The memorable freeway ramp dance sequence was shot in only two days with 150 dancers in 110 degree heat, “ La Land ” producer Marc Platt recalled at Saturday’s Producers Guild of America nominees panel.
“Shutting down the freeway didn’t seem that impossible when I first read the Damien Chazelle’s script,” Platt told an audience of about 600 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. The event was held for the 10 nominated films for the PGA’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award for top feature film production released in 2016.
“We closed the ramp between the 105 and the 110 freeways for a Saturday and a Sunday in September,” Platt noted. “We were able to show the footage on monitors on the ramp to the 150 people by late Sunday afternoon. It was wonderful.”
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Platt, who has credits going back to the 1980s, also told the audience that it was a joy to shoot locally: “It was only the third time in 30 years that I got to shoot in LA and it was glorious to be able to see my family at night.”
The two-hour event, moderated by PGA co-president Gary Lucchesi, was punctuated by tales of the intricacies development.
“Casey Affleck wanted to play Desmond Doss in 2003 but I couldn’t get it financed,” said “Hacksaw Ridge” producer Bill Mechanic. He noted that Mel Gibson passed twice on directing in 2002 and 2010 before coming on board in 2015.
