Location Managers Guild International

Summer 2019

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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22 • LMGI COMPASS | Summer 2019 G U I L D I N T E R N A T I O N A L TM LMGI I've always had a love of films. When I was young, I had quite a lot of health problems and spent much time at home in bed or the hospital. I would escape, watching movie after movie. My true fascination was with period dramas. I still have those wonderful days where I go on a scout to a remote house in Oxford and have a sense of déjà vu, only to realize the house was shot in Mansfield Park. These days are very special as they make you appreciate your journey. I started working at the age of 12. Eager to earn money, I worked in the local market at a fruit and vegetable stall. I would wake up at 4:30, go with the stall owner to the trade market to buy the stock, set up the stall and then go to CAREER FOCUS Bob's Your Uncle Grace and Ease Under Pressure by Georgee Turner school. After school, I would go back to the market and pack down the stall. I would work all day Saturday and through the holidays. I think I had more money than I do now! As a young girl from the East End of London, I dreamed of working in musical theatre. I was always acting. At 15, I worked part time in a Doctor Who shop selling merchandise and working at conventions. Alex, the shop owner, really pushed me and gave me guidance, letting me manage her events. She was an actress and had industry connections. Knowing my love of acting, she introduced me to background work, connected me to an extras agency and kept pushing. The events were sporadic, which allowed me to pick up acting work. Fresh out of drama school, I worked as an extra on and off. I toured as Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar. I was the understudy but the day before the tour began, the lead actress broke her foot and I got promoted. I had lots of small roles but was always type-cast by my working- class roots—never quite the heroine, until I finally found my own footing. I continued to work as a background artist for around two years. I was just hanging around the set and I saw lots of security guards sitting in the sunshine. I thought, I could do that! I asked one of the guards what I needed to do to get a security job and he replied, "We don't have women security." I then went to the next and the next and both told me the same thing. Persistent as ever, I then tried another. Turned out he was Spike Davies, the director of The Movie Lot— the leading provider of film and TV security in the UK entertainment industry. We chatted a while and a week later, he called me. It was a big decision for me, as I was just called for a well-paid gig singing on a cruise ship for P&O Stena Line. My instinct told me to turn it down and work in an industry that I had always been drawn to. Next thing I knew, I had obtained work as a security operative on Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream. I was the first female guard for The Movie Lot. In Britain, security guards are part of the location manager's team and I slowly began working my way up the ladder. I eventually made it to the upper rungs, working on films such as Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Night at the Museum, Wonder Woman, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and most UK location pro Georgette Turner is a union rep, owner of two location businesses, mother of two delightful children and a successful, well-respected location manager on top international feature films. For Turner, it's just another day at the office. Bill came to visit me at work in Black Park on His House.

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