GregIrwin

I'll be in NYC for a week beginning on Wed., March 3rd. Mitch, Bill, George or anyone up for meeting for a drink or lunch? Let me know.

I know with many of you the term "union" is a very bad word. However, by being an IATSE member, I receive full medical coverage paid by my employers. The only cost that I incur is my union dues. Otherwise, the members receive Blue Cross for major medical, Delta Dental and VSP for optical. It is the best insurance package that is offered by employers anywhere. So there is a positive view for becoming union. And with over 6000 members just in the camera guild alone, joining is not that hard and would help stamp out the abusive non-union producers who make all of the money and give absolutely nothing back to the employee. As for Canadian medical, I was in a Vancouver, BC emergency room a couple of years ago and was appalled at the quality of service. I found the entire system over-burdened with people who did not need emergency attention and were not discouraged from taking up space from those who truely needed it since it does not cost anything. Doctors could not spend any quality time with their patients since the waiting line is so long. Emergency rooms are crowded here in the US as well but under control when compared. I also understand that specialized medicine is not readily available in Canada and most come to the USA for major proceedures.

We had a D40mm and a C100mm on PH in addition to many others. But as for the hospital scene, it was an old 100mm of some sort that we intentionally messed up pretty good. Dan Sasaki turned it into a slant lens. Much of that scene was shot on steadicam with Robert Presley shifting the slant from side to side along with me trying to watch his monitor in order to focus the correct side of frame. It was definately tricky and it worked very well. I also had Panavision make the first 20mm anamorphic lens for us on that picture. That image is wild. When I couldn't get that lens due to it being commited to another project, Panavision made a second 20mm for me on "The Core". Great lens.

I still believe that the "C"'s and "E"s are the best. Talk to Dan Sasaki at Panavision for he is the anamorphic guru. As for distored lens look, ask him about a 100mm slant lens that we had made for a picture. It's pretty bizarre looking.

Congradulations to all of the cinematography nominees but a hearty congrats to my friend and former boss, John Schwartzman, ASC. "Seabiscut" is an outstanding piece of motion picture photography. I do hope that the academy recognizes his artistry.

Hi Max, I'm not a big fan of the Primo anamorphics. Yes they have less variation between them when compared to the "C" and "E"'s but they have much more astigmatism in the glass and they are HUGE!!! Their size and weight can be a limiting factor when you want to steadicam or hand-hold the camera.

Black sounds like a projection scratch. Like David stated, neg scratches are usually white or the color of the layer that got scratched - red, green, blue. The light leak could have been from a few places. The camera body, the mag, the dark room.

David, Sounds like you needed some real kick-ass AD's to keep control over the cast. I just finished a picture before Christmas called "Cheer Up!". We had five young cheerleader type actresses that had more drama in them than in the entire script. Add Tommy Lee Jones to the mix and WOW! I'm just glad that we got anything shot. Fortunately, we had some excellent AD's who knew how to handle the cast and get things done. We also had a producer that would not take Tommy Lee's over-maitinence. I was very proud of them.

Mitch, Could you tell me more about the Elites? I don't know much about them. How are your tests going? Thanks...