Chinatown's visual design became the subject of a power struggle inside Paramount. William A. Fraker, who had photographed Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, accepted the cinematographer's position after Paramount agreed to hire him. Producer Robert Evans, however, had not been consulted and immediately objected. Evans feared that pairing Polanski with a trusted former collaborator would give the director's team too much control over the production and make the project harder for the studio to manage. The offer to Fraker was rescinded, and the production attempted a compromise by hiring veteran cinematographer Stanley Cortez. Polanski soon became frustrated with Cortez's slower working methods, old-fashioned compositional approach, and unfamiliarity with Panavision equipment. After only a few weeks, John A. Alonzo was brought in for his speed and documentary experience. Alonzo communicated with the Italian-speaking Polanski in Italian and then translated instructions for the crew; only a handful of finished scenes, including the orange-grove confrontation, retained Cortez's work. The episode revealed how even a prestige production could become a tug-of-war between a producer's authority, a director's visual control, and the studio's fear of losing command.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1970s
Robert Evans Tried to Stop Polanski from Reuniting with His Rosemary's Baby Cinematographer
Roman Polanski, Robert Evans, William A. Fraker, and Chinatown / 1970s
Chinatown's visual design became the subject of a power struggle inside Paramount. William A. Fraker, who had photographed Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, accepted the cinematographer's position after Paramount agreed to hire him. Producer Robert Evans, however, had not been consulted and immediately objected. Evans feared that pairing Polanski with a trusted former collaborator would give the director's team too much control over the production and make the project harder for the studio to manage. The offer to Fraker was rescinded, and the production attempted a compromise by hiring veteran cinematographer Stanley Cortez. Polanski soon became frustrated with Cortez's slower working methods, old-fashioned compositional approach, and unfamiliarity with Panavision equipment. After only a few weeks, John A. Alonzo was brought in for his speed and documentary experience. Alonzo communicated with the Italian-speaking Polanski in Italian and then translated instructions for the crew; only a handful of finished scenes, including the orange-grove confrontation, retained Cortez's work. The episode revealed how even a prestige production could become a tug-of-war between a producer's authority, a director's visual control, and the studio's fear of losing command.
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