In reference to a star-studded scene in “John Wick: Chapter 4” in which the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), Caine (Donnie Yen), the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), and John Wick discuss whether the High Table will honor its word, Chad Stahelski confirmed in an interview with Collider, “Real deal. That’s the Eiffel Tower.”
The director revealed that he often doesn’t tell his cast that they’re going to be on location in circumstances like these, letting it be a surprise for the performers. He set the scene for what it’s like to arrive for a shoot like this, saying, “There’s nothing like it’s 5:00 AM, we’re just setting up the lights. It’s still dark out. They get out of the car. We’re going to do our read-through, and then they get out of the SUV, and it’s the f***ing Eiffel Tower right there at this great table.”
Stahelski compared filming at the actual Eiffel Tower to “Barry Lyndon,” which is known for its ultra-precise symmetrical shots. He is a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick’s work on that film and wanted to pay tribute to the auteur in his blocking. “We placed everybody in this really, really renaissance kind of way,” he said. “When you explain that in a room, in an office, it’s one thing, but when you see it with the Eiffel Tower and the symmetry, they all started to get the symmetry and the artistic nature of what we’re trying to do when they get there.”
