Terry Stacey, ASC

CLASS-X ANAMORPHICS SET THE PERFECT TONE FOR THE HITMAN'S WIFE'S BODYGUARD

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard combines action and comedy – a blend that seems effortless when it’s working, but requires a sure command of tone.
“We were constantly subverting the genre,” says director of photography Terry Stacey, ASC. “It’s a big action-comedy, and we wanted it to feel like a comedy at times, but much darker. We shot a lot of it handheld and closer, and director Patrick Hughes responded to that kind of energy and texture. Shooting ‘Scope gave it a more classic, sexier feel.”

Stacey had used Hawk V‑Lite Anamorphics on previous projects, but in this case, he went with Hawk class-X, which deliver an organic 2x squeeze look that is the culmination of 25 years of Hawk optical design. Designed from the ground up, the class-X are the tenth line in the Hawk family of anamorphic lenses.

“The class-X are so great with close focus,” says Stacey. “Working with Steadicam, and in speedboats and cars, you often have focus within two feet, which is always much more difficult with anamorphic. You’re often stuck having to use diopters the whole time, which is hard with a defined focus range. The class-X were a huge help in that regard.
“Also, the contrast is perfect,” he says. “You get this amazing cream feel, but it’s sharp and clean and it doesn’t feel flat. There’s a lot of dimensionality and the color rendition is amazing. We didn’t need to use much diffusion. They’re fast, and they match across all focal lengths, so you can swap them out. There’s less distortion top and bottom, which is good. So often in anamorphic wide shots, the lenses are too distorted, especially if there’s an actor in the foreground edge of frame. Sometimes you have to shoot that with a spherical lens and crop to 2.35. So the class-X were perfect for this film.”

The cameras were Arri Alexa SXTs and Minis, set up for OpenGate for the majority of the shoot. At times there were three cameras working – perhaps one with the 45 or 55 mm, a second on a crane with the 110 and C camera with the 140 mm.

For the principal photography, Stacey and Hughes tended to play things closer, but using the 55 mm or the 65 mm allowed them to maintain shallow focus falloff with a longer-lens feeling.

“The background has a beautiful quality,” says Stacey. “The 55 and the 65 still feel like a long lens. We doubled up on the longer focal lengths, which meant there were enough lenses that we could jump around. Shooting three cameras makes for tricky lighting, but we made it work.”

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard features an impressive cast headed by Salma Hayek, Ryan Reynolds, Samuel Jackson, Morgan Freeman and Frank Grillo.

“Salma is very conscious of her lighting, which is fine with me,” says Stacey. “I was always very careful about making sure that she looked great. Once she’s in a scene, she’s completely in. After a few days she began to trust me. Ryan and Sam always had their ideas, and the script was constantly evolving. Those changes, along with the scheduling quirks, made for some tricky continuity challenges, matching elements shot in sunny and overcast conditions. Versatility and adaptability were important. I’m very pleased with the dailies and how our big set-pieces came out.”

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard will debut in theaters on June 16, 2021 by Lionsgate. An IMAX release is planned as well. Watch trailer here.

“Hawk as a company feels homegrown, like a family,” says Stacey. “The effort and craftsmanship they put into their lenses is amazing. Everything is done in-house – building the lenses, coating them, calibrating them. They use their science to support us as we turn it into art.”

Cinematographers Terry Stacey, ASC and Philip Peschlow at Vantage Film HQ in Weiden