Lew Wasserman was the last of a breed: an old-school Hollywood film
mogul with a spectacular rise and fall. His story intrigued Barry
Avrich, president of Toronto-based advertising agency Endeavor, who has
a track record of directing documentaries about unusual people.
"Selfishly, I make these films to meet great people I wouldn’t
otherwise have access to," he says, only half-joking. Taking on
Wasserman, however, proved a big challenge: Wasserman was notorious for
avoiding being photographed and the story spanned over six, very
different decades.
mogul with a spectacular rise and fall. His story intrigued Barry
Avrich, president of Toronto-based advertising agency Endeavor, who has
a track record of directing documentaries about unusual people.
"Selfishly, I make these films to meet great people I wouldn’t
otherwise have access to," he says, only half-joking. Taking on
Wasserman, however, proved a big challenge: Wasserman was notorious for
avoiding being photographed and the story spanned over six, very
different decades.
From the beginning, Avrich decided to shoot the documentary’s many
interviews in HD. "It’s very difficult to shoot a documentary on 35mm,
especially if you do a lot of interviews, because you’ll burn through a
lot of stock," says Avrich, who notes that the 103-minute film was made
for $250,000. "I wanted to get as close as possible to film, but I
didn’t want to shoot 16mm. I didn’t feel I could get as rich a look in
terms of lighting my subject as I could in HD. And you can’t afford the
same kind of shooting ratio with 16mm."
interviews in HD. "It’s very difficult to shoot a documentary on 35mm,
especially if you do a lot of interviews, because you’ll burn through a
lot of stock," says Avrich, who notes that the 103-minute film was made
for $250,000. "I wanted to get as close as possible to film, but I
didn’t want to shoot 16mm. I didn’t feel I could get as rich a look in
terms of lighting my subject as I could in HD. And you can’t afford the
same kind of shooting ratio with 16mm."
The results of some HD-to-35mm tests were pleasing, says producer Nat
Brescia, so The Last Mogul was shot with the Sony
HDW-F900, using a limited number of Canon and Fujinon zoom lenses,
partly because the HDC-F950 wasn’t readily available at the time. From
Brescia’s point of view, the film’s extensive use of archival stills
and video was a significant reason to go with HD. "That was a big
issue," he says, "Our stock footage came in so many different formats
and qualities. We had to integrate that footage and our interview
subjects as seamlessly as possible, and we felt HD was the best medium."
Brescia, so The Last Mogul was shot with the Sony
HDW-F900, using a limited number of Canon and Fujinon zoom lenses,
partly because the HDC-F950 wasn’t readily available at the time. From
Brescia’s point of view, the film’s extensive use of archival stills
and video was a significant reason to go with HD. "That was a big
issue," he says, "Our stock footage came in so many different formats
and qualities. We had to integrate that footage and our interview
subjects as seamlessly as possible, and we felt HD was the best medium."
In addition to over 50 hours of sit-down interviews with such notables
as Jack Valenti, Michael Ovitz, Richard Zanuck and Robert Evans, the
production made use of hundreds of old photographs and film and video
clips, thanks to the efforts of researcher Barbara Gregson (known for
her work on The Kid Stays in the Picture). "There
were disappointments when I’d have the greatest photo in the world but
it couldn’t survive the blow-up to 35mm," says Avrich. "But when we
found Lew Wasserman’s 1931 school yearbook with a photo of him that’s
only one-and-a-half inches, I had to have it. Scanned at high-res, it
held up." Brescia kept track of all the archival assets with a paper
log and a spreadsheet, assisted by associate producer Natalie Metrovich.
as Jack Valenti, Michael Ovitz, Richard Zanuck and Robert Evans, the
production made use of hundreds of old photographs and film and video
clips, thanks to the efforts of researcher Barbara Gregson (known for
her work on The Kid Stays in the Picture). "There
were disappointments when I’d have the greatest photo in the world but
it couldn’t survive the blow-up to 35mm," says Avrich. "But when we
found Lew Wasserman’s 1931 school yearbook with a photo of him that’s
only one-and-a-half inches, I had to have it. Scanned at high-res, it
held up." Brescia kept track of all the archival assets with a paper
log and a spreadsheet, assisted by associate producer Natalie Metrovich.
With the interviews in the can, editor Alex Shuper came on board.
Working on an Avid Media Composer, Shuper built a skeleton of the
stories, working with a six-page rough story outline written by Avrich.
"Then it was a question of how to embellish that fantastic story in a
visual way, and we started wrestling with all the stills and stock
footage," he says. "We felt the story was so compelling that we just
wanted to use the images to reinforce the story being told."
Working on an Avid Media Composer, Shuper built a skeleton of the
stories, working with a six-page rough story outline written by Avrich.
"Then it was a question of how to embellish that fantastic story in a
visual way, and we started wrestling with all the stills and stock
footage," he says. "We felt the story was so compelling that we just
wanted to use the images to reinforce the story being told."
One challenge was how to integrate old video shot at 30 fps with the
new HD-acquired interviews, shot at 24 fps. "Sometimes some of the
stock footage also had motion effects applied to it," he says.
"Compensating for that and finding a flicker-free frame rate was
difficult." Throughout the edit, the producers continued to work
mightily to unearth shots, only to find some to be so bad as to be
unusable. In one eureka moment, through a Cleveland archive, the
filmmakers located a group photo of a club where Wasserman had worked
as a young man. "It’s a giant, beautiful crowd shot," recalls Shuper.
"The producer said to zoom in on every face, because he had a hunch
we’d find Lew. And, lo and behold, there he was standing in the corner.
We’d discovered a lost photo. The strangest thing was that it was a
group shot of people dancing, eating, chatting- and Lew was the only
one looking directly at the camera. So it was a haunting shot as well."
new HD-acquired interviews, shot at 24 fps. "Sometimes some of the
stock footage also had motion effects applied to it," he says.
"Compensating for that and finding a flicker-free frame rate was
difficult." Throughout the edit, the producers continued to work
mightily to unearth shots, only to find some to be so bad as to be
unusable. In one eureka moment, through a Cleveland archive, the
filmmakers located a group photo of a club where Wasserman had worked
as a young man. "It’s a giant, beautiful crowd shot," recalls Shuper.
"The producer said to zoom in on every face, because he had a hunch
we’d find Lew. And, lo and behold, there he was standing in the corner.
We’d discovered a lost photo. The strangest thing was that it was a
group shot of people dancing, eating, chatting- and Lew was the only
one looking directly at the camera. So it was a haunting shot as well."
Right after picture was locked, they did a color-correction at
Casablanca Magnetic North with a DaVinci 2K. The film’s first screening
was in HD at the 2005 Palm Springs Film Festival. "I was quite
impressed with how well it held up on screen," says Brescia. "The
viewing public gives a certain amount of latitude to documentaries.
That’s why when it goes from super-crisp HD imagery to grainy stock
footage, the audience is accepting."
Casablanca Magnetic North with a DaVinci 2K. The film’s first screening
was in HD at the 2005 Palm Springs Film Festival. "I was quite
impressed with how well it held up on screen," says Brescia. "The
viewing public gives a certain amount of latitude to documentaries.
That’s why when it goes from super-crisp HD imagery to grainy stock
footage, the audience is accepting."
The documentary was onlined on an Avid Symphony for SD material and a
Quantel eQ for HD material; the entire documentary was then mastered on
the eQ.
Quantel eQ for HD material; the entire documentary was then mastered on
the eQ.
The DI for theatrical release was done at Efilm in Hollywood, with
Deluxe Labs handling the film-out to 35mm. Avrich was gratified that
his choice of shooting HD and says he was "was incredibly happy" with
the transition from HD to 35mm, which produced "no loss in color or
texture."
Deluxe Labs handling the film-out to 35mm. Avrich was gratified that
his choice of shooting HD and says he was "was incredibly happy" with
the transition from HD to 35mm, which produced "no loss in color or
texture."
Brescia notes that the experience of producing several previous
documentaries helped smooth the way for the challenge of portraying a
complex life that spanned so many unique decades. "The discipline of
having our system in place made it easier to deal with," he says. Not
deviating from that helped the budget and helped us to get a story
across of this person who shaped modern Hollywood."
documentaries helped smooth the way for the challenge of portraying a
complex life that spanned so many unique decades. "The discipline of
having our system in place made it easier to deal with," he says. Not
deviating from that helped the budget and helped us to get a story
across of this person who shaped modern Hollywood."
Director: Barry Avrich
Producers: Tori Hockin and Nat Brescia
Executive Producers: Nat Brescia and Barry Avrich
Co-producer: Brian Linehan
Cinematography: Charles Haggart
Editor: Alex Shuper
Tape-To-Tape Correction Prep: Elisabeth Cotter Efilm, Hollywood
Producers: Tori Hockin and Nat Brescia
Executive Producers: Nat Brescia and Barry Avrich
Co-producer: Brian Linehan
Cinematography: Charles Haggart
Editor: Alex Shuper
Tape-To-Tape Correction Prep: Elisabeth Cotter Efilm, Hollywood
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