Michael Mann’s research into and hands-on approach to his work would make even the most committed artist blush. God knows how deep the cabinets and shelves on each project––especially the ones that never got made––truly run, and it’s the nature of Mann fans to never feel like there’s quite enough: years between films while every previous one’s run over again and again. Ergo the Michael Mann Archives, which is exactly what it sounds like but, one hopes, takes the concept as far as possible. The initial launch, detailed at great length in an LA Times profile, covers Ferrari: 20 mini documentary videos; Mann’s director notes to actors and department heads; full shooting script by Troy Kennedy Martin; exclusive set photography Mann’s annotated script pages; photo storyboards; shot lists; six pivotal scenese [sic] from the film in 4K; special effect previsualizations; department plans; lined script continuity; transcriptions of MM interaction with cast + crew; photo storyboards; and historical research + images.
No small thing, which is necessary for $65 access, and subsequent installments covering other titles will require an individual purchase. It’s something like a decade in the making, starting with the director’s daughter, Becca Mann, whose imagination was sparked while rummaging through materials and finding “some kind of crazy, beautiful document that’s covered in coffee stains and it’s got the whole crux of Heat on one page.”
As Mann said about the endeavor:
“Directors have no idea how any other director makes a movie. And so we each evolve our own particular process. This is an opportunity to pass that on, convey something I’m just very enthusiastic about. I think it is the best work that any man or woman can do, period. And I’ve thought that since I was 20 years old. And my enthusiasm for it is absolutely unwavering and unremitting.”
To close out, a word on Heat 2: Mann says he’s “deep into writing” an adaptation of his and Meg Gardiner’s novel––enough that it’s hoped production will start the end of this year or early 2025. “I can’t talk about that” was his clean, professional, don’t-let-yourself-get-attached-to-anything response to rumors of Adam Driver and Austin Butler’s involvement. (Certainly no word since we heard last year that Jeremy Allen White and Channing Tatum were seeking roles.) Such star power would naturally propel the movie’s chances a great deal, and it’s wonderful to see him undeterred by Ferrari‘s (undeserved) box-office failure or (meaningless) awards issues. But this archive makes clear there’s plenty value in the past.
The post Michael Mann Launches New Online Archive and Provides Heat 2 Update first appeared on The Film Stage.
