Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535880
46 M PS E . O R G down Olympic Bouleard watching the cars go by, wishing I'd brought a joint and wondering what I was doing there. The playback of course, went fine, minimal notes. My flying fireballs were casually called "brilliant" in passing by Ridley. I dined out on that offhand compliment for years. It's funny, I did a fill in job as stage editor on a film by his brother Tony Scott. He was Ridley's polar opposite. He arrived on the stage in a baseball cap, wrinkled shorts, untucked shirt, and addressing everyone from mixers to techs by first name. I was dubbed "Ponytail Chris" because there was another Chris already on the stage. Just a great guy. He kidded around, talked motorcycles, and told True Romance stories. I understood why mixers Greg Russell and Kevin O'Connell loved that guy. I wanted to be his friend. One day on a mix and I wanted to go home with him. I did nine or 10 Ridley Scott films and I honestly don't know if he remembered my name from film to film. I blame myself and my awkward attitude. It was like I was 16, and he was that beautiful girl I had a crush on but got the jitters around. On one of his films, I was reading the book Child 44 during one of those long, painful dialogue passes. Ridley wandered over, said he was working with the author of that book, asked how I liked it and if I would like him to get it signed for me. A random act of kindness. So yeah, it was me who was weird, not him. Back to the American Gangster dolphin. e were mixing at Todd West this time with the talented, take-no- prisoners Mike Minkler in the dialogue/music chair and Bob Beemer doing FX. We were having a pretty great drama-free time of it. This was my sixth or seventh Ridley Scott film, so I was as comfortable as I was ever going to get on his films. Quentin Tarantino was mixing on the stage next door with another Soundelux guy, sound supervisor Wylie Stateman. Mike Minkler, Per, Ridley, and I were out in the lobby talking with me mostly listening when Quentin came walking out with Wylie. Mike, who knew Quentin, introduced him to Ridley like it was no big deal. Just a couple of guys meeting. "Ridley, this is Quentin. Quentin, W Child 44 crew (8-15-2014) L-R Back: Dave Bergstrom, John Stuver, Pietro Scalia, Gary Rizzo, Bob Beemer, Chris Assells, Bill Meadows. Front: Jon Ekstrand, Daniel Espinosa, Per Hallberg. Bob poked me in the stomach as the picture was taken.