Spring 2016
"Adam McKay called me when I was in London doing reshoots
on The Brothers Grimsby asking if I could read the book for this small project that he planned to make very quickly," UPM Louise Rosner recalls with a laugh.
That "small project" turned out to be The Big Short (2015), the DGA Award-nominated hit that used 87 locations in three states with 145 actors, and only six weeks of prep. "Amazingly, the film never felt rushed," Rosner says, "because Adam knew exactly what he wanted and was incredibly prepared."
Rosner says The Big Short was one of the highlights of a 20-year career that also includes two films in The Hunger Games franchise. "What was unique about The Big Short is that every single person on the crew was connected to the subject matter in some way. We all felt if this film helped one person avoid what had happened again, it would be a big success," she says.
For the daunting Las Vegas scenes, Rosner struck a deal for the
production to close off parts of the casino at Caesars Palace. "Some of the Wall Street scenes were shot in downtown New Orleans and New York, combining elements from both cities in a creative use of locations to accommodate the furious schedule," she says.
Rosner’s most recent project, Louis Leterrier’s The Brothers Grimsby (2016), enjoyed a much longer schedule, of which every day was essential. "We had actors in underwater tanks with a Tesla crashing into the water, and one scene in a football stadium that used more than 10,000 extras," she says.
There were also stunt performers rappelling off of buildings onto
a freeway with cameras strapped to them for POV sequences, and performers falling off zebras.
"Safety is your first priority on a film with this much action, shot in many locations," Rosner says. "We held safety meetings following all emergency action plans, road closure, setups, and had detailed rehearsals for all stunts and SPFX sequences. We had a great team."
Rosner notes that parts of Grimsby were shot in an impoverished section of Cape Town, South Africa, where some local residents served as trainees in an effort to build up the country’s film industry. When shooting was done, crew members set up a fund for the community. "This industry has given me so much, I think it’s important to leave a place better than you found it," she says.