The Making of "The Rook" – Part II

I love Charlie. Charlie has been in the business as long as I have, and was the gaffer on a number of Spike Lee and Ernest Dickerson films. Since then, he has become an accomplished Director of Photography on features, commercials, and music videos. He and I have worked on a number of films together in that capacity.

Charlie and I went down and picked up the crew. The state troupers were extremely kind. The held the car and the keys, and let the crew go without charging anyone. This included the fact that some of them were underage.

One of the principles I have always had is that whatever you choose to do on your own time. you come to work prepared. The next evening, while Charlie and I were prepared, a good deal of our hung over crew was not. Charlie had little patience for it, and worked them twice as hard, creating work where there wasn't any. It was fun to watch, though I imagine it wasn't much fun for the crew. Charlie was teaching a lesson. "Can we get this scene lit while I am still a young man?" was one of Charlie's favorite invocations.

"The Rook" went on to win some awards, and saw a life in video rentals. It became more popular in Europe than it was here. I came away with lasting friends in Eran, Charlie and Van, as well as Jan McLaughlin, our multi-talented sound recordist. This business is about building relationships, and I will always treasure my experience on "The Rook".

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