Years three and four there was no more filming. Now it was up to the editor to make something of this mess. The Director built a house for the editor and his family on the Directors compound so they could work together everyday. The editor was one of the best in the business with many Academy nominations and even he couldn't make a movie out of this mess. I saw several cuts most were 3 and 4 hours long because the Director saw every scene as precious and couldn't let it end up on the floor.
So, the editor was fired and a new editor who had only done rock videos came aboard. After about a year he managed to come out with a 30 minute film. Now the Director is in a real dilemma here. He has come from a family of high achievers. His sister is a cabinet member of the Obama administration. Off and on his mother has been visiting the set over the years and for him to have spent all this money with nothing to show for it is a real embarrassment. This film has to be made or he is a failure in this family.
In reality with about two weeks of additional shooting the original movie could have been made into a watchable film. But now we have wandered so far off the path and the Director has so lost his direction he can't see the forest for the trees. Now I said watchable, not Academy Award material. All except what the cameraman and I did. It was the best work that the cameraman and I had ever done together. You never know who is going to win but, this film would have been nominated without a doubt. Several times I talked with the cameraman about it and laughingly he would say, "Do you think it will come out before we are dead?"
What to do, keep shooting of course.
So, the editor was fired and a new editor who had only done rock videos came aboard. After about a year he managed to come out with a 30 minute film. Now the Director is in a real dilemma here. He has come from a family of high achievers. His sister is a cabinet member of the Obama administration. Off and on his mother has been visiting the set over the years and for him to have spent all this money with nothing to show for it is a real embarrassment. This film has to be made or he is a failure in this family.
In reality with about two weeks of additional shooting the original movie could have been made into a watchable film. But now we have wandered so far off the path and the Director has so lost his direction he can't see the forest for the trees. Now I said watchable, not Academy Award material. All except what the cameraman and I did. It was the best work that the cameraman and I had ever done together. You never know who is going to win but, this film would have been nominated without a doubt. Several times I talked with the cameraman about it and laughingly he would say, "Do you think it will come out before we are dead?"
What to do, keep shooting of course.
