From: jittlov@gumby.cs.caltech.edu (Mike Jittlov)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.mike-jittlov
Subject: WIZARD Presskit - Part 1
Date: 28 Oct 1992 14:05:32 GMT
>Who are you? What is this film? I've never heard of TwoSat, or
>WOSAT! What are you people talking about??!
Allow me to electronically dump hereinbelow our feature's Presskit,
from its alleged 1989 theatrical release.
The original WIZARD Presskit was written by somebody at SGE and (from
all the typoes and disinformation) by my esteamed business partner.
When I discovered what SGE was sending out, I used my short breaks
during the filming of GHOST to quickly research and rewrite the entire
Presskit. It was yet another fun-filled challenge, to diplomatically
please SGE et al, and still get most of the truth to the Press. As
usual, some data and facts are creatively embellished so that everyone
can seem equally powerful, and useful.
Well...I have changed it a wee bit, while reformatting for this post.
But not much, because it is so Archival. The complete cast and crew
credits (somewhat different from WIZARD's credit-crawl) will be posted
at a later date. Enjoy.
WIZARD PRESSKIT, Part One: Title Page, Synopsis, Production Notes
The Hollywood Wizard Limited
In Association With
Rochambeau Productions Incorporated
Present
"THE WIZARD OF SPEED AND TIME!"
Starring
MIKE JITTLOV PAIGE MOORE
DAVID CONRAD JOHN MASSARI
RICHARD KAYE STEVE BRODIE
FRANK LaLOGGIA GARY SCHWARTZ
ARNETIA WALKER WILL RYAN
Special Guest Appearance by
PHILIP MICHAEL THOMAS
Music by JOHN MASSARI
Director of Photography RUSS CARPENTER
Sound Design by STEVE MANN
Executive Producer DON ROCHAMBEAU
Producers MIKE JITTLOV and DEVEN CHIERGHINO
Written, Directed, and Special Effected by MIKE JITTLOV
"THE WIZARD OF SPEED AND TIME"
SYNOPSIS
This is a movie about dreams and reality, corruption and idealism.
It's about Hollywood. The year is 1977 - the year of "Star Wars" and
"Close Encounters", the rebirth of movie imagination and technical
wizardry. And our story is about one of those special effects wizards
...an eccentric filmmaker, hidden off on a Hollywood hillside, who is
about to get the chance of a lifetime.
Discovered through a pirated videotape, MIKE JITTLOV is summoned to
a major film studio by director Lucky Straeker (STEVE BRODIE) and
sleazy producer Harvey Bookman (RICHARD KAYE). They're making a TV
spectacular all about special effects, and want Mike to create "a
whirlwind tour de force" sequence that just might be used in the show.
Because Mike is unknown and non-union, he can't be officially hired.
But if his work is good enough, it could be bought as "stock footage"
and be seen on their nationwide show. It is an incredible opportunity,
a filmmaker's dream.
It is also a Herculean challenge, since the show's airdate is just a few
weeks away. Mike contacts his friends, Brian Lucas (DAVID CONRAD) and
Steve Shostakovich (JOHN MASSARI), who decide to pool their ingenuity
and savings to create a sensational effects showcase of stop-motion,
speed-motion, animation, rotoscoping, and every other form of special
effect. Mike is elected to act as a magical wizard who brings an entire
film studio to life, with marching tripods, dancing cameras and flying
filmcans - and who then leaves Hollywood at super-speed, racing around
the world to perform a marathon of effects miracles. In true Hollywood
tradition, most of this will be accomplished in Mike's garage.
As the adventure builds, a love interest also evolves between Mike and
Cindy Light (PAIGE MOORE) - an aspiring actress who met him at the
studio, and who chooses to help him at the risk of losing her own job
on the show. The small crew struggles to film through windstorms,
lightning storms, insane bureaucracy, throngs of tourists, and a totally
unexpected sabotage of their work by the TV special's crooked producer.
For Bookman has secretly made a $25,000 bet with Straeker, that Jittlov
won't create anything worth seeing. A sneak preview of Mike's special
effects footage proves the opposite: the work of an eccentric unknown
is going to steal the show on Bookman's big-name extravaganza. The
producer goes wild.
Streetwise thugs (GARY SCHWARTZ and FRANK LaLOGGIA) are disguised as
policemen, and sent to stop the filmmakers at all costs. What follows
is possibly one of the most bizarre chases ever seen in Hollywood, as
Mike rides his motorized suitcase through busy downtown boulevards and
backlot movie sets, hotly pursued by Bookman's thugs, with real police
(PHILIP MICHAEL THOMAS and LYNDA ALDON) chasing the disguised crooks.
The small can of incredible film footage is delivered to the studio,
but stolen by Bookman, and lost until the producer's double-crossing
is exposed at a huge studio wrap party in the Hollywood hills.
The movie concludes in an exciting flurry of triumph and surprises,
as the filmmakers and their work are discovered and celebrated by the
people of Hollywood - and by studio director Lucky, who never lost
confidence in their talent and courage.
PRODUCTION NOTES
Mike Jittlov's world-acclaimed short subject, "The Wizard of Speed and
Time", has returned to the screen as a full-length feature. Combining
live-action satire with ingenious animation and dazzling pyrotechnics,
his comedy/adventure is a heart-felt homage to the real wizards of the
movie industry - the often unsung creative artists who actually give
films their magic.
"That sounds like a very Hollywood `in' film", comments Jittlov, "but we
made it for everybody to enjoy. It's about the little guy going up
against the system, the creative soul in each of us that's fighting for
expression. It's a movie that you can watch after a hard day's work,
you can relax and laugh with...and maybe even learn something really
interesting."
"And it's a lot different from anything I planned", he adds.
Over four years in the making, "WIZARD" actually had its genesis many
years earlier. In 1969, while a UCLA student, Jittlov created "Speed" -
a filmshort that followed a green-jacketed dynamo running and flying at
super-speed over Los Angeles streets. The filmlet not only generated
further projects, via cash awards from film festivals, but it also
inspired him to write a science-fiction feature that would make full use
of the speed effect...as well as another effect that was truly special.
By doing his own camerawork, artwork, editing and sound, Jittlov had
discovered subliminal techniques, which when coupled with his superspeed
cinematography would evoke amazing responses from audiences. "I found
out why time-lapse animation has such a magical fascination on viewers,
and how to use movies to boost self-healing and intellect...for a few
hours, anyway. Whas invited
to lecture at film festivals, sci-fi conventions and universities, I
showed some of my experimental films. Big lecture halls, full house,
and the audiences would occasionally stand and cheer, but not really
know why. Until I told them." Jittlov smiled, "There is real magic
hidden in this medium, you could do a lot of good."
Unfortunately, no studio seemed interested in producing a $7,000,000
science-fiction epic. Until "Star Wars". And then no studio wanted to
produce such an epic with an unknown writer-director, who would also
act, edit, be fully responsible for his ideas' effective realization.
No studio, that is, until 1979 - when Jittlov's films were seen by two
Disney executives. They read his script, "Godspeed", and asked him to
showcase his technique on their TV special. His two "Camera Wizard"
sequences - combining live-action, super-speed, lip-sync pixilation and
lifesize stop-motion - became the hit of the show. But instead of going
on to feature production, he was now completely typecast as a creator of
short novelty-animation sequence.
Luckily Jittlov retained the rights to his Wizard footage, retitled it
and redid its soundtrack, and "The Wizard of Speed and Time" became an
immensely popular short at film festivals and screenings around the
world. When a friend gave him access to a video editing facility,
Jittlov was able to finally make a demonstration tape of his work. And
in 1981, another friend showed a copy of that tape to Hollywood-based
producer Richard Kaye.
Kaye was impressed and immediately saw the filmmaker's potential, but
also knew Jittlov's sci-fi epic would be a tough sell. Did he have
anything that could be produced for a smaller budget, say $2,000,000?
Mike showed him another script, "Fantum" (about a quiet bankteller who
inherits a loudmouth guardian demon), and gave Kaye a free nonexclusive
option to take it around.
A year passed, and Kaye called to ask if Jittlov had anything that could
be done for even less. Mike was, by that time, using his life savings
of $35,000 to finally make his own movie, "The Wizards of Hollywood".
Loosely autobiographical and using many of his short films, the feature
also showcased Deven Chierighino, John Massari, Toni Handcock, and other
exceptional talents who had worked with him. He'd already shot a fifth
of the movie, including an amazing crowd scene finale, all in 16mm for
video release. Kaye said that was crazy, that 35mm was the only route
for professional theatrical distribution and credibility, and soon had
another free option to take around. This time, armed with both a Wizard
video and a Wizard script, Kaye went to the 1983 Cannes Filmfest and
secured a financing deal with Don Rochambeau (a wealthy real estate
investor from San Diego), as well as distribution interest with Shapiro
Entertainment.
Jittlov was excited, the dream was finally happening: he was going to
produce his first feature film. And he would even act as one of its
principal characters, "Since I was always available, very affordable,
and I'd do everything the director wanted me to." Kaye proposed that
they form a partnership, where the filmmaker would have full control of
his movie's creation, and Kaye would handle all business, bookkeeping
and distribution deals. And in the summer of 1983, they were off to
film the Wizard. Almost.
Hollywood is built upon the Three C's: creativity, collaboration, and
compromise. Co-producer Kaye felt the original script was just too
cerebral, and worse, too G-rated. In several weeks of story sessions,
the film changed markedly, becoming much more adversarial. The semi-
documentary theme was retained, but Kaye came up with the comedy thug
elements, ribald and ethnic humor, and also wanted to play the part of
a villainous studio producer.
"Since we had a filmmaker playing a filmmaker, and an actress playing an
actress," mused Jittlov, "a producer as a producer couldn't be more
apropos." The studio personnel had all been whimsically named after
cigarette brands, "because they were always burning somebody", but Kaye
chose his own character's name, and required one more change: the movie
would be titled "The Wizard of Speed and Time", after Mike's successful
filmshort.
Casting took several more weeks, with Jittlov insisting on talented
unknowns, and Kaye insisting on established SAG actors to get better
distribution deals. The biggest argument was over the film's leading
lady, Jittlov recalled. "Kaye wanted a girl who looked like Judy
Garland...and I wanted Paige Moore, because she's an excellent actress,
and I felt our on-screen romance could be more realistic. Paige and I
won that battle, but Kaye got to name her `Cindy'." Jittlov did welcome
Kaye's choices of Philip Michael Thomas, Steve Brodie, Arnetia Walker
and The Riot Act. And both men were in total agreement over Frank
LaLoggia, Gary Schwartz, Angelique Pettyjohn, Will Ryan, and many other
comedic talents.
The casting of the film crew was considerably easier, with Deven in
charge, and 20 non-union professionals were soon chosen. Chief among
them were production manager Daryl Kass, master-gaffer Rick Heebner, and
Russ Carpenter as the unanimous choice for Director of Photography. An
impeccable craftsman with a keen sense of lighting and composition, Russ
also understood the filmmaker's total involvement. "If I needed to film
something myself, there was no problem", Jittlov notes, "And no matter
how difficult things got on production, I think Russ, Deven and I were
the only ones who never lost our tempers."
And as with most low-budget independent productions, difficulties were
the name of the game. The first inconvenience occurred when Kaye
announced that, due to SAG actor availability, shooting would have to
begin sooner than planned. Jittlov protested, "We weren't just filming
actors talking back and forth...this was a complex action-effects movie
demanding ten times the usual prep, with a tenth of the usual budget.
I needed two solid months of pre-production to storyboard, find and
secure locations, build the sets and props, rehearse the actors and
pre-plan the hundreds of special effects." But Kaye was confident that
the resourceful filmmaker would make it all work, somehow. Jittlov
resigned from the Director's Guild, both as a matter of principle and to
avoid guild disputes over his multi-union overtime workload.
On September 22, the roller-coaster ride began. "Actually, it was more
like laying track in front of an on-coming express-train. The stress on
everybody was incredible," Jittlov recalls. And, just citing his own,
"Well...imagine suddenly directing yourself in a 35mm motion picture,
something that only seasoned actors do, as well as being ultimately
responsible for every job and aspect of film production, for making a
feature-length movie that will compete with professional big-budget
releases, that will handsomely reward your investor and everyone else,
and finally get the attention, confidence and backing of a good studio
producer for your future projects. It could be a little demanding.
Especially if you have never done this before."
His work didn't stop when he left the set, since his family home became
a major production, planning, and storage location. "We'd wrap at six,
conference for an hour, then I'd gulp down some breakfast-lunch-dinner
while rewriting the script. After a few hours building special effects,
the bike and robots, repairing electronics, then set-designing whatever
room we were filming in tomorrow, I'd drive around the city after
midnight scouting exterior locations. I'd finally get home and get to
sleep at about 3am, wake up at 7, greet the army and calm down angry
neighbors, sit for make-up as we rescheduled for equipment malfunctions
and weather problems, and then run the gamut again."
Speaking of weather, those months saw a parade of freak atmospheric
conditions in Southern California. "We had melting heatwaves, then
lightning and downpours, even a tornado downtown - and none of it
matched our script's schedule." One day saw a full crew filming twenty
girls running down a neighborhood street in bright sun, when a wave of
black clouds came boiling over L.A. "I got Russ to shoot some of that,
but the clouds turned into a waterfall", and the cast and crew rushed to
the modest house for cover. "So, we rescheduled for the interiors - the
crowded living room scene...and the quiet, sunny bedroom scene. Lights
and sky-boards were set up outside the windows, everything shielded with
tarps, as the rain really pouring and pounded the roof - and Paige and
I did this gentle romance with lightning booms every time we got close.
Her reaction in the out-takes was amazing."
Jittlov also did his own stuntwork, which worried co-producer Kaye. "He
was adamantly against my doing the pool scene, particularly the single
continuous film-take I'd scripted, but I knew it would be a unique shot."
Jittlov considered using a hidden breathing apparatus, "But we couldn't
find one and I didn't have time to rig anything, so I just put 16 pounds
of sheet lead around my waist, got thrown in, sank to the bottom and
held my breath for two minutes...I'm a Los Angeles native, I'm used to
not breathing." The on-screen tension around the pool was all too real.
And racing through real Hollywood traffic on a motorized suitcase nick-
named "Killer", just a heartbeat ahead of wildly swerving chase cars,
was the sort of acting that puts film insurance companies on edge. The
40mph suitcase was built by mechanics wizard Eddie Paul, and powered by
a Rolls Royce starter motor. "But there just wasn't time for Eddie to
engineer in a braking system and still meet production schedule", so
Jittlov just steered for the softest landings. "Still have the scars to
prove it. I found out the crew was even taking bets on my surviving
some of the stunts. But I was very confident in Gary (Schwartz) and
Philip (Michael Thomas), who did some phenomenal stunt-driving behind
me and never even scratched the paint."
Every shot had a story, and many could rate a movie all by themselves.
One of the most memorable occurred on October 31st - Halloween night.
"We were in the alleyway behind Hollywood Magic and Frederick's of
Hollywood, at 10 PM, the air was calm, and we were ready to film the
kissing scene. It was Paige's last night on the shoot, she even wore a
Frederick's dress and really looked radiant. Someone played a lonely
sax in the distance, but the soundman said `no problem', the mood was
perfect and we rolled camera. I whispered `action' ...and suddenly
there were loud crashes, sounds of glass shattering, people shouting."
Production halted, as one of the crew ran to investigate. The 1983
Halloween Riots were breaking out, all along Hollywood Boulevard, and
right on the other side of the building. In minutes, there were sirens
wailing and police helicopters shining spotlights everywhere.
"We were going into overtime, with a full crew in the middle of a combat
zone, I just wanted to get this critical shot and get us out of there."
Jittlov knew the sound could be looped and directed a retake, but the
production manager stopped it. "Part of the shot required a practical
effect, a small fountain of sparks back-lighting us. Although we had a
filming permit, we did not have the fire marshall, licensed effects
supervisor, and $500 permit required to set off a 50-cent firework on
cement pavement in a wide, brick-walled alley. With present conditions,
it was a cinch that we'd attract the riot squad."
They decided to wait it out, with Jittlov pacing - and as Halloween's
midnight neared, the coast and skies were finally clear. Fireworks,
camera, action...and the shot was perfect. "It was also a genuine first
kiss," Jittlov admits, "and I got to kiss `Miss Virginia of 1980'. Lot
of nice milestones in this movie."
Principle production lasted 18 weeks, going well beyond schedule. "Kaye
also decided we should refilm the Wizard Run sequence, and have me run
run through Japan, Europe, famous cities and locations, it'd really wow
the distributors. I asked what the Wizard was supposed to be doing in
all the locations, but he said I'd figure it out, we had to leave
immediately. His confidence was unshakable."
With a small crew and two cars, they filmed as they drove up to San
Francisco and Northern California, then over to Nevada and Las Vegas.
"It was crazy, we had no plans and no script. We were shooting in these
heavy-union towns without permits, and I'm running down the street in a
green robe with a smoking torch."
Editing space was set up in a side-room of their Hollywood office, and
Jittlov went to work. The Wizard Run short had to be completed first,
as a demonstrable taste of the feature's power. "It was a monster
jigsaw puzzle, making the pieces as I went and not knowing what it was
supposed to look like. You can't just throw a montage together, you
have to decide every cut with your emotions and keep at it until it
works. And when you realize the mathematics - there are over 3 million
ways just to arrange ten shots, nevermind judging each length and frame
cut - and that there are 280 shots in just four-and-a-half minutes of
the Wizard Run alone...I don't think anyone else really understood how
complex this movie was."
Foreign locations were created out of thousands of photos, taken by
Jittlov or clipped from travel brochures, with dozens collaged together
to make a single scene. Jittlov animated his Wizard character racing
across oceans and flying through space, zooming through forbidding
territories to obliterate barriers and sweep the dark into colorful day.
"Nothing stops the Creative Spirit, that was the message I was showing",
noted Jittlov. It was then up to John Massari's creative spirit to
produce, write, and orchestrate the score for the Wizard Run, as he
conducted a 70-piece orchestra of studio musicians in a whirlwind
one-day session. Steve Mann had a backbreaking job creating thousands
of sound effects, with a minimum of 60 tracks per reel, and the team
made a stereo mix in a single afternoon.
Kaye took the completed segment to Cannes '84, to initiate foreign
pre-sales interest, as Jittlov dived into editing the rest of the movie.
Later that summer, several weeks were spent with a small crew, shooting
transition shots and Mike's workshop scenes. The Wizard Run was shown
in connection with the 1984 Olympics, to cheering audiences and glowing
reviews. A sneak preview at the 1984 World Science Fiction convention
brought an equally thunderous reaction from 1,600 fantasy fans, who
demanded an immediate encore showing. Feelings were very high.
The financial situation, however, was very low. Jittlov had kept costs
down by working for free since November 1983, deferring all of his pay
until after the investors were repaid. "I also broke the cardinal rule
of filmmaking, by putting my savings and everything I'd made back into
production. But it kept the office and editing going." Kaye seconded
that by sub-leasing the Wizard office out to other productions.
Bizarre problems continued to mount, until "I think we were actually
fighting World War III with Murphy's Law." Jittlov had to track down
the film negative on several occasions, when it was mistakenly picked
up by 20th Century Fox. "They were shooting a TV series called "The
Wizard", and developing the footage at our lab. It was an amusing
little mix-up, and my hair grew back eventually." Brian Thomas joined
the Wizard crew, performing an ever-growing number of jobs including
driving the Jittlov family truck as Mike stood in the backbed with a
camera brace and literally got his "pickup" shots.
While Kaye looked for further funding and the office was relocated,
Jittlov continued to work on friends' editing tables, repairing their
equipment in exchange for time. Potential backers were seldom used to
seeing and understanding a rough-cut movie - especially with so many
effects scenes yet to be completed - so Jittlov meticulously scratched
into the workprint sparkles and lightning so realistic that many thought
them finished effects. "We probably should have included Xacto in the
credit roll."
In 1986, Kaye secured completion funding through Shapiro Entertainment.
And 1987 saw a full year of post-production activity with Kaye taking
the creative reins, supervising the songs and music selection, and the
sound mixing.
| Herein expunged: several years (and too many pages) of stress,
| sacrifices, disturbing revelations, a life insurance peccadillo,
| illegal accounting, account books vanishing, lab losing negative,
| a godawful soundmix, production accounts transferred, production
| accounts disappearing, illegal property transfer, incompetent film
| distribution, financier dying (liver damage), then sudden success
| - snatched from the jaws of victory as Universal's THE WIZARD is
| released, industrial intrigue, production office lock-out, partner
| vanishing with all production files & equipment, production (and
| partner's) attorney dying (unknown causes), financier's agent
| disappearing, financier's widow disappearing, and much much more.
|
| "Let's keep it quiet, keep it, upbeat... People don't wanta know
| about this, y'understand? Because it's nobody's business."
| -- unnamed producer of nobody's business
"The making of "The Wizard of Speed and Time" is almost like a fable,
fraught with frustration, disappointment, and joy", Kaye suggests. "I
think the overall effect is a basic entertainment piece, it is designed
to make people feel good. I'd say the film is a campy portrayal of
Hollywood, and contains the broadest range audience in a long time.
It's for young people and older people. It's visually exciting and very
moral. The cutting style is similar to MTV, but it's not derivative...
it's very trippy. There's a lot of upfront visual information as well
as background information that is hard to notice at first glance...
split-second shots where you see a complexity of images."
"I guess you could say it's `Walt Disney Meets Monty Python'. As well
as a glimpse into a corner of Americana that's rarely seen anymore -
with a real family, and home, and honest labor captured on film," notes
Jittlov. "And two of my best friends, Deven and John, actually found
their wives because of the "WIZARD" filming - that's pretty wonderful
all by itself."
COMING NEXT, on Presskit Part Two: Production Team, Production Cast
_________________________________________ ___._`.*.'_._ ________
Mike Jittlov - Wizard, etc . . + * .o o.* `.`. +.
Hollywood, CA 90026-2714 ' * . ' ' |\^/| `. * . *
jittlov@gumby.cs.caltech.edu (: May All Your \V/ Good Dreams
<& alt.fan.mike-jittlov> and Fine Wishes /_\ Come True:)
============================================== _/ \_ ===========
(c) 1989 by Mike Jittlov (for all the protection that provides)
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