After A Year With a Master
Celina Murga Talks about her Year as a Rolex Protégée
What do you think you’ve learned and gained from your year of being mentored in the Rolex programme?
Talking to Marty about my next film really helped me. Unlike my first two movies, the world of this new story is very near the kinds of worlds you see in his films, so I learned a lot. He talked about [his films] Casino and Goodfellas and the idea of treating the way the characters live as normal, not to emphasize anything.
How helpful did you find sitting with Scorsese during the Shutter Island shoot?
Very helpful. Marty’s generous with his knowledge; he likes to share what he knows. When he’s at the monitor, most of the time we sit there with his screenwriter and script supervisor. Between takes, he likes to talk, mostly about films and directors he’s known but other things too.
Did he talk about why he makes one decision or another?
Yes. Of course he has his notes, and he knows what he wants to do, but it’s amazing to see how they really build the scene in that moment. Also, when no one is shooting, he and the assistant director and the director of photography Robert Richardson discuss alternatives so you find out new ways of making the shots. I loved being able to observe the way he works with his crew, how he trusts them and they build the film together.
After this year, when you go back into the world of your work, you’re going to be seen as, among other things, Martin Scorsese’s protégée. Do you think that will change things?
Yes, but I like to stay in the present and not have expectations, although sometimes I have them anyway. You can get frustrated if you have very big expectations or very specific ones. Directors all have inside them the urge to control everything [laughs].