Bojan Bazelli, ASC conjures up dueling Wizards in the Big Apple for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice is the latest retelling of an ancient tale in which supernatural powers threaten to overwhelm the young would-be wizard who summons them.
Perhaps the best-known antecedent is the synonymous segment of Disney’s animated classic Fantasia, in which Mickey Mouse filled the title role. The new film reimagines the story as a live-action adventure-comedy set in modem-day New York, where flesh-faced Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel) finds himself unwittingly cast as the apprentice to sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage).
To bring this vision to the screen, director Jon Turteltaub teamed with Bojan Bazelli, ASC, whose previous credits include Hairspray (AC Aug. '07), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (AC July '05) and The Ring (AC Nov. ’02). Bazelli was recommended to Turteltaub by producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who had recently worked with the cinematographer on G- Force.
With a story steeped in magic, Sorcerer’s Apprentice required Bazelli to focus on “the magical feeling you perceive subconsciously as an audience,” the cinematographer offers. “The goal was to engage viewers through characters they can identify with and a story that sweeps them along. If we fail at that, nothing else matters.”
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