MovieChat Forums > Looking for Richard (1996) Discussion > Proud to say that I worked on this piec...

Proud to say that I worked on this piece of brilliance!!

posted 19 years ago by unclejay73
8 replies | jump to latest

I worked on "Looking for Richard" for three days back in August 1994. Back then, the title for the project was "Richard III."

Meeting Al Pacino was amazing. I mean the whole story on how I was working as an assistant manager at Suncoast, and this customer that walked in that needed assistance was Al Pacino's assistant's (Tim Judge) fiancee, is a story I never get tired of telling. She thought I was a nice guy, and passed Tim's number to me to schedule an interview for a possible production job since I had an extensive knowledge of movies.

The interview went extremely well over at CHAL Productions, Al Pacino's production company in upper mid-town Manhattan. That's where he keeps his Oscar and Golden Globe, seeing that was just unreal.

So, I was hired as a production assistant for three days up at the Cloisters Museum. I rode the van there with Kevin Spacey, a few other actors, and the film's producer Michael Hadge. I was getting a little worried that the film would not be released, for it was a good 2 years since the time I worked on it and its release. Unfortunately, I didn't get credited, I was told that I would, but hey you can't win everything, right?

This is first and only time I ever worked on a major film, and seeing the respect it has gotten over the years makes me even more proud I was a part of it. I was a hair away from working on "Heat" but that's another story, a sad one.

UJ

"You learn from the best...and the worst." - Uncle Jay, 9/18/94

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] grannyhartley 19 years ago

Thanks for sharing your story, unclejay! I liked the documentary too. I had one problem with it. Al Pacino said he wanted to reach out to people who had never experienced Shakespeare before but then at a meeting around a table he suggested dumbing down one of Richard's opening verses by changing 'G' for Gloucester to 'C' for Clarence. Other than that it has good perfoemances from the actors chosen to play those scenes. Check your inbox I want to ask you some questions about the rehearsals if you saw any.

[–] unclejay73 19 years ago

I never received your message, GrannyHartley!

UJ

"You learn from the best...and the worst." - Uncle Jay, 9/14/94

[–] cinemaisart 18 years ago

Thanks Uncle! and congratulations, Wow guy, you met Pacino and worked with him! And it is a great piece of work, you must be proud!

As for the change of G to C, it was not Pacino's idea and he did not follow it for what I saw.

really brilliant work!

[–] OttoVonB 17 years ago

"he suggested dumbing down one of Richard's opening verses by changing 'G' for Gloucester to 'C' for Clarence."

It's G for George!

Richard: "upon what cause?"
Clarence: "because my name is George!"

[–] 5thHobbit 15 years ago

Al Pacino said he wanted to reach out to people who had never experienced Shakespeare before but then at a meeting around a table he suggested dumbing down one of Richard's opening verses by changing 'G' for Gloucester to 'C' for Clarence.

I know this is an old message, but they certainly weren't "dumbing down" the play by changing the G to a C. It was just common sense to change it to a letter that the audience would recognize as a character. Even Pacino had to ask who "G" was, because it wasn't immediately clear from the text the way a "C" would be.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

[–] philipp-27 17 years ago

Unclejay, what's so sad about the story of working in "Heat"? Just curious.

[–] unclejay73 15 years ago

What's sad about it, is that I screwed it up.

What happened was, they were happy with my work and offered me a chance to work on "Heat" as a full-time production assistant throughout the entire shoot. This would mean that I had to quit my crappy retail job and fly out to California for the whole shoot...which I was more than willing to do.

What happened was that I got the dates mixed up, as I was to call them on a certain day to arrange everything. I called up one day too late, as the crew had already left the day prior. I was upset about that, and never forgave myself, because that would've opened up some nice doors for me.

-UJ

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