Can you talk specifically about the continuity of "Creed" and the continuity that Nolan has noted in other films?
Gelke: On the first day of the boot, we were shooting some of the most complex scenes of Creed. We went straight into the shot about positive/reverse entropy. Can't we just shoot some simple scenes first? No. We immediately threw ourselves into the frying pan. Continuity on clothing is probably the biggest challenge this project has to deal with.
Reporter: To what extent do other departments need to know about what happens in each scene in order to shoot smoothly? Will this confusion lead to new problems?
Gelke: All departments work together. For example, we need to use multiple vehicles with different performances, which are interspersed with the coordination of costumes, props, art, lighting, etc. It's a huge project across borders, and since Chris loves live-action, you might think the role of the VFX department is limited. But they are the heroes of this project. While Chris used limited visual effects, the VFX team led by Andrew Jackson was the brainchild of the story. Their leadership and script knowledge is undervalued.
Can you think of specific examples of space-time reversal and entropy that make your work more difficult?
Gelke: It's all hard, it's hard to have your character move in the opposite direction at any one time, especially in the same framework, where inverse continuity doesn't fall into the normal category, doesn't it?
Reporter: Christopher Nolan is said to have banned the use of chairs, water bottles and mobile phones on set. Is it true?
Gelke: There's always someone who asks that question. Yes, there are no cell phones on set, which interrupts the flow of filmmaking. I endorse this rule. I hate to see people around me playing with their phones. We are at work, which is not a private time to order things or play games. I wish more people would abide by this rule. As for the water bottle? Never heard of not being able to drink water. Sounds like an urban legend.
The story of not having a chair is also passed down by a lot of people. We didn't have a real-time monitoring house on set — so there was no need to get a chair in the way. We certainly have chairs, but they are basically invisible. If you're sitting, that means you're not involved in the shoot. I have a chair but I won't sit on it, that's where my equipment/daily necessities are stored.
Imagine in an operating room where doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists are all sitting in chairs waiting for work. No, the set is not for people to sit, but for concentration and preparation. If your eyes and ears are not focused on the field, you cannot work. The set deserves everyone's attention. It's respect.
Interviewer: Did you have any particularly memorable or interesting anecdotes on the set in Nolan?
Gelke: Interesting moments? Of course. In Dunkirk, Chris and some soldiers are standing in the English Channel preparing to shoot a scene. I noticed that a soldier needed a blanket around his neck to match it, and I was ready to walk up to Chris and tell him. I was wearing waterproof pantyhose and was like a fisherman. The water may be a foot deep. When I turned to move, I slipped on the rock and fell into the English Channel.
Immediately, I realized the phone was in my pocket, so I hurried to rescue it first. Chris came over to help because he thought I was hurt. I did hurt my knee, but my self-esteem prevailed. I stood up and took my wet phone out of my panties. Chris was supposed to help me, and suddenly he saw it and said, "No cell phones are allowed on the spot." And I replied, "In my pocket." And he said, "But you're on my set." His cold humor is the best.