Salvatore Totino, ASC, AIC

Among cinephiles, The Godfather films hold a revered place. Paramount thought they were getting a run-of-the-mill gangster film, but director Francis Coppola and director of photography Gordon Willis, ASC had a vision and the tenacity to execute it in spite of significant obstacles. Along the way, they changed filmmaking in almost every regard, beginning with its darkly iconic cinematography.

Now, fifty years later, comes The Offer – a dramatized peek behind the scenes at the production and its many trials and tribulations, including studio execs, politicians, oil company industrialists, real-life gangsters, and Frank Sinatra, not to mention the normal difficulties in getting a film made. The tale is based on the experiences of Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy, a relative neophyte whose determination was crucial to the success of the project. The cast includes a fun, scenery-chewing turn by Matthew Goode as Paramount chief Robert Evans, and an amusing-for-cinematography-fans portrayal of Willis by T.J. Thyne.

The ten-episode Paramount+ miniseries was primarily photographed by Salvatore Totino, ASC, AIC, best known for his extraordinarily varied work with Ron Howard, which includes The Missing, Cinderella Man, The DaVinci Code, Frost/Nixon, and Angels & Demons. His other credits further demonstrate his versatility, including Everest, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Space Jam: A New Legacy.

The first two episodes of The Offer were directed by Dexter Fletcher (Bohemian Rhapsody), and subsequent chapters were directed by Adam Arkin, Colin Bucksey and Gwyneth Horder-Payton. Director of photography Elie Smolkin, CSC handled the images for the final four episodes.

Totino’s first thoughts concerned how to differentiate the New York and Los Angeles scenes despite shooting almost entirely in California. Aside from a few moments depicting the Godfather shoot, he was not interested in mimicking the distinctive top-lit look of Willis’s work, famously done with Super Baltar lenses on film emulsion. Totino shot with Sony Venice cameras in 4K RAW format, teamed with Hawk V‑Lite Anamorphics, an approach he had first used on 65, a sci-fi thriller due out in March of 2023.

 
“The directors really wanted to film in anamorphic format,” says Totino. “I fell in love with the Hawk V‑Lites on 65. Because I want to do some Steadicam and remote head work, I wanted lighter lenses. We tested, and the directors really love the look of the Hawks, especially the wider focal lengths. Wide open, there’s a little bit of banding at the edges, which I like to embrace. That film – 65 – needed some emotion, and the little bit of softness and banding added to it without the viewer becoming conscious of it.

“The V‑Lites also have a nice, subtle warmth,” he says. “I really gravitated towards them, and once I started working with them, I fell in love with their soul. The sun was low in Louisiana when we were shooting, and the lenses picked up the light in such a beautiful way. I love the way they flare and the bokeh is really nice. I like the way they fall off in the depth of field. You feel like you’re wrapped around the characters, in a way, and you feel their fear. At T3, with the Venice, with its latitude and its dual ISO, we could work in low light at 2500 ASA, which helped me out tremendously.”

When it came to The Offer, Totino didn’t even test. “There was no question in my mind, in spite of the completely different subject matter and story,” he says. “I was extremely comfortable.”

The LA scenes in The Offer are set in offices on the studio lot, at swank parties in elegant homes, and in suites at the Chateau Marmont. Most were shot on various Hollywood backlots. The sunlight is often smashing through windows, and even in pastel-colored interiors, Totino lit for an inviting feel. New York is where the struggle of shooting blends with the shadowy social-club world of the Mafiosi and the modest apartment of writer Mario Puzo. It’s darker, with more contrast and coolness in the shadows, befitting the underworld dangers posed to the filmmakers.

Lenses were supplied to the production by Keslow Camera, with the exception of the V‑Lite 55mm macro, which was provided by Hawk Anamorphic LA. That boutique facility, in the trendy West Adams district of Los Angeles, was opened just prior to the pandemic and is intended to support North American rental houses and to obviate the need to ship lenses to Europe for repair or adjustment. On The Offer, the V‑Lite 45mm was the commonly used focal length, with the 65mm and the 28mm often employed for closeups and wider shots respectively.

“Lightingwise, it was tricky to contrast New York and L.A.,” says Totino. “But I felt I was able to get the different looks out of the Hawks. I found them to be very versatile. The Venice with the Hawks is my new favorite platform at the moment. They complement each other very naturally.”

Since The Offer, Totino has reteamed with director Dexter Fletcher on a feature film titled Ghosted.

images: Salvatore Totino, ASC, AIC/Nicole Wilder/PARAMOUNT+ | © 2022 Paramount Pictures