Making A Movie in 3 Days: PARADOX by Daryl Hannah w/ Neil Young + Promise Of The Real

PARADOX Film
Directed by Daryl Hannah w/ Neil Young + Promise Of The Real

From When Daryl Hannah, Neil Young and the son of Willie Nelson made a Netflix movie in three days | Washington Post by Monica Castillo:

Hannah, who also wrote the film, created a loose musical journey that follows a pack of musicians — including Young — in steampunk and western attire, traipsing through gorgeous strips of the American West in a post-apocalyptic future. The troubadours are played by the band, while Young plays the ominous “man in the black hat.” Willie Nelson shows up later in the film for a delightful cameo at his ranch, known as “Luck, Texas.”

“When they’re walking into the tent, that’s the first time they’ve ever played that song with Neil,” Hannah said. She’s proud when she says it, knowing well that she caught something special on camera. “That was the only obligation they had, that they had to play an hour for two days.” Since the band needed to rehearse for their upcoming show, Hannah worked that into the story line of her movie.

In spirit, “Paradox” is not unlike Joss Whedon’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” for which he gathered his friends in a house in Santa Monica, Calif., and quickly made a movie. Hannah’s film, however, was not full of professional actors. Just a band and their friends. “I had to be hands-on, because there wasn’t anybody else,” Hannah said. “It was also improvisational, because we made stuff up as we went along.”

Hannah had to be resourceful. She reused her main cast again as extras, pointing to Nelson and Dascalu as examples. “When we shot the scene in Luck with Willie, these guys were the townsfolks. And then, Micah also painted the seedbank set. Everybody has to do everything.” Hannah ordered everyone to “keep hold of your props, keep track of your costume, drag your own furniture.”

The hands-on coaching proved useful. “I don’t act,” Dascalu said. “This isn’t a thing I do, but it was so easy with Daryl. I knew exactly what she wanted and not wanted me to do.”

Micah Nelson enjoyed a similar experience. “We didn’t think too much about things,” he remembered. “That was Daryl’s job. The rest of us were just kind of playing cartoon versions of ourselves.”

“It’s pretty mind-boggling to watch that movie,” he said. “It’s just Daryl with her camera yelling, ‘Okay, let’s all go over here! Okay, no, turn that around!’ ”

“That was the hardest thing, watching the dailies,” Hannah said. “I’m yelling all the time. I hated that!”

Micah assured her, “That’s not an easy thing to do, to have anything other than creativity, a camera and a bunch of weirdos.”

In the same way that activism brought Hannah and Young together, the band met Young while performing at Farm Aid and other environmental protests. It was only natural that the group’s shared passions for causes made it into the movie.

“She kind of makes films like Neil makes records,” Nelson said. “We just go into the studio, and we’ll learn the song as it’s being recorded. He loves the life in it.”

Full interview at When Daryl Hannah, Neil Young and the son of Willie Nelson made a Netflix movie in three days | Washington Post by Monica Castillo.

Micah Nelson, Lukas Nelson & Tato Melgar

Daryl Hannah, Neil Young et al after “Paradox” screening at @musicboxtheatre pic.twitter.com/M2iCJ9ZCM7

— Robert Loerzel (@robertloerzel) March 25, 2018

Also, see:

• REVIEW: 'Paradox' Premiere @ SXSW - Film Directed by Daryl Hannah w/ Neil Young + Promise Of The Real
• Netflix.com will stream the film globally on 23 March, the same day as the release of the movie's soundtrack
• SXSW conversation with Neil Young about ‘Paradox,’ his archives and more | American-Statesman/Austin360
• Trailer for the film "PARADOX" directed by Daryl Hannah with Neil Young + Promise Of The Real & Willie Nelson
• Cover & Track Listing: PARADOX Soundtrack Album - Neil Young + Promise Of The Real, April 20 Release
• Dream weekend when Rusties took over a small town ski resort for Neil Young + Promise Of The Real concerts in Telluride, Colorado in 2016.

PARADOX

Director: Daryl Hannah

w/ Neil Young + Promise Of The Real & Willie Nelson

(Click photo to enlarge)

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