The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/924095
50 • LMGI COMPASS | Winter 2018 ice, slush and snow. Probably NOT doable to put the heavy snowcat on the ice. I made him write up a report, because I knew they were not going to like it. But it was better than fishing out a huge snowcat from the bottom of the lake. Jill: …OR TWO PEOPLE! Mike: That was probably the scariest thing that has hap- pened to me. Jill: WHAT DO YOU STILL LOVE ABOUT THE JOB? Mike: I have been doing this for many years and I still love it. I really enjoy all the different skills that I have to employ each and every day. Usually, I start out scouting. I enjoy being alone searching out locations and figuring out how the location can be used. I get to use my camera and take great photos of interesting locations. Then I get to show the location to the production designer and I enjoy the camaraderie of that collaboration. Then the director and tech scout, the budget, various meetings with department heads, meeting with city, county or state offi- cials, solving neighborhood problems, juggling all of these things and more in addition to managing the show. In particular, I like managing a staff of people; each staff member has a unique skill set. I compare it to playing chess, because each piece moves in a unique way. I try to assess each person and play to his or her strengths much like mov- ing a chess piece. Sometimes I'll have one of my staff operate outside of their comfort zone. When this happens, I try to be as supportive as possible and try to function as a safety net in order to back the person as they stretch their abilities to new heights. It might be nerve wracking for them, but when they succeed, there is a great feeling of accomplishment. In addition, I get to do plot maps, PowerPoint presentations, Google mapping and try to solve problems in new ways. I try to think outside the box. I like the variety of skills that I use ev- ery day. No two days are the same. On each project, I try to do things a little differently to see if there is a better way to do it. Jill: IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR PAST, WHAT WOULD THAT BE? Mike: I'd buy more real estate. Jill: DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR NEWCOMERS? Mike: Join the LMGI and go to the functions, participate, vol- unteer, join a committee with people you want to know! You need to identity location managers you admire, and ask to shadow them for a couple of days and see how it works. Jill: LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR LATEST WORK, HOTEL ARTEMIS. WHAT CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO? Mike: This is going to be interesting because it's a psychologi- cal thriller with Jodie Foster. She plays an alcoholic nurse in a vivid hellscape of Los Angeles inside of a special hospital facil- ity that caters to criminals that can't go to a regular hospital. Not apocalyptic exactly, but it's Los Angeles, and there is no water, and there are riots every day, society has broken down… Jill: OH, SO IT TAKES PLACE PRESENT DAY… Mike: Maybe two weeks from now! The thing I liked about it is that we had to show an apocalyptic landscape, along with desolate interiors for very little money, and it had to be in Downtown Los Angeles. We needed as much production value as possible, so we ended up being on the roof of the Rosslyn Hotel. I was able to work out an aggressive deal. I also found a nearby hotel which was being renovated. We caught it at the right time; we could never have afforded it if it was open. We built a chunk on stage, took pieces of the Rosslyn and the Cecil Hotel for our hero location, and we had riots at night, shutting down streets all night, near the Fashion District. Jill: OUCH. Mike: Exactly. Well, there was thousands of apartment dwellers overlooking our set. It had the potential to hurt us like crazy, it was huge, but through our staff's hard work, we had zero complaints. Jill: WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT! THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS EXPE- DITION … YOU JUST KEEP PUSHING ON, TAKING NEW CHALLENGES IN STRIDE. SPEAKING OF EVEREST, MOUNTAINEER GEORGE MALLORY KIND OF SUMS IT ALL UP: "PEOPLE ASK ME, 'WHAT IS THE USE OF CLIMBING MOUNT EVEREST?' AND MY ANSWER MUST AT ONCE BE, 'IT IS OF NO USE. THERE IS NOT THE SLIGHTEST PROSPECT OF ANY GAIN WHATSO- EVER … WE SHALL NOT BRING BACK A SINGLE BIT OF GOLD OR SILVER ... IF YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS SOMETHING IN MAN WHICH RESPONDS TO THE CHALLENGE OF THIS MOUNTAIN AND GOES OUT TO MEET IT, THAT THE STRUGGLE IS THE STRUGGLE OF LIFE ITSELF UPWARD AND FOREVER UPWARD, THEN YOU WON'T SEE WHY WE GO.'" CLIMB ON, BURMEISTER. National Treasure