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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Mike: So that it won't insult me? Jill: HA. YEAH. AND I DON'T WANT TO COMPLIMENT YOU, TOO MUCH … EITHER. Mike: Oh, good. We don't want that, heaven forbid. Jill: YOU'RE LIKE AN ATTRACTIVE STORM WARNING, I DON'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO DESCRIBE IT. Mike: I'm a tsunami? Jill: WHEN WE STOP LAUGHING, I CAN GATHER MY THOUGHTS—NO MATTER WHAT BAD NEWS YOU HAVE TO BRING TO THE TABLE, PEO- PLE WILL ALWAYS BE COMPELLED TO FOLLOW YOU UP THAT MOUN- TAIN. IT'S GREAT LEADERSHIP ABILITY. KNOWING THERE IS IMPEND- ING DISASTER LURKING AHEAD, WE STILL CONFIDENTLY FOLLOW YOU INTO THE EYE OF THE STORM. AND NOT EVERYBODY CAN WALK THAT TIGHTROPE. Mike: Then I'm not just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic here, OK, good. Being a tour guide was a great job, but it's also a burn-out job because you're constantly ON. So I be- came a tram driver, and I joined the Teamsters union. And that was fun, just driving the tram for about two years. Jill: SO, YOU WERE PRETTY YOUNG AND MAKING GOOD MONEY. Mike: Yes and as admirable as it was, I took a withdrawal card from the union, and became a page at NBC. I used to work on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I worked on Wheel of Fortune, Card Sharks, all the big ones. Doc Severinsen played trumpet for The Tonight Show. His manager was looking for a stage manager when Doc was on the road. So I said, "Sure!" We played Ronald Reagan's inauguration at the Smithson- ian. I was in charge of shipping the equipment, setting up the stage, putting out the music, organizing everything, and working with the lighting and sound guys at the venue. Great job, fun, low pay, but I really didn't want to be a stage man- ager on the road. So fast-forward to my buddy who met two girls in a bar. My buddy wanted to date the actress, and I dated the red- head. So we were all out sailing one day, and the redhead said, "I'm working at this place called the 'Egg Company' and they need someone to run around and do errands." The Egg Company was this brick warehouse at the bottom of the hill at Universal Studios. Apparently, back in the day, the entire hill we now know as Universal, was one big chicken ranch. This building was used for distribution and they sold eggs out the back window. But now it was owned by some guy named George Lucas who decided to remodel it. In fact, that back wall was replaced with a replica of the cockpit window from the Millennium Falcon. The Egg Company retrofitted it into a hipster production office. This all happened just after Star Wars. Keeping the name "Egg Company" was a way for them to hide in plain sight. And, it worked. My buddy … did not get the girl, but he got the job, and he was working there on a movie called Poltergeist. He called me and said, "You're a good worker, do you want to work on A Boy's Life? It's some little kid movie. I said sure, so I quit my job with Doc and went to work on this little nothing kids' movie being directed by some new guy named Steven Spielberg." Jill: AHH, HERE COMES PAPERSUIT #2. Mike: Exactly. I was the first person hired by this new producer, her name was uhh, oh yes, Kathleen Kennedy. There was an old-time production manager named Wally Worsley there film- ing the end scene where E.T. goes home. So I asked him, "Gee, Mr. Worsley (my voice was a little higher, I was a young whip- persnapper), what is the first movie you ever worked on?" In the deepest scruffiest voice you can imagine, he says, "Well, kid, I worked on a movie called The Wizard of Oz." WOW. I mean that is the reason I came to Hollywood. He put me to work with location manager Richard Vane. And Dick says I need a crane. Get me a crane. I go, "From the yellow pages? How are we going to take care of it? I thought he meant the bird. Once I figured out how to rent a construction crane and have it delivered, I was well on my way. Little did I know, I had entered the location highway. When E.T. was over, I met with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall (back then, they met with you to see what you want- ed to do with your career), they asked what I wanted to do. I Suburbicon