Behind the scenes: John Wick 3

New York has been photographed thousands of times before so when the city is the main location for your story how do you make it look different? The answer, for director Chad Stahelski and Dan Laustsen ASC, DFF, was to make it rain.

“I love rain,” Laustsen tells IBC365. “It brings a third dimension to the look of the film.”

The Dane had worked with sea water-soaked imagery on The Shape of Water, winning a best cinematography nomination for Guillermo del Toro’s film. For John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, the ultra-stylish sequel to the ultra-stylish ‘gun fu’ action franchise starring Keanu Reeves, rain afforded the opportunity to play with neon lights and headlamps reflected off dark streets, cars, motorbike helmets and windows.

“I knew how to work with rain but it’s incredibly complicated trying to do this in New York. We discussed creating…