Monday, March 24, 2008

The Director

Schultz, the director

During the weeks of filming, Michael Schultz often appeared as the calm at the center of the storm. With the large numbers of extras, multi-camera setups, complex machinery and the pressure of production deadlines, Michael was always in control of each and every element.

Michael, who has two other recent his with "Car Wash" and "Which Way Is Up?," is the kind of director who looks for challenges in his material and with "Sgt. Pepper," there were many. For those who supposed that the movie would be a straightaway illustration of a collection of Beatles tunes, Schultz often explained that much of it was indeed the opposite. There are many points in the movie when what is shown on the screen is actually quite the opposite of what the lyric suggests. The music was the inspiration, but with a movie, it is ultimately the images that tell the story.

There were other problems as well for Michael Schultz, a veteran of theatre and television as well ("To Be Young, Gifted and Black") and not a small problem was directing those who, although entertainers, had not previously handled screen work. In this new camp: Peter Frampton, the Bee Gees, Dianne Steinberg, Sandy Farina and Steve Martin. There was a transition period during which these performers took some time to get into the structure of filmmaking. Like getting used to not moving around so much so the camera, and ultimately the eyes of the audience, have a chance to lock in. And getting used to the necessary retakes of scenes. And the endless waiting periods as the camera crew moved to a new scene or setup.

Michael proved to be a man of infinite patience and in the end even the most hesitant of newcomers seemed like old pros. They began to flow naturally just like the music, and that shows in the final result -- the movie.

Schultz goes over a scene with George Burns.


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