'Casanova' crew rose to Venice challenges
Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:37 PM GMT

By Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Disney's Christmas Day release "Casanova," starring Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller, is that rare period picture that is not heavy and sombre -- the movie is fanciful and fun. Even more rare, it did not film on studio soundstages or shoot on some faraway location because of tax incentives. Instead, "Casanova," which tells the fable of the legendary 18th century Venetian romantic hero, was shot entirely in Italy's City of Love.

"You could have, with organisation, done interiors in a different place and done exteriors in Venice, but it would have felt much more staged, theatrical, and these are things that were against it coming alive," says director Lasse Hallstrom, who pushed hard to shoot in the city.

What Hallstrom wanted was the ability to go from interiors to exteriors in the same place because he believed he could get better and more authentic performances.

So Venice it was. One thing the production prepared for was "aqua alta," the phenomenon of water rising through the ground in the afternoons.

"We prepared for it," producer Leslie Holleran says. "When we prescouted, we walked along planks and we'd see deep puddles, but we had no clue what aqua alta was until it happened. And when it hit, it was tidal."

When it hit was the very first day of shooting -- in the famed Piazza San Marco. The water rose through grates, and in less than a half-hour, the piazza was in a foot and half of water.

"We had to adjust," Holleran says.

Wearing rubber boots, the filmmakers did master shots in the morning, then were up on scaffolding for tighter shots in the afternoon. The aqua alta got so bad that the production even had to handcart extras in period costumes through the water to boats to bring them to the location.

Water presented challenges in the form of the canals as well. Shutting down canals required going through bureaucratic hoops, dealing with the gondolieri -- "They're like Teamsters times five," Holleran says -- and then shooting on the canals required intense logistical planning. At high tide, for example, the boats with cameras found themselves too high to go under bridges.

Getting permission to shoot in the city was a coup for the production, as the region is very protective of the centuries-old buildings. An Italian line producer "spent a good part of his day trying to reassure the powers that be in Venice that we would take every care of the city," Holleran says. "You can't tell them you will increase tourism or put their city on the map. You have very little to offer them. They are interested in preserving the city."

But though the movie was shot on location, it doesn't mean special effects weren't needed. The filmmakers used CGI to "get rid of the Venice of the present," Hallstrom says, adding that signage and TV antennas were digitally erased. A rooftop chase as well as a hot air balloon sequence were done using greenscreen in a Venice film studio. (The latter was necessary because of the severe air restrictions over the city.)

"To work on location in Venice for 16 weeks was exhilarating for all of us, and I hope that exhilaration is reflected on the screen," Hallstrom says.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter