When Roger Deakins wins his third Oscar tomorrow night at the 95th Annual Academy Awards, where he is nominated for his work on Empire of Light, it will simply be the latest achievement in one of the most incredible careers in film history. Over the past 40 years he has garnered 16 Academy Award nominations while working with many of Hollywood’s biggest directors, including frequent collaborations with the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes and Denis Villeneuve.
In a new interview with GQ, Deakins looked back at his expansive filmography and shared behind-the-scenes stories of some of his best-known works. When the Coen brothers’ Oscar-winning Cormac McCarthy adaptation No Country for Old Men came out, Deakins revealed he played an even bigger role in the film than he’s given credit for. Aside from serving as the Coens’ cinematographer, he was also one of the reasons they decided to direct the film.
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Deakins explained that the Coens were initially only involved with the project as screenwriters and were considering handing the film over to someone else. But after reading McCarthy’s novel, Deakins launched a full court press to ensure his longtime friends and collaborators were directing.
“Joel said we’re doing this script, ‘No Country for Old Men.’ I had just read the book, so I said, ‘Aren’t you going to direct it?’ And he said, “Well, we could.” I said, “I’ll never speak to you again unless you direct.”
Deakins further recalled Joel and Ethan Coen’s obsessive preparation for the film and recalled being impressed by how clearly they were able to articulate their vision for the finished film early in the process.
“What’s special about Joel and Ethan is that they love to immerse themselves in different worlds. They just move in different genres in a very interesting way. But they are very well prepared, they spend a lot of time talking about it, making drawings, storyboarding, studying locations,” he said. “One of the things that Joel and Ethan said early on when we were shooting was, ‘Be aware that we’re not going to have any music on it.’ They knew from the beginning, long before we started filming, that only natural sounds would be heard.”
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