Fans of HBO‘s “The Righteous Gemstones” tuning in to the Season 4 premiere expecting to see continuing adventures of their favorite characters got a big surprise: the dysfunctional evangelist siblings Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam Devine) were nowhere in sight — and neither was their patriarch Eli (John Goodman). Instead, series creator Danny McBride directed a stand-alone episode set over 100 years in the past, in which viewers were introduced to a Gemstones ancestor (Bradley Cooper) who planted the seeds for the family’s empire during the Civil War.
It was a bold move, but one that paid off, as “Prelude” became one of the show’s most acclaimed and talked-about episodes ever. McBride told IndieWire that the idea grew out of earlier flashback episodes depicting past moments in the Gemstone family history. “We had used these interlude episodes in previous seasons to shed light on the current story that was unfolding,” he said. “So there’d always been a thought of doing something that jumps even further back in time.”
That said, tackling the complexities of an episode that would require hundreds of extras, elaborately choreographed Civil War battles, and the patience of an audience who had been waiting nearly two years for the return of the regular characters was easier said than done. “There’s always this level of writing something and then being faced with the realities of the production,” McBride said. “And then figuring out how you can still achieve that with the time that you have.”
Luckily, McBride had the help of longtime collaborators, including cinematographer Paul Daley and editor Justin Bourret, who rose to the challenge of finding a new visual language that would feel consistent with the world of “The Righteous Gemstones” but expand and deepen it. Daley was more than ready for the challenge. “In the scripts for ‘Gemstones,’ anything can happen,” he told IndieWire. “We go from motorcycle ninjas to snowmobiles, monster trucks, and crocodiles. So I read the Civil War episode and said, ‘Wow, another monster.’”
With a shooting schedule of under 10 days, McBride and his cast and crew set out to shoot a Civil War spectacle in the tradition of feature films like “Glory” and “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” a feat that required an intense degree of problem-solving on a daily basis. Yet figuring out ways to work within the limitations of time and budget often led to creative triumphs, as in a tracking shot that shows an entire battle from one side’s point of view; McBride made that decision because he didn’t have enough extras to show both sides, but the result is one of the most visually stunning and dramatically impactful moments in the history of the series.
How do you shoot a period epic in less than two weeks and push the boundaries of what your audience will accept to give them a satisfying cinematic experience? In the videos below, McBride, Daley, and Bourret break down their process.
The Direction of “The Righteous Gemstones”
Not long after director Danny McBride committed to the idea of opening the final season of “The Righteous Gemstones” with a Civil War prologue, he realized he had a problem on his hands. “The audience is tuning in to see the cast, and they’re not going to get that,” he said. That meant McBride had to cast someone in the role of Gemstone family ancestor Elijah who would make the viewers forget what they were missing.
“This needs to be someone who won’t be disappointing to people,” McBride said. “It’s got to be someone that everybody loves who is talented and can command this tone.” McBride casually mentioned to a producing partner that he needed “somebody like Bradley Cooper,” and the decision was made to send him the script. “He hit me up pretty quickly and said he was interested in doing it.”
With that problem solved, McBride turned to another challenge: figuring out how to shoot a Civil War battle in one day. Realizing that he wouldn’t have a lot of time during production, McBride decided to maximize prep time to rehearse what would become an extremely impressive long take.
“I started coming up with the idea to set this up as a oner and just make it one side of the battlefield,” McBride said. “To put all of our resources into pulling that side off and never have to worry about turning around. Put every extra on this side, put all of the wardrobe just on these Confederate soldiers, so we don’t have to make a hundred Union soldier outfits as well. It was just about trying to be conscientious about our resources and trying to figure out how to push it further than what we actually had.”
In the video above, watch how McBride’s careful planning allowed him to give the impression of scale and scope in an episode anchored by Bradley Cooper’s charismatic performance.
The Cinematography of “The Righteous Gemstones”
For cinematographer Paul Daley, the goal was to stay consistent with the tone that previous seasons of “The Righteous Gemstones” had established without being beholden to it. “It was an entirely standalone episode, so it was supposed to look as different as it could and yet be the same show,” Daley said. Looking for reference points, Daley settled on American films of the 1970s that used a lot of natural light since “Prelude” would include a large number of day exteriors.
“One of my favorites is ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales,’” Daley said. “I think it’s the best-looking day exterior movie, it’s beautiful.” In addition to that Clint Eastwood Western, Daley showed his camera department some more unexpected films like the Michael Caine spy thriller “The Ipcress File,” which had a specific visual grammar he felt he could apply to “Gemstones.” “When we’d be framing something up, I’d use it as a shorthand. I’d say, ‘More ‘Ipcress.” So more headroom.”
For a montage depicting Civil War soldiers standing for portraits, Daley studied silver nitrate prints of the era and tried to figure out what the modern equivalent was in terms of lenses and large format photography. “ That’s supposed to be a perfect representation of those photographs,” Daley said. “So no direct light whatsoever. The guys are barely moving. In my mind, it’s almost like ghosts. They’re gone now.”
Making the transition from contemporary farce to Civil War Western was less of a leap for Daley than one might expect, because he’s never tried to force the laughs in his cinematography. “ I don’t light for comedy,” Daley said. “I am very passionate about making it look as good as it can look, and I let the actors worry about the comedy. Find a beautiful frame and let the actors march inside that frame.”
In the video above, Daley breaks down his lighting style and compares his framing with the classics that inspired him.
The Editing of “The Righteous Gemstones”
Editor Justin Bourret has worked on “The Righteous Gemstones” since its first season, but he immediately recognized that the “Prelude” episode was something special. “Getting this footage where it’s an A-list star and it’s kind of a war epic, I felt like a kid opening presents every day,” Bourret said. Like McBride, Bourret knew that Bradley Cooper’s casting and performance were key to holding the audience’s interest in the unconventional episode. Keeping that in mind, he withheld a close-up of the star as long as he could in order to ease the viewer in.
“ I’m definitely thinking in my head, this is Bradley Cooper,” Bourret said. “I want people to be a little surprised. Danny and I talked about holding off on when we actually see a close-up of Elijah, so that we have a little bit of dialogue before we’re like, ‘Oh wait a minute, that’s Bradley Cooper.’ Just so it wouldn’t be distracting.” Bourret, who studied acting in college, always tries to be sensitive to the intentions of the actor, and his work cutting Cooper’s performance was no exception.
“ Because of my acting background, I think I have a good idea of the tricks that actors do,” Bourret said. “I know when an actor is trying to sell something for their character, and when I see someone doing that kind of moment over and over again, I’ll make sure I get that in because this is something that this person knows about this character and wants to reveal.”
Bourret’s attention to performance is particularly evident in one of the most complex yet subtle sequences in “Prelude,” a card game that required the editor to carefully modulate point of view so that the audience would be aware of one character’s sleight of hand but the other characters would not be. “I wanted to give this feeling that they’re all having a good time,” Bourret said. “It is tricky, but I think with anything, it’s just always having character and story on your mind as you’re putting this together.”
In the video above, Bourret explains how he calibrates comedy and drama through his editing and showcases the best of what the actors have to offer.
