C O N TE N TS
Foreword by Author TK
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9
Portraits “Hello, I’m John Malkovich” Sandro Miller
17 19
2 Homage
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A Conversation with Sandro Miller Jon Siskel Meeting John Malkovich Jon Siskel
3 Film
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173
Motion 175 Sandro Miller Butterflies Ecstasy
179 207
The Allegory of the Cave Plato
219
About the Author / Appendix Acknowlrdgments Index
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233
229
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C O N TE N TS
Foreword by Author TK
1
9
Portraits “Hello, I’m John Malkovich” Sandro Miller
17 19
2 Homage
95
A Conversation with Sandro Miller Jon Siskel Meeting John Malkovich Jon Siskel
3 Film
157
173
Motion 175 Sandro Miller Butterflies Ecstasy
179 207
The Allegory of the Cave Plato
219
About the Author / Appendix Acknowlrdgments Index
234
233
229
97
1 PORTRAITS
1 PORTRAITS
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M A L K O V I C H w i t h b e r e t a n d v e il # 1
malkovich i n b lack v e il
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38
M A L K O V I C H w i t h b e r e t a n d v e il # 1
malkovich i n b lack v e il
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j o h n i n r e d c o at
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j o h n i n r e d c o at
2 HOMAGE
2 HOMAGE
A C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H SANDRO MILLER JON SISKEL
JON SISKEL
Why don’t we start by you telling us about the project, how you came up with it, what inspired you? What is the project? SANDRO MILLER
Well, the project is for me about recreating some of the most important shots that over my years of being a photographer have inspired me, have moved me, and have taught me. It’s about paying homage to the amazing photographers who created these iconic images, all of which over my 35-year career I have studied, admired and wished that I had taken myself. It’s truly about going back and trying to get into the heads of these photographers and dissecting what they were doing at that moment, what was going on, the emotion that they were trying to draw out of their subject, where the light was coming from, and why they chose the camera that they chose to shoot…even trying to think of what the atmosphere was like. Imagine you are in that hotel bedroom when Bert Stern was shooting Marilyn Monroe for “The Last Sitting.” I’ve looked at those shots for years and truly gone deep into thought about what exactly went on that evening. How Bert approached Marilyn—or how Irving Penn approached Picasso and took that magnificent portrait of Picasso looking underneath the brim of his hat over the collar of that beautiful embroidered jacket. I look at that and wonder—where were those two at in their minds as that photograph happened? How did it happen? What was Irving
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diane arbus / identical twins, roselle, new jersey (1967), 2014
saying to Picasso, what was Bert saying to Marilyn? So my education comes from books, from research and seeing what the old masters were doing, and following my contemporaries like Albert Watson and Annie Leibovitz today, keeping an eye on what they’ve always been doing. For me, both Albert and Annie are just complete masters of their craft. JS So that’s the genesis of the idea. Why John
Malkovich? SM Well, I’ve been asked so many times in my career
about working with John, which started probably about 17 or 18 years ago while I was doing some work with Steppenwolf Theatre. John is an ensemble member and one day he came into my studio to shoot an advertising campaign for one of the plays in which he was performing. And right away something happened with our relationship. I mean we hit it off really well. I think John enjoyed working with me. He liked my style, liked the way I worked, liked the way I directed him, liked the way I respected him. I was always very respectful of his gifts. I knew what he had and I knew what he had to offer and I knew how good he was, how amazing a genius he was. As I watched John over the years of working with him, it came to me that I was working with probably one of the most prolific, one of the most profound geniuses, when it comes to the art of acting, in the world today. Through the years, I’ve watched John change himself to impersonate different characters that
97
A C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H SANDRO MILLER JON SISKEL
JON SISKEL
Why don’t we start by you telling us about the project, how you came up with it, what inspired you? What is the project? SANDRO MILLER
Well, the project is for me about recreating some of the most important shots that over my years of being a photographer have inspired me, have moved me, and have taught me. It’s about paying homage to the amazing photographers who created these iconic images, all of which over my 35-year career I have studied, admired and wished that I had taken myself. It’s truly about going back and trying to get into the heads of these photographers and dissecting what they were doing at that moment, what was going on, the emotion that they were trying to draw out of their subject, where the light was coming from, and why they chose the camera that they chose to shoot…even trying to think of what the atmosphere was like. Imagine you are in that hotel bedroom when Bert Stern was shooting Marilyn Monroe for “The Last Sitting.” I’ve looked at those shots for years and truly gone deep into thought about what exactly went on that evening. How Bert approached Marilyn—or how Irving Penn approached Picasso and took that magnificent portrait of Picasso looking underneath the brim of his hat over the collar of that beautiful embroidered jacket. I look at that and wonder—where were those two at in their minds as that photograph happened? How did it happen? What was Irving
96
diane arbus / identical twins, roselle, new jersey (1967), 2014
saying to Picasso, what was Bert saying to Marilyn? So my education comes from books, from research and seeing what the old masters were doing, and following my contemporaries like Albert Watson and Annie Leibovitz today, keeping an eye on what they’ve always been doing. For me, both Albert and Annie are just complete masters of their craft. JS So that’s the genesis of the idea. Why John
Malkovich? SM Well, I’ve been asked so many times in my career
about working with John, which started probably about 17 or 18 years ago while I was doing some work with Steppenwolf Theatre. John is an ensemble member and one day he came into my studio to shoot an advertising campaign for one of the plays in which he was performing. And right away something happened with our relationship. I mean we hit it off really well. I think John enjoyed working with me. He liked my style, liked the way I worked, liked the way I directed him, liked the way I respected him. I was always very respectful of his gifts. I knew what he had and I knew what he had to offer and I knew how good he was, how amazing a genius he was. As I watched John over the years of working with him, it came to me that I was working with probably one of the most prolific, one of the most profound geniuses, when it comes to the art of acting, in the world today. Through the years, I’ve watched John change himself to impersonate different characters that
97
112
annie leibovitz / john lennon and yoko ono (1980), 2014
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annie leibovitz / john lennon and yoko ono (1980), 2014
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128
victor skrebneski / orson welles, actor, 30 october 1970, los angeles studio, 2014
victor skrebneski / bette davis, actor, 08 november 1971, los angeles studio, 2014
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victor skrebneski / orson welles, actor, 30 october 1970, los angeles studio, 2014
victor skrebneski / bette davis, actor, 08 november 1971, los angeles studio, 2014
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