Tom Ford's directorical debut is silencing his critics- Part 2

In 2006, Mr. Ford bought the rights to “A Single Man,” the 1964 novel written by Christopher Isherwood, along with a script by David Scearce, which Mr. Ford decided to rewrite. To prepare, he read books, including “On Directing Film” by David Mamet. He showed an early draft to a studio executive, who told him to hire a professional. He tried collaborating with a screenwriter, but they disagreed. In all, Mr. Ford said he revised the script 15 times in less than two years.



The serious story — suicide, death, tragic romance — was a departure from the Tom Ford of Gucci who liked to provoke. (In one of his more controversial Gucci ads, a woman tugs at her panties to reveal a patch of hair shaped like a “G.”) 



“When he first showed me the script I was shocked,” said Arianne Phillips, the movie’s costume designer. “If this was the movie Tom Ford ‘the director’ wanted to make, I did not know Tom Ford ‘the person.’ ” 



Ms. Eisner added, “When people think of Tom they think he has sex a million times a day.”



The subject matter, too, made it difficult for Mr. Ford to get a studio to finance his film. His friends told him to create a short film to show what he could do. Mr. Ford said he had a verbal agreement with two investors last year but the deal fell through after the stock market tumbled.



His agents, he said, told him not to pay for film production himself. But Mr. Ford made a lot of money at Gucci and decided to do so anyway. Besides, it afforded something he covets most: complete creative control.



In one scene, the contents of George’s medicine drawer are laid out in a grid much like Mr. Ford’s drawer at home. “I styled all that,” he said. “Every bit of it is me.”



In another scene, Charley, George’s close friend and a former lover, played by Julianne Moore, puts on her makeup before dinner, one eye bare, the other elaborately painted. “It was artistry and artifice in one moment,” Ms. Moore said. “He was careful about what he wanted to communicate.”



But there are darker parallels, too. When George prepares to commit suicide, he crawls into a sleeping bag, gun in hand, so he won’t sully the white bedspread. Mr. Ford said that a relative of his died that way, even laying out the clothes for his funeral as George does in the film.



Of course directing actors is different from posing models in advertisements or on the runway; actors talk and, often, talk back. What may surprise viewers most about the film is the richly human performances Mr. Ford has elicited — or, at least, enabled. With a brief 21-day shoot, the director and actors mostly discussed the characters ahead of time, or, if Mr. Ford wanted something specific, it was spelled out in the script. “I never stepped in to tell them how to give a line,” he said.



He gave Ms. Moore and Mr. Firth their freedom.



“At one point I started humming and moving my shoulders,” Ms. Moore said of the scene where Charley applies her makeup. “It wasn’t in the script, but it felt right. I would not have been able to do that if Tom was standing over me, telling me what to do.”



That said, she added, “Tom is completely and utterly in control at all times.”



On Sept. 14, the Isabel Bader Theater at the Toronto film festival was packed with studio executives, directors, talent agents and curious onlookers who wanted to see what took Mr. Ford five years to produce. The film had been warmly received days earlier at the Venice Film Festival, where Mr. Firth won best actor. And though it was also applauded in Toronto, only one buyer emerged: The Weinstein Company, which paid $2 million for distribution rights in the United States and Germany, according to people apprised of the bid.



The problem, said an executive at a rival studio that decided not to make an offer, wasn’t Mr. Ford’s filmmaking. The movie is tricky to market. Even now, the Weinstein Company has been criticized for cutting Mr. Ford’s original trailer, taking out a kiss between George and his partner. Mr. Ford said he agreed to changes in the trailer only so it could be shown to a wider audience. 



Mr. Ford has spent so much of his life crafting his public persona, it leads one to wonder if this movie is another attempt at rebranding Tom Ford, the product. He insisted, “It was the least calculated thing I’ve ever done.”



AS if on cue, Jason Reitman, the Academy Award-nominated director of “Juno,” approached Mr. Ford’s table at the Beverly Hills Hotel. He had seen the film in Toronto and wanted to say how much he loved it.



Mr. Ford brightened at the unexpected visitor. Earlier, he had been discussing how different viewers — gay men, straight women — reacted to a poignant moment where Charley professes her love for George and threatens their friendship. “Were you moved emotionally, even though you are straight?” Mr. Ford asked Mr. Reitman of the scene. Mr. Reitman looked confused. He wondered aloud if Mr. Ford was hitting on him.



“No, I wasn’t coming on to you,” Mr. Ford said.



Mr. Reitman did not recall the scene. When Mr. Ford’s guest began explaining its particular resonance with some viewers, Mr. Reitman scolded her: movies “are not meant to be told that way,” he said. 



He continued the lecture as Mr. Ford watched, wide-eyed and nervously laughing. Mr. Ford’s interview was being derailed.



“You should go away now,” he told Mr. Reitman, whose latest film is “Up in the Air.” He extended his hand to say goodbye. “It was great to see you.”



Mr. Reitman, though, kept talking. 



“You are going to really kill me, aren’t you?” Mr. Ford told him.



After Mr. Reitman left, Mr. Ford turned to his guest and said, “I just asked, ‘What did you think?’ ”











Note:



Provoke: If you provoke someone, you deliberately annoy them and try to make them behave aggressively.



Covet: If you covet something, you strongly want to have it for yourself. (FORMAL)



Elaborate: You use elaborate to describe something that is very complex because it has a lot of different parts.



Artifice: Artifice is the clever use of tricks and devices. (FORMAL)



Sully: If something is sullied by something else, it is damaged so that it is no longer pure or of such high value. (FORMAL)



Poignant: Something that is poignant affects you deeply and makes you feel sadness or regret.

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Tom Fords directorical debut is silencing his critics- Part 2