Paul Farren talks to David McGiffert about his extensive career working as an Assistant Director on close to 50 feature films, including the likes Absence of Malice (1981), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Tootsie (1982), Witness (1985), all three installments of the Back to the Future trilogy (1985, 1989, 1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Rain Man (1988), The Fisher King (1991), Batman Returns (1992), The Firm (1993), Little Giants (1994), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), A Civil Action (1998), Dudley Do-Right (1999), Man on the Moon (1999), Heartbreakers (2001), Vanilla Sky (2001), Laurel Canyon (2002), The Interpreter (2005), and All the King’s Men (2006).

Interview with David McGiffert

Film Ireland Presents: David McGiffert Hollywood Assistant Director

In this Film Ireland Podcast, Paul Farren talks to Allan Graf, one of Hollywood's premier 2nd unit directors and stunt coordinators.

Graf worked as a stunt player for several years on a variety of projects, notably Walter Hill's "Southern Comfort," "The Driver" and "The Long Riders," John Carpenter's "They Live," Paul Verhoeven's "Total Recall," "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," "Raising Arizona," "Action Jackson," "S.W.A.T.," "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," "Independence Day" and, most recently, "Captain America: The First Avenger." 

He has coordinated stunts on several other projects, including "Punch Drunk Love," "Domestic Disturbance," "Broken Arrow," "Wayne's World,""The Hangover, Part II" (the highest-grossing, R-rated comedy of all time), and several of director Hill's actioners, including "Supernova," "Geronimo: An American Legend" and "Wild Bill," on which he also directed the films' 2nd unit. 

On Hill's 1990 sequel, "Another 48 Hrs.," Graf, as the film's 2nd unit director and stunt coordinator, was the very first stuntman to cannon roll a bus at 60 mph. He subsequently flipped a bus again on the Jean-Claude Van Damme actioner "Nowhere to Run," cannon rolling a 40-foot bus underneath a 60-foot wide freeway overpass.

Film Ireland Podcast

Interview with Allan Graf

Film Ireland Presents: Allan Graf, Hollywood 2nd Unit Director & Stunt Coordinator

In this Film Ireland podcast, Paul Farren speaks to Author & Scholar Murray Pomerance about Alfred Hitchcock’s timeless classic Vertigo.

Murray Pomerance will be presenting at the Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo: 65th Anniversary: 1958-2023 which takes place 21 – 23 August 2023 at Trinity College Dublin.

The conference also includes a special screening of Vertigo in the Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin on Sunday, 20th August at 8pm.

www.vertigo65.com

https://filmireland.net/

Murray Pomerance, Vertigo 65

Talking Film: Murray Pomerance, Vertigo 65

In this Film Ireland podcast, Paul Farren talks to Assistant Director David McGiffert about the film industry and his book Best Seat in the House – An Assistant Director Behind the Scenes of Feature Films.
 

Shooting a feature film is a fascinating and complex process. With his uniquely personal insight and experience, David McGiffert offers a captivating and entertaining view of moviemaking from the Best Seat in the House.

Drawing from over three decades as an assistant director, McGiffert charts a revealing and informative journey through the making of many major studio productions working with noted directors such as Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton, Cameron Crowe, Sydney Pollack, Milos Forman, Peter Weir, Steve Zaillian, Jon Avnet, and Terry Gilliam, and top actors like Tom Cruise, Michael Fox, Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Newman, Natalie Wood, Christopher Walken, and Robin Williams.

Illustrated with photographs from across the author’s cinematic career, this behind-the-scenes book is a must-read for casual moviegoers and committed film lovers alike.

Best Seat in the House – An Assistant Director Behind the Scenes of Feature Films

Buy the Book https://www.davidmcgiffert.com/available-at
Buy on Audible https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Best-Seat-in-the-House-Audiobook/B0CW6KB74J

David McGiffert, Assistant Director

Presents: David McGiffert, Assistant Director

In this episode of the Film Ireland podcast, filmmaker and contributor Paul Farren sits down for a conversation with legendary cinematographer Roy H. Wagner ASC. With a career spanning decades, Wagner has brought his keen eye to storytelling, capturing an array of worlds on camera, from Beauty and the Beast to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Paul and Roy explore the craft of cinematography and the act of interpreting a narrative through light, shadow and lens. They discuss Wagner’s approach to visual language, the evolution of the craft, and what it means to sustain a career in the industry.

About Roy H. Wagner

Roy is a two-time Emmy Award-winning cinematographer with over 50 years of experience shooting TV series and feature films. Major DP credits include House, CSI, Quantum Leap, Burn Notice, and Ray Donovan. In addition to two Primetime Emmy wins, he also won the ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for the mini-series Drug Wars. Born in a very small community in the Midwest, Roy had no other contact with his dream of becoming a cinematographer than through the local theatre and the Los Angeles phone directory. He would recall the names of cinematographers as they appeared on their films and call them blindly to talk with them about their work. Many of them were so surprised by this young man’s ambition and interest that they took him under their wing, mentoring him.

When he arrived in Los Angeles, he spent every moment with them on their sets and in their homes, learning as much about them and their work as he could. Because of this, he was able to meet and befriend many of the greatest cinematographers in Hollywood. His key mentor was Harry Stradling Sr. Through him, he developed friendships with Joseph Ruttenberg, George Folsey, James Wong Howe, Leon Shamroy, Frank Phillips, Leonard South, and many, many others. In the late 1970s, he began a life-long process of interviewing cinematographers on videotape or film. A deep reverence for all that is old Hollywood remains a great part of his life, and the memory of the behind-the-scenes stories told to him as a young man is an important basis for his life and work.

Presents: In Conversation with Cinematographer Roy H. Wagner

Covering all things cinema on the island of Ireland.

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