Explore Stream

From Cinematographer David Mullins... Pretty heady stuff!

James Stewart explains his love of the four-legged co-star he rode for 22 years...
The horse [Pie] was amazing. I rode him for 22 years. I never was able to buy him because he was owned by a little girl by the name of Stevie Myers, who is the daughter of an old wrangler who used to wrangle horses for Tom Mix and W.S. Hart. He retired and he gave this horse to her. He [Pie, the horse] was a sort of a maverick. He hurt a couple of people.I saw [Pie] when I started making Westerns. Audie Murphy rode him a couple of times. He nearly killed Glenn Ford, ran right into a tree… But I liked this darned little horse. He was a little bit small, a little quarter horse and Arabian. I got to know him like a friend. I actually believed that he understood about making pictures. I ran at a full gallop, straight towards the camera, pulled him up and then did a lot of dialogue and he stood absolutely still. He never moved. He knew when the camera would start rolling and when they did the slates. He knew that because his ears came up.

Petrine Day Mitchum … Robert Mitchum’s daughter, horse enthusiast and the author of “Hollywood Hoofbeats” … explains further.
James Stewart rode Pie in 17 westerns. … And they just became so attuned to each other that in one film, "The Far Country," Stewart had developed such a rapport with him that he was able to get the horse to do something at liberty all by himself when the trainer was not around.They were on this location. The trainer wasn't on the set. And the horse needed to walk from one end of a street to another with no ropes on him or anything, and Stewart just went up to him, he said he whispered in his ear and told him what he needed him to do. And the horse did it. And everyone on the set was absolutely amazed, and Stewart just said, that was Pie. That's what he did. So he absolutely had an incredible bond with the horse.

Beyond the work Pie did with Stewart, on film he was also ridden by Kirk Douglas, Audie Murphy, Glenn Ford. And, more than likely, a number of other actors. There is no exact count of the number of films in which the little quarter horse appeared.

Wonderful conversation between to camera "Geeks" as Patric Cady (Host) interviews David Mullen in the ACS Clubhouse series:
Clubhouse Conversations — The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 5)

Clubhouse Conversations — The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 5)

One of the first times I met Gene Roddenberry was at a tiny Star Trek convention on the Big Island of Hawai’i, circa 1982. It was “Space Day,” held at the King Kamehameha Hotel, organized and sponsored by the late Maria Muhlmann. This was a few years before I started working at Paramount, but I had done a little bit of effects work for some local television commercials, so believe it or not, Gene and I were the convention guests!
Gene had brought a film to show his fans, as he often did during speaking engagements. A member of the audience volunteered to load the film into the hotel’s projector.
Back in those ancient days, long before YouTube, 16mm film projectors were commonly used in schools and businesses, so quite a few people knew how to operate them. The most common type of projector was made by a company called Bell and Howell. Unfortunately, the hotel’s projector was made by Eiki, which used an elegant, but very different mechanism that was unfamiliar to many. If you tried to thread an Eiki autoload projector the same way as a Bell & Howell, the device would instantly shred the film. I worked at an audio-visual equipment rental company at the time, so I was familiar with both projectors.
The volunteer predictably caused the projector to ruin several feet of Gene’s film before he managed to shut it off. A second person made another attempt, also chewing up a couple of feet of film. I stood up and volunteered to do it, but a third person confidently leaped forward, with predictable results. I looked at Gene (who I had only briefly met a couple of times before) and told him, “I really do know how to run those things.”
Gene stood up, and in a quiet - but commanding - voice, said: “Michael here works in the industry. Why don’t you let him do it?” And I did, saving Gene’s film from further damage. It was his personal copy of “The Cage.”
Later that day, at a Q&A session, I asked Gene a question about the original Star Trek, how he was able to assemble such an amazing team with such luminaries as Bob Justman, Gene Coon, Dorothy Fontana, Matt Jefferies, and more. Without hesitation, Gene answered, "the first job of a good producer is to hire good people and to let them do their job."
Today (Aug 19 2023) would have been the 102nd birthday of Star Trek’s creator.

Well, it looks as though the 75th Annual Emmy Awards, originally scheduled for September 18th on FOX will be rescheduled until early next year due to the current WGA and SAG-AFTRA negotiations breakdown with the AMPTP. However, the EMMY nominations were announced for the 75th Emmy Awards in a live virtual ceremony on Wednesday 12 July. Here are the nominees:

https://www.facebook.com/AreYOUontheCrewList/posts/pfbid02dWZLZuuKVWT1P…

How Wes Anderson uses miniatures

SAG's founders!

A little something I put together...

I worked on many movies in my early career as an extra and even a few in which I spoke a line or three!

This short piece contrasts Sam Elliott today ("1883") with a movie I spent quite a few days working on called "Lifeguard", released in 1976. I had more people come up to me and acknowledge my appearance in that film than any other!

This is not intended as an endorsement of any kind and proper attribution has been given.

Behind the scenes, shooting the film elements of Star Trek: The Experience on Stage 16 at Paramount in August 1997. Features Jonathan Frakes and LeVar Burton, plus a lot of the Star Trek TNG/Voyager production crew who came in on a Saturday for this shoot. The scenes being filmed were seen on the Enterprise-D bridge as part of the Star Trek attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton. It's fun seeing so many familiar faces that I haven't seen in two decades, and especially poignant to see colleagues who have left us, including First AD Jerry Fleck, DP Doug Knapp, and sound mixer Alan Bernard. The backdrop is a big photo transparency of the hangar deck set from Star Trek V. Dave DeVos of Landmark Entertainment directed the shoot.

https://www.facebook.com/AreYOUontheCrewList/posts/pfbid0vWcCNcbGrzaShq…
OFF-TOPIC: WIZARD OF OZ TRIVIA: SO BIZARRE, IT'S CREEPY
A little movie trivia to kick off the weekend. During the filming of the beloved classic "Wizard of Oz" in late 1938, the MGM production staff was looking for a coat for actor Frank Morgan to wear in his role as charlatan Professor Marvel. Mr. Morgan also played the Wizard and various small roles in the film. The film's publicist explained the kind of coat they were looking for: "They wanted grandeur gone to seed. A nice-looking coat but very tattered."

According to the publicist: ". . . the wardrobe department went down to an old second-hand store on Main Street and bought a whole rack of coats. And Frank Morgan and the wardrobe man and Victor Fleming [the director] got together and chose one. It was kind of a Prince Albert coat. It was black broadcloth and it had a velvet collar, but the nap was all worn off the velvet."
The coat fit Morgan perfectly. It had exactly the right look of shabby gentility, so they used it in the film.
One hot afternoon during filming, Frank Morgan happened to turn out the pocket. Inside was a name that caused Morgan to do a double take -- the name was "L. Frank Baum." Mr. Baum, of course, was the creator of "The Wizard of Oz." Back in 1900, he wrote the book that the film was based on, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."

The folks at MGM knew this was an astounding find. They figured out the identity of the tailor in Chicago and sent him pictures of the coat. The tailor sent back a notarized letter saying that the coat had been made for Mr. Baum. And then Mr. Baum's widow identified the coat, too.

MGM was convinced, but others thought the story was a publicity stunt. It sounds almost too good to be true--but what a great story.
Join us for a ghost tour downtown Pittsburgh this weekend: http://www.hauntedpittsburghtours.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AreYOUontheCrewList/posts/pfbid053YmH6Jwpk6dcU…

RIP, Alan Arkin.
One of my all time favorite actors. I got the chance to work with him standing by on Stand Up Guys 10 years ago.
The day he first came to set, I waited for him to be alone at the chairs and I walked up to him in his chair and said, “Mr. Arkin, I don’t ever do this, but I have been a fan of yours ever since I was a child. Would you please sign my script?” He replies, “Well I don’t really do this. But if you tell me your favorite Alan Arkin movie, I’ll consider it.” Without a beat I say, “Freebie and the Bean!” He looks at me and says, “You couldn’t even have been born when we did that! I’ll sign!” I assured him I was indeed alive when they made it, and handed him my sharpie and script. Just then Walken and Pacino come over(their chairs were all together). “What’s this?” quips Walken. Pacino asks “What’s going on here?” Alan says, “Oh nothing fellas, this kid( I was 42!) wanted me to sign his script.” Al says, “I’ll sign it!” And takes it from Arkin, who looks at me with a kind of, “I’m sorry” look. Chris asks me if I want him to sign it, “Of course, and thank you fellas, I will cherish it.” We all all start laughing at my stupid comment and I walk away.
Two days later and I get an envelope on my cart. In it is an autographed photo of Arkin, from Freebie and the Bean and a note that says, “It was one of my favorites too, thanks!”
A legend. May peace be upon him.

https://www.facebook.com/AreYOUontheCrewList/posts/pfbid02MiAGMdFhUfXXP…

Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Rami Malek Among Actors Urging SAG-AFTRA Leaders to Take a Hard Line: ‘This Is Not a Moment to Meet in the Middle’
https://www.facebook.com/AreYOUontheCrewList/posts/pfbid02vNxJGyM5LMPGb…

https://www.facebook.com/AreYOUontheCrewList/posts/pfbid0wLm6vXGyKZLjJT…
MONSTERKID MONDAY
Happy birthday to the Godfather of Makeup, the one and only Dick Smith. A young Yale graduate with an interest in makeup that innovated and paved the way for many, he truly changed the world with his contributions.

FX and straight makeup, fantasy and realism, his work spoke volumes that helped shaped many of our peers be it other makeup artists or even filmmakers among many.

Unfortunately, I came five years too late to have actually meet him, but beyond thankful to have met all of you that knew and carry his teachings. Maybe I’ll meet him on the other side one day.
Here’s to you, Dick. We miss you, we love you, and we’ll never forget.

Carol Littleton and her husband John Bailey were instrumental in recognizing Sarah Jones’ passing in the 2014 Academy Awards broadcast. Congratulations Carol… so well deserved!

Apparently, Tom Hanks has some praise for the Sisters and Brothers of the Transportation Department ❤️

Here's the link to his book: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Another-Motion-Picture-Masterpiece-ebook/…

https://www.facebook.com/AreYOUontheCrewList/posts/pfbid02gcHyRs6WtqBf2…

From Norman Lear:
"In my almost 101 years, while I have served other posts, I have been, at my core, a writer. A writer who struggled and anguished to put words to paper that would provoke, create conversation, humanize us, help us see each other -- words that would matter.
I wrote in the very first year of television, when writers were revered. I now watch talented writers struggle to earn a living wage without the path to a career like mine. The stories we tell, the stories I can now watch on any device, are the stories that connect us, engage us, make us laugh and cry together, and inspire understanding and compassion. That is something to be protected and cherished.
I stand with writers and with the Writers Guild of America, my union. The industry is stronger when we stand together to protect our collective community. #WGAStrong"
https://www.facebook.com/AreYOUontheCrewList/posts/pfbid02JZ7UbNQc2FQXf…

https://www.facebook.com/AreYOUontheCrewList/posts/pfbid02GnTGTA39qRgTY…