Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash
photo courtesy A.M.P.A.S
Johnny Cash in all his glory and all his excesses, over the course of three decades. It is richly underscored by the ongoing relationship struggle between Johnny and June Carter and their initial ill-fated timing in matters of love.
It is their story that captivates your attention, and it’s the heart and soul of this movie. James Mangold skillfully chronicles the details of Johnny Cash’s hard life. Cash’s humble, Arkansas sharecropper beginnings made bearable by young Cash’s love of music and old-time gospel hymns and radio shows such as the Grand Ole Opry, the National Barn Dance and the Wheeling Jamboree- some featuring the famous Carter Family and a very young June Carter singing. A tragic event in Cash’s childhood colors him with unresolved grief that haunts him throughout the movie.
Mangold takes us to Cash’s arrival on the music scene through successful recordings with Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where he is immersed in the intense touring and recording world alongside American music trailblazers Jerry Lee Lewis (played brilliantly by Waylon Payne), Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings and Elvis Presley.
Joaquin Phoenix does his own take on Cash's voice, one of the most distinctive in music history. Reese Witherspoon is even better as June Carter. Both their looks are perfected by the combined efforts of MAHS local 706 makeup department head Jane Galli, and Reese’s own make up artist, Brad Wilder.
The movie rocks with the flavor and sound of the forties, fifties and sixties with brilliant costuming and spot-on production design. The crowning achievement was also enhanced by the fantastic work of the hair department-lead by MAHS local 706 Kathrine Gordon and Reese Witherspoon’s own hairstylist- Anne Morgan. Both of their work, along with their team of local Memphis hairstylists shows the power of the right hairstyles, especially in the Country Music world, is never to be underestimated.
“I used a darker base makeup than in previous films with Reese to give her more of a tan; her base makeup was always a combination of Cle de Peau ‘030’ and Nars ‘Sahara’. Reese’s scenes start in 1955 so lipstick, eye shadow, and eyeliner were for that period, darker reds for her lips, light blue and green eye shadow, the makeup was a little more intense when she was on stage and I always used eyelashes for those scenes. As the film moved into the sixties, I moved to more frosted eye shadows and lipsticks, powder was always t. le clerc ‘Peche’ and blush was usually MAC cosmetics ‘Fleur Power’ and ‘Melba’, and lipsticks were always a combination-some of the colors were La Femme ‘pink’ ‘Chiffon’, ‘Coral Glow’, RCMA ‘cp5’, Paul and Joe ‘025’ and Paula Dorf lipslides ‘Beaches’," states Wilder.
Galli assembled a team consisting of key artist Michelle Vittone, 3rd artist Judy Ponder- Atlanta based and member of Local 798, and Gloria Belz from Memphis.
“Memphis was our production hub, Gloria helped me hire local artists to help with the enormous cast,” says Galli, who also noted the challenges they all faced with the extreme heat and humidity. “It was so brutal-this was shot in the summertime, and James (Mangold) wanted it to look authentic-have the actors sweating and looking un-powdered. Mosquitoes were also a huge problem especially in Arkansas,” she adds.
To subtly age actor Joaquin Phoenix as Cash, Galli notes, “I had to use Matthew Mungle’s Sealer ‘B’ in place of latex which bubbled in the heat”. MAC Cosmetics provided me all the color palettes and product for each decade’s look. Anything I needed was sent to me immediately”.
Brown contacts were used to change Phoenix’s green eyes into Cash’s legendary dark eyes. “Another big challenge we had during the Folsom prison scene was covering the tattoos of the actors, replacing them with applied World War II and darker inked tattoos from that era. I had to do research on period tattoos-covering the more colorful, tribal tattoos of today,” said Galli.
The real Johnny Cash was notably obsessed about his hair, the ‘Man in Black’ kept his hair jet black almost until the end of his life. In ‘Walk the Line’ we see Jerry Lee Lewis- his foppishly long hair perfectly replicated in all its uncontrived wildness during the singer’s performances adding to the actor’s spirited routine. According to Kathrine Gordon, “Not only did we deal with up to 500 hairstyles a day for this film, we had to shave Joaquin’s hairline, and remove his widows peak, his hair went from high shine in the fifties to a more matte look in the sixties. I had all the background actors in period for each take, and for the principals the hairstyles were more implied, I really relied on key Betty Lou Skinner’s help in managing this huge job.”
Actress Reese Witherspoon is most known with her blond locks, but is in fact a natural brunette. “Reese is a natural brunette,” says Morgan, “I thought it was important to use a series of layers of color, to have highs and lows to it so it looked natural.”
“The research for Johnny and June was easily accessible for both Kathrine and me. Not only did Academy Award costume designer nominee Arianne Phillips have many photos, but there were also old tapes of June Carter and Johnny Cash on country western shows from the fifties. There are plenty of books in publication about both Johnny and June-both of whom had recently passed. In the end, Jim Mangold wanted to capture the essence of who they were and not be too exacting…that being said, there are certain looks that are so iconic to June that I felt a need to be true to her,” said Anne Morgan.
She adds, “In transitioning from one decade to another, I tried to keep in mind that most of Junes’ time in the film was spent on the road, where she had to set her own hair. We also needed to show a passage of time with hair as Jims’ request was for no special effects or aging on her. I kept this in mind and tried to reflect that in my choices; keeping her more ‘juvenile’ in the 50’s (bouncy, shorter hair, pony tales etc.) I started with a tighter classical set (all with hot irons) that was very similar to how June wore her hair. We moved into the early 60’s and I tried to show her more ‘womanly’ progression with softness to the set and a side parting. I used light backcombing at the crown to reflect the time period. Incrementally with this time period and most especially when she was on stage, I increased the volume, giving her the most height and style for their meeting at the Music Awards. I think my favorite style was at the Music Awards…I loved the make-up with the tan and the pale lip…playing off the white dress, the hair incredibly high …I think Reese looks the least like herself here and I really liked that.”
“Finally I added a fall for the latter part of the time we spend with June. Here is where she and Johnny become more familiar with whom we remember them as…the pinnacle look being the performance at Folsom Prison. I used allot of backcombing and more curl early on and then brought it down to a more severe center parting, flatter… with the length being more of the focus rather than the height.”
Currently Anne Morgan is Jennifer Connelly’s hairstylist, working on “Blood Diamonds” with Ed Zwick directing. Katherine Morgan recently wrapped feature film “The Reaping”. Brad Wilder recently wrapped “Bobby” and is currently Nancy Meyers’ “The Holiday”. Jane Galli has recently wrapped “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest ”.
Reese Witherspoon as June Carter
photo courtesy A.M.P.A.S
3:10 to Yuma , James Mangold's next feature film shooting in New Mexico.
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