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Production Notes

"Guy" is the haunting story of a young woman filmmaker (Hope Davis) who stalks the urban jungle, with a camera, in search of her subject. She finds him -- an unsuspecting stranger on a street corner -- and relentlessly begins to explore the most intimate aspects of his life with her camera. Unable to reject her and the camera's unflinching glare. Guy (Vincent D'Onofrio) becomes obsessed with its presence, sending his life into an emotional turmoil. Neither art nor life happens in a vacuum. While the filmmaking process has an impact on Guy's life, it too has an impact on the filmmaker as it hurtles them both into an ever-deepening vortex of revelation, exploration and desire.

Reminiscent of the New Wave in its cutting-edge style and substance, "Guy" innovatingly examines the complex realities of intimacy whilst living in the modern world. It is the power and passion of the camera -- when it is used as a weapon of self defence or as a seducer or as a confessional -- that enables it to become an intense and disturbingly revealing presence, disclosing as much of the artist as it does her subject.

The stars of this avant-garde film are Vincent D'Onofrio ("Feeling Minnesota", "The Player", "Full Metal Jacket") in the title role of "Guy" and Hope Davis ("Mr. Wrong", "Kiss of Death"), an up-and-coming talent, in the role of "Camera". The production team consists of its director, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who has directed "Frankie Starlight", "The Object of Beauty", and "Let It Be"; its producer, Renee Missel, who has also produced "Nell", "Resurrection", and "The Main Event", and its screenwriter, newcomer Kirby Dick.

"Guy" is a PolyGram Filmed Entertainment presentation in association with Pandora Films in Germany, with subsidy funding from North Rhine Westfalia Filmfund. The film is licensed internationally through PolyGram Film International, excluding Germany, where the film will be released through Pandora Films.

The casting of Vincent D'Onofrio as Guy was the result of a year's search. Finding the right actor to accurately portray this alienated Los Angeles man was difficult. The filmmakers did not want him to appear too dangerous, too harsh or too cynical. D'Onofrio brilliantly lets the audience in on the character's existential longing, whilst retaining an appealing warmth and accessibility.

Likewise, the casting of Camera presented unusual difficulties. Finding a voice and a sensibility that matched the audacity, intensity, innocence and loss of character was a great challenge.

The producer, Renee Missel, commented, "Once I read the script, I knew that I had to bring this story to the screen. I also knew it couldn't be a typical studio movie. We were planning to initially make it as an independent feature for US$50,000. However, due to my producing "Nell" (with Jodie Foster), I had a relationship with PolyGram, a truly filmmaker-friendly non-studio studio, and they were willing to make a leap of faith."

The green light was given and a start date of January 13, 1996 was to signal the beginning of a 24 day shooting schedule in Los Angeles. With an equally time- compressed prep, things had to happen quickly. According to the Unit Production Manager, John Michaels, "We were looking at a very short shooting schedule for a feature film. We had an equally short prep; therefore, we need to quickly hire available and skilled department heads and support staff and get things going. With limited budgetary resources and an ever-present ticking clock, we had to get the production office up and running, scout and line up locations, rent equipment and props -- all whilst casting and co-ordinating with a studio 8,000 miles away in London!"

The unifying approach -- mentally, physically and financially -- for all parties involved, from the Production Assistant to the Producer, was a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get- the-job-done attitude. Whether it meant an Executive Producer driving a van, or a Set Decorator picking up an actor, or an accountant being an extra, everyone pitched in on a variety of levels to make it happen. This solved the issues surrounding the physical production side of the movie. However, as this was also a film with a unique concept, there were creative issues that needed to be resolved as well.

Taking advantage of the various exterior Los Angeles locations, Kara Lindstrom, the Production Designer, conceived "Guy" as a Los Angeles road movie with each exterior informing the interior life of the characters. As she put it, "The main concern was to show Guy's alienation visually." She was supported in this effort by the cameraman, Arturo Smith, whose visual style is extremely contemporary: "The camera work on 'Guy' was a challenge. On the one hand we had to make it look as though it was shot by an amateur using a hand-held camera, and on the other hand we wanted the quality of a feature. How do you do both, while staying true to the construct? Hopefully, we pulled it off."

As the editing began, certain rules had to be established and stylistic choices had to be made. How was the film going to be assembled? Initially, there were not going to be cuts within scenes, but as time progressed, it was decided that the Camera would have total stylistic and editorial control of the piece. Devices such as jump cuts, dissolves and the complete manipulation of scenes could be used without violating the original design of the film.

"Guy" completed principal photography on February 11, 1996. Since a portion of the film's financing came from a German film fund, most of the post-production took place in Germany. The film became a model of true US/European collaboration, from its inception to a finished movie.

The director, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, reflected, "The 'how' of making 'Guy' was as interesting to me as the 'why'. The 'how' was what was the best way to make a movie where you never see one of the two principal characters and where you only see the other from a subjective point of view. The 'why' is something from which we can all draw our own conclusions -- the way we live today with the intrusion of the camera in our public and private lives -- the intrusion, and the seduction. "I have always been captivated and exhilarated by good actors and the way they deal with their technical and artistic problems. How they concentrate and are able to dominate the plethora of distractions put in their way; how they form a working bond with each other and the crew to deliver their best -- this is something I always admire. Vincent's performance, his ability to create such a multi-layered, vulnerable and universal character, is especially praiseworthy because he was never able to look his acting partner in the eye. We would rehearse in the normal way and then when we felt we were ready to shoot, the slim and elegant Hope Davis was replaced by the also slim and elegant, but rock hard Director of Photography, Arturo Smith. Vincent would then basically be acting with Arturo, whilst Hope placed herself wherever she could to be near Vincent, constantly having to avoid bumping into Arturo, Andre the focus puller or the boom man.

"Vincent, Hope and Arturo formed an intimate artistic trio, and I would always discuss the shot with the three of them, so we were all agreed on what we wanted to achieve with each scene. For me, this was a very happy way to work, because I believe that the coordination and collaboration of the key people makes for better and more powerful work.

"I was convinced from early on that there was no reason why the character of Camera should not have a good eye and understanding of shots and composition. I thought this was right for the character and at the same time this removed us from the distractions of a shaky camera and lop-sided framing. I felt it was important to marry a style with the character, since in a way, the style IS the character. Even though we hardly ever see her, the Camera exists as a character by voice and by what she chooses to show, in the camera and with the editing. I would also like to mark the contribution of the real editor, Dody Dorn, and her skill in not only cutting, but in shifting my ideas from one plane to another".

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