in the third episode ofwhite lotusIn Season 2, a group of American tourists visit the filming locations of “The Godfather” and engage in generational debates about patriarchy. (“Men love The Godfather because they feel castrated by modern society,” Alby, a recent college graduate, tells his father and grandfather.) But Frances Ford Coppola’s Oscar-winning classic isn’t the only film mentioned in Sunday’s article.
In fact, a memorable moment featuring Aubrey Plaza under the steps of Noto Cathedral is a shot-by-shot homage to a scene from Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1960 film L’avventura. Jennifer Coolidge in last week’s episode). In “L’avventura” a woman goes missing and in the search for her a romance begins with her lover and her best friend. According to the author of “The White Lotus” Mike White“L’avventura” is a “very elliptical, mystical film about an existential psychodrama”.
In “L’avventura” and “White Lotus” respectively, Vitti and Plaza walk around the same courtyard and begin to feel the eyes of dozens of men surrounding them.Discussing the scene he imitated, White says variety, “I saw it when I was younger and I was like, ‘Is this what Italy is like? ’ They are very blatant and aggressive towards her and there is this kind of threat in the air. “
He said that this episode of “Lotus” is about “the dynamics of men and women and some classic sex politics”, so leaning towards “typical Italian men coming up to women on the street”. He added that it felt right to do so. (Though the “L’avventura” and “White Lotus” scenes are shot in much the same way, the scene containing the candid remark that “there are a lot of naughty guys in Noto” is probably a guess.) I can do it.)
The idea to pay homage to Antonioni’s film came from cinematographer Xavier Grovett. Because he and White were filming in Noto and I realized I was standing in the exact spot where I shot ‘L’avventura’. With Episode 3’s reference to that film and “The Godfather”, White says he felt it would be a good fit to portray Sicily as inspiration for both Italian and American classic cinema.
The similarities between the themes of the two films are not lost on Mr. White either. he said: Clearly, White Lotus touches on the boredom of the wealthy and their search for meaning when lounging by an infinity pool. “
Season one of “Lotus” was filmed entirely at Four Seasons Maui amid the COVID bubble, but for the second season, White was able to expand the series outside of Italian hotels and into cities. “Sicily is a very rich country. I felt it was a crime not to at least expose people to wonderful cultural places, crazy palazzos and Noto as a town,” he says. “I have a lot to show off.”
Shooting in the streets of Sicily and nearby cities was both a creative choice and a practical one. “At some point, the hotel gave me boots,” he says. “We knew that if we went there, we would have to shoot for weeks, but we couldn’t shoot in a hotel.”
To immerse themselves in Southern Italy, the showrunners moved to Sicily for several months before beginning filming for Season 2. Italy, you’re not just going to stay in a hotel. “
Below, White answers some varietyThe questions about Season 2 of ‘The White Lotus’ so far are very hot.
How did you integrate Jennifer Coolidge’s character into the new cast and new location? Do you see ‘White Lotus’ as an ongoing anthology with her character returning as a throughline?
With each season having a very different theme, different locations and different casts, it felt logical to have someone who would serve as a bridge between the two seasons.She would be so mad if she went to Italy without Jennifer [laughs]Obviously people loved her and she’s my friend. So it makes sense that she would be Jennifer. With Jennifer, I was like, ‘If you go to Italy, what would you like to do? That conversation built her idea of wanting to spend this ultimate Italian vacation.Tanya is such a fun character to write, and Jennifer is one of the highlights of her experience on this show and my career. is one of So if HBO is willing to keep going in general, I’m open to going with Jennifer.
Episode 3 ends with Cameron (Theo James) and Ethan (Will Sharp) partying with Lucia (Simona Tabasco) and Mia (Beatrice Grano). With this season seemingly focused mostly on sex and sex politics, what conversations would you like viewers to have about sex work?
We’ll have to see how the show resolves. But conversations about sex work are nasty and awkward… I’m not going to be shy. I just don’t want to reveal the ending. I don’t take sex work lightly. At the same time, we know that sex work often involves exploitation. So it’s important to show, or at least discuss, both sides of it. I’m not morally against it, but it doesn’t often happen out of some sort of context involving exploitation. . They don’t just do it because it’s fun. But that’s not always true. Sometimes people go crazy for it. Michael Imperioli’s character, I think, doesn’t often acknowledge context. [of sex work]… have [his son] Alby [played by Adam DiMarco] We can talk about the more complex and ethical aspects of Michael’s character that we don’t really find appealing.
You mentioned earlier that you wanted the characters in season 2 to feel more natural and “less written” than in season 1. How did that affect the process? What did you feel you wanted to adjust?
Well, I wasn’t necessarily the one who criticized the first season. There was even more pressure to make the dialogue itself a show. I didn’t have the ability to have a large canvas with lots of twists. The joke was an event. And for all the Twitter talk in the first season, I didn’t want to do what I’ve already done. It’s not about the actual content. It’s a different kind of approach. When it comes to the characters, I wanted them to be a little less spicy and reflect the ideas I was going for. What’s fun for me is doing a shape-shifting show and not repeating myself. and fresh.
In Episode 1, Aubrey Plaza’s character says he hasn’t seen “Ted Lasso.” This made him an instant meme on Twitter. Have you seen “Ted Lasso”?
Me… [Laughs] To be honest, I don’t watch “Ted Lasso” very often. But I haven’t seen anything. Last year, it was just this show. It’s not just “Ted Lasso”. Ask any show and you’ll probably answer “no.”