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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46 • LMGI COMPASS | Fall 2020 Latella was born and raised in Rome. As a young man, he was on a path to becoming an engineer, but while at university, a friend had gotten a job on Jane Campion's Portrait of a Lady and asked if Enrico might be interested in helping out on the set for a week. He ended up working as a runner—delivering scripts and performing small errands throughout the city—but his dedication to even the smallest task soon led him to be hired on bigger jobs for longer periods. After three years working in production, Latella was offered the opportunity to work as an ALM on a small adventure film shot mainly on the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy. That job changed his life. "I discovered this amazing profession," Latella said, "and shortly after that, I began working for one of the most important companies in Rome. I was mostly working on commercials for international clients." He continued working with that company for a number of years and, in 1998, struck out on his own as a freelance location manager and scout for both Italian and international projects. Among the U.S. productions he's managed are action spectacles like Mission: Impossible III, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and John Wick: Chapter 2. He was recently an LMGI Awards finalist for his work on Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World, and he worked with SLM Janice Polley/LMGI on Christopher Nolan's upcoming blockbuster Tenet. Simon Crook was born in Sunbury on Thames in England and got his start in the industry transporting picture vehicles and working security for films. He had originally thought he might become a stunt driver but his path changed while working on a small shoot in Ireland; He was asked if he could step into the role of unit manager—while still looking after cast motor homes— and that job changed everything. "When I got back to England," Crook says, "I was offered another unit manager job and I've been doing that ever since." Crook's developed a specialty over the years—working on projects set in expansive desert locales— and he's put his skills to the test on such films as Mad Max: Fury Road (Namibia) for which he was an LMGI Award finalist, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (Morocco) and Terminator: Dark Fate (Spain). This year, the LMGI Awards broke all records with more than 250 submissions from around the world. Considering the work of location managers Enrico Latella/LMGI and Simon Crook/LMGI, it's no surprise their explosive thriller 6 Underground ended up with a nomination for Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Film. Despite the impressive résumés of both men, it's probably safe to say that working on 6 Underground tested the limits of their skill set. "Total Bayhem" The cinematic oeuvre of director Michael Bay is so specific that it spawned its own terminology which soon moved beyond his crew members and has become pervasive in fandom and among critics as well. Depending on who you're talking to, it's either high praise or an insult. According to the urban dictionary, "Bayhem" refers to "the cinematic conceit of blowing shit up on a large scale, in slow motion and (usually) at sunset." In other words, if you get a call from Michael Bay, you know what you're in for, and not just in terms of what is going to end up on screen. Bay himself has a reputation for being exacting, and working on one of his films can be at times, one might say Uffizi – Italy Enrico Latella/LMGI (center) with his wife, Carla and daughter, Elisa, at the 2018 LMGI Awards. Photo by Greg Grudt/Mathew Imaging (L-R) Mitch Green and Simon Crook in Abu Dhabi. Photo courtesy of Simon Crook/LMGI