Hollywood Cinematographer Larry Fong Shoots Blockbuster '300'

EXCLUSIVE! AsianConnections' Suzanne Kai interviews Larry Fong, the Cinematographer of the blockbuster movie '300.' Larry talks about his road to '300' and being Asian American in Hollywood.

LARRY FONG
CINEMATOGRAPHER of 300

If you work hard and are good at what you do, and willing to pay your dues, your path will present itself to you.

Never give up.

These inspiring words are from Larry Fong, a living example of how to fulfill your dreams in life. For Larry, his world is the highly competitive one of Hollywood.

Fong is the cinematographer of 300 a blockbuster of a movie combining exciting live action with stunning virtual backgrounds about the historic Battle of Thermopylae between the Spartans and Persians, as interpreted by the acclaimed graphic novel from film noir-style comic book artist and story teller Frank Miller (Sin City, The Dark Knight Returns).

As this feature about Larry Fong publishes on AsianConnections.com, '300' is headed for box-office glory with sell-out crowds flocking to midnight showings across America. In addition to the national theater chains, Imax, the giant-screen movie chain, reports that all 57 of its 12:01 a.m. Friday screenings of the Warner Bros. film sold out its advance ticket sales for the weekend.

This crowning moment for Fong is not the result of an overnight success, but of years of hard work and paying his dues.

Fong has been a cinematographer for award-winning music videos, television commercials, television network shows, and film since graduating from UCLA, and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

Fongs work includes cinematography of 7 episodes including the pilot of the Lost (2004-2005) television series shot in Hawaii. The Lost pilot earned Fong an American Society of Cinematographer's Nomination in 2005 for outstanding achievement in cinematography. He was also cinematographer of the 2004 independent film "Cape of Good Hope" ($3m) which was nominated for a Spirit Award.

SUZANNE: This has to be a very exciting time for you!

You are the cinematographer of one of the hottest blockbuster movies of the year. The movies director Zack Snyder calls you a genius, we have that on video at the red carpet premiere!

Critics are raving about 300 and particularly about the very special look and feel of the movie. Richard Roeper (Ebert and Roeper) says it is "a jaw-dropping, surrealistic dreamscape filled with stunning images...gorgeous to behold."

Besides being very talented, you also just happen to be Asian American! When I took my team to a screening of 300 on the Warner Bros. lot last week I was sitting there watching the credits roll at the end of the movie, just enjoying the whole experience. Then your name came up on the credits. We just cheered.

There are so few cinematographers in Hollywood who are Asian American, and even fewer who have been the Director of Photography for a big Hollywood movie like 300.

We want to know all about your highlights and challenges of being the cinematographer of 300 but first, we want to know everything about you personally.

LARRY: When I was a teenager my father used to tell me about James Wong Howe. I think it was because I had a budding interest in film making. Even though neither of us really knew what a cinematographer was, I think for my dad he served as a symbol of what was possible in Hollywood against all odds. I wish he were here today to share this exciting time with me.

Although I am proud to be Asian American along with others far more experienced than I (Daryn Okada, Michael Goi, Matthew Libatique and others), I think the field of cinematography, and other crew positions, is pretty much color-blind now. Luckily, if youre good at what you do, people will probably want to work with you.

I couldnt have been more proud to work on Lost, with its diverse, multi-racial cast. I was especially thrilled to have shot the episode that has Daniel Dae-Kim and Yunjin Kim in their first romantic scene.

An Asian woman, with an Asian man no less, on network TV, taken seriously and portrayed romantically Doesnt happen every day. I dont know if art follows life or vice-versa but Im glad to be part of, and would hope, this is a continuing trend.

On Lost, Hawaii being what it is, many if not most of the crew were Asian American! From production crew to makeup and grips, camera department and electricians and drivers, we felt a solidarity and pride that bonded us together, that I may never experience again. We were definitely family.

SUZANNE I understand there are other Asian Americans who also played significant roles in the movie '300?'

On '300' believe it or not, a couple of those Spartans are actually Asian American too! And the amazing editor of the film, Bill Hoy, lives here in L.A. but is Canadian born Chinese, from Vancouver. It was a joy collaborating with him as well.

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Exclusive AsianConnections Interview with Larry Fong - Cinematographer of '300'

SUZANNE: OK, lets get even more personal now! Can you tell us about your family background, were your parents supportive of your budding interests in film as a child? What inspired you to get into cinematography in Hollywood?

LARRY: Wow, kind of personal for a web interview but okay...! My parents are both Chinese and were born and raised in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu, as did their parents. Our ancestors are all from Southern China.

As a result my upbringing was an odd blend of Chinese and Hawaiian culture and vocabulary. I grew up in the suburbs of Southern California where my parents were a bit puzzled by my interest in art.

Nevertheless they supported me and my dad started it all by giving in to my begging for a darkroom. So in junior high I taught myself photography and printing.

When my family all went to see '2001: A Space Odyssey' at the Cinerama Dome I had to pick up my jaw from the floor and the bug had bit me.

Soon I started experimenting with Super 8 movies, making little films with the neighbors as well as cell animation and stop motion projects. I ended up quite the nerd, making miniatures and space ship models and even creating prosthetic makeup.

In high school I tried to work the film angle into as many projects as I could. One film, Close Encounters of the Burnt Kind, ended up playing at the Nuart in a teen film festival (other film makers there: JJ Abrams and Matt Reeves).

I attended UCLA but was utterly rejected by their film program, a dark day indeed. I graduated with a BA in Linguistics and figured I had no future in film.

Over the years I renewed my interest in photography and heard about Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and its amazing photography department. I applied, submitted a portfolio, and got accepted.

The training there was incredible. The discipline and attention to detail was intense. I saw grown men cry and couples divorce. But that's where I began to develop my visual sense and aesthetic as well as knowledge of art history.

But halfway through the program, my parents couldn't afford to shell out any more money...and I was unable to nab a scholarship. But the film department had seen some of my work and seemed to be interested in me. So I transferred over, and ended up with two scholarships.

During this time I realized that my skills were not so much in directing but in photography. It revealed itself to be my true passion and I put all my emphasis in this direction.

I ended up shooting projects for a lot of my classmates, Zack Snyder and Tarsem among others.

So I had a pretty interesting reel upon graduation. I immediately got work in music videos, which were in their heyday. Soon I had shot three MTV Best Videos and that attention started getting me work in TV commercials.

Between then and now I only was able to shoot two independent films. Even though I was well recognized from commercials sometimes you can get pigeon-holed.

But I did do a couple of TV pilots and shorts and eventually 'Lost' came around.

I'm so thankful to JJ Abrams for fighting for me to shoot the pilot, not only because it's great to work with old friends, but I think it gave me some street cred in Hollywood's eyes. Otherwise I'm sure it would have been much harder for Zack to hire me for '300'.

I'm single and live in Los Angeles. I have a cat named Ravi. I like cooking and world music (especially Indian--I play the tabla) and have a love for magic (in fact I'm a member of the Magic Castle).

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Exclusive AsianConnections Interview with Larry Fong - Cinematographer of '300'

SUZANNE: I like a person that does magic tricks and has a cat named Ravi! Back to your 'magical' blockbuster movie 300, what were some of the highlights as well as challenges for you as the cinematographer?

LARRY: The highlights and challenges were one and the same. It's a little intimidating when trying to do something entirely different from anything you've done before, but the thrill you get during the process, and if you succeed, makes it worth it.

The great thing about working with Zack is that he will push you to go beyond your limits, with inspiration and encouragement. When a director tells you not to hold back, and that if the film doesn't look over-the-top then it's all pointless, it's a great feeling.

Because of our collaboration over the years, we share an understanding and a way of communicating regarding the image. If I can get into his head and understand what Zack wants, it's then a straightforward process to put his vision onto film.

From a technical standpoint, we had to light some pretty huge sets. Some took up just about every inch of the stage...or should I say warehouses.

We not only hung thousand of lights and ran miles of cable, but had to install sprinklers in case of fire. We had very high light levels to accommodate our slow-motion work so it could get pretty hot in there.

SUZANNE: Can you share with us some of the unique production processes, shooting the live action, combining it with the virtual world set, and then using the process nicknamed the "crush", which produced the final "look" of the movie?

There is also the "look" called the "Frank Frames" - named by director Zack Snyder.

LARRY: First of all, the technique of combining a foreground with a background is as old as film making itself. For me, the challenge was keeping track of the geography and, say, time of day, and weather conditions, so that the final composites would make sense.

Zack's storyboards, and constant communication with Zack and Chris Watts (VFX Supervisor) kept me in line. That was the technical side.

The creative side involved making the film look as painterly as possible to emulate Frank Miller's graphic novel. This involved the same tools that a cinematographer always uses: composition, camera movement, coverage, and the direction, quality, and color of the lighting.

A lot of experimentation led to the 'crush', Zack's term for the process of getting our look. It's hard to explain and there is no one simple formula for the 'crush': it involved every department, from production design and wardrobe to photography and post-production.

Months of testing, both on film and digitally, got us to the point where we wanted to be. It was definitely the result of an intense collaboration that evolved over the making of the film.

The 'Frank Frames' were images from the graphic novel that Zack insisted be duplicated as closely as possible. On the internet people have made side-by-side comparisons and that's pretty cool. I'd like to think we did justice to Frank's vision.

SUZANNE: Do you have advice for others aspiring to build their careers in Hollywood?

LARRY: This is a basic life lesson, if you work hard and are good at what you do, and willing to pay your dues, your path will present itself to you. Also, make friendships with those who share similar tastes and values.

Plus a little patience: I met Zack Snyder twenty years ago in film school; '300' was our first film together.

And I met JJ Abrams thirty years ago. 'Lost' was our first TV show together.

Never give up.