Julie Taymor

director Across the Universe

About her movie: The conceptualist behind Frida and Broadway’s The Lion King set her new, ’60s-era flick—the tale of a rock star told through 33 Beatles songs—in New York. “We shot in over 70 locations in Manhattan—midtown, the Lower East Side, bus terminals, Rivington Street,” she says. “We even staged Vietnam in the swamps of New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., near Grant’s Tomb.”

About her photo triptych: “This is an old part of New York—Ladies’ Mile. It’s the location of the climax of our film, in which we staged a rooftop concert and put an audience on all the surrounding rooftops. It was thrilling—we had live music, a big band and 360 degrees of a stunning, old New York landscape that hasn’t changed.

“What I love about the area is that it’s uptown meets downtown—it really bridges the grandeur of Manhattan but it’s still got a funk to it. When I took this photo, there was no light, but when you look at this shot, it’s as if Ohio is on the roofs of Manhattan, with all those silos.”

Her photo tip: “Look up. People have a tendency to look at the pavement while walking. The skyline, the towers, the detail of buildings that are on top are so magnificent. Also, try and focus your eyes on the most distant perspective, to see beyond what’s right in front of you—the negative space that’s created when you open your eyes.”

Ed note: In lining up the local filmmakers who took shots for our photo issue, TONY received generous assistance from the NYC Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting. Learn more about who they are and what they do.