Production
In An Inside Look at the Pin-Up Queen of the Universe, a bonus feature on the DVD release of the film, producer Pamela Koffler and screenwriter/director Mary Harron discuss their decision to film most of the movie in black-and-white, which they felt not only perfectly captured the nostalgic mood of the period but also had a psychological impact on the audience. While writing the script, Harron knew she wanted to film the Miami scenes in color in order to provide a sharp contrast between Bettie's professional life and the escape she ultimately made from it. Cinematographer W. Mott Hupfel III used old color stock to approximate the cheerfully vivid hues of Technicolor common in 1950s films.
Actress/screenwriter Guinevere Turner, who cowrote the film with Mary Harron, was originally slated to star as Bettie Page but the role was given to Gretchen Mol when producers had difficulty raising money. Harron said from Mol's first audition, she was her first choice for the role. Harron said, "Emotionally she was so right. She has a natural sort of decorum. So many people made the mistake of being very vampy. At that point, I said, 'Well, you know, it's more important to get the inner Bettie than the outer Bettie.'"
Read more about this topic: The Notorious Bettie Page
Famous quotes containing the word production:
“The society based on production is only productive, not creative.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“The heart of man ever finds a constant succession of passions, so that the destroying and pulling down of one proves generally to be nothing else but the production and the setting up of another.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“I really know nothing more criminal, more mean, and more ridiculous than lying. It is the production either of malice, cowardice, or vanity; and generally misses of its aim in every one of these views; for lies are always detected, sooner or later.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)