One of our most anticipated films of the year, Paul Schrader’s forthcoming drama, “The Card Counter,” was a victim of the COVID-19 film industry shutdown back in March. The frustrating part, particularly for the filmmaker, is the fact that he only had five days left of shooting before he would have been done. However, in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Schrader explained that the delay was ultimately a good thing and it made the recent restart of production much easier.
Schrader explained that he was in much better shape to go back to filming than some other features that were halted. He said the big crowd scenes and love scenes were already done, so all that he had left were “a number of scenes in the prisons, and four more scenes in the casinos, some driving scenes.” And all he needed was five days.
“And we were able to put everybody back together and do our week of prep and five days of shooting,” explained the filmmaker. “It was very strange, and in a way it was kind of fun, in a summer camp sort of way. But I would hate, hate to make a whole film this way. It was an adventure for five days, it’s a nightmare for five weeks.”
But that doesn’t mean Schrader spent the five months away from the set just sitting around and not being productive. The filmmaker explained that he was able to cut together a rough version of the film, which he used as a tool to elicit some feedback from his trusted colleagues.
“Then I was able to screen virtually the film for a number of people I respect, like [Martin] Scorsese, who is the executive producer, like [filmmaker and programmer] Kent Jones and other people,” Schrader said. “And what I asked them all is, ‘I have four more scenes to shoot. I can rewrite them. What am I missing? What do I need to add? How should I write these four scenes?’
He continued, “And I started getting feedback about what they felt was missing. So I was able to rewrite these scenes and make these relationships much better. And not all productions get to do that. It’s a very expensive reshoot, but it was built-in that three-quarters of the way through, I have an opportunity to rewrite one-quarter of the meaningful character scenes. So I did, I rewrote it. And I realized what was missing. And I wouldn’t have realized that if I was shooting at the top. I would have only realized that in post. And I would have walked around the room kicking myself in the ass, saying, ‘I wish I had the opportunity to reshoot some scenes.’”
Of course, all that film fans really care about at this point, in regards to “The Card Counter,” is when they can see the film. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be anytime soon. But don’t blame Schrader. The filmmaker would be able to finish the film in a month, if pushed. However, the studio doesn’t want it that quickly.
“I was talking to Focus [Features], and I could give them the film in a month,” he said. “They don’t want the film in a month because they don’t know what to do with it in a month. They said, you just take whatever time you need, which is the opposite of the way studios usually talk. I also have final cut, so it doesn’t really matter. What I deliver, I deliver.”
He goes on to explain that “The Card Counter” will likely be held until it can do a full film festival circuit and build up anticipation in the same way “First Reformed” did before it was released a couple of years ago. So, if you’re hoping for a late-2020 debut, you’re out of luck. At this point, we should all be looking at “The Card Counter” coming sometime in 2021. If we’re lucky.
