Production[]
Director Sean Baker with his wife and co-producer Samantha Quan
The director, Sean Baker, said Anora was inspired by a story from a friend about a Russian-American newlywed kidnapped for collateral. He was also inspired by his work in 2000 and 2001, when he edited wedding videos, including ones of Russian-Americans in New York.[1] Baker said his intentions were towards "telling human stories, by telling stories that are hopefully universal [...] It's helping remove the stigma that's been applied to [sex work], that's always been applied to this livelihood."[2] Baker hired Andrea Werhun, a Canadian writer and actress known for her 2018 memoir Modern Whore about her prior time as a sex worker, as a creative consultant.[3]
Baker cast Mikey Madison after seeing her in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and Scream (2022).[1][4] He hired Madison without an audition.[5] Madison learned Russian, visited strip clubs, and studied the Brooklyn accent to prepare.[5] Although some media outlets incorrectly reported that Anora Mikheeva was Uzbek-American, Baker said that Anora "is of Russian ethnicity" and "from one of the post-Soviet countries".[4][6][7]
Principal photography took place starting in February 2023 in Brooklyn, including the neighborhoods of Brighton Beach, Coney Island, and Sheepshead Bay.[8] Anora was filmed over 37 days, with the 25-minute home invasion scene taking 10 days. It was shot on Kodak 35 mm film framed in 4-perf widescreen anamorphic using an Arricam LT, with color correction completed via DaVinci Resolve at FotoKem.[8][1] Vintage LOMO prime and zoom lenses were mainly used for filming, while Atlas Orion lenses were used for low-light scenes.[8] Scenes were also shot at the Palms Casino Resort and on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.[8] The film's cinematography was inspired by 1970s crime dramas set in New York, including The French Connection and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.[8] Alex Coco, one of the producers, worked as a disc jockey for the music in the scenes in the club.[1] Baker is credited with the casting, with the cast including more than 30 different speaking parts.[1]
For the Zakharov mansion, Baker filmed at 2458 National Drive, a Mill Basin mansion once owned by Vasily Anisimov, an oligarch with ties to Russia. Baker had searched on Google for "the biggest and best mansion in Brighton Beach".[9] To learn more about the area, Baker and Mikey Madison temporarily moved to southern Brooklyn during pre-production. Toros and Ani's search for Vanya was filmed in several restaurants and clubs that the producers had frequented.[10]
At a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival, Madison said that Baker and the producer Samantha Quan, Baker's wife, would act out different sex positions to demonstrate what they wanted the actors to do. Madison was offered an intimacy coordinator, but said: "As I'd already created a really comfortable relationship with both of them for about a year, I felt that that would be where I was most comfortable with and it ended up working so perfectly."[2]
The soundtrack includes Robin Schulz rework of "Greatest Day" by Take That and "All the Things She Said" by t.A.T.u. Madison also shared that her friend curated a "stripper playlist" for her to get into character, including tracks from Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion and Slayyyter.[11]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Macaulay, Scott (2024). "Swept Off Her Feet". Filmmaker. Vol. 33 no. 1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ritman, Alex; Shafer, Ellise (May 22, 2024). "Sean Baker Makes Movies About Sex Workers in Hopes of 'Helping Remove the Stigma' — and He's 'Already Talking About the Next One'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ↑ Perella, Vincent (September 8, 2024). Sean Baker Didn't Pick Up on the Similarities Between 'Anora' and 'Pretty Woman' Until Halfway Through Production.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chang, Justin (October 11, 2024). "'Anora' Is a Strip-Club Cinderella Story—and a Farce to Be Reckoned With". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on October 13, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ford, Rebecca (October 16, 2024). "Mikey Madison's Life Hasn't Changed Yet—but When the World Sees 'Anora', It Will". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ↑ Whipp, Glenn. "Review: Sean Baker's freewheeling 'Anora' is a stripper's fairy tale crashing to Earth", October 16, 2024.
- ↑ Westervelt, Eric (October 20, 2024). Sean Baker on writing and directing 'Anora'. NPR.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Shooting on KODAK 35mm film, DP Drew Daniels summoned a spirit of the '70s for Sean Baker's Cannes-winning tragi-comedy 'Anora'. Kodak (October 18, 2024).
- ↑ Quinlan, Adriane (October 18, 2024). The Real Russian Oligarch Family Who Built Anora's Mansion.
- ↑ D'Addario, Daniel (October 4, 2024). "How Sean Baker Made 'Anora' — a Twisted Brooklyn Love Story Filled With Sex, Strippers and Russian Oligarchs". Variety. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ↑ Pilley, Max (November 2, 2024). "Here's every song on the 'Anora' soundtrack". NME. Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.