{"id":21526,"date":"2021-01-06T10:47:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T18:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=21526"},"modified":"2023-08-29T16:10:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T23:10:59","slug":"how-jared-leto-and-92-film-crews-captured-24-hours-in-america","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/how-jared-leto-and-92-film-crews-captured-24-hours-in-america\/","title":{"rendered":"How Jared Leto and 92 Film Crews Captured 24 Hours in America"},"content":{"rendered":"

In some ways, you’d think Jared Leto<\/strong>, Oscar-winning actor, movie star, and frontman for Platinum-selling band (with his brother Shannon) 30 Seconds to Mars, would not need much of an introduction. But now you can add another hat, with a new, heartfelt project for Leto, which is in some ways as ambitious as anything he’s ever done: producer and director of the documentary A Day in the Life of America<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, a sweeping yet intimate cross-section of America shot on a single July 4th in 2017 with 92 film crews fanning out across the United States and Puerto Rico.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“As an introduction to the often startling contradictions of a country in turmoil, the film scintillates,” wrote Stephen Farber in the Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. “The impressive film… provides often beautiful glimpses of very distinctive parts of the country in the age of Trump. Alternately disturbing and inspiring, it manages to capture the diversity of America in a tight 73 minutes.”<\/p>\n

Leto wrote to me about why he wanted to take on such a huge project, if he’s an optimist or a pessimist about America’s future, and how challenging it was to oversee such a huge number of crews across the United States. He also talks about how much PBS influenced him growing up and adds a few of his most favorite films.<\/p>\n

As someone who is used to being in front of the camera, why did you want to orchestrate from behind the lens? Why did you want to make this particular film, A Day in the Life of America<\/em>?<\/b><\/p>\n

This was an idea I’d been thinking about for a really long time and I thought it could be an opportunity to turn the camera on ourselves and capture a portrait of this country and these really tumultuous and fascinating times that we’re living in. When I was a kid, my mother subscribed to National Geographic. It was our gateway to the world, as it is for so many; they had a project where they sent photographers all over the country to capture a single day in the life of the United States, and that always stuck with me. <\/span><\/p>\n

I look at it as a time capsule something that you could dig up 100 years from now, even 1000 years from now, and it would give us some insight into who we are, what kind of people we are, what kind of time that we’re living in. Seeing the final product, formed of the 92 incredibly talented crews, covering all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and DC, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career to date.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I’d love to dive in more into the unusual process in making this ambitious film.\u00a0 How did you land on each of the film crews you worked with who would be in each of the states on that one day? \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Initially, we put together 30 people that were producing in some capacity, and we started riffing about who we would want to see in 24 hours. I\u2019m really grateful to all those people who worked so hard. It was pretty down and dirty. I\u2019ve always geared towards a good challenge, and the challenge was making it all in a single day and making sure you have enough footage to make a compelling piece. Telling a story of hundreds of vignettes is really difficult. It\u2019s funny because I had this idea to make an album where I would travel around the country and interview people, and then write songs loosely around the people and the places and the stories that I heard, but I ended up doing it backward. ”We didn\u2019t dictate what stories people told. We didn\u2019t dictate their point of view.”<\/pullquote><\/span><\/p>\n

So, logistically it was really challenging. We had a great group of producers and we all hunkered down, knowing that we had to have everything in 24 hours. I couldn\u2019t even tell you how many hours of footage we have, but we were buried<\/em> in footage. It was really hard to decide what to include. There are so many stories that are compelling. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting to see people that you may not agree with. I don\u2019t agree with the guy with the gun, but I\u2019d like to spend a little more time with him. This movie is a reminder that you don\u2019t have to agree with people on all fronts to have them be your neighbor or your friend, and I think that\u2019s a really nice thing. It\u2019s hard, we had a lot\u201410,000 people contributed, and we had our 92 crews and I would say 95% of the footage was from those 92 crews.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI hope the impact of this film begins to show there are many who believe and fight for the American Dream, even when that dream seems to be taken away from them.\u201d –@JaredLeto<\/a>
Watch #DayinAmericaPBS<\/a> starting Monday, January 11 on @PBS<\/a> and the PBS Video App. pic.twitter.com\/mKr6hAEX12<\/a><\/p>\n

— Independent Lens (@IndependentLens) January 8, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n