What Does Michael Mann Wear?

Michael Mann likes to wear Scottevest

There is serious danger here of triviality, but hey... if Michael Mann likes something, I better have a good look at it! So, when on location where does Mann keep his bits and pieces and keep them warm? The tech sort I mean. Well, I suspect he likes well placed and intelligently designed pockets. Which is why he wears SCOTTEVEST. It's not only Mann who wears Scottevest, but a host of celebrities. Click here to see who.

We don't have Scottevest in the UK, but I will be putting an order in through friends... the microfibre hoodie looks good as does the iPhone hugging fleece. Apparently Mann gives his crew free Scottevest gear as gifts. Personally, I always used to love Patagonia. Nowadays I just can't afford it. I guess I will just have to join Mann's crew to renew my outdoors wardrobe. Feel free to call Michael. Just don't ask me to make your coffee... on second thoughts... 

Mann gets his coffee... any way he wants!

The filming of Public Enemies had a real impact on the small towns Michael Mann selected for his scenes. I have enjoyed reading the anecdotes of those meeting Mann for the first time and that wonderful excitement of Hollywood coming to town. Two completely different worlds collide! Leader's of projects obviously get special treatment to smooth the rails of their important visionary work. I love this blog taken during the making of Public Enemies. Here is a small excerpt that made me chuckle:

At one point Michael asked for coffee. No one wanted to ask him cream? Sugar? Black? Decaf? So they bought 3 of each – black, cream, cream and sugar, sugar, sugar substitute… decaf with the same routine. About 20 cups of coffee so that one of them would meet his requirements. Wow… This was my first hint that this guy GETS WHAT HE WANTS!!! No questions asked!

Get the full blog experience here - it's fun to read.

Darn, I wish I could get on a Michael Mann set, just to know what it's like. I have never been on a movie set, not least a Mann movie. No, that's a slight lie. I did find my way by accident on the set of Wind in the Willows near Farnham, Surrey. But they were packing up so I saw very little. I mean guys, Wind in the blooming Willows.

Michael Mann Signature / Autograph

If you wanted to know whether you have an authentic Michael Mann autograph (there are some poor ebay versions being offered), then compare it with this. He signed a VIP guest book at London's Baglioni hotel in 2007:

Dustin Hoffman and Michael Mann

Catching up on the news, it is great to know that the pilot episode of Mann's new TV incarnation "Luck" has already been filmed last spring and HBO have signed it up for more episodes. The Santa Anita racetrack is the heartbeat of the new series and will be transformed into what one can only imagine as a full time film set. Shooting will start September 2010 with the first televising rumoured to be around the end of 2011. It is not clear, to me at least, whether Mann will be directing the first series having already directed the pilot. I really hope he does. What fantastic value for money we get with Mann filming an entire TV episode as opposed to 90 minutes (usually longer for a Mann movie) movie time.

If you are involved in the filming it would be great to hear from you. Otherwise, all news will be posted as I find it. Here is an older article, but provides some background information - click here:

If you want to see some exclusive footage of Michael Mann directing Luck at Santa Anita, here is a great clip of him instructing his crew - click here to access the video below:

Michael Mann directing Luck

For behind the scenes shots of the shooting of "Luck", also check out Mary Forney's blog.

On the set of "Luck"

There isn't much to chew on when finding out about the forthcoming Michael Mann pilot, "Luck", but this horse racing blog from the Santa Anita track in Los Angeles provides some personal insight. The pictures are worth a look. Let's face it, if there isn't a palm tree in a Michael Mann movie, then I am disappointed. The racing track doesn't disappoint. I love palm trees - we don't have them where I live, sigh. But look at these palms at Santa Anita track... aren't they gorgeous? Heat, Collateral, Insider, Miami Vice... my palm tree heaven.

This is from Mary Forney's Blog on horseracing. She became a "lucky" extra for the day.

Well I've just wrapped up a grueling two days of work as an extra (actually we were called "background") for the filming of Luck at Santa Anita, an HBO pilot written and produced by David Milch and directed by Michael Mann.

And let me tell you, I have nothing but respect for everyone involved in film production, from the multitude of crew members to the actors, assistant directors and director. Apparently non-stop 14 hour work days are nothing out of the ordinary for these people. It almost killed me! It was, however, an experience I wouldn't trade. For one thing, I got to work on the same set as actors Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Richard Kind, and Kevin Dunn.

The days started with a 5:30 a.m. call, and a visit to the wardrobe trailer in the dark.

To see the original blog in its entirety with pictures, click here

Mann to direct For Whom the Bell Tolls?

Geek Tyrant Article

Never believe all the hype. Mann selects his films slowly and carefully. Will it be the Robert Capa biopic? It remains uncertain as far as I can discern. See the below article:
... it was revealed that Michael Mann is still currently attached to direct an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's Spanish Civil War novel For Whom The Bell Tolls.

The project is being set up under the Warner Bros. production banner Industry, and has been gestating since 2006 ...

For Whom The Bell Tolls, most famously turned into a 1943 film starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman, follows an American who leaves the United States to enlist on the Republican side in the war, travels behind enemy lines to work with Spanish guerrilla fighters, or guerrilleros, hiding in the mountains.
Read the full article and click here

Sight and Sound on Mann and Collateral

Sight & Sound Article

Mark Olsen talks to Mann about his love of LA, shooting on DV and getting what he wants.

Mark Olsen: In Collateral you seem to be exploring the aesthetics of DV. Was that one of the things that attracted you?

Michael Mann: It's useful here to make an analogy with architecture. When steel was first introduced as a building material architects disguised the structure of their buildings to look like masonry. It wasn't until Louis Sullivan's pioneering work in Chicago in the 1890s that the aesthetics of the steel structure were allowed to be expressed.
So my reason for choosing DV wasn't economy but was to do with the fact that the entire movie takes place in one city, on one night, and you can't see the city at night on motion-picture film the way you can on digital video. And I like the truth-telling feeling I receive when there's very little light on the actors' faces - I think this is the first serious major motion picture done in digital video that is photoreal, rather than using it for effects. DV is also a more painterly medium: you can see what you've done as you shoot because you have the end product sitting in front of you on a Sony high-def monitor, so I could change the contrast to affect the mood, add colour, do all kinds of things you can't do with film. Digital isn't a medium for directors who aren't interested in visualisation, who rely on a set of conventions or aesthetic pre-sets, if you like. But it's perfect for someone like David Fincher or Ridley Scott - directors who previsualise and know just what they want to achieve.

To read full article, click here