David McGiffert - Best Seat in the House - An Assistant Director Behind the Scenes of Feature Films

Best Seat in the House

2022 David McGiffert

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ISBN978-1-62933-989-4

The loves of my life, Shannon, Evan and Natalie Taking a break during the filming of Laurel Canyon in 2001
Photo Neal Preston

Table of Contents

Foreword

There is no shortage of fascinating memoirs about Hollywood. There are memoirs by movie stars, directors, producers and studio executives. There are memoirs by character actors, composers, film editors, and cinematographers. And Ive read quite a few. But until now, I had never read, much less even heard of, a memoir by an assistant director. Which is a shame, because assistant directors A.D.s as we call them have great tales to tell, tales that rarely turn up in those other memoirs, and heres why.

One of the essential duties of an A.D. is to keep things from the director. I know, I know all this time, you were under the impression that an A.D. is supposed to make sure the director knows exactly whats happening on the set. Well, not exactly. The A.D. must also make sure that the director keeps his or her focus clearly on the art and craft of filmmaking. That means getting the best performances from the cast, designing and capturing the right images to tell the story, ensuring that the lighting properly illuminates and reveals whats most important in the scene, and making decisions about countless other creative necessities and nuances. Therefore, an A.D. does not tell the director about problems which the director cannot solve, nor about things that will distract, upset, impede or interfere with the directors work. If the crew has a pool going about how many takes the star will require to get through his big scene without blowing a line? The director doesnt need to know. If an extra is filing a grievance against the company because she broke a fingernail? The director doesnt need to know. If theres some hanky panky going on between the still photographer and the makeup assistant in the aquarium set next door? The director absolutely doesnt need to know. But sometimes these sorts of things make great stories. And youll find some of them in Davids book (although not the aquarium incident).

Ive produced or co-produced five of Robert Zemeckiss movies. After the movie is finished, Ill often tell Bob about something that happened during production and hell say, Really?? I had no idea! David has a LOT of those stories, including a few on our pictures about which I had no idea.

When we were in pre-production on Back to the Future, Bob was desperate to find an A.D. with whom he felt comfortable, someone low key, steady, grounded and easygoing, who had the right sense of humor, and was really smart. Bob isnt a screamer, so he didnt want an A.D. who screamed. That was extremely important, because setting the right tone on a movie set (which is up to the director), is critical to the working environment. Bob and I had been on sets with screaming directors and/or A.D.s, and we could always sense a general uneasiness among the crew. Not our style. And not Davids, either. I dont recall who recommended David to us, but it was clear from our first meeting (recounted within), that the chemistry was exactly right. The fact that he had done two movies for director Sydney Pollack was another major point in his favor. The highest compliment one can pay to a crew person is to rehire him/her on another picture, so David clearly had Sydney Pollacks seal of approval. Based on that fact, his other credits, and the job interview, we hired David on the spot and it was one of the best decisions we made. David proceeded to earn the Bob Z seal of approval, and Bob brought David back for both Back to the Future sequels, the California portion of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and an episode of Tales from the Crypt. In these pages, David has written what I call an anecdotal memoir. No stories about his childhood, his upbringing, or the teachers who were mean to him. Very little about his personal life, which he always and admirably strove to keep separate from his career. Instead, we have a treasury of wonderful behind-the-scenes tales about many movies youve seen, some movies youve missed, and a few you may have never heard of. Some stories are amazing, some are heartwarming, some are funny and some are unbelievablebut all are entertaining and full of humanity because at the end of the day, David is a warm, sensitive, caring human being. That is his greatest strength. Just ask anyone who knows him.

Now, find yourself a comfortable chair, because that chair is about to become The Best Seat In The House.

Bob Gale August 2021

Introduction

Writing was always my dream job. Being a director was far beyond my own expectations, but a few lucky breaks put me on the path. I was fortunate to be working with one of my heroes, the writer-director-producer James L. Brooks. Wed been honing the script of Say Anything for several years, and the time finally came to find a director for the project. We had a short-list, on it were two wonderful women auteurs Susan Seidelman, and Joyce Chopra. Both were busy with their own projects. Next came the esteemed Lawrence Kasdan, who almost said yes but ultimately stuck with the great film he was about to make, The Accidental Tourist. But Kasdan made a point of calling the studio to say how much he loved Say Anything and suggested I direct it myself. The idea was beyond intimidating to me, but James Brooks more than concurred.

Well go to one more director, he said, but if he says no, Buddy, you should suit up and do it yourself. He oered as an example some of our favorite directors, from Billy Wilder to Preston Sturges and Woody Allen. Not unlike Brooks, theyd all begun as writers who ultimately chose directing to protect their own work. We sent Say Anything to the last director on our list. He read the script and called to give me notes. Id gotten used to hearing notes on my script, but this was a new one. He was watching a Lakers playo game on television. All I remember was a) he was yelling at the screen because the Lakers were losing and b) I wondered if hed even read my script. His comments were bereft of any details. He was excited, but not about my project. (HES A FUCKING IDIOT!! Which character? Sorry, talking to Pat Riley) I considered the scary road ahead. I would need a lot of help. But I was going to become a director.

I tell you this story by way of preparing you for David McGierts wonderful book, Best Seat in the House. No director ever started, much less finished a movie on their own. There is a community behind a director, a dicult world of people who must be cajoled, assembled and convinced of the journey ahead. Theres the cast, of course, but also tough producers, anxious studio executives, entire departments, people who must be let go, locations that must be held its a Star Wars bar of characters that make a movie and always, always running at top-speed, making it all happen, is the Assistant-Director. The AD is the spokesman and the diplomat of the director, the one who knows that every thousand-decision day demands that he get at least 999 of those decisions right. They are the Special Sauce, the secret weapon, the superhero behind the scenes. Theres no movie without the AD. I learned early, on the first day of pre-production. The movie and the Director will only be as good as the Assistant Director who will fight for your vision.