Face-to-face with Anne Fletcher

Directors intimidate me — terrify me even if I have to work with them. Maybe because most of them are given to temper tantrums.

I didn’t have to deal much with the late masters Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal and so I didn’t have any problem with either of them, particularly Lino who was very friendly — especially if you were on his side of the political fence.

National Artist for Film Eddie Romero had always been like a father to me, while Carlos Siguion-Reyna is a friend. I’m also on friendly terms with Joel Lamangan, but I’ve seen him get mad (though not at me) and that was terrifying.

With the current crop of young indie filmmakers I know I won’t have a problem because I have the advantage of age — I must be older than all of them combined.

But there was a time very early in my career when I was so scared to interview Mike de Leon. Mike has done very few films, but I love each one of them. I was excited and yet nervous about sitting down with him for a one-on-one because as I remember it, you had to wait for the red light to turn green — which meant he was in the mood to face people.

When I got to the LVN studio, the light had just turned green to everyone’s relief and I got myself a great interview — and he was very pleasant all throughout our conversation.

This is the scenario among our local filmmakers. Now, until recently, I didn’t have any idea how to deal with Hollywood directors. I could have had my chance when Quentin Tarantino was here because I was told he was very accommodating, but I was never a fan.

About a month or so ago, I finally had a personal encounter with a Hollywood director and it turned out to be a wonderful experience. Her name is Anne Fletcher and she is the director of The Sandra Bullock-Ryan Reynolds film The Proposal, which opens in Metro Manila theaters next week.

Anne started as a choreographer and was hailed as one of the best in America before she tried directing films — first with Step Up and later, 27 Dresses. She has also appeared on screen as a dancer — in The Mask and Flintstones.

My interview with Ms. Fletcher was conducted in Los Angeles — a trip arranged from here by Columbia Pictures’ Bernie Cheng. Upon my arrival there, I tried to figure out how I was going to address her. Was I going to call her direk? Nah, that’s only done here and, frankly, I find that weird.

Whatever apprehension I had about talking to a Hollywood director face-to-face disappeared when she entered the room and extended her hand to me. From Minute 1, she was extremely friendly and all that was missing was a Miss Amity sash wrapped around her body.

Immediately, she complimented me about the black coat I was wearing (it was from Tango & Merger, which sells very affordable suits and other formal wear). She ran her fingers around the fabric and said the material was very nice — “and had pretty studs.”

From that time on, I knew we would be comfortable with each other and so I didn’t have to tiptoe around that controversial issue about Sandra and Ryan getting naked in a very long scene. Was it difficult to shoot that part of the movie? “No, it wasn’t hard at all. My background on choreography sure helped a lot. It was just a matter of getting everyone on board. With Sandra, there was no problem at all. Initially, I thought I would have a hard time convincing her and that she would say no because most women don’t want to be photographed naked. But when told that she was going to be naked, she said yes right away. Of course, we had to rehearse the naked scene so that we get to cover what has to be covered,” she points out.

“I also made sure that it wasn’t just about them being naked. The scene also had to be funny. But really, they are mostly naked there — with just tiny invisible straps and strings,” she adds.

So what was the hardest thing about filming The Proposal? “Things only became difficult because it was raining every day in Sitka, Alaska (where 85 percent of the story supposedly takes place),” answers Anne. The crew had to shoot there to capture the mountainous, tree-filled locale. The film, however, was shot mostly in Massachusetts — “with some scenes digitally enhanced,” so confesses Anne.

In one scene they were shooting, Anne got the scare of her life when that part called for Sandra to fall into the sea and swim. “We were in Massachusetts in the middle of winter and she developed hypothermia (that’s how most of the people died in Titanic, remember?),” recalls Anne. “Now, when I went over to her to check if she was okay, the first thing she asks me was: “Did you get the shot?” I’m telling you, that girl is something else,” she gushes.

To this day, she still relishes the pleasure of having worked with Sandra. “She’d come to work happy — and she was like that every day. As an actor, she is the roll up your sleeves and let’s get dirty and do what we have to do type.”

With such dream actors and a crew that would brave even the severest weather in Massachusetts and the rains in Alaska, Anne swears she never had any headache filming The Proposal — and that showed on screen because it turned out to be such an enjoyable comedy and viewers would come out of the theater happy.

If you ask the cast members, they’ll all tell you that it was great working with Anne and you know they’re genuinely sincere about how they feel about their director. She is cool on the set — they all say. “Screaming and throwing things?! I don’t know why some directors have to do that,” Anne tells me, shaking her head.

During the interview, I discovered that she never pretends to know everything, unlike most other filmmakers. “This is something I learned from Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon, Murder on the Orient Express, Network, etc.): If you have doubts, always go back to your writer.”

Hearing that statement from Anne Fletcher, I thought it was worth the trip to America. Finally, after years — decades even — of interacting with all sorts of filmmakers I get to meet a director who doesn’t have ego. It surely was a pleasure talking to you, Ms. Fletcher.