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4. Aimee Rogers Fluitt - 2010-06-15 18:44:55 |
| Oliver, you will not remember me, but I was Jennifer Jason Leigh’s stand-in in "Kansas City." (I was Aimee Rogers Yates at the time.) I’d always harbored a secret wish to act but never had the nerve to do anything as frightening as move to LA to give it a go. "Kansas City" was the perfect opportunity for me as it gave me the experience of working on a movie (a Robert Altman film, no less) while keeping the security of my real job. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, and one of the best parts of the whole deal was working with you. I was very nervous, but you were so kind, and I still get excited when I see your name on a film’s credits. |
 3. Allan Johnston QBE - 2009-10-14 08:22:42 |
G’day Oliver,
Thanks for saring your stories with the world and the other side.
Im a wantabe filmie (camera) bloke in Kiwiland. I had to write when I saw you did Shipping News I loved it.
You Rock!
Allan |
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2. Steve Dunn - - 2009-06-16 20:09:38 |
One of the Bob stories that came to me was on my first movie with Bob, "The Hideous Mind-roasting Summer of O.C. and Stiggs" in 1985.
Nearly half-way through the shoot, I got the call from Allan Nicholls and Ned Dowd to fly that day to Tuscon and takeover for the 2nd AD, who had to leave for personal reasons.
When I got there I had to first get approved by Scotty Bushnell, who told me the rules of working for Bob Altman. Just be careful what you tell him...don’t say this or that or you’ll confuse him. I remember that she told me not to wear any bright blue shirts (like the one I was wearing) around Bob. What’s weird is that later Allan told me the same thing about my blue shirt. Bob didn’t like that color anywhere near him. I went back to my hotel room and changed shirts before "dailies" that night when I was introduced to Bob as the new guy.
We were working nights - shooting a scene at a carnival that Stevie Altman had set up in the desert, with hundreds of extras and lots of children. Ned had hired a real carnival, complete with carnies and a Ferris Wheel. They took all day to setup the carnival and Pierre Mignot, the DP, took a couple of hours to light everything so we could shoot anywhere or in any direction. Ned and I had taken the lighting time to set all the background on every ride with extras and kids going from ride to ride, so we could shoot for long periods with continuous background action so Bod could shoot anywhere in the carnival he wanted.
When we were all ready we went and told Bob, who came out to check everything and see a rehearsal of the backgroung. Everything looked great! Ned and I were especially pleased with how good the extras looked. Pierre, Stevie and Ned all explained how he could shoot anywhere and in any direction.
Bob told us he wanted to start with a wide master first and picked a spot in the sand where he wanted the camera. He then told Ned and Stevie he wanted to turn the entire carnival set around 180 degrees so the Ferris Wheel was on the other side. Ned and Pierre pleaded. It would take hours to move everything and re-light. Bob said okay, he’d wait and Bob was never a director who liked to wait. We all tried to explain that if he moved the camera 180 degrees to the other side of the carnival, it would be the same thing as moving the entire carnival and the Ferris Wheel would be on the side of the frame that he wanted. Bob quiet calmly insisted he didn’t want to move the camera and to move the carnival and went back to his room at the hotel.
I never got to ask him about moving the carnival, but I think he was fucking with us. I think he went back and had dinner.
A couple of years later when I began playing backgammon with Bob, I’d wear the same blue shirt just to try and throw him off his game. Bob was kicking my ass and we played for pretty big stakes. I once lost two thousand dollars in one session. I finally asked him if the color of my shirt bothered him and he said he hadn’t even noticed my shirt and that whatever color it was, he didn’t care as long as he was beating me in backgammon. |
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1. Oliver Stapleton - 2009-05-30 07:52:56 |
| Thousands of Technicians and Actors must have worked with Bob in his long career. He was responsible for both a unique style of Cinematography as well as an a completely original way to use sound. Here is a chance to record what you might have learned from working with this unique and brilliant man. |
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