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The Director's Chair => Stanley Kubrick => Topic started by: cowboykurtis on March 17, 2003, 11:45:04 AM

Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: cowboykurtis on March 17, 2003, 11:45:04 AM
one of my professors was the script supervisor on the shining. she had many intersting stories about kubricks process. one story that she told seemed very simple, yet compeley embodied Kubricks mentality of his filmmaking process.

They were in between set ups on teh set of the shining -- Kubrick was roaming around the overlook hotel -- he called for his AD and asks if they had a set carpenter. The AD told Kubrick that there was one on standby. Kubrick asks how far away was he was -- THe AD told him 30 mintues. Kubrick said told the AD to call him immediatly, its urgent that he gets here. THe AD ran for the phone called up the carpenter and told him to step on it. 28 mintues later the carpenter arrived huffing and puffing from his rushed trip. Kubrick said, I don't need him -- send him home. The man drove back home. Exactly 30 mintues later Kubrick yelled for the AD and said we need the carpenter after all. THe carpenter was called and ran in 27 minutes later. Kubrick shook the carpenter's hand and said -- "Very good, we don't need you: I had to make sure that if we really did need you, that you'd be here in 30 mintues. The first time you got here in 28 minutes, the second in 27, keep up the good work and I won't fire you."
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Cecil on March 17, 2003, 11:47:05 AM
LOL

get more stories
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: ©brad on March 17, 2003, 12:56:24 PM
i got loads of on the set stories, but none really from Kubrick.

After the second day of principal photography for Wall Street Oliver Stone was unhappy with Michael Douglas's performance. Douglas apparently didn't know his lines too well and was not hitting his mark. Stone came into Michael's trailer after the second day and said "What's wrong with you? Something bad going on in your life?" Douglas was kind of shocked and had no idea what Stone was talking about. "No, I'm fine," he responds. Stone then asks "You on drugs?" "Of course not," says Michael, "Why?" "Because I've never seen such bad acting in my life. Get your shit together," says Stone as he walks out. Michael was stunned beyond belief. Flash foward a year, and Douglas is accepting his academy award for his performance in the movie.

hehehe.

Stone definitely has been quite the provacator in the past, especially on Natural Born Killers. I read Jane Hamsher's book Killer Instint. She was a first time producer on that movie and it's a great read, definitely recommend it, it's like Beginning filmmaking for dummies. Anyway, she tells some crazy stories about Stone, esp. one when they were all on a location scout tripping on mushrooms and got followed by a navajo cop. Supposedly it was an exhausting, crazy shoot, especially when u have Stone yelling to certain actors and crew members "What are you doing? You are going to ruin my movie!" Apparently he is really nice and kind in real life though.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Pedro on March 17, 2003, 01:08:06 PM
Quote from: cbrad4d
Stone definitely has been quite the provacator in the past, especially on Natural Born Killers. I read Jane Hamsher's book Killer Instint. She was a first time producer on that movie and it's a great read, definitely recommend it, it's like Beginning filmmaking for dummies. Anyway, she tells some crazy stories about Stone, esp. one when they were all on a location scout tripping on mushrooms and got followed by a navajo cop. Supposedly it was an exhausting, crazy shoot, especially when u have Stone yelling to certain actors and crew members "What are you doing? You are going to ruin my movie!" Apparently he is really nice and kind in real life though.

I think that was mentioned on a commentary I heard once...
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: ©brad on March 17, 2003, 01:14:05 PM
On the NBK DVD, the doc. on the making of the film, Jane Hamsher briefly talks about it, but in the book she goes into a lot of detail. It was hysterical.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Pedro on March 17, 2003, 01:15:34 PM
Groovy....I think I'll have to go check that out.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: cowboykurtis on March 17, 2003, 01:16:59 PM
the dolly grip on a film I worked on was the dolly grip on natural born killers -- he claimed that stone directed from under a black tenet wear his video monitor was -- he be in there getting blowjobs from hookers and blowing lines while barking out orders -- i think this i complete bullshit but funny nonetheless.

another grip told me a story from the set of malcolm x. he said he was walking behind spike lee down a long hallway. at the end there was a door -- spike stopped in front of the door and stood there. the grip also stopped and stood behind him -- they stood in slience for more than a minutee -- the grip was very confused as to what was going on -- spike finally turned around and said " are you going to open the fucking door for me or what?"
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: ©brad on March 17, 2003, 01:22:23 PM
hahaha. spike is da man.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Satcho9 on March 17, 2003, 02:38:29 PM
NiCE....KEEP THE STORIES COMING.

I have a good one.

A producer walks into Steven Segals trailer in the early nineties and finds Steven crying. The producer asks "Steven whats the matter?". To which Steven replies "This script....its fucking beatiful. Its the best script I have ever read." To which the producer responds..."Well Who wrote it?".  Steven answers.."I did."
The END

Story relayed courtesy of Bob Odenkirk. So i dont know how authentic it is, but fucking funny none the less.

Enjoy
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: cowboykurtis on March 17, 2003, 03:22:18 PM
thats the funniest fucking segal story.what a little bitch -- i hate that guy. the editor of easy rider taught an editing class i was in. the first day he spoke for about an hour about his hatred of steven segal -- it was hilarious. he edited some bullshit movie like the glitter man. he said every day in post steven brought a buhddist monk into his editing complex to sprinkle rosemary and  orchid peddles all over to cleanse the tangent universe of any bad energy. he then said segal finally watched a cut of the film. segal stood up and said, speed up every kick i do in the film 5 frames. he said there were like 10,000 kicks and punches.  he stayed up for days doing it, segal wathced it again and said -- i think it would look better if it was sped up 6 frames instead of 5 -- so he had to do that garbage all over -- he fucking hates the guy with a passion.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Satcho9 on March 17, 2003, 06:55:49 PM
Right on, Fuck Steven Segal.

He isnt even a marital arts master anyway...

He was an Aikido teacher in LA in the 80's, and he taught Mike Ovitz (Uber Agent, then head of Disney) Aikido. Well they became good buddies and Mike let little Stevey have his own movie. Thats why his first couple of flicks were from Touchstone, disneys "adult" movie company. So dont listen to any of that CIA agent or Japanese renegade bullshit. Steven is just a pussy from LA who took one to many karate classes.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Ghostboy on March 17, 2003, 07:27:52 PM
I was an extra in Any Given Sunday (along with everyone else in Dallas, I think), and Oliver Stone does have that little black tent...what goes on, I'm not sure about...but I do know he's got a penchant for the drugs. APPARENTLY...he has (had) the same dealer, who is actually a certified doctor, that Matthew Perry uses. I learned this from one of my friends who was Perry's assistant when he was shooting Serving Sara, and she took me to his trailer one day while he wasn't there. She told me he was really disgusting in real life, and had a strange fetish for Strawberry Quick. I stole serveral packs of his cigarettes.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: sphinx on March 17, 2003, 07:39:09 PM
Quote from: GhostboyShe told me he was really disgusting in real life, and had a strange fetish for Strawberry Quick. I stole serveral packs of his cigarettes.

is this is?

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Strawberry schnapps
1 oz Irish cream
1/2 oz Grenadine
Fill Milk

Mixing instructions:
Mix the contents so that the color of the drink is a pink color. Serve and enjoy
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: MacGuffin on March 17, 2003, 07:43:15 PM
Quote from: GhostboyI was an extra in Any Given Sunday (along with everyone else in Dallas, I think), and Oliver Stone does have that little black tent...what goes on, I'm not sure about...but I do know he's got a penchant for the drugs.

I can confirm this. A friend of mine did catering on "Sunday" when they were in Miami and saw the 'snow' flowing. She also witnessed the fight between LL Cool J and Jamie Foxx.


For sphinx:

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.deansplanet.com%2Fimages%2Fquik2.jpg&hash=c8cd94940063ac05df7fe00945106c77032a854e)
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: sphinx on March 17, 2003, 08:28:46 PM
that's just fucked up.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Ghostboy on March 17, 2003, 09:10:03 PM
My friend told me that's pretty much all he would drink, and that it was also a key ingredient with his after hours activities involving strippers and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

I know I probably shouldn't be spreading hearsay, but too late.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: xerxes on March 18, 2003, 03:23:51 AM
this is my favorite thread ever
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Pubrick on March 18, 2003, 08:40:10 AM
yeah totally, i thought it was developing into a joke thread like "what does winona say when she goes to like a shopping mall..  'Hey I'm hot, do me!'". bad joke steezy.  but it's turned out to be quite entertaining.

i bet Mac has a million of these, but he's too paranoid _involved in them_ i don't know... why don't u tell us, macca?
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: dufresne on March 25, 2003, 12:05:34 PM
heard this story once from the set of "Friday After Next"

there was this one scene where a street needed to be hosed down (for the quintessential 'wet' look).  anyways, there were a bunch of scantily-dressed chicks in place, for background atmosphere i'm assuming.  the first AD noticed the fire hose was still on set, so he yells, "Get the hose off the set!"

All the women started to walk out of the scene.  It took everyone a few seconds to understand why...
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: ©brad on March 25, 2003, 12:34:00 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin
Quote from: GhostboyI was an extra in Any Given Sunday (along with everyone else in Dallas, I think), and Oliver Stone does have that little black tent...what goes on, I'm not sure about...but I do know he's got a penchant for the drugs.

I can confirm this. A friend of mine did catering on "Sunday" when they were in Miami and saw the 'snow' flowing. She also witnessed the fight between LL Cool J and Jamie Foxx.


huh, surprises me. I've read a lot on the bastard and he has said many times that he kicked cocaine goodbye right after he finished writing Scarface, which was a loooooong time ago. I know he still smokes weed, but don't we all, and pills- yeah okay. i guess being in miami, where coke flows like, well, something that flows a lot.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Duck Sauce on March 25, 2003, 01:27:44 PM
Quote from: dufresne
there was this one scene where a street needed to be hosed down (for the quintessential 'wet' look).

Maybe some of you filmmakers can help me out, why is it that the streets are always wet down during night scenes?
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: MacGuffin on March 25, 2003, 04:30:37 PM
Quote from: Duck SauceMaybe some of you filmmakers can help me out, why is it that the streets are always wet down during night scenes?

You defuse harsh light and can get a soft bounce light from underneath.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Pubrick on March 26, 2003, 08:31:57 AM
Quote from: MacGuffinYou defuse harsh light and can get a soft bounce light from underneath.
Quote from: Pi bet Mac has a million of these, but he's too paranoid _involved in them_ to spill. i don't know... why don't u tell us, macca?
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: MacGuffin on May 29, 2003, 06:53:09 PM
From the book "Tony Curtis - the autobiography" (you can thank my mother for pointing this out to me):

Spartacus (1960) was an epic and a milestone for everybody involved: $12 million budget, shot in Super-Technirama, three hours long, a hundred sets, and eight thousand extras. Spartacus freed ninety thousand slaves and led the two-year revolt in which they defeated nine armies sent by the Roman Senate. It was Dalton Trumbo’s first Hollywood screenplay under his own name, since being blacklisted during the McCarthy era.
Anthony Mann was supposed to direct it, but Kirk Douglas replaced him with Stanley Kubrick. Some people though Kubrick was an odd choice because he had a kind of cynical approach. I thought he was brilliant. He understood human frailty, very much like Billy Wilder-only Billy saw everything humorously. Kubrick’s films are not funny. Dr. Strangelove and Lolita had a great deal of humor, but always with that bizarre, black view underneath.
Most of the actors and the crew in Spatacus thought of Kubrick as an upstart. It was Kirk’s production company and it was Kirk’s idea to hire him, but Kirk became ambivalent about him after a while. He had to keep defending him to the studio, and, consequently, he started to put pressure on Stanley, and they got somewhat antagonistic towards each other. The pressure had to do with the shooting schedule. They wanted him to shoot quicker, and they wanted him to make cuts and not to cover as much as he did in every scene. They wanted the standard over-the-shoulder and two-shots; nothing complicated. Stanley was asking for shots where the camera moved creatively, Kubrick-style, and the studio didn’t want him to do that.
Universal was so heavy-handed about everything, including production values. It wouldn’t give him room to move, and so Kubrick became obstreperous. He always wanted that scope, and he had to really maneuver to get Spartacus made. He was a genius with the camera, but as far as I was concerned, Stanley’s greatest effectiveness was in his one-on-one relationships with actors. He was so good with actors in general-and with me in particular-so appreciative. He was a very fine person. My favorite director, in fact.
Spartacus started out rather modestly. I was only supposed to do a short time on it. It would eat up one of my Universal commitments, and that was the pleasure of it as an outside project. The next thing I knew, it was a nine-month production, and it eventually stretched into a year. This picture went on and on, with the slaves and the Romans and the armies and the gladiators and the battles. One day Jean Simmons and I were sitting on the back lot, up in the hills somewhere, waiting to do a shot. Kubrick was down below with fifteen hundred men charging up the mountain. I’d been on the movie five months by that time, when I was supposed to be on it only twelve days. I turned to her and said, “Who do you have to fuck to get off this picture?”
Finally we started doing night shootings. This was the sequence where the slave army has been captured, and they’re all being crucified, and Kirk and I-Spatacus and Antoninus-are waiting for our turns the next morning. The Laurence Olivier character is coming down to officiate. We are the last two to be crucified, and we have this heavy, philosophical discussion about it.
“I don’t want to die this way.”
“Well, that’s the way it’s going to be.” No one knows he’s Spatacus yet.
So we’re sitting at the foot of this big hill by a wagon. Off in the background, just out of camera range, is the freeway. This is going to disillusion a lot of people who think it was shot at the gates of Rome, but it wasn’t. It was on Barham Blvd. and the 101 Freeway, with a straight view maybe fifteen hundred feet or more all the way to the top of the hill. We shot that scene from nine to five or six in the morning. Night shooting, believe me, is the pits in the picture business. Everybody is exhausted.
As far as the eye could see, from that wagon where Kirk and I were sitting to the horizon on top of that hill, stood a long row of crosses with bodies on them, diminishing as they got higher up-all of Spartacus’s friends who were being crucified. Kubrick insisted on having live people on most of them, with a few mannequins here and there because he wanted people to see them writhe and moan while Kirk and I were sitting at the foot of  that steep hill, doing our scene. “What is it all about, Spartacus?” “Well, Antoninus, life is not a bowl of cherries.” Moans and groans from above. “Then what is life?” “Ah! Well may you ask...” More moans and groans. Kubrick wanted the moans and groans and writhing bodies on film during this dialogue so it wouldn’t look static in the back.
As we rehearsed it, Kubrick didn’t pay much attention to them. He just kept giving orders to Marshall Green, the first assistant director, a huge man whose father was a film director I had worked with [Alfred E. Green, director of Sierra]. “Do this, Marshall, do that!” Marshall’s real job was to make sure Kubrick got his night’s work done. Kubrick hadn’t picked Marshall to work with. He was just the A.D. assigned by the studio, which meant he didn’t care about Kubrick, only about Kubrick getting his work done. Everybody knew it. That’s the way it worked. Universal was watching Kubrick like some mad creature from outer space, and Marshall was their point man.
We rehearsed and rehearsed until Kubrick got the men writhing and groaning pretty much the way he wanted. Finally he said, “Let’s start shooting.”
“Spartacus, what is the meaning of life?”
Moans and groans.
“Life is not a bowl of cherries, Antoninus.”
Kubrick says, “Cut.” He looks up and says, “On the cherries line, the man on the third cross on the left is supposed to move. You didn’t move.” The guy says, “I’m sorry.”
This went on and on. Forty minutes of starting and stopping and starting and stopping. Almost right, but not quite. Finally he says, “Let’s do it,” and we start the take again.
“Spartacus, what is the meaning of life?”
Moaning and groaning from up the hill.
“Life is not a bowl of-”
Kubrick says, “Cut! Son of a bitch...” Some mild obscenity-nothing overwhelming. Stanley never lost his temper. I’m sitting only four feet from Kubrick. We all thought it was a perfect take. Kubrick says to Marshall, “Come here.” Marshall, this huge man with huge feet, schleeps over. It’s the middle of the night, he’s dead tired, he been eating lousy, he’s been standing around and smoking for eight hours.
“Marshall, the guy up there on the twentieth cross on the left is supposed to struggle, but he didn’t move at all. I want you to go up there and tell him that on the ‘cherries’ cue and the handkerchief signal from you, he’s got to move. I can’t use the megaphone to tell him during the shot because it’ll screw up the dialogue.”
Marshall looks at him with daggers. If looks could kill, Kubrick is dead. So Marshall turns around and starts walking up this incredible incline-like a Stairmaster, it’s so steep-to the highest point of the hill. It took him three minutes to trudge all the way up to a cross right near the end. There must have been 35 crosses on either side, and this was just about the farthest one. Marshall schlepped all the way up and stood at the foot of that crucifix and looked up. The moonlight silhouetted him. I was watching him, and I distinctly remember thinking, God, that eerie light- that’s the way it must have been when Jesus was on the cross.
Marshall stood there for about thirty seconds, looking up at this guy on the cross and walking around it. The way he was changing position, it looked like he was saying, “What’s the matter with you? You fucked up the last take. Why didn’t you move?” And the guy must have been saying, “Listen, I’ve been strapped up here for an hour now. It’s getting uncomfortable.” And Marshall is saying something like, “Well, I’ll talk to Stanley, but please-in the next shot, move!” The guy says, “Okay, okay.” That’s the dialogue I imagined.
Marshall turns around and walks away slowly back down that hill, never looking right or left, just down at his feet. It takes him another three minutes, but it seems like an hour. He doesn’t look at anybody or anything along the way. He just lumbers straight up to Kubrick and says, “It’s a fucking dummy.”
Stanley took that information with the same grace with which he took everything else. No display of surprise or regret. Just some calm reply like, “Oh. Then put on wires and wiggle it.”



There's another story, but my fingers are tired from typing right now. Maybe tonight or tomorrow.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: bonanzataz on May 29, 2003, 07:27:08 PM
that's great.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: godardian on May 29, 2003, 09:53:49 PM
I've always been fascinated by his notorious treatment of Shelley Duvall, which she always masochistically thanks him for, but which makes me cringe every time I read/see anything about it. I understand it, of course, and she definitely appears tense, worn down, and terrified on film, which is very effective, but still... I think it's more disturbing that he seemed to want to turn EVERYONE on the set against her. Could not have been anything remotely pleasant or enjoyable. Not that that's the point, I guess. Acting is work, after all.

It seems to support that hoary old notion about genius and eccentricity (and/or sheer psychosis) going hand in hand.
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Cecil on May 29, 2003, 09:54:16 PM
thanks misses macguffin's mom
Title: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Fernando on May 29, 2003, 10:53:34 PM
Not all of them set stories, but here it goes.

Chicago stand-up Jimmy Pardo's take on EWS (from Comedy Central's PREMIUM BLEND):
"Recently saw this movie EYES WIDE SHUT. You see this?" *audience members applaud*
"No, sir, you didn't see it? Oh. Piece of GARBAGE!
No, not the movie, YOU for not seeing it!
What the hell'z it take to get you people out to a good movie?"

On a Q&A with Oliver Stapleton.

How did Stanley Kubrick manage to give his films a distinctive look? The shots seem to capture the certain dimensions of a room or even a person's face. I heard he used to apply photographic lenses to the cameras he shot with but I'm still puzzled as his films look unlike any others I have ever seen.

Thank you for a stimulating question. Kubrick had a background in photo-journalism, and his first movies were documentaries which he shot himself:
Day of the Fight (1951)
Flying Padre (1951)
The Seafarers (1952)
Fear and Desire (1953)

He also shot his first feature film, Killer's Kiss (1955), which shows a
strong sense of composition and tone that would continue throughout his work, even when he employed other cinematographers.
His later films never used the same cinematographer twice, with the notable exception of John Alcott.

I spoke to Jo Dunton, who provided equipment and gizmos for some of
Kubrick's films, who said that Kubrick had a strong hand in both the
composition and lighting of his films. He would always "polaroid" each
scene, and have the lab print a lighter and a darker "one light" print of
each set-up. No-one would ever see anything he shot until he handed it
in at the end: not even the lab! Kubrick really understood cinematography, and experimented a great deal for each film, often
lighting scenes entirely with practicals and virtually no "movie" lights.
He used wide-angle lenses a lot, and was not afraid to shoot very close
with wide-angle lenses.
With his passing, we have lost one of the great eccentric geniuses of
film: a man who knew exactly what he wanted and wasn't afraid to
make the demands of people that would enable him to get it.

Last but not least.

Did you know Kubrick made a cameo on 2001?
He personally recorded all the breathing that is heard through out the film.
Title: Re: tales from the set of the shining
Post by: Reel on March 10, 2012, 10:25:51 AM
^ thanks for bringing it back around to Kubrick, Fernando of the past. Anyway, here's a pic of him playing Jack for a fool:

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F1QIjI.jpg&hash=78700b7737e2ffc14de83636361cff9a4e9c7331)