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Excerpt from Interview with Ray Dennis Steckler |
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STECKLER: Once I worked at Universal as a grip on the Alfred Hitchcock Presents show. You know what A-frames are? They are big heavy A-frames that you clamp on flats that are 12Õ long, with wheels on both sides, and you wheel them around. Anyway, I got this flat and they told me, ÒGet it out of here and take it over to the other set.Ó And when youÕre working as a grip you move very fast. (I did; I donÕt know what they do today.) So I got this thing and started wheeling it [makes race car-like noises] rrrrrrrr. Just as I got to a corner I missed Hitchcock by that much! And he was like this [Ray jumps to his feet and stands in profile assuming the classic Hitchcock pose, perfectly mimicking his posture and facial expression]. If IÕd hit him IÕd have knocked his head off! And he went over to this guy and whispered in his ear and he looked at me and the guy looked at me . . . I said, ÒDonÕt say it; IÕll go get my card, I know.Ó And I walked over and punched out and went home. I knew I was going to get fired (and I was right) because IÕd been going too fast. I thought, ÒWhat if I had killed Alfred Hitchcock?!Ó Of all people, you know? Ah, it was great! R/S: When you make films do you improvise much? S: All the time, because when you work with amateurs you really have to be ready to get the best out of what you can get. Those kids werenÕt trained actors at all. I donÕt know how good that is: to get actors who have no ability. A lot of kids who study acting arenÕt worth shit, and are never gonna be worth anything! And just because you study doesnÕt make you good, either. You might find a guy walking down the street who could have more impact than a professional actor—if heÕs used correctly. In Europe in the Õ20s (silent movies) they found all their actors in the streets. Nobody had to take acting lessons back then; thatÕs why there were so many great faces. Because even if a guy couldnÕt act, they could make use of his face. Today an actor has to talk, and if he talks he can blow the whole thing: ÒMy, name, is, Harry.Ó What do you do, Harry? ÒI, murdered, fifty, women, last, year; they, did, not, like, my, looks.Ó Oh, okay, Harry. Now if you did a silent movie and HarryÕs face came on with a subtitle that said, ÒHarry murdered 50 women last year,Ó whoaaa is what youÕd think. Because youÕd never know that when he opens his mouth heÕs a turkey. R/S: I wanted to ask you if you have always been rebellious. S: IÕm only rebellious around bullshit. I mean, I can conform to any situation but when it gets to bullshit, I canÕt handle it, and thereÕs too much of it in Hollywood. Nobody wants to just sit down and say, ÒHereÕs what we have to do and letÕs do it.Ó They donÕt know those words. ItÕs like, ÒOkay, letÕs figure out how weÕre going to do this, and how much money we can take and put in our pockets.Ó They hire production managers who are supposed to save money for the company, but all they do
is get kickbacks everywhere they go. (Not every one of them—but too many of them.) In
other words, everybodyÕs out for their own benefit; nobody gives a shit about making a really good
movie. European filmmakers get out there; if they say to an actor, ÒStand here, itÕs raining, and
donÕt move until we get the shot,Ó he stands there in the freezing rain until they get the shot. In
Hollywood, you arenÕt going to see a star standing in the rain—none of them. TheyÕre all
wet, anyway!
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