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People behind the Oscar curtain
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OSCAR'S star power isn't just in front of the camera. Meet the people behind the curtain who create the onscreen magic.
Gil Cates,
Executive Producer
HE'S produced more Oscar telecasts (电视直播) than anyone. This year, Gil Cates celebrates 10 years as the driving force behind the Academy Awards telecast.
The former dean of the School of Theatre, Film and Television at UCLA, former president of the Directors Guild of America, current artistic director of the Geffen Playhouse, and Emmy Award-winning director works with Hollywood's biggest names. We couldn't resist asking: "Do they all bow and scrape to you?"
"In a word, no," laughs the Syracuse alumnus, who holds a master degree in directing. "Actually, the stars that are on the show become very collegial because they are as excited about seeing and talking to and meeting their colleagues as we are. Because the truth of the matter is, big names or stars or celebrities, they really don't know one another. They're working a kind of sequestered (隔绝的) life, movie to movie. So, most of the people - there are notable exceptions, obviously - but most are really excited to be on the show and it's wonderful dealing with them."
Where are you during the actual telecast?
"I'm mostly in the truck, behind the director. I do take frequent trips backstage to speak to Steve Martin (the host of the show)."
Whom do you rely on most?
"Well, it depends on which phase of the show. Obviously, when the show is on the air, I rely mostly on Lou Horvitz, the director, and his team, and Steve Martin. At different times you rely on different people. Early on, I rely on Danette Herman to book the show. And then I rely on Roy Christopher for the set design. And Mike Seligman for the financials. And I have an assistant who's been with me awhile, Cappucine Lyons, whom I rely on a lot."
Has anything that's happened during an Oscar telecast ever taken you by surprise?
"Jack Palance doing his one-armed pushups (俯卧撑). Astonishing to me. Anna Paquin, who won Supporting Actress for The Piano (《钢琴课》), coming onstage and just gulping breathlessly because she couldn't speak for 10 seconds was a wonderful moment on the show. Hal Roach ... when he said he wasn't going to talk and then he started to speak and we didn't have a microphone and we couldn't hear him. But we could expect that from Roach because he made silent movies!"
You're producing a telecast that will be seen by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Do you suffer from "stage fright? (怯场)"
"No, I don't suffer from stage fright, but I'm anxious that the show go off well because, unlike a movie or a television show, there's no second take. It all happens 5:30 Pacific Standard Time. That's it. And everybody's got to be there and the show goes on. And it's really a tremendous moment when that happens. I'm so involved with what I'm doing that I really don't have stage fright. Interestingly enough, if I start thinking about it, I can scare myself."
(SD-Agencies)
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