Brokeback Mountain: Interview with director Ang Lee
A great
interview with Ang Lee (Window's Media Player) by
Alex Chadwick on NPR's "Day to Day" December 23, 2005. Lee talks
about what he describes as a love story, and the specifics of making a movie
featuring two gay men with two of the hottest straight guys in Hollywood.
The interview includes how Lee rates the success of the movie, and how he
achieved the stunningly beautiful cinematography in the movie.
Here's an extended outtake of the
interview about the kiss
between Ennis and Jake (Ledger and Gyllenhaal) when they meet up in
Ennis' home town after a long absence. In the movie, the two lovers kiss
passionately at the bottom of the stairs when they greet each other, and the
kiss is observed by Ennis' wife, who is played by Ledger's real-life
fiancée, Michelle Williams. (Gyllenhaal, by the way, described
kissing Ledger as being like
exfoliating.) Lee describes how the kiss was filmed unrehearsed,
and how Williams critiqued the scene urging retakes until she personally was
convinced of the passion of the kiss. How many takes in all to get the
perfect Ledger/Gyllenhaal kiss? 7 takes one side, 6 takes the other side,
and 3 takes from William's point of view. This was then followed by an
additional 5 or 6 takes at William's insistence until she was totally
convinced of the passion of the kiss. Funnily, one of the most
difficult things was getting the hats to stay on why the guys kissed!
Lee also talks in the interview about his admiration for
the actors in carrying off the love scene in the tent.
Listen to the
audio of the Ang Lee interview
about Jake and Ennis' kiss and love making scene in the tent from
National Public Radio's "Day to Day"
 Gyllenhaal
told Britain's Empire magazine: "When we kissed it felt like we were
exfoliating.
"It was definitely more aggressive. It was physically a much stronger
thing." Gyllenhaal also admits he was left injured after filming a scene in
which the two actors - who have a secret homosexual affair in the critically
acclaimed film - fight each other.
And the 26-year-old star claims shooting the movie's sex scenes was just as
rough as when he and Heath had to grapple with one another. He added: "When
we fight in the movie it's very similar to when we are physical with each
other. "I was pretty f**ked up after one of the scenes. We were rolling down
the hill, really punching each other, strangling each other."
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Brokeback
Mountain the movie (