For Conservative Movie Lovers: Hal Needham, Burt Reynolds and ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ Part 4

In an industry notorious for wasteful pretentiousness — directors shooting a hundred takes, crews taking all day to light a single shot, gazillions spent on the latest effects — Hal Needham was a rebel. Directing? “There is no magic to it, you know. All you have to do is look through the camera and see if it’s got the lens on it that you want. . . I don’t really think it’s that tough.” Cinematography? “We’re not doing Gone with the Wind or Fiddler on the Roof. It’s action/comedy. . .don’t give me none of this artsy-fartsy stuff, just shoot the film.” Expensive locations? “I like to get outside whenever I can. I think it gives a film energy to be outside. . . and beauty.”

And so Smokey and the Bandit was made fast and loose, outside, on a low budget. In Reynolds’ words, they worked “lightning quick,” with first-time director Needham “reigning over crew and camera with instincts that made him, in my humble opinion, the best action director in the business.” The entire film was shot on location in the South. “We moved all over Georgia. . . It was a screwy chase picture, but Hal’s fun, outlaw, hell-bent-sensibility made it sparkle.” (more…)

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Tags: academy awards, alfred hitchcock, Burt Reynolds, Chewbacca (character), Directing
Posted Dec 26th 2009 at 7:11 am in Classic Hollywood, Featured Story, Film | 28393423 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/lgrin/2009/12/26/for-conservative-movie-lovers-hal-needham-burt-reynolds-and-smokey-and-the-bandit-part-4/For+Conservative+Movie+Lovers%3A+Hal+Needham%2C+Burt+Reynolds+and+%E2%80%98Smokey+and+the+Bandit%E2%80%99+Part+42009-12-26+15%3A11%3A55Leo+Grin

Douglas Sirk, Linda Darnell or: What They Don’t Teach You in Film School

I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the best directors in Hollywood. On location and in the studio it’s always fascinating to collaborate with gifted directors and then sit back and watch as the actors breathe life into my pages.

Linda Darnell, studio portrait

I’ve worked with directors who act as Freudian psychologists to elicit the proper emotions from actors. I’ve also seen directors who are more results oriented. They tend to block the actors—deeply choreographing their movements—thus treating actors like expensive props. I’ve witnessed directors bully actors into submission in order to get what they want. And I’ve seen directors who will sit down with their actors and spend endless hours discussing, analyzing, and torturing character and back story in order to excavate the core of the character’s soul. (more…)

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Tags: Actors, Directing, Douglas Sirk, Linda Darnell, Physical Abuse
Posted Feb 2nd 2009 at 6:25 am in Entertainment | 3667451 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ravrech/2009/02/02/douglas-sirk-linda-darnell-or-what-they-dont-teach-you-in-film-school/Douglas+Sirk%2C+Linda+Darnell+or%3A+What+They+Don%27t+Teach+You+in+Film+School2009-02-02+14%3A25%3A33Robert+J.+Avrech