RED SKIES AT NIGHT

By Natasha Block Hicks

Astriking feature of camera operator

P. Scott Sakamoto SOC’s Instagram account is the frequency in which blazing skies appear. In the course of his nearly four-decade career, the SOC’s 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award-winner has recorded nature’s display in numerous sublime locations.

“I love sunsets, they are like beautiful paintings,” he reports from his cabin on the shores of Lake Arrowhead, in the San Bernardino Mountains, California, the muse of many of his posts. “No two are alike.”

The ‘P’ in P. Scott Sakamoto stands for Paul, Sakamoto’s father’s name, though Sakamoto was always known as Scott. He had an affinity for photography at an early age and Paul Snr. would allow the youngster to use his 35mm Minolta, to take pictures on family outings.

“I loved the anticipation of waiting for the roll of film to get developed at the local drug store,” Sakamoto recalls, “and the excitement of seeing what I’d got.”

Sakamoto took photography in high school, which evolved into filmmaking in college.

“That got me hooked in that world,” he relates, “once you start working on student films, it’s addictive.”

The Screen Actors Guild strike of 1980 proved an unexpected boon for Sakamoto. Haskell Wexler ASC, the Oscar-winning cinematographer well-known at that time for features such as One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975, dir. Milos Forman), was occupying the downtime with his own independent projects and, most importantly, was open to teaching students.

“I had an interview with Haskell, then he invited me up to watch him shoot a commercial, and we just hit it off,” recalls Sakamoto. “I was so fortunate; it was the beginning of a lifelong relationship.”

Assisting on short-form projects at Wexler-Hall, the television commercial production company Wexler ran with fellow Oscar-winning DP Conrad L. Hall ASC, became Sakamoto’s “education in filmmaking” as he puts it. He soon graduated to movies, accompanying Wexler to Nicaragua for six months on the latter’s passion project Latino (1985, dir. Haskell Wexler, DP Newton Thomas Sigel ASC) and pulling focus on Matewan (1987, dir. John Sayles, DP Haskell Wexler ASC), which remains one of Sakamoto’s favourite experiences in his career.

The Babe (1992, dir. Arthur Hiller, DP Haskell Wexler ASC) was Sakamoto’s first official foray into movie operating.

Emmerich), which would earn the DP the fourth of his six Oscar nominations.

“The Patriot was challenging,” remembers Sakamoto, “there was a lot of exterior shooting, like sunrises and sunsets. But I’m proud of the work that we did.”

Soon after, Conrad Hall called on Sakamoto to take the operator/Steadicam role on Road To Perdition (2002, dir. Sam Mendes), which was to be the DP’s final film.

“Road To Perdition was technically one of my best films,” states Sakamoto, “there are shots on that movie that I am still very proud of, especially some of the Steadicam sequences.”

Two of Sakamoto’s long takes on Road To Perdition are featured on steadishot.org’s list of iconic Steadicam shots, including one referred to as The Assassination, a 55-second sequence which follows Tom Hanks’ mobster through a hotel enroute to murder his boss’s son.

“That scene was shot in a studio set on the last night,” recalls Sakamoto. “We only had a few takes because Tom had to leave on a plane.

“I started above him, with the Steadicam, twenty feet up on a crane. As we dollied backwards, the grips would be dropping arched ceiling pieces in behind us, so that we could boom down in front of Tom and see the hallway that he’d just walked through. Then I stepped off the crane to follow him.

“Once he makes into the room and shoots Daniel Craig in the bath, the door had to close at an exact mark to reflect the shooting,” continues Sakamoto.

“There were about fifteen people involved in coordination of that shot; it took amazing teamwork.”

“Haskell said, “it’s time for you to move on”,” relates Sakamoto. He had done some operating independently for Sigel and picked up a few Steadicam tutoring sessions “on the side” under operator Stephen St. John, but it was still a major step.

“I was very nervous, especially doing Steadicam work,” recalls Sakamoto, “but the fact that Haskell had faith in me gave me the confidence to go right in and do it.”

Sakamoto continued to collaborate with Wexler for another decade, but was soon in demand with other DPs.

He took Steadicam and 2nd Unit DP roles under Sigel again on The Usual Suspects (1995, dir. Bryan Singer) and teamed-up with Caleb Deschanel ASC on The Patriot (2000, dir. Roland

Sakamoto’s next project was The Italian Job (2003, dir. F. Gary Gray, DP Wally Pfister ASC). “We had a great time on that project,” Sakamoto divulges.

“I teamed-up with Wally again many years later on The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and with Christopher Nolan at the helm, that was pretty amazing. They introduced me to the IMAX camera on the Steadicam, which was something new for me. It’s a big camera.”

In 2005, Sakamoto worked alongside DP Sir Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC on Jarhead (2005, dir. Sam Mendes) which was “such a pleasure”.

“We worked hand-in-hand,” Sakamoto relates, referring to Deakins preference on operating A-camera himself, “he’s such a talented, pleasant man.”

SMOOTH OPERATOR•P. SCOTT SAKAMOTO SOC

Many illustrious projects followed, with Michael Clayton (2007, dir. Tony Gilroy, DP Robert Elswit ASC), The Descendants (2011, dir. Alexander Payne, DP Phedon Papamichael ASC) and Interstellar (2014, dir. Christopher Nolan, DP Hoyte van Hoytema NSC FSF ASC) being just a few examples.

The Revenant (2015, dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu, DP Emmanuel Lubezki ASC AMC) proved to test the resolve of many of the experienced hands working on it, Sakamoto being no exception.

“If the movie looks cold it’s because it was cold,” he says soberly. “It was an endurance test, but also an enlightening experience, because Alejandro’s vision was so wide open. We’d often pan around to see hundreds of yards of the environment.”

According to Sakamoto, Lubezki (known on-set as ‘Chivo’) and Iñárritu wanted to find a special language for the movie.

“This meant using wide lenses, really close to the face, which was extraordinary at the time,” reveals Sakamoto. “The actors’ breath would fog the glass in the cold. At first, we would cut when this happened, but then we realised we should embrace it; it gave such a feeling of intimacy. When they CG’d the bear in post, they made it look like the bear was fogging the lens too!”

One shot that required exacting coordination involved Sakamoto circling Leonardo DiCaprio on a crane, starting with a study of his character’s anguish and ending on him watching an avalanche rumbling in the distance.

“That was a real avalanche, which was set off by a helicopter dropping a stick of dynamite onto the mountainside,” reveals Sakamoto. “It was one of those filmic experiences where everything had to come together, but it was done very calmly.”

In 2016, Sakamoto was recognised with both The Operators Award and the SOC Camera Operator of the Year Award for his work on The Revenant

Sakamoto teamed-up with Cooper and Libatique once again on Maestro (2023), the story of Leonard Bernstein, which had some scenes shot on location in Ely Cathedral, Ely, near Cambridge.

“We had the London Symphony Orchestra replicating an epic concert that Bernstein held there,” describes Sakamoto, “It was an amazing to walk around while they played. I could hear every instrument, recognise every sound. It was an experience that I’ll never forget.”

Back at Lake Arrowhead, where he goes to unwind between projects, Sakamoto was enjoying an unexpected fall of spring snow at the time of this interview.

“If I walked outside I’d be standing in a sevenfoot berm right now,” he remarks, “it’s so beautiful and peaceful.”

In summer, Sakamoto enjoys morning waterskiing sessions on the lake, before the crowds descend.

“That was very special,” acknowledges Sakamoto, “but I need to share part of that moment with Chivo. We were in it together.”

Sakamoto received a second SOC Camera Operator of the Year award in 2019 for his work on A Star Is Born (2018, dir. Bradley Cooper, DP Matthew Libatique ASC).

“That was a very improv movie, even though it was scripted,” divulges Sakamoto. “We would roll secretly with Lady Gaga because her performances in rehearsal were remarkable. Bradley’s a smart director, he made that movie work, and Matthew was really skilled in lighting to cover multiple cameras when we had concert footage.”

“I like to get out there first thing in the cold water with my wife Lori and dog Cooper,” he muses, “just to enjoy the wind, water and the life outside.”