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Lean on Pete: A Special Issue - Book Excerpts

Read excerpts from the ebook Lean on Pete: A Special Issue, available to purchase here.

Own the ebook now

Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete is one of the most spellbinding and gut-wrenching films of 2018. If, like us, you walked out of the film wanting to know how it came into being; how it fits into Haigh’s larger oeuvre; and how it engages the tropes of Western films, this compilation is for you.

 

Find out more

Listen to the podcast

Preview the ebook with our free in-depth podcast discussion on the film featuring all of the book's authors.


Contents

Read excerpts from the ebook Lean on Pete: A Special Issue:

Alex Heeney interviews director Andrew Haigh
Orla Smith interviews cinematographer Magnus Jønck
Orla Smith interviews production designer Ryan Warren Smith
Alex Heeney interviews editor Jonathan Alberts
Alex Heeney on looking for home in the films of Andrew Haigh
Orla Smith on Lean on Pete and the films of Kelly Reichardt as modern westerns


A still from Weekend, of two men sitting on an old sofa together. The text on the image reads, 'Weekend at 10'.

Alex Heeney / September 27, 2021

Looking for home in the films of Andrew Haigh

In this essay, Alex Heeney explores looking for home in Andrew Haigh’s films: Weekend, 45 Years, Lean on Pete, and the show Looking.

Wendy and Lucy, Lean on Pete, Kelly Reichardt, Andrew Haigh, Modern westerns

Orla Smith / April 8, 2020

Modern westerns: Andrew Haigh and Kelly Reichardt are deromanticizing the west

Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete shares DNA with Kelly Reichardt’s westerns (e.g. Wendy and Lucy): both filmmakers are making modern westerns that deromanticize tired western tropes. This is an excerpt from our ebook on Lean on Pete. We will soon publish an ebook on the works of Kelly Reichardt.

Jonathan Alberts, Editor, Lean on Pete

Alex Heeney / April 21, 2018

Interview: ‘Cutting to amplify emotion’ in Lean on Pete

Editor Jonathan Alberts discusses the long, painstaking editing process on Lean on Pete, from screening dailies on location, to creating a sound temp track, finding the best takes, choosing minimal cuts, and finding the right rhythm. This is the fourth feature in our Special Issue on Lean on Pete, which is now available for purchase […]

Ryan Warren Smith, Production Design, Lean on Pete, Charlie Plummer, Chloë Sevigny

Orla Smith / April 18, 2018

Interview: Colour reveals character in LOP‘s set design

Lean on Pete production designer Ryan Warren Smith discusses how he created rich, detailed environments that subtly reveal character. This is the third feature in our Special Issue on Lean on Pete.

Magnus Jønck, Cinematography, Lean on Pete, Charlie Plummer

Orla Smith / April 17, 2018

Behind the Lens: Lean on Pete DP Magnus Jønck

DP Magnus Jønck approached Lean on Pete as a modern western, keeping the focus solely on character and de-romanticising the landscape. This is the second feature in our Special Issue on Lean on Pete, which is now available as an ebook here.

Andrew Haigh, Lean on Pete, Charlie Plummer

Alex Heeney / April 16, 2018

Andrew Haigh on Lean on Pete: ‘Blocking is everything’

Writer-director Andrew Haigh (Weekend, 45 Years, Looking) on his meticulous blocking and how he used it to express the journey of a boy searching for home in Lean on Pete. This is the first feature in our Special Issue on Lean on Pete which is now available as an ebook companion to the film.

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