The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Past chats with our guests.
Scott McGee
Posts: 0
Joined: May 27th, 2014, 3:10 pm

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Scott McGee »

moirafinnie wrote:
You make a good case for more recognition for stunt people in such movies, but do you think that this is likely to occur in an age of CGI-created effects? Has the use of such artificial effects made stunt people superfluous?

Since you have some considerable experience with TCM events in the real world, do you think that there is a growing interest in classic films in modern theatrical settings thanks to TCM's extensive efforts, regional film festivals, and other groups?

Has the explosion of media outlets helped this interest or does it ever seem almost too diffuse to know what direction things are headed in terms of interest and the distribution of classic films?
Thanks for reposting that blog, moirafinnie. That trip to Rochester was wonderful, if a bit hurried; I was actually supposed to arrive a day earlier, but my flight out of Atlanta had been cancelled, so I was fortunate to make it to Rochester at all.

Regarding stuntwork in the CGI era...short answer: yes. There will still be work for stunt performers, even though having a character take a fall off of a building, for example, could be created within a hard drive. What stunt performers and coordinators have learned is that their work can work with CGI, to the benefit of not only the story, but also for the safety of the performer. For example, when the marvelous stuntwoman Zoe Bell is hanging onto the hood of the car in the 40 minute car chase in Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof", that's not faked. She's really there, going that fast. But thanks to digital technology, the safety wire was digitally erased, giving Tarantino and Bell greater freedom in getting the shot without having to "hide" the tether. Make no mistake about it: even with the tether, that was an incredibly dangerous gag. Same for Tom Cruise hanging outside the skyscraper in "Mission: Impossible--Ghost Protocol".

Also, stunt performers are called upon to create stunts within the green screen. For example, in "The Dark Knight", stunt performers jumped into an air bag that was cloaked in the green screen tech, so that when Batman jumps off the skyscraper in the Hong Kong sequence, that could be seamlessly worked out. (Christopher Nolan and his stunt coordinator Paul Jennings tried to create a high jump using a special harness, but went with the green screen method instead)

That all being said, I think there will always be a yearning to see real people do incredible stunts in the real world. There's a reason why YouTube videos of skydivers, base jumpers, car crashes, high rise climbers, etc. are routinely watched over and over again across the world: because viewers know the action isn't faked. Cinema viewers still want that too, it's just a matter of making it feasible, from a production standpoint, for the producers.

As for your other questions, I do think there is a growing interest in seeing films in theaters. In some ways, the easy access to thousands of films on video and streaming, from multiple sources, perhaps overwhelms viewers, so that they yearn for the singular experience of seeing films in theaters. Just a guess. Either way, I ain't complaining!
User avatar
moira finnie
Administrator
Posts: 8024
Joined: April 9th, 2007, 6:34 pm
Location: Earth
Contact:

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by moira finnie »

Thanks, Scott! I'm glad that things seem to be encouraging in classic film.

I love the interstitials that you often produce and write with your collaborators at TCM--especially the promo for Shadows of Russia, the sweeping preview for the monumental Kurosawa month, and the hilarious one for The High and the Mighty on TCM.


When you are preparing a new spot for an individual actor or highlight, are the clips chosen to blend well with the music by you? How is the music decided upon? Is there any music produced specifically for these spots?

I am also always impressed by the narrators' voices used in these and the occasional sound effects that appear to add so much to these interstitials. This was particularly true in this one that I believe you made for John Ford--I believe that the narrator is a gravel-voiced Tom Petty, with what sounds like a single guitar in the background. How did you go about choosing what to include visually and aurally? Do you ever impose visual effects on the images to give a certain tone to the spots? :
[youtube][/youtube]

Unlike some organizations that shall be nameless, most of us look forward to the quite comprehensive TCM Remembers spots each year. Sadly but inevitably, individuals who have made contributions to the cinema pass away after this has aired in December. How do you go about adding a person to the lineup?

BTW, were you responsible for the Ben-Hur spoof here with the school kids playing all the roles? That always makes me laugh.

I am loving the Australian movies this month on Friday Night Features (a great addition to TCM) and wondered if more regional and time-stamped features might be included in this event: i.e. New England Movies & Wiemar Republic Features in the future?


Thanks again for your kind replies.

Moira
Avatar: Frank McHugh (1898-1981)

The Skeins
TCM Movie Morlocks
User avatar
Sue Sue Applegate
Administrator
Posts: 3404
Joined: April 14th, 2007, 8:47 pm
Location: Texas

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Sue Sue Applegate »

Thanks, Scott! If you use my idea, I'll smile every time I hear it. :-)

And I would love to hear more about some of your favorite brushes with filmdom celebrities that you have met during the course of your duties at the festivals and on the cruise. Please share what you can!
Blog: http://suesueapplegate.wordpress.com/
Twitter:@suesueapplegate
TCM Message Boards: http://forums.tcm.com/index.php?/topic/ ... ue-sue-ii/
Sue Sue : https://www.facebook.com/groups/611323215621862/
Thelma Ritter: Hollywood's Favorite New Yorker, University Press of Mississippi-2023
Avatar: Ginger Rogers, The Major and The Minor
Scott McGee
Posts: 0
Joined: May 27th, 2014, 3:10 pm

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Scott McGee »

moirafinnie wrote:Thanks, Scott! I'm glad that things seem to be encouraging in classic film.

I love the interstitials that you often produce and write with your collaborators at TCM--especially the promo for Shadows of Russia, the sweeping preview for the monumental Kurosawa month, and the hilarious one for The High and the Mighty on TCM.


Unlike some organizations that shall be nameless, most of us look forward to the quite comprehensive TCM Remembers spots each year. Sadly but inevitably, individuals who have made contributions to the cinema pass away after this has aired in December. How do you go about adding a person to the lineup?

BTW, were you responsible for the Ben-Hur spoof here with the school kids playing all the roles? That always makes me laugh. Thanks again for your kind replies.

Moira
Moira,

Ben-Hur spot--No, I didn't produce that one. It was actually written, directed and produced by an outside company, the name of which escapes me. It was many years ago. The same team also made the Dirty Dozen on Ice and Rocky in a Retirement Home spots.

TCM Remembers: if someone passes after the year end obit goes to air, it becomes a judgment call on the part of the VP of TCM On-Air, Pola Changnon. Some of the things she'll weigh (with plenty of advice from the staff) are things like: is the person important enough to go back into edit (which costs a lot of money)? And if so, do we have producers and edit time available to make the necessary changes to the edit? (because remember, these pieces go to air right before the holidays, when many people are away from work). It's an unenviable position to be in. Rest assured, if someone passes and we DON'T go back into edit, then we try to put them into the next year's obit. During my time with On-Air, I produced four of the TCM Remembers spots: '02, '03, '08, '11. I can speak for all of the On-Air producers when I say that we take those pieces with the utmost care. It is a sobering responsibility that none of us take lightly.

I'll get to your other two questions later...
Scott McGee
Posts: 0
Joined: May 27th, 2014, 3:10 pm

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Scott McGee »

Sue Sue Applegate wrote:Thanks, Scott! If you use my idea, I'll smile every time I hear it. :-)

And I would love to hear more about some of your favorite brushes with filmdom celebrities that you have met during the course of your duties at the festivals and on the cruise. Please share what you can!
Here's a few at random:

--Riding in a limo with Eli Wallach from his hotel on the very first day of the very first festival. It was just the two of us. It was magical.

--Kim Novak calling my "Scottie"

--Seeing Luise Rainer, in the flesh, having conquered a volcano to get there

--Escorting Malcolm McDowell back to his car.

--Watching Tony Curtis watch "Sweet Smell of Success"

--Witnessing T.C. and Eli hug it out on the mezzanine level of the Roosevelt and speak to each other in Yiddish

--Sitting four chairs away from William Friedkin during a screening of "Sorcerer"

--Max Von Sydow telling me, "I've seen a lot of those (video tributes to me), and that was the very best." (I made it.)

--Meeting Peter O'Toole

--Being scolded by Maureen O'Hara for having never been to Ireland.
User avatar
Sue Sue Applegate
Administrator
Posts: 3404
Joined: April 14th, 2007, 8:47 pm
Location: Texas

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Sue Sue Applegate »

Dear Scott,
Thanks for sharing that snapshot of your most delightful moments. What a treasure trove of memories you must have, and how lovely that Max Von Sydow said that about your tribute. He was a wonderful panel guest. I can remember how quiet it was in Club TCM when he was speaking. No one wanted to miss anything he said. And yours was the "very best!"

And Kim Novak calling you "Scottie."

Lovely!
Blog: http://suesueapplegate.wordpress.com/
Twitter:@suesueapplegate
TCM Message Boards: http://forums.tcm.com/index.php?/topic/ ... ue-sue-ii/
Sue Sue : https://www.facebook.com/groups/611323215621862/
Thelma Ritter: Hollywood's Favorite New Yorker, University Press of Mississippi-2023
Avatar: Ginger Rogers, The Major and The Minor
Scott McGee
Posts: 0
Joined: May 27th, 2014, 3:10 pm

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Scott McGee »

moirafinnie wrote:
I love the interstitials that you often produce and write with your collaborators at TCM--especially the promo for Shadows of Russia, the sweeping preview for the monumental Kurosawa month, and the hilarious one for The High and the Mighty on TCM.

When you are preparing a new spot for an individual actor or highlight, are the clips chosen to blend well with the music by you? How is the music decided upon? Is there any music produced specifically for these spots?

I am also always impressed by the narrators' voices used in these and the occasional sound effects that appear to add so much to these interstitials. This was particularly true in this one that I believe you made for John Ford--I believe that the narrator is a gravel-voiced Tom Petty, with what sounds like a single guitar in the background. How did you go about choosing what to include visually and aurally? Do you ever impose visual effects on the images to give a certain tone to the spots? :
[youtube][/youtube]

I am loving the Australian movies this month on Friday Night Features (a great addition to TCM) and wondered if more regional and time-stamped features might be included in this event: i.e. New England Movies & Wiemar Republic Features in the future?

Moira
Yes, there will be more FNS that are about certain regions, Ms. Moira, I presume... And yes, time-stamped, as well. That one will occur sooner than later. Sorry to sound cagey. Don't want to tip the hat to the schedule before it's announced.

Glad you mentioned Shadows of Russia. That's an interesting one. When I was first assigned it, I have to be honest: I wasn't enthused. But it's actually one of my favorite promos. I made it with my long-time collaborator, editor Scott Lansing. Scott has made dozens and dozens of great stuff for TCM over the years. You can see a LOT of it at his website, sabotagefilmgroup.com . I'm also glad you mentioned Kurosawa and Ford. Those two, along with the Star of the Month piece I made for Buster Keaton represent a holy trinity of my three favorite filmmakers, and I got to promote major festivals of all three on the network. I was very lucky. Tom Petty's involvement was an interesting story; he was the subject of a documentary at the time, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. P.B. is, of course, a John Ford authority, and Tom is a John Ford fan, so somehow the wheels were greased in just the right way that got Tom to say yes to the voice-over gig. He did it for free. Naturally, he was nearly two hours late to the recording. (rock stars...sheesh.) But man, he was great to talk to. I'm really hoping he'll be a Guest Programmer some day.

"The High and the Mighty" spot is a fave too. Do you know who voiced that one? Robin Bittman (http://www.robinbittman.com/) Robin is a close friend of mine, and has been the voice of TCM's evening menus for years and years. But she was also for many years the voice of Delta Airline's on-board safety video. It only seemed natural that she read this one for me.

As for your other great questions about approaching promos, clips and music are blended by a combination of the producer's choice and the editor's talent. Really, the impact of our promotional work is due in large part to our editors. Too many to name here, but suffice to say, they really do care for TCM. They ALWAYS go the extra mile to do what it takes. The producer chooses the music, after careful deliberation of *just* the right music cut. The search for that right cut of music is exhausting. We have to listen to hours and hours of production music (tunes created specifically for promos and interstitials) to find just the right cut. It's not easy. Music is not usually created specifically for these spots. Sometimes it is, depending on our budget.
User avatar
Lzcutter
Administrator
Posts: 3149
Joined: April 12th, 2007, 6:50 pm
Location: Lake Balboa and the City of Angels!
Contact:

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Lzcutter »

Scott,

Thanks for all the great info! The "John Ford Country" promo is, of course, one of my faves! We share many of the same likes and holy trinity! Imagine that!

How do you go about pairing contemporary actors with SOTM promos. While some, like Carol Burnett, seem a perfect fit with their SOTM pick, others, like Kelsey Grammer and Lauren Bacall, who would have guessed how perfect it would be?

How do you guys figure that stuff out?
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

Avatar-Warner Bros Water Tower
User avatar
movieman1957
Administrator
Posts: 5522
Joined: April 15th, 2007, 3:50 pm
Location: MD

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by movieman1957 »

Not really a question but a big thanks for the promos and videos that people have already mentioned. I try to collect some of these which mostly were shown years ago. Things like the music videos for the month (the tatooed lady and the vaccuum,) promos for genre themes. (There was one for noir films back in 2005 or 2006.) I appreciate the artistry that goes into these. They often look so modern when keeping the classic look worked in.

Like the "Ben Hur" promo the "Rocky" production at the senior home is a treat.

I marvel at how reverential the TCM Remembers are. What going me going on TCM was the 2001 TCM Remembers when I wrote and asked someone about the music. (Dark Spanish Symphony.) Someone was kind enough to reply and I knew this was a great outfit. You continue to prove it and safeguard the classics for us.

I appreciate what you do.

Okay, one question. Which of your works are you proudest?
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
User avatar
Rita Hayworth
Posts: 10068
Joined: February 6th, 2011, 4:01 pm

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Rita Hayworth »

Scott,

Here's another fun question for you ... which of the three MOVIES that he had most fun doing?

PAJAMA PARTY as CHIEF ROTTEN EAGLE in 1964
BEACH BLANKET BINGO as BUSTER in 1965
HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI as BWANA in 1965

Personally, I like him in WILD BIKINI the best.


Another Question

One of my favorite role is him playing JIMMY THE CROOK in MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD and he was a fabulous in that cameo. He should be applauded for making that role memorable for all of us here and it's one of my favorite comedies of all times. Can you share anything about that role?
User avatar
Rita Hayworth
Posts: 10068
Joined: February 6th, 2011, 4:01 pm

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Rita Hayworth »

RITA HAYWORTH and BUSTER KEATON


Picture taken in the early 50's ... I thought you would get a big kick out of seeing this picture!


Image
Scott McGee
Posts: 0
Joined: May 27th, 2014, 3:10 pm

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Scott McGee »

Lzcutter wrote:Scott,

Thanks for all the great info! The "John Ford Country" promo is, of course, one of my faves! We share many of the same likes and holy trinity! Imagine that!

How do you go about pairing contemporary actors with SOTM promos. While some, like Carol Burnett, seem a perfect fit with their SOTM pick, others, like Kelsey Grammer and Lauren Bacall, who would have guessed how perfect it would be?

How do you guys figure that stuff out?

It's always a matter of research and sometimes intuition. Keith Carradine is such an avowed fan of classic movies that we took a guess that he'd be a fan of Greer Garson, and indeed he was. Hopefully, Mr. Carradine can do more for us in the future, especially given his dynastic pedigree. As for Kelsey Grammer, our Talent Coordinator Darcy Hettrich had heard that he and Bacall were good friends. So we approached him, he said yes, and during my initial phone call to Kelsey, I asked, "So when did you first meet Ms. Bacall." "Oh, I've never met her." (GULP.) That changed the coarse of the conversation pretty quickly. Fortunately, it turned out great. My absolute favorites I did though were the ones with Richard Lewis on Buster Keaton and Prince Albert II of Monaco on his mother, Grace Kelly. For the latter one, I flew to NY for the day and recording His Serene Highness in person at the Monaco consulate. He was very nice. It was the first time I was ever given the once over by the United States Secret Service. My dream project is if we ever had Will Rogers as a SOTM, I'd go after this guy to voice it...I've never read that he's a fan, but I would be that he is: Jon Stewart
Scott McGee
Posts: 0
Joined: May 27th, 2014, 3:10 pm

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Scott McGee »

movieman1957 wrote:Not really a question but a big thanks for the promos and videos that people have already mentioned. I try to collect some of these which mostly were shown years ago. Things like the music videos for the month (the tatooed lady and the vaccuum,) promos for genre themes. (There was one for noir films back in 2005 or 2006.) I appreciate the artistry that goes into these. They often look so modern when keeping the classic look worked in.

Like the "Ben Hur" promo the "Rocky" production at the senior home is a treat.

I marvel at how reverential the TCM Remembers are. What going me going on TCM was the 2001 TCM Remembers when I wrote and asked someone about the music. (Dark Spanish Symphony.) Someone was kind enough to reply and I knew this was a great outfit. You continue to prove it and safeguard the classics for us.

I appreciate what you do.

Okay, one question. Which of your works are you proudest?

Thank you, Chris. I'm so glad that the work doesn't go by unnoticed and unappreciated. It's funny, we got a lot of strong reaction to the tattooed lady spot, what we refer to as the This Month 2006. Much of the reaction was wholly negative. But it represents what I think On-Air always did so well: challenged and expanded accepted notions of what these classic movies are about. William Holden, the SOTM that September, wasn't "safe", was a little dangerous and edgy. We thought having a promo within the same vein would work.

I'm probably proudest of the TCM Remembers 2011, the one with Liz Taylor at the very, very end. My editor Scott Lansing and I were sort of left holding the bag on that one; we weren't given the graphic elements we were expecting, so we had to scramble and figure something else out. Instead of it being a conceptually driven piece with strong graphical elements that supported it (like the Drive-in in '12 or the abandoned theater in '13), we made what was essentially a This Month piece--images from the films that are closely matched the lyrics of the song. I'm proud of it because we met the expectations of our fans on that one, despite the constraints we were working under. A touching coda on that one: Before I went into edit, Michael McKean got in touch with me, on behalf of his good friend, David Landers (they were, of course, Lenny and Squiggy). Well, David's mother-in-law, Sybil Jason, had passed, and they wanted to see if I could put her into the year-end obit. She's in there. She wholly deserves to be. Not only was she a rival to Shirley Temple, she even worked with Tom Mix!! Anyway, it was a reminder that these pieces mean a LOT to people, some more than others...
Scott McGee
Posts: 0
Joined: May 27th, 2014, 3:10 pm

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Scott McGee »

Rita Hayworth wrote:Scott,

Here's another fun question for you ... which of the three MOVIES that he had most fun doing?

PAJAMA PARTY as CHIEF ROTTEN EAGLE in 1964
BEACH BLANKET BINGO as BUSTER in 1965
HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI as BWANA in 1965

Personally, I like him in WILD BIKINI the best.


Another Question

One of my favorite role is him playing JIMMY THE CROOK in MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD and he was a fabulous in that cameo. He should be applauded for making that role memorable for all of us here and it's one of my favorite comedies of all times. Can you share anything about that role?
I'm not sure which one he "enjoyed" more. His role in PAJAMA PARTY was a bit more substantial, I think. I do know that he didn't take the cameos seriously. He was just happy to be working. His bit in MMMM World was actually a little bigger, but Stanley Kramer cut much of his role. Originally, there was a lengthy phone conversation between him and Spencer Tracy. That was cut. And according to film historian Bruce Lawton, there was another bit where Buster tries to push a donkey into his boat house. The fact that much of his bits were cut didn't seem to affect Buster much. Work was work.
User avatar
Rita Hayworth
Posts: 10068
Joined: February 6th, 2011, 4:01 pm

Re: The Scott McGee Q&A thread

Post by Rita Hayworth »

Thanks for answering these questions Scott, and I just wanted to say thanks for joining us today and Buster Keaton is certainly one of the kind - it's amazing of all the great movies in the Silent Era that he made and I have seen THE GENERAL so many times - I was in awe of his performance and as gifted as he is and with competition with Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, Max Linder, Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, and others that all have their genre - he's got to be one of the top of his game and I'm admire a man that does his own stunts. Buster Keaton is one of the kind - so is Chaplin.
Locked