Movies - TV
How Harold Ramis Cloned Michael Keaton For Multiplicity
By BEN F. SILVERIO
From exploding spaceships to reanimated dinosaurs, movie magic can make a lot of things possible, but even with CGI technology, these shots take more than the flick of a wand to create. Before the advent of modern technology, filmmakers had to get creative to pull off their visions, like how Harold Ramis turned Michael Keaton into four separate characters.
In an interview, Ramis revealed how he managed to turn one Michael Keaton into four, saying they "utilized stand-ins and shot the scene twice.” Ramis explained that "Michael would play each role against actor stand-ins, who would videotape him and then hold monitors of his performance when he played the next character."
However, it wasn’t always easy, and something as simple as pouring a drink became excruciating. Ramis explained Keaton "had to match the duration of the pouring that his stand-in had done [...] line up the stream of liquid and pour the right amount of it [...] Those takes drove him nuts because he couldn't look at a monitor for guidance.”