Movies - TV
Shooting Django Unchained's Snowy Quick Draw Scene Was A Tricky Technical Process
By MATTHEW BILODEAU
In “Django Unchained,” audiences get to see Django (Jamie Foxx) hone the accuracy of his sharpshooting skills on a snowman. While most of the film was shot in locations ranging from California to Louisiana, it was the snowy plains of Wyoming that gave director Quentin Tarantino a difficult time shooting this particular scene.
Tarantino explained to Entertainment Weekly how the frigid temperature affected shooting. “I just had to assume that there would be times that the lenses would freeze, or that the big camera would freeze,” he said. “Even the guns didn't work. [...] So literally in between takes, you got a hair dryer on the lenses and a hair dryer on the guns to make sure that they were warm enough.”
Filmmakers always hope that the elements will work in their favor, but sometimes it makes things harder, especially with their cast and crew trying to keep the operation running in an unpredictable environment. Regardless, Tarantino was able to get what he needed, and Jamie Foxx came out on the other side looking like one of the smoothest gunslingers in the West.