Jojo Rabbit Taika Waititi

Development and writing

I'[ve] seen film adaptations so faithful to the book that they somehow ended up unfaithful in essence, despite the well-meaning intentions. [A] book doesn't go directly from the book to the screen; it goes page to page. Taika's script had much to take from the book, yet it also had to escape it in order to come fully to life in its own medium. A reader spends a comparatively long time in there on his or her own, days or even weeks, in the dense chrysalis of prose, experiencing the emotions of the story while oblivious to the world.

—Leunens on Jojo Rabbit being an adaptation of Caging Skies[4]

Waititi had the idea for Jojo Rabbit in 2010, when his mother,[5] Robin Cohen,[6] introduced him to Christine Leunens' 2008 novel Caging Skies. Bored with generic World War II stories that were told through the perspectives of soldiers and survivors,[5] and aided by the background of his grandfather once fighting against the Nazis,[2]: 3  he decided to adapt the novel. The taboo subject matter did not prevent him from pursuing the project: he looked at it as a motivation and thought of it as a challenge to be bold in filmmaking. He also considered the film a "love letter to all mothers", with a loving mother character present in the film.[5] Waititi compared the premise of the screenplay with the Nickelodeon cartoon Rugrats, which portrays violence through the fantastical lens of a child: "In a lot of ways I wanted to keep some sort of innocence around that stuff."[7] A juvenile lens also meant an honest depiction of Nazism for Waititi: "Children, they don't fuck around. They will straight-up say to you, 'You are ugly.' Or, 'You are a bad dad,' or 'you betrayed me.' Some of it makes no sense, but at least they're being honest about their feelings."[8] Another inspiration came from reading that 66% of American millennials had never heard of or had no knowledge of the Auschwitz concentration camp; with Jojo Rabbit, he hoped the memories of the victims would remain forever and that conversations about the topic would not stop.[9]

Shortly after Waititi had the idea for the adaptation, he sent an email to Leunens,[4] and the screenplay was written in 2011.[10] Waititi thought it was good timing, with various prejudices and extremism on the rise at the time. He insisted that slapstick was a fine way of telling a story with dark themes like World War II: "The world needs ridiculous films, because the world is ridiculous."[11] The first draft did not contain Hitler, but Waititi rewrote the whole thing again shortly thereafter; the first draft lacked comedy, due to it being a rough adaptation from Caging Skies, which Waititi described as a complete drama. Waititi decided not to make Jojo Rabbit a "straight-out drama" as it would make the film cliché: he instead used humor to build the narrative, then introduced drama to shock the audience. Some of the characters' names were taken from Waititi's friends, he noted.[2]: 6–9 [12][13] Leunens described it as faithful to the source material, yet original, comparing it to the painting Guernica.[4] Cohen praised the creation of Adolf and the cartoonish depiction of Nazis.[6] Badlands (1973) was an inspiration for the relationship between Jojo and Elsa,[7] while Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) inspired Rosie's character. Colorized documentaries such as World War II in Colour (2008–2009) helped Waititi "to get a sense of how things really looked": colorful and vibrant. Regarding storyboards, Waititi instructed artist Andrej Kostic[2]: 8, 42  only if the scene had a number of actors;[14] this includes the final battle scene.[13]

The premise of the film meant difficulty in garnering interest from the film industry.[13] Waititi stated that he did not do pitches: "I just sent the script out and let that do the talking. It's very hard to start a conversation with, 'It's about a little boy in the Hitler Youth.' [...] And then when I say, 'Oh, but don't worry, it's got humor in it,' it just gets worse."[15] Nearly losing hope, he initially thought of just producing it independently in New Zealand.[16] The project gained attention when it landed on the Black List of top unproduced screenplays in 2012.[13] In February of that year at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, CineMart showed interest in the script.[17] Despite this, the film remained in development limbo; Waititi went on with other projects like What We Do in the Shadows (2014) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). While Waititi's film Thor: Ragnarok (2017) began production, Fox Searchlight Pictures showed interest in Jojo Rabbit after searching for "more auteur-driven movies with challenging concepts."[13] Contrary to popular belief that Ragnarok sparked interest in Waititi, Searchlight looked at his earlier works, such as Boy (2010).[13] TSG Entertainment later joined the project with a budget of $14 million, $800,000 of which was directed towards the art department. In total, pre-production took two months.[1]

Waititi initially wanted to film Jojo Rabbit in Berlin, a place with which he had a deep connection, with financing from Studio Babelsberg. However, due to human rights and filming restrictions in Germany, with minors only able to work three hours a day, he decided to move filming to the Czech Republic.[1] Babelsberg was credited with assisting development alongside the New Zealand Film Commission. The Czech Film Fund was credited for giving the film's crew production incentives. Production services throughout filming were provided by Czech Anglo Productions.[2]: 50, 57–58  Waititi-affiliated Defender Films and Piki Films were also credited as production companies.[18] The film was thus credited as a co-production between the United States, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic.[19]

Casting

In 2018, casting associates were dispatched to schools in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, the United States, and Canada to find the right actor to portray Jojo Betzler.[1] Waititi wanted an actor "who could embody the character's pinwheeling mix of blind gusto and untamed emotions in stride", while also depicting Jojo's coming-of-age transformation in a way that blended well with the film's "deep" themes. Waititi and the casting team, led by casting director Des Hamilton, watched about 1,000 audition tapes, and later accepted Roman Griffin Davis,[2]: 9–10  who was initially being auditioned for Ford v Ferrari, but later also auditioned for Jojo Rabbit.[13] According to producer Carthew Neal, Davis had the charisma and enthusiasm Jojo's character projects, but was also able to mix a variety of emotions, further enriching the film's "deep" themes. Davis stated that portraying Jojo was a challenge as he is a conflicted character. He guided himself by researching the Hitler Youth. As a newcomer, he received immense support from the cast members.[2]: 9–11  Davis joined the project six weeks before filming;[1] he was one of the latest actors to be cast despite being in the lead role.[20]

Waititi created Elsa Korr as a character with "the steely strength and self-possession that defuses Jojo's distrust", a mysterious yet humane outlook. Thomasin McKenzie, a New Zealand-born actress Waititi had known for a long time, was chosen to portray Elsa as a "really pretty, very cool girl who has this hard attitude", which hopefully would make Jojo's infatuation towards her in the film understandable. McKenzie did research on World War II from the perspective of a Jewish girl, and she created the character of Elsa by herself, with Waititi giving her only a teaser of how he imagined Elsa. Waititi also asked her to watch the film Heathers (1988), which has a character he envisioned Elsa to be.[2]: 11–13 

In March 2018, it was revealed that Waititi would direct, write, co-produce, and co-star in the film as Adolf. Speaking of the context of the role, Waititi stated, "It's my version of [...] a lonely boy's best version of his hero, which is really his dad," referring to the fact that in the film, Jojo is desperate to join Hitler's ranks during World War II.[21] Searchlight decided that they would only make the film if Waititi portrayed Adolf; Waititi reluctantly agreed and recalled being embarrassed on set.[12] He also stated he did not do much research on Hitler "because I just didn't think he deserved [the effort]."[22] The cast members recalled being shocked the first time they saw Waititi dressed as Adolf.[2]: 16 

Also in March,[20] Scarlett Johansson was cast as Rosie for what Waititi described as "this sort of goofy quality about her that I always really wanted to see in a film". Although the film's premise was new to her, Johansson stated that she immediately fell in love with the character.[2]: 13  and said that the screenplay "has a lot of humanity."[11] The following month, Sam Rockwell was cast as Captain Klenzendorf.[23] He was "reticent" at the time, like most of the other actors,[13] but he chose to join the project because he said the role "has a juxtaposition", specifically pointing at the Klenzendorf's homosexuality, which according to him is an oxymoron.[11] Rockwell looked for inspiration from comedians like Bill Murray and Walter Matthau (from the 1976 film The Bad News Bears), as he felt they resembled his assigned character. He also looked to the film's other characters for inspiration.[2]: 14–15 

In June 2018, Alfie Allen was cast as Klenzendorf's companion Freddy Finkel.[24] Though Finkel was a new and risky role for Allen, the familial dynamic of the set made it easier for him.[2]: 15  The same month, Stephen Merchant was cast as Captain Herman Deertz.[25] He said that he became interested in the film due to its coming-of-age nature, and thought that Waititi's blend of humor and tragedy was seamless, comparing its satirical style with that of Dr. Strangelove.[11] Soon, Rebel Wilson joined the project as Fräulein Rahm.[26]

Casting in Prague was led by Maya Kvetny, with Kristýna Poliček assisting. Additional casting was done by Shayna Markowitz, Stephanie Gorin, and Stu Turner. Casting for the extras were done by Deedee Casting Management; children extras were cast by A-Casting.[2]: 49 

Filming

Principal photography for Jojo Rabbit occurred between May 28 and July 21, 2018, at various places in Prague, Žatec, Úštěk, Kytín, Dolní Beřkovice, Hořín, Lenešice, and the Petschek Palace.[27] The former Lenešice sugar refinery was used to film the war scenes.[28] Production designer Ra Vincent chose these pre-war, unbombed places "because it had so much character and it felt like the most German of all the Czech towns we visited, with lots of German-style baroque architecture". Barrandov Studios were also used for filming most of the interior scenes, which Vincent thought of as a great choice, considering Nazi propaganda used to be filmed there.[2]: 19  Vincent chose Úštěk to film the exterior due to the "ornate" color palette of the architecture, said to connect with Jojo's character.[29]

Waititi prohibited cell phone usage on set in order to retain focus and create a calming environment. He allowed the crew and actors to experiment with their work or characters by themselves, as he had no strict edicts for how the film should unfold. This was also stated to be a third reason for the cell phone prohibition. Other directors, including Quentin Tarantino, have used this rule before.[30] By minimizing directions for the cast members, Waititi hoped to avoid stiff performances. He also did not show the full picture of Rosie when she was hanged, thinking it was unethical to showcase the deaths of family members.[14]

Due to labor laws on child actors, the crew was only able to film eight or nine hours a day, causing stress for the adult actors as they would have to work with body doubles for certain periods of time.[31] The actors described having a fun experience on set, saying Waititi was engaging to work with.[32] McKenzie further elaborated that it was "easy-going and fun", as it allowed her to "explore the character and try different things".[33] These, along with doing rehearsals, were part of an effort to make the child actors feel comfortable so they would act more naturally.[31]

Reshoots were done starting in February 2019.[34] They mainly focused on scenes set during winter.[35]

Cinematography and visual effects

Mihai Mălaimare Jr. was enlisted as the film's cinematographer while he was doing reshoots for The Hate U Give in Atlanta, and he joined the project five days later. He agreed to depict Jojo Rabbit in a colorful and vibrant way, a primary motif of the film,[35] taking inspiration from several colorized documentaries.[36] He also took inspiration from a film he had previously worked on, Youth Without Youth (2007), which featured colorful World War II footage, contrasting the typical desaturated and grayscale historical footage. Cabaret (1972) was also a visual reference used for the cinematography. Despite this, Mălaimare arranged for the melancholic scenes to look more desaturated, corresponding to Jojo's emotions and showing the passage of time. He and Waititi also agreed not to visually exaggerate scenes with Adolf. Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa's images of children during World War II also served as inspiration for the cinematography style: "They were still playing, and they were still doing normal kid stuff, [but] the closer you look at the photo, [...] you realize something is wrong—like, 'Oh, in this one, they are wearing gas masks,' or 'They are playing close to a pile of bomb'—all these situations that we felt were very close to [Jojo Rabbit]." Around 60 similar stills from Magnum Photos and Flickr were also printed to be analyzed for inspiration.[35][37]

Mălaimare and Waititi also agreed on the decision not to use hand-held cameras, in order to retain the film's classical style. Equipped with a dolly[38] (a golf cart for scenes in the forest),[36] an Arri Alexa SXT and Mini with Super 35 format was used.[39][40] Around five tests were implemented to determine the aspect ratio for the film; a 1.85:1 anamorphic format was chosen, considering that there were lots of scenes with two people indoors.[38] The anamorphic format was favored due to its "velvety" tone, focus breathing, as well as authentic bokeh.[36] Lenses include the Hawk V-Lite 1.3x anamorphic, Vantage One T1 spherical,[38] and Leitz Summilux-C.[39] The stopped down T1 was used for scenes in small or low-light areas, in order to give them a wide feel. Mălaimare worked with digital imaging technician (DIT) Eli Berg to seamlessly transition between scenes using different lenses.[41] Though point-of-view shots were used, the main approach in making the film first-person on Jojo is to lower the camera to Davis's height. Waititi also allowed the actors to also give cinematographic advice, some of which were better than Waititi's suggestions, per Mălaimare. Symmetry and horizons are the main composition approaches to the cinematography, a major contributor to the narrative flow.[35] The film was mostly shot using a multiple-camera setup so that close-up and wide shots could be done simultaneously.[16]

Exterior scenes rarely used artificial lighting: scenes in the forest, for example, solely used the sun. The final sequence of the battle scene, which took five or six takes to accomplish, used three extra lights, but they were merely supplements to the sun. The scene where Jojo is having dinner with Rosie used an extensive lighting kit, mainly consisting of a chandelier and two practical lights, lighting the entirety of the setting; one of them dimmed, and tungsten lights to give the characters a softer and warmer lighting in the close-up shots.[36] Small five-watt LED lights were used as lighting for the actors in scenes at Elsa's secret room.[40] In that setting, Mălaimare decided to use a medium-bright petrol lamp as the key light, whereas a lighting was used to indicate dusk;[36] candles act as supplements.[2]: 20 

Visual effects supervisor Jason Chen had previously worked with Waititi.[42] He joined the project after working on Bumblebee. The goal was to create a "seamless illusion", balancing realism and surrealism. In total, there were about 200 visual effects shots, "about half of which were big invisible set extensions and often done by a [...] team of in house compositors" led by previous Chen collaborator Kenneth Quinn Brown.[43] Chen worked with Clear Angle Studios to set up 3D scanners on tripods at Žatec. The scanners shoot laser beams, rotating 360 degrees, scanning the surrounding architecture in order to give an accurate representation of them. They also scanned Czech streets with historical relevance to Jojo Rabbit, especially the square used for Jojo's town, which was once a frequent place for Hitler to hold rallies.[42] A major contributor to the visual effects was Luma Pictures, which split work between Los Angeles and Melbourne.[43] Luma used blue screens to incorporate elements like explosions, tanks, smoke, and gunfire in post-production.[42] The glow of bombs going off in the distance, meanwhile, used matte paintings.[2]: 22  They also incorporated snow into scenes that were actually shot during the summer, but were supposed to depict winter in Jojo Rabbit's universe. This was achievable by photographing snow on the streets and adding it to the film, a technique known as "background plate."[42] Additional effects were done by Picture Shop VFX.[2]: 52  In total, visual effects took a year to finish.[43]

Fashion design

Mayes C. Rubeo, who had previously collaborated with Waititi in Ragnarok, became Jojo Rabbit's costume designer. In an "intensive" conversation about the costumes, Waititi favored "formal, elegant" fashion, as it matched the kind of clothing people wore in that era, according to his research. He also wanted a design that symbolized the joy of childhood: bright, vivid colors, stressing the ambition to contrast typical historical films. Rubeo interpreted these as Italian neorealism, a filmmaking style popular in the 1940s.[2]: 20 [44]

Rubeo thought of Rosie's character as open: "She represents [...] life, [and] she doesn't want to hide [that]."[11] Rubeo started by scouring vintage Italian houses for Rosie's wardrobe, though she also created several blouses and dresses by herself. She wanted Rosie's clothing to be distinctive so it would resonate with the audience throughout the film and assist them in the scene where Rosie is found hanged.[2]: 21  Concerning that specific scene, Rubeo chose a pair of single lace-up red and white spectator shoes made by the Toronto shoemaker Jitterbug, based on a sketch she made. Imagining Rosie as "the friend of Elsa Schiaparelli", Rubeo flew to New York City, where she discussed the costume with actor Johansson. Rosie's short-sleeved sweater was characterized by "plaid and zigzag Missoni-style patterns". She was completed with high-waist baggy pants and several other accessories, offering her character a "chic" look.[44] This is in stark contrast to Elsa's clothing palette which, being a confined character, was made monochromatic.[45]

Jojo's Jungvolk uniform was based on the assumption that he is "trying to be the policeman of his household", especially when he wears it even in his house. Though Rubeo found vintage Jungvolk uniforms in Berlin, she noted the need for more sizes for the extras, causing her and the clothing department to sew them, a total of 250, themselves. For Adolf, Rubeo chose the typical brown Nazi Party style, in order to highlight the absurdities of his character, though a "voluminous" pair of riding pants was used to highlight his imaginary state and insecurities. The Hollywood Reporter described it as "paper-bag colored", "khaki", and "safari-style". In total, three Adolf uniforms were sewn.[2][13][44] Portraying Captain Klenzendorf, Rockwell reached out to Rubeo and showed her a photo of Murray on Saturday Night Live, saying that he wanted such design. For an experimental uniform Klenzendorf was written to wear in the screenplay, Rubeo went for a "glitzier", "heroic", and "flamboyant" approach, creating for him an "unorthodox" outfit, showcasing the character's creativity despite "know[ing] almost nothing about the rules of design." She said that creating Klenzendorf's outfit "was fun to do".[2]: 21 

Rubeo made six different versions for a paper uniform Yorki wears in the final battle scene. She made it out of paper and cardboard, with some cotton. As the war ensues, Yorki's uniform degrades, with only a vest left as the war concludes.[45]

The film's make-up artist was Danelle Satherley, also a frequent collaborator of Waititi's. On Adolf's looks, she envisioned them to be those of a 10-year-old imagination and not an exact replica of Hitler's looks. Despite this, they had some similarities for familiarity purposes. The hair, mustache, and ears shared similarities with Hitler's, whereas the skin and eyes had some alterations. Waititi's skin, specifically, was toned down a bit to not make his character look Caucasian. Blue eyes were chosen to match the propaganda Jojo saw.[46]

Production design

Vincent, who lived in New Zealand, was flabbergasted to be offered the role of the film's production designer,[47] but he had read the script when it was still unproduced and already had some ideas for the set design.[16] He stayed in the Czech Republic for some time to get a feel for European architecture, and took to locals who told generational stories about World War II in order to depict wartime Europe authentically, while giving aesthetic touches to symbolize the joy Jojo's character feels about Nazi Germany. Vincent recalled that the interaction with locals was easier than one might think because they see their Nazi history as something it is important to remember, not cover up.[47] He also said that he thinks the locals might have even felt sad when the set decorations were torn away, since his team had "transformed the village back into its former glory days, when it was a beautifully unsullied town."[48] Mălaimare commented that the practice in the Czech Republic of being very cautious about installing air conditioners and antennas on historical buildings – things that would have ruined the historical look of the film – allowed for a 360-degree set without having to remove much other than cars and street signs.[31] Helping the research were military advisors and specialists;[16] Filip Stiebitz was officially credited as one.[2]: 42 

The fully handcrafted[47] set design for the Betzler's house, a Baroque stone cottage[49] filmed at a 7,000 square feet (650 m2) Barrandov Studios soundstage, is characterized by elegant details, such as thick door frames, windows recessed deeply into the stone walls, a wood-paneled hallway, and a curved staircase. Broadly, it features Art Deco architecture popular in the 1930s. Victorian architecture and a muted color palette were used for Inge's bedroom in order to provide a neutral space in which Jojo and Elsa could bond. According to Vincent's research, Inge's bedroom being in the attic is historically accurate, because certain families in World War II had new types of insulation replacing the method of pitched roofs, meaning they could build rooms up to the attic. This makes Elsa's hideout "obvious, but not-so-obvious". It is conceptualized that the Betzlers are a middle-class family, wealthy enough to own a two-floored, three-bedroom house.[29][48] With a more modernized interior, another notion is also formed that the house was at some point renovated.[47] Creating the house was said to be the trickiest thing throughout the film's production design. To not make it claustrophobic, the house was given an open layout plan, "and one with viewing portals through to other spaces so that you never felt like you were going to individual little sets. We wanted you to feel you were journeying through a proper house." The house was built on a stage to allow for adequate space to film using a multi-camera setup.[16]

According to Vincent, a woman named Cheng Liang, who was the film's art department assistant, drew Yoohoo Jew. She took inspiration from some of the artwork from the screenplay, as well as Waititi and Vincent's descriptions. Though the book was planned to be about 12 pages long, Liang ended up drawing 42 pages. Her drawings also became inspirations for the cast's acting style, according to Vincent.[50]

Editing

Editor Tom Eagles said that Waititi had been talking to him about the project "for a long time", though he read the screenplay much later.[51] He recalled that Waititi did not sit by his side to judge his editing while it was ongoing. "He's interested in what you have to say and what you might bring to the edit," Eagles said. Eagles was given two weeks to edit Jojo Rabbit after being given some initial suggestions, which Eagles "cautiously" implemented. The film was edited using Avid Media Composer. Eagles used ScriptSync to compare scenes with the screenplay.[52] He stated that the main challenge in editing the film was to give it a tonal balance for every transition between scenes:[53] The rough cut was 165 minutes, with the director's cut being the finalized,[52] 108-minute version.[54] Eagles said that "We didn't want it to look like Titanic". Trimming took eight months, with test screenings implemented: "We needed to test different versions of things and iterations of jokes." It was also observed that some audiences were shocked by a scene when Hitler is scolding Jojo over his degrading patriotism; one person began quietly reciting a prayer.[13] Dailies were also screened to the entire film team once or twice a week in a "small" screening room to let everyone judge the film's qualities, something said to be rare in modern filmmaking.[31]

The film's title sequence was created by the New Zealand production company Assembly.[55] It features footage from the 1935 Nazi propaganda documentary Triumph of the Will.[56] The text letterforms were handcrafted to correspond to the film's historical aesthetic.[55] The film's end titles were created by Scarlet Letters.[57]

Ai-Ling Lee was the film's sound editor, designer, and mixer. With the digital audio workstation (DAW) Pro Tools, she used "subliminal sonic enhancements" to strengthen the sense that the film was portraying Jojo's point of view. In an interview with Variety, she referenced a scene in Jojo's kitchen where Waititi wanted to evoke the sound of Adolf rallying. To increase the tension in the scene, she added reverb to Adolf's dialogue.[58] Accompanying Lee as sound editor was Tobias Poppe.[59] Paul Apelgren was the film's music editor.[60] Steve Baine of Foley One was the Foley artist, with Peter Persaud and Gina Wark mixing and assisting with the Foley, respectively.[61] Bob Industries was credited for post-production services.[2]: 44 

Digital intermediate work, specifically color grading, was done by Company 3's senior colorist Tim Stipan.[62][63]

Music

Jojo Rabbit's original score is composed by Michael Giacchino, in his maiden collaboration with Waititi. Giacchino used the approach of a melodious fairy-tale like score,[64] evoking themes of love and losses after Waititi insisted to score similarly to what he did in Up,[13] Giacchino pledged to use music to emphasize the film's deep emotions instead of its humor, in order to retain the film's message,[65] and to try to musicalize Nazi Germany from Jojo's perspective, who recalled this being a challenge.[2] The score was recorded in December 2018 at the Abbey Road Studios, London, with the choir portions for the 11-minute suite (which was the film's theme music), composed by Giacchino, was the first to be recorded. Caludia Vašeková coordinated the choir, while the vocals, done by Trinity Boys Choir, were contracted by Susie Gillis for Isobel Griffiths Ltd.[2]: 23, 56  Freddie Jamison, part of Trinity Boys,[64][66] was the vocal soloist in another version of the suite and adult vocalists were from London Voices.[2]: 56 

Apart from contemporary German music, the score consisted of old-time European classical music, such as that of Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Erik Satie. Instead of a 100-piece orchestra, the score was composed with a 22-piece orchestra, featuring string quartet and various instruments including guitar, brass and percussion, as according to Giacchino, "the smaller the orchestra, the more emotional the sound."[2]: 23–24 

Incorporated music in the film was packaged as a soundtrack album, notably "'Helden'", the German version of "'Heroes'" by David Bowie, and "Komm, gib mir deine Hand", the German version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles. While watching documentaries on the Hitler Youth during research, Waititi noted "similarities between the crowd at Hitler's rallies and the frenzy at Beatles concerts". Giacchino helped secure the rights to the song by contacting Paul McCartney, with whom he had previously worked.[13] Both this soundtrack and the original score soundtrack were released on October 18, 2019, the day of Jojo Rabbit's theatrical release, by Hollywood Records, Fox Music, and Universal Music Canada, with the vinyl version of the soundtrack released on November 22.[67][68]