“Sometimes the crazier the method, the happier he is,” he added of Anderson.
Sami has worked on Anderson’s commercial projects and all of his live-action films since ‘Darjeeling Limited’ (2007), when he devised a method of attaching bogies to the narrow old railroad cars used as sets and impressed filmmakers. I was. Hidden tracks in the ceiling of the train.
To achieve Anderson’s vision, Sami must weigh in on the gear and run full speed ahead. The Steadicam he operates weighs over 60 pounds. It can spin and suddenly come to a dizzying stop. “It’s 10 or 12 hours of very physical work,” he said. “It’s not just about developing endurance. It takes a lot of strength to stop and start a movement or you’ll hurt yourself.”
That’s why he has a daily strength-training exercise plan specific to Anderson’s work. “I used to play rugby, but a lot of rugby training goes beyond that,” he said.
Prior to entering the world of cinema, Sami worked on an oil rig as an industrial diver and underwater welder. His career in the film industry began when his friends invited him to a set during a shipping contractor strike. “I saw this traveling circus where crazy people get together for a short period of time to make a movie. And it’s a different movie – the same circus, a different clown,” he said. “I loved it.” (He also has a degree in Political Science. That background is his own Wes Anderson character, namely Life Aquatic, where he co-starred with Sanjay Sami.) It’s so fantastical that it could be ‘On the Rails’.)
Collaborating with Anderson’s production designer Adam Stockhausen and cinematographer Robert Yeoman, Sami (formally titled Key Grip, head of department) provides an insane amount of input. “He’s like a producer for us,” said Anderson. “He helps us understand how we get things done, and he is good at managing people. His voice joins the discussion.”
The shots that seem the simplest can be the most difficult to create.in order to carousel scene In The Grand Budapest Hotel, using real vehicles doesn’t match Anderson’s slightly surreal concept. Instead, they built a circular track, put a pie-shaped platform on top of it, and put more tracks on top of it. On top of it was a skateboard-style carriage for merry-go-round horses. It tumbled into frame and actress Saoirse Ronan jumped on it, with two off-camera grips holding it down. “Then we start pushing the whole pie-shaped piece of wood into a circular track,” Sami said. Although the moment lasts only 40 seconds, she says, “it’s always been impressive to me because it was the beginning of the more complicated work that we started doing.”
