Andrew Dunn, BSC, on The United States vs. Billie Holiday and his past work on The Bodyguard, Precious, Monkeybone, L.A. Story

Andrew Dunn always tries to transport the audience into the screen,
setting the right tone to capture the time and place of the film.
He's drawn to character-driven movies in particular, and he likes
to make the viewer feel like they are the person's friend. The
United States vs. Billie Holiday is an intimate look at the singer
during the latter part of her career, when she was battling drug
addiction and under constant scrutiny by the FBI, who had targeted
her over her controversial song, “Strange Fruit.” Andrew and
director Lee Daniels really wanted to capture the emotional journey
Billie Holiday was going through, especially in the scene where
actress Andra Day sings “Strange Fruit.” Andrew held on her face
with an extreme close up as she sings the song and connects with
the camera. The moment is transporting, and the entire cast and
crew realized that particular scene was something extraordinary.
Andrew had previously shot another film featuring a singer: the
1992 film The Bodyguard, starring Whitney Houston and Kevin
Costner. He remembers her performing “I Will Always Love You” in a
beautiful single take, and the entire room was transfixed. The
Bodyguard was the biggest movie of that year, and Andrew's career
as a cinematographer took off. As a kid, Andrew always wanted to be
a cinematographer. He grew up around cinema, as his father worked
for MGM studios outside of London. Hungry and desperate to get into
the business, he began working for the BBC as an editor, and was
able to shoot on documentaries and in local news. Andrew's first
“Hollywood” movie was the epitome of Los Angeles- the 1991 movie
L.A. Story, starring Steve Martin. It is a movie so about L.A.- a
warm love letter and a biting satire at the same time. Andrew
thinks coming from the UK to shoot a movie about a place he'd never
been before brought a fresh perspective. He always wants to bring a
sense of wide-eyed wonder to the world, and L.A. Story perfectly
blends absurdity, wonder and magic. You can watch The United States
vs. Billie Holiday currently streaming on Hulu. Find Andrew Dunn:
Instagram @andrewdunn.dp Find out even more about this episode,
with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep115/
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