Naz’s Arrest on The Night Of Took Over 100 Takes

By Reuben Levine | Jul 12, 2016

Shooting Naz’s arrest scene was impossibly complicated

The first episode of The Night Of was, for lack of a better word, incredible. It provided some of the best crime drama since the first season of True Detective, though it did so in an entirely different way. The Night Of is most concerned with the criminal justice system, and portraying that well takes time and work. A lot of it.

Steven Zaillain, the creator and showrunner of The Night Of, spoke with HBO about filming Naz’s arrest scene. The scene took over 100 takes to get right, and is by far the most complicated one in the first episode. Zaillain goes into just how much work it took to get right:

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"“It’s one of the longest in the entire series at eight pages, and involves nine characters engaged in intersecting action and dialog. As such, it’s one of the very few scenes I felt required rehearsals, which we did in pre-production.”"

Watch part of the scene in question:

That’s impressive. He later goes on to say that he channeled director Robert Altman when it came to overlapping the various conversations, and also describes the scene as “a short play.” The Night Of is filled with artistry like this, though it’s not the kind that gets noticed easily. It’s possible that only someone interested in theater and staging would have truly appreciated the intricacies of the scene without being told.

Next: Did Naz kill Andrea on The Night Of?

All told, theater is a fine way to describe what goes on in The Night Of, and Robert Altman is an apt comparison. HBO has had crime dramas before, but it has not had anything like The Night Of before. Hopefully other episodes will bring such intricate scenes like this, though even if they don’t, it’s difficult to deny the show’s incredible cinematography and direction.

The Night Of is a different beast, and one that should absolutely not be ignored.

Via: HBO