Exclusive Excerpt: The Film Crew of Hollywood by James Udel

Posted on January 21, 2014 at 8:00 am

I am thrilled to be able to share with you exclusive excerpts from one of the best books ever to take you behind the scenes in film production — The Film Crew of Hollywood: Profiles of Grips, Cinematographers, Designers, a Gaffer, a Stuntman and a Makeup Artist by James Udel. I am deeply grateful to Mr. Udel for speaking with me, for allowing me to publish this excerpt, and most of all for interviewing these unsung heroes of Hollywood.

William Fraker, Cinematographer

The notion of ‘following one’s instincts’ was first put to the test when Bill Fraker was hired by Hall to operate camera on the 1966 classic adventure western, The Professionals, helmed by a gritty, workhorse of a director, Richard Brooks. When asked about the picture, Billy smiled broadly while remembering his first (and nearly his last) conversation with the old-school director. About a week into the shooting schedule, a large complicated scene took place involving an Army train with dozens of troop extras and horsemen positioned around the tracks and platform cars. While shooting the intricate sequence with its secondary focus of a woman riding on horseback through frame, Fraker became fixated with a lucky accident. Upon holding a pan shot on actress Claudia Cardinale, (instead of cutting away after a three second beat as Brooks had instructed him to do), he was questioned by the livid Director at scene’s end. “What the hell did you do that for?” Brooks roared into Fraker’s serene face. “Because it was so damn beautiful,” Billy replied candidly. “It better be,” the Director said, turning and walking away. Certain that he was going to be fired (and fearing for his situation with Hall), on the following day Fraker was surprised to be invited into the screening room, as Brooks’ habit was to share dailies with as few folks as possible. In addition to directing, Brooks also wrote brilliant scripts for pictures such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, In Cold Blood, Blackboard Jungle, and Elmer Gantry, in 1960 (for which he won an Oscar for best screenplay). A tough ex-Marine (and no one to fool with by reputation), when the take in question was shown during dailies (with its hold on Cardinale and the horse, neck high flowing through the frame), Brooks had the projectionist in the back of his hotel room stop the machine. “Fraker,” he began sternly, “you were right to stay on her. Your shot was better. Would you like to see dailies with us from now on?”

Gaylin Schultz, Key Grip

Gaylin’s biggest break in Tinseltown occurred when called by Jack Reddish to take over Key Grip duties on the Thomas Crown Affair, after Morris Rosen (of High Noon and Man with a Golden Arm fame), suffered a fatal heart attack during the first week’s filming. A case of one man’s misfortune being another’s ‘window of opportunity’ (an often repeated theme of advancement in Filmberg), Schultz was engaged at the suggestion of the movie’s producer, Walter Mirisch; who fondly recalled his heroic action from How To Murder Your Wife a few years earlier.

His first day on the film was a challenge that would mirror much of his career success to come. Tasked with staging a set of moving shots in an open field featuring a Schweizer SGS-1 sailplane for the picture’s opening montage, the images required fly-by coverage of the sleek machine swooping low over the horizon, and then rapidly descending into a graceful landing, with McQueen and Faye Dunaway exiting the craft at scene’s end. Told to relax by Rosen’s remaining grips, (who resented the outsider taking over), Schultz was informed that the shot was already worked out by their boss. Patiently, he watched in horror as a Honda motorcycle (carrying an operator sitting backwards with a hand-held Arriflex camera), attempted to get the shot, but failed miserably with a dozen takes of unusable footage. Rapidly falling behind his shooting schedule with nothing in the can for his morning’s work, Cinematographer Haskell Wexler thought he had the solution when getting producer Norman Jewison to secure a Cadillac convertible for use as a camera-car; crouching in the cavernous back seat, shooting the sailplane handheld. Again the results were poor as the heavy vehicle fishtailed worse than the Honda at half the speed. Finally calling lunch without a single printable take, the mood in the chow line was less then festive. Approaching Jack Reddish and Jewison for permission to work on an idea during lunch, (instead of eating with the still glum grips), Schultz borrowed a heavy-duty 6 by 6 wheeled Military work-truck from transportation (known as Hanks Helper to the electricians), originally used for laying power cable in rough terrain locations. Removing the passenger seat first and mounting a camera in its place, Gaylin and the one grip who agreed to help, John Bearsdick, rigged two stout tow-arms from the rear of the trucks vertical A-frame, then attached the glider to them, keeping the support hardware out of the shot. Allowing for speeds in excess of 40 miles an hour before the towed glider would buck to become airborne, Schultz’s cobbled together process trailer gave them the shot they wanted without the complications of multiple vehicles. Although ungainly in appearance, Wexler’s initial skepticism was quickly replaced with thanks after seeing the set-up through a lens. “If it hadn’t worked,” Gaylin chuckled, “I think I would have been on the next plane back home. But as it happened,” he continued, “That one shot kind of made me; for the rest of the movie, I was walking on water, so to speak.

In addition to impressing producers Jewison and Mirisch with his ability to get the job done, Gaylin Schultz also made an impression on Steve McQueen who would ultimately be instrumental in hiring him for some of the most important films in his career. Recalling a moment of bonding between the two men (who both loved the mechanics of machinery and fast automobiles), Schultz said he was installing a camera mount on a Ferrari 275 GTS Spyder that Faye Dunaway drove in the picture (later purchased by McQueen), when the actor walked up and began observing him carefully padding all the straps and hardware which might come into contact with the pricy sport car’s paint job. After watching Gaylin in silence for a few moments McQueen said, “Christ Schultz, you’re an artist!” Possibly the start of their friendship, he said the talented actor trusted him implicitly from that day forward to do things right.

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12 Years a Slave

Posted on October 17, 2013 at 6:15 pm

A-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for violence/cruelty, some nudity and brief sexuality
Profanity:	Constant use of racial epithets, sexual references
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking and drunkenness
Violence/ Scariness:	Intense and disturbing violence including rape, murder, whipping, and abuse, disturbing and graphic images
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	October 18, 2013
Date Released to DVD:	March 3, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00G4Q3NDA

Watching “12 Years a Slave” is a shattering experience. It shatters any remaining illusions of gracious, chivalrous, Southern plantation life in the pre-Civil War era. They were based on the late 19th century myth-making from the children of slave-owners in a toxic effort to disguise the reality that the South was fighting to preserve a system of virulent racism fueled by the economics of plantation life. It shatters cherished notions of the first principles underlying the founding of this country. The man who wrote the revolutionary words that “all men are created equal” was a part of this atrocity. It shatters all previous depictions of slavery. By comparison they seem cartoonish and fraudulent, from “Gone With the Wind” to “Django Unchained,” more about the time they were made than the time they depicted. And, like all great films, it shatters our previous notions of what was possible on screen, with performances so vivid and compelling they seem to break through every boundary, between us and them, between then and now, between actor and audience. In one audacious moment, Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free man sold into slavery, looks into the distance, eyes filled with ineffable suffering and loss, and then turns to face us, looking into the eyes of those who are looking at him, bringing us further into his world.

This is different because it is a rare story of pre-Civil War South told from a black person’s point of view. It is based on Northrup’s book, written after he returned to his family. It is the story of slavery from a man who experienced it, and who knew what it was like to live as a black man who was not just free but better educated and more successful than most people of any race in his community. In that sense, it is a story told from inside the system of our country’s greatest shame. In another sense, it is presented by outsiders, director Steve McQueen (British) and stars Ejiofor (the British son of Nigerian immigrants) and Lupita Nyong’o (born in Mexico, raised in Kenya, educated in the US). They tell us Northrup’s story — and ours — without being tied to the way we prefer to tell ourselves what our history is and means.

Northrup is a successful musician, happily married with two adored children and respected by both white and black members of his community in New York State. He accepts a job playing with some circus performers (Scoot McNairy and “SNL’s” Taran Killem) in Washington, D.C., where slavery is legal. They drug him and sell him to a slave dealer (Paul Giamatti). Without his papers, he cannot prove he is a free man. Soon he is renamed Pratt and transported to Louisiana, where he is sold first to a comparatively benevolent man (Benedict Cumberbatch), but then, when he gets into a fight with the overseer (an oily Paul Dano), he is re-sold to a brutal man who prides himself on being an n-word-breaker (Michael Fassbender). Northrup loses more than his family, his liberty, his name, and his freedom. He loses his very self; he is told early on that if the white people know he can read and write, it will create more trouble for him. Indeed, when he tries to be helpful by suggesting a better system for transporting the crop, he earns the gratitude of his master but incurs the jealousy of the white boss. The only way to survive is to pretend to be the sub-human the owners need them to be to continue to hold onto their bigotry.

This movie makes clear the poisonous, psychotic twisted mind that can accept or even justify the idea that one person can buy and sell another. Over and over, we see the slaveholders at the same time acknowledging and denying the humanity of the people they think they own. A female slave sobs because her children have been sold and she will never see them again. The woman of the plantation, briefly sympathetic, says, “Poor woman.” But then, immediately after, “Your children will soon be forgotten.” Slaves are included in family worship services (though not seated with the family). But their souls are never acknowledged; they are categorized as livestock.

There are terrible beatings. There is torture and rape. Slave children run and play, laughing, ignoring the man who is almost choking to death as punishment. There are property identification chains slaves must wear if they go off the property, like something between a hall pass and a dog tag. There is a slave who has made her peace with what she has done to get better treatment — and with what she now does to other slaves.

Instead of the lush orchestral score usually underlying period films or the melancholy flute and drum usually heard in Civil War films, Hans Zimmer has created spare, edgy music that is bleak without being maudlin. McQueen’s approach is sure and direct and the script by John Ridley is ably structured and thoughtful. Nyong’o’s gives performance of exquisite grace and heart-wrenching dignity. But the center of the story is Northrup. Ejiofor is sure to get an Oscar nomination for a performance of unparalleled depth and eloquence.

Parents should know that this film includes very graphic and disturbing images of slavery, with rape, murder, and abuse, brutal whipping and atrocities, nudity, sexual references and situations, constant racial epithets, drinking and drunkenness.

Family discussion: What was the significance of the early scene in Mr. Parker’s store? How does this story differ from other movie depictions of the pre-Civil War South? Why did Northrup join in the singing of “Roll, Jordan, Roll?”

If you like this, try: book by Solomon Northrup, “Amistad,” American Experience: The Abolitionists, and Roots

List: Movies About Racing Cars

Posted on September 27, 2013 at 8:00 am

In honor of this week’s release of “Rush,” based on the real rivalry of Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, take a look at these movies about racing, some featuring actors who raced cars off screen as well.

Winning Real-life race car driver Paul Newman co-stars with his wife, Joanne Woodward and Robert Wagner in this story of the pressure that the racing life puts on the marriage of a competitive driver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-eMIFbV0po

Days of Thunder The least believable neurosurgeon in the history of movies is Nicole Kidman in this story of a hot-headed racecar driver (Tom Cruise), but Robert Duvall and the racing scenes make it worthwhile.

The Love Bug series Disney’s beloved little VW Bug with 53 on the side competes with race cars.

The Cannonball Run Burt Reynolds and a bunch of comics star in this goofy story of an illegal cross-country race.

Heart Like a Wheel Bonnie Bedelia brings as much heart to her performance as Shirley Muldowney, the real-life race car driver she portrayed, brought to her ground-breaking achievements as a woman in professional racing.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Will Ferrell stars in this spoof of racing films, co-starring John C. Reilly, Sasha Baron Cohen, and Leslie Bibb.

Le Mans Steve McQueen plays an American driver in the title race.

Grand Prix James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, and Toshiro Mifune are the actors, but the star is the photography in John Frankenheimer’s film about Formula One drivers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chbqa-u8c4c

Driven It’s not a good movie, but writer/director Sylvester Stallone manages to put some exciting car action on screen.

The Great Escape

Posted on December 13, 2002 at 5:17 am

A+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Not rated
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Some drinking, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Very tense moments, characters in peril and many killed
Diversity Issues:	People from a variety of backgrounds and countries work together toward a common goal
Date Released to Theaters:	1963
Date Released to DVD:	May 7, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00BN3DUVE

In honor of the Blu-Ray release of this classic film, it is the Pick of the Week – and I am delighted that I have one Blu-Ray to give away. Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with Escape in the subject line. I will pick a winner at random on May 15. Don’t forget your address! (US addresses only.)

Towards the end of WWII, the Germans built a special high-security prison camp for Allied prisoners with a record of escape attempts. This is the true story of the extraordinary courage and ingenuity of the men imprisoned there, and of their plans for the greatest escape ever. As the British ranking officer explains, when the camp commandant urges him to relax and “sit out the war as comfortably as possible,” his duty is to escape, or, if escape is impossible, to force the enemy to use as many resources as possible to contain them.

Each man contributes his expertise. There are “tunnel kings” to dig the three tunnels, a “forger king” (Donald Pleasence) to forge the papers the soldiers will need when they escape, a “scrounger” (James Garner) to beg, borrow, steal, or obtain through blackmail the materials they need, and others who work as tailors and manufacturers. An American who is something of a loner, Hilts (Steve McQueen) becomes the “cooler king” for his long stints in solitary confinement, as a result of his independent escape attempts. When “Big X” (Richard Attenborough), the British officer who supervises the escape, asks Hilts to go through the tunnel to get information about the area surrounding the camp, and then allow himself to be recaptured, so he can let them know what he has found, he refuses. But when his friend is killed trying to escape, his spirit broken by the camp, Hilts changes his mind.

Seventy-five of the prisoners are able to escape before the tunnel is discovered. The Germans track almost all of them down, and fifty are killed, including Big X. It is to “the fifty” that the film is dedicated.

As in “Stalag 17” and many other films about prison camp, the prisoners in this story must adapt to the direst of circumstances, and they choose differing approaches. Hilts adapts by working on his own, or with one partner, while others work on a massive group escape. Ives and Danny begin to unravel under the stress, not so much a “choice” as an involuntary response.

Unlike other prison camp movies, this one does not dwell on disputes between prisoners or on the deprivations of the prison camp, which seems almost comfortable. It is about the professionalism, courage, resourcefulness, teamwork, and loyalty of every one of the prisoners.

As in a traditional “heist” film, the story focuses on defining a problem and then solving it. They examine the restrictions imposed by their conditions, change the ones they can, and adapt to the ones they cannot. They must also adapt quickly and calmly when the plan does not go as they expected.

The story gives us an exceptional example of teamwork and loyalty. Note the way that the prisoners protect each other. When Danny (Charles Bronson) cannot take it any more and wants to escape on his own, his friend talks him out of it. When the Forger goes blind, Big X wants to leave him behind, for his own protection. But the Scrounger promises to take care of him.

Point out to kids what factors do — and do not — go into the prisoners’ calculations and strategy. Big X is cautioned not to allow his personal wish for revenge determine their strategy. But pride (in the sense of morale) is permitted to be considered. When asked “Have you thought of what it might cost?” he answers, “I’ve thought of the humiliation if we just tamely submit — knuckle under and crawl.” They also consider the risk of failure, to the extent they can. At the end, when the Scrounger asks whether the escape was worth the price, the best the British Commander can do is answer truthfully, “It depends on your point of view.”

Note: The screenplay was co-written by blockbuster novelist James Clavell (Tai-Pei, Shogun). His own experiences as a prisoner of war in a Japanese prison camp are the subject of “King Rat.” The outstanding musical score is by Elmer Bernstein (“The Magnificent Seven” and “To Kill a Mockingbird”). Richard Attenborough, who played Big X, became a director in the late 1960s of films such as “Gandhi” and “Shadowlands.” He continues to appear as a performer, and played Dr. Hammond in “Jurassic Park” and Kris Kringle in the 1994 version of “Miracle on 34th Street.”

Family discussion: Why are the experts called “kings”? What makes Hilts change his mind about getting the information they want? Who was right about taking the Forger out through the tunnel, Big X or the Scrounger? Given the results of their action in this story, should officers who have been taken prisoner feel duty-bound to try to escape?

If you like this, try: “Stalag 17” and “King Rat”