Location Managers Guild International

Summer 2018

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

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LMGI COMPASS | Summer 2018 • 19 Her husband had shared his cellphone number. I left a voice mail informing him of what had occurred, mentioning I was lodging a complaint with the sheriff's office. He called back begging me not to get the sheriff's department involved. Red flag. I firmly told him, "We are tired of her antics. I've spoken to you both over and over, offered compensation and you guaranteed you'd make certain she understood she needed to control her rage." The afternoon didn't end on a high note for them. Over the years, I began to realize what I excelled at and truly loved was scouting. On occasion, I scouted for feature films Con Air, Nothing to Lose, Panther. Uncredited contributions. That lack of recognition changed on the Rob Cohen-directed Fast & Furious, the first film in the heralded franchise. I liked working with Rob. Loved how successful the film was and appreciated that executive producer Doug Claybourne granted my request for a 2nd unit location manager screen credit. Cinematic immortality. On the film, I was hired as a KALM, and became the point person for the stunt unit. Loved that I got to work with my mentor, UPM Ned Kopp. He lives in San Francisco and during all stages of my career, remains my go-to guy in times of uncertainty. Location managing caused health issues. The final day that I managed, I was working on a pilot. The first-time producer was adamant that I find a specific location within walking distance of the stage. She insisted that the adjacent DWP property beneath the power lines was perfect and couldn't understand why the DWP wouldn't allow it. "Have you called the mayor?" "Why can't you make this happen?" Havana Film School In reality, the two-eighth of a page dialogue scene could have been done anywhere and I said so. My thoughts were not well received. Even the 1st AD said he could reschedule it. From her stubborn POV, this scene had to be shot on a specific day when we were on the stage. I'd scouted every other nearby option, and offered one permissible alternative after receiving "no filming allowed" responses. She wouldn't budge. Left her office seeing red and as I drove down I-5, started sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. That was it. La Purisima Mission in Lompoc on Young Indiana Jones Already scouting her surroundings at one years old Left the show. Oh … and wait for it … the scene was cut. I've concentrated on scouting for nearly a decade now. From my perspective, the premise of scouting is to provide the canvas for other departments to create the magic. Finding pieces to a puzzle. Satisfaction in my work is a direct result of my experiences and the culmination of knowledge attained from a nearly 30-year career. When the situation calls for it, I'll think out of the box. Early in 2018, location manager Stephenson Crossley, LMGI hired me for Amazon's TV series, Homecoming. Set in Florida, filmed in Los Angeles, the opening sequence required a diner. Instead of scouting the "usual suspects," I offered the Chowder Barge in Wilmington and Kathy May's Lakeview Cafe in Huntington Beach as options. Director Sam Esmail chose the Chowder Barge. A fist pump, smile of satisfaction and I moved forward. Retirement looms but not just yet. Working on Bosch with Paul Schreiber, LMGI, Sam Gomez, Robert Paulsen, Eva Schroder, designer Chester Kaczenski, producer Jamie Boscardin Martin and executive producer Pieter Jan Brugge is bliss. Kismet scouted for and found.

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