February 2024

Drive-Away Dolls: A Show on the Road

Ari Wegner, ASC, ACS thought she had been pranked when an email from Ethan Coen popped up in her inbox. But it was, indeed, from half of the fraternal filmmaking duo who had made such seminal films as No Country for Old Men (AC Oct. ’07); O Brother, Where Art Thou? (AC Oct. ’00); and The Big Lebowski. Coen wrote that he and his wife, Tricia Cooke, had admired Wegner’s raw approach to Janicza Bravo’s comedy thriller Zola, as well as Jane Campion’s traditionally composed The Power of the Dog (AC Jan. ’22), for which Wegner had just received an Oscar nomination. They were astounded that both had been shot by the same cinematographer. “I was already kind of in a dream state, having one of the most special experiences a DP can hope for — being...more