Philip Sledge at CinemaBlend recently caught up with Werner Herzog to discuss his new Ghost Elephants documentary, and also asked how the acclaimed filmmaker got the role as The Client in The Mandalorian. Here’s what he said….
“Well, I never competed for that part. I was invited by Jon Favreau, and he wanted to have me, my face visible for many people out there in the world, because he loves my films, and he said people have to see what this man looks like.”
Later on, I asked Herzog, who is no stranger to working in extreme locations on ambitious projects, what it was like working on The Mandalorian. That question seemed to have unlocked some long-buried memory, as the German director started to geek out about the new technology Favreau used to bring the alien planets to life, both in the finished product and on set. As Herzog explained:
“I was very much intrigued by these round horizons, where as an actor you do not see a green screen, you see the planet on which you are living, you see the interior of the spacecraft in which you are traveling, and the camera sees it as well. Finally, cinema is back where it should be, has been in its beginnings, and should be forever, not green screens, but where you know in which landscape you are moving, where you see it as an actor and as a cinematographer.”
Stream The Mandalorian on Disney+.
