The Actors in Civil War Took Some of The Photos That Appear in The Movie

Civil War by A24 is perhaps the biggest movie about photojournalism ever and not only did the actors learn how to use the camera properly but they actually took some of the photos seen in the movie.

Spoiler warning: There are spoilers for Civil War in this article.

During the final sequence of the film in which the White House is stormed, Cailee Spaeny, who plays young photographer Jessie, gets a series of incredible photos on her Nikon FE2 film camera as the Western Troops attempt to capture the president played by Nick Offerman.

However, the scene plays out at night and the informed Spaeny tells Entertainment Weekly that her film wasn’t fast enough for the available light.

“The ending sequence was really fun because I composed the shots. I chose what shots I wanted to take,” Spaeny tells the magazine. “Since I didn’t have a speed of film that was fast enough in that low light, my photos did come out, but they’re a bit blurry. So I then got to do a really fun round with our amazing camera operator, Dave. We went around and grabbed those actual shots that I had chosen.”

Practicing to Play a Photographer

Kirsten Dunst who plays elder photojournalist Lee also told Entertainment Weekly that as soon as she got the role she went and got a camera to practice on it.

“I was like, ‘Give me a camera!’ I wanted it to look like it was second nature because Lee had a camera in her hand far longer than me. I immediately got to work on using the same Sony lens that Lee uses. I always had it on me and was always photographing.”

Dunst’s character Lee shoots on a Sony a7 and appears to have a long lens attached throughout the movie while Spaeny’s Jessie character shoots with a 35mm lens attached to her classic Nikon and there is even a sequence where she develops a roll of negatives while out on the road.

Image credits: A24/Murray Close