A Conversation With Producer Daniel Lupi
Brie Clayton June 29, 2022
0 Comments
The line producer of the upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon discusses past projects and his longtime collaboration with Panavision.
Producer Daniel Lupi's credits include the features Catch Me If You Can, Lincoln, Ready Player One and West Side Story with director Steven Spielberg; Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, The Master, Inherent Vice and Phantom Thread with director Paul Thomas Anderson; and, most recently, Killers of the Flower Moon with director Martin Scorsese. He began his career in the mid-1980s as a production assistant in New York. I've been around cameras for 39 years, he shares, and I'm still learning.
Panavision recently caught up with Lupi to discuss his work as a line producer, what he looks for when partnering with a rental provider, and the logistics he's had to navigate for some of his far-flung productions.
West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg, cinematography by Janusz Kaminski. Image courtesy of Disney.
Panavision: As a line producer, how do you determine where you'll rent your cameras and lenses for any given project?
Daniel Lupi: Honestly, it's DP-driven. With some line producers, I'm sure it's about budget and where you can get a better deal, but to me, the point of the camera rental is all about the DP.
I have a bit of a unique r sum . I've done something like 30 movies as a line producer, and I think only two of those have been digital jobs. When we did Her with Spike Jonze, we shot digital, and that was because we were trying to have a really low footprint. And then on Us with Jordan Peele, we went digital, and that was because we had a lot of night work. Killers of the Flower Moon was film. Spielberg only shoots film. Paul Anderson only shoots film. Also, Paul loves anamorphic, so that's been a big part of what's brought us to Panavision.
Us, directed by Jordan Peele, cinematography by Michael Gioulakis. Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
When do you make your first call to the rental house for a new project, and what is that first conversation about?
Lupi: I'll sometimes call before we've done the deal with the DP, but on a lot of those jobs, we still usually know who the DP will be, so I'll say, Robert Elswit [ASC] is shooting it,' or Janusz Kaminski is shooting it.' And the first conversation is, There's a job in six months,' and it's about making sure we have the right lenses on hold and most times, it's about anamorphic.
The films I do tend to be budget-challenged. I've never gone on one of those films where there's 10 cameras. For me, it's always been an A and a B camera, and then you've got backups. On Killers of the Flower Moon, we shot for 20-odd weeks, so we probably ended up taking more than we needed, as backups. Now, though, we're getting into the world of split packages. On Killers, with cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto [ASC, AMC], we were shooting film during the day and digital at night, and that was partly because we were shooting in the middle of nowhere, and you could never light the exterior. You can push a sunset that much longer if you use a digital camera. But cost-wise, that approach is more challenging.
Because you're essentially doubling your cameras?
Lupi: It's the same number of lenses, but you're doubling the cameras. And you shoot a lot of footage with digital. With film, when you're shooting a thousand-foot mag, which is about 11 minutes, everyone is far more cognizant of a take. With digital, they just tend to let it roll, so you're shooting a lot more footage than you are with film, and memory's not cheap. You can't wipe the cards until you've completed the transfer, so you're doubling up on the camera cards, and then all that footage has to be dumped into the Avid. If you're doing a cost analysis between film and digital, I could show you how film's not any more expensive - but then I could probably show you how digital is less expensive as well. It really depends how much you're going to shoot.
It's also a question of where you're shooting and how quickly you can back up. Because we're shooting film, we're obviously not doing on-site colour, so basically it's all going back to L.A., New York or London for processing. Depending on where you're shooting, the turnaround can end up being so big that it might be cost-prohibitive.
There Will Be Blood, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, cinematography by Robert Elswit, ASC. Image courtesy of Paramount.
What's kept you and your collaborators coming back to Panavision so consistently?
Lupi: I think it all comes down to relationships and service. The DP, the director, the focus pullers, what they want is service, and no one beats Panavision. The staff is amazing. I've known them for 35, 40 years. They're always there for you. We've done shows where Panavision's sent techs out on weekends or during the week to service the cameras. I remember in Texas, on There Will Be Blood, techs were sent out mid-shoot to completely clean and service the cameras because of all the sand. And when we shot The Master on 65mm cameras, Panavision sent us a technician who basically stayed with us whilst we shot out of town.
Panavision's also great at despatch things out and back to be serviced lenses, cameras, all of it, and turning it around quickly. And of course [Panavision's senior vice president of optical engineering and lens strategy] Dan Sasaki and his Special Optics team, and the wonders they can do with building lenses and tweaking them, are amazing. You really want that person who understands what you're going for, and Dan is a
North America Stories
28/01/2026
Top L-R: The Liars, Jazz Infernal, Living with a Visionary
Second Row L-R: Paper Trail, The Baddest Speechwriter of All, Crisis Actor
Third Row: The Boys and ...
28/01/2026
Airlines, cruise and tour operators double down on ad spend as Australians' prioritise travel
Sydney January 28, 2026 - New Nielsen Ad Intel data shows a...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Marshall Electronics launches the CV420-27X, its next-generation ultra-high-definition (UHD) IP camera, at ISE 2026 (Stand 4N900). Engineered for modern IP-base...
28/01/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Television Mobiles Ltd. (TVM), one of Europe's leading independent outside broadcast providers, has carried out a major refu...
28/01/2026
AI, graphics and virtual software power new production capabilities
FOR-A is bringing remarkable new technologies to FOMEX, the Future of Media Exhibition (ex...
28/01/2026
Continuing a longstanding collaboration, Riedel Communications and Nordic media technology company Media Tailor have once again joined forces to deliver a state...
28/01/2026
Pebble has appointed Paul Nagle-Smith as vice president for customer fulfilment, strengthening its senior leadership focus on customer delivery and operational ...
28/01/2026
Cloud playout solutions provider, Veset has announced that leading Mexican broadcaster, TV Azteca is using Veset Nimbus on AWS as a disaster recovery (DR) playo...
28/01/2026
Ensuring it can keep pace with a rapidly evolving live sports market, Balkan broadcast facility provider MVP Most Valuable Production has upgraded its flags...
28/01/2026
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cloud solutions provider that powers and protects life online, and Yospace, the leader in dynamic ad insertion tec...
28/01/2026
The renowned Reykjavik City Theatre (RCT) recently underwent a major intercom system upgrade using Clear-Com solutions. This milestone project utilizes Clear-C...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/01/2026
Boston Conservatory Orchestra Premieres a New Piano Concerto by Peter and Leonar...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
The Wait Is Over: Teaser Trailer Drops for Jo Nesbo's Dete...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces a Fictional Miniseries Inspired by the Marta del Castillo Case
Entertainment
28 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to ...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Santiago Mitres New Film Starring Ver nica L...
28/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Teaser Trailer for Berlin and the Lady wit...
27/01/2026
L-R: Jonathan Cuchacovich, Sonia Kennebeck, Alan Fischer, Daeil Kim, Andrew Sta...
27/01/2026
Nielsen will continue to drive growth and provide local audience measurement
in...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Amagi Media Labs Limited, the only cloud-native SaaS provider offering end-to-end solutions across live production, content preparation, distribution, and monet...
27/01/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. today unveiled its V410 live 4K video encoder/decoder for streaming, IP-based production workflows and AV-over-IP distribution. Designed ...
27/01/2026
The Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell in Massachusetts has chosen Ikegami cameras for incorporation into its broadcast-quality television production facili...
27/01/2026
SipRadius, specialists in secure, low latency media transport, will show the pro AV community its end-to-end solution for high quality content distribution and ...
27/01/2026
Hiltron will highlight the fruits of its 45-plus years of experience in satellite communications system integration and product development at the annual GovSat...
27/01/2026
Klvr will demonstrate how its Charger Pro solution is delivering cost reduction and performance benefits for live entertainment and pro AV markets at ISE 2026 (...
27/01/2026
Amino, a global media technology leader in enterprise video and digital signage, today announced that its Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026 booth (4N700) wil...
27/01/2026
ANI, India's leading news agency and a major content provider across the Asia Pacific region, today announced a significant expansion of its long standing p...
27/01/2026
Independent analysis confirms faster encoding, lower CPU usage, and improved perceptual quality compared to CBR and CRF
VisualOn, a leader in multimedia playba...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
That Night Premiering on Netflix March 13
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DOWNLOAD THE KEY ART
DOWNLO...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Kicks Off 15-Year Anniversary Celebrations in Brazil W...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
When It Feels Real, Is It Still a Lie? The Art of Sarah' ...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
That Night premiering on Netflix March 13
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DOWNLOAD THE KEY ART
DOWNLO...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Revealed the Future of Mexican Stories Coming in 2026
Entertainment
27 January 2026
GlobalMexico
Link copied to clipboard
Among t...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
Four New Japan Titles Announced for 2026: Viral Hit', On...
27/01/2026
Back to All News
What's Next on Netflix from Japan: Expanding the Possibili...
27/01/2026
AI, graphics and virtual software power new production capabilities...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
26/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
A Conversation With Producer Daniel Lupi 
