54-year-old Baker He made his first film in 2000. However, it was only a decade ago that he was noticed by a wider audience due to “Mandarin”. In his films, he often focused on the fate of people ignored by the majority of society – sexual employees or adult movie stars, who after a while must return to their former life.
For the first time he told about them in the “Gwiazdeczka” from 2012. Later, they repeatedly raised their topic during press conferences. “I made friends with several sexual employees and realized that they have millions of stories. If my films have an intention, it is a presentation of a story that will be universal” – he said during a press conference in Cannes in 2024. “I try to remove the mark of this way of life, which has always been attributed to it.”
He also believes that sexual work should not be prohibited. “It is their body and their decision what they will do with him,” he explained. He added that although his films often revolve around representatives of the adult industry, he tries not to shit nudity. “These scenes have choreography. They work very close with my actors to make sure that each of them will be necessary to push the story forward” – he continued.
“Anora” He focuses on the fate of the dancer in one of the New York clubs, which catches the eye of the dissolved son of the oligarch. He rents it for a week, and during the party weekend in Las Vegas proposes a wedding. The heroine agrees and thinks that her financial problems have ended. Unfortunately, her husband’s parents have a different opinion. They want to cancel marriage at all costs.
Mikey Madison, who played the title “Anora”, admitted that during the implementation of intimate scenes or dancing on the pipe she felt at ease. “The atmosphere on the set was comfortable. In addition, the implementation of these scenes turned out to be a good fun” – confessed the actress, whose role in Baker can soon bring an Oscar.
“I always encourage my actors to improvise as part of the presented story or the implementation of alternative shots, and if there is space for it, they can add a line of text or upload some complement” – admitted the director in an interview with the “Screen Daily” portal. Interestingly, one of his most famous scenes was created as part of improvisation. She came from “The Florida Project”. Although Baker did not divert the camera from the problems of adults, the story focused primarily on the kids living in the motel at Disneyland.
Baker from the beginning wanted the key shot in the film to be the main heroines against the background of the rainbow, who would rise above their motel. Initially, he assumed that it would be added in post -production with the help of computer effects. This would cost tens of thousands of dollars, which for the project with a total budget of two million dollars was a considerable cost.
One day the team did not take almost any photos because of the downpour. When it finally stopped raining, a huge double rainbow appeared above the plan. Seeing her, Baker ordered to bring young actresses to the set as soon as possible. “Just make them hairstyles, the rest is invalid” – you can hear it on the material from the set.
When Brooklynn Prince and Valeria Cotto stood in front of Motel Magic Castle, the rainbow was still clear in the clean sky. The director knew, however, that he had to hurry. Unfortunately, the children did not know what to do. The director began to lead them from behind the camera. “What’s at the end of the rainbow?” he asked. The girls shouted that the elf with a pot of gold and a moment later they ran to look for him. This moment was in the finished film.
Stephonik Youth, a director’s sister and a plan manager at “The Florida Project”, mentioned that the film crew had never worked at this pace. “We had to move all the equipment quickly, and it was almost 40 degrees outside, and to refine the set,” she recalled. After all, Baker smiled at the camera. “We just saved about $ 25,000,” he said.