Blue Thunder

1 00:00:06,173 --> 00:00:09,259 Hi, I'm John Badham. I'm the director of this picture. 2 00:00:09,426 --> 00:00:11,053 And sitting with me... 3 00:00:11,220 --> 00:00:13,680 I'm Frank Morriss. I'm the editor. 4 00:00:13,847 --> 00:00:17,392 {\an8}Lucky enough to be the editor of this movie. 5 00:00:18,268 --> 00:00:21,772 {\an8}It's a very interesting picture because though a lot of people... 6 00:00:21,939 --> 00:00:23,440 ...thought it was science fiction... 7 00:00:23,607 --> 00:00:26,235 ...we always looked at it as science fact. 8 00:00:26,401 --> 00:00:31,114 And so the message here is mostly true. 9 00:00:31,281 --> 00:00:34,368 And many of the things that are not quite true... 10 00:00:34,535 --> 00:00:36,703 ...were not quite true at the time... 11 00:00:36,870 --> 00:00:41,458 ...such things that we'll run into as "whisper mode" and so on. 12 00:00:41,625 --> 00:00:44,503 And yet, a lot of these innovative things... 13 00:00:44,670 --> 00:00:47,548 ...weren't actually happening at the time. 14 00:00:49,424 --> 00:00:51,218 Reiss. 15 00:00:51,385 --> 00:00:52,427 Maloney. 16 00:00:54,846 --> 00:00:57,975 The Los Angeles helicopter squad... 17 00:00:58,141 --> 00:01:01,853 ...is one of the best in the country... 18 00:01:02,020 --> 00:01:07,734 ...and it's the only way that they're able to cover this huge area of Los Angeles. 19 00:01:07,901 --> 00:01:11,780 They're up in the air almost 20 hours a day. 20 00:01:13,323 --> 00:01:17,619 Where we're shooting right here is a brand-new facility... 21 00:01:17,786 --> 00:01:22,124 ...that they had not moved into, and they let us use it. 22 00:01:22,291 --> 00:01:24,626 Sir, Lieutenant Kress wants you on the pad. 23 00:01:24,793 --> 00:01:27,546 Yes, this was the actual location for this. 24 00:01:27,713 --> 00:01:30,215 Well, actually, we had built this part. 25 00:01:30,382 --> 00:01:33,844 We built this on top of their location. 26 00:01:34,011 --> 00:01:36,263 We added it in. 27 00:01:36,430 --> 00:01:39,016 And this was my own Casio watch... 28 00:01:39,182 --> 00:01:43,520 ...where I found it would come up with that little weird countdown. 29 00:01:43,687 --> 00:01:46,064 And it was always Dan O'Bannon's idea... 30 00:01:46,231 --> 00:01:50,444 ...that somebody trying to test his sanity would... 31 00:01:50,611 --> 00:01:53,905 ...see if he could tell time with his eyes closed. 32 00:01:55,115 --> 00:01:57,200 Murph, feeling any pressure? 33 00:01:57,451 --> 00:02:00,996 Yeah, about 15 pounds per square inch at sea level. 34 00:02:01,246 --> 00:02:02,956 Where's Montoya? 35 00:02:03,206 --> 00:02:06,835 Don't you check the duty board? He's on days. 36 00:02:07,044 --> 00:02:10,297 We were very lucky to have what was the last performance... 37 00:02:10,464 --> 00:02:15,218 ...from Warren Oates, who's on the right of Roy Scheider. 38 00:02:15,385 --> 00:02:19,306 And then a very young Daniel Stern here, who's, you know... 39 00:02:19,473 --> 00:02:22,392 ...a wonderful comic influence. 40 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:30,074 41 00:02:32,778 --> 00:02:35,113 If it was me, I'd ground him. 42 00:02:35,364 --> 00:02:36,740 He'll be all right. 43 00:02:36,990 --> 00:02:41,119 Personally, I wouldn't fly with him for a bull that pissed Jack Daniels. 44 00:02:41,912 --> 00:02:43,372 Is that right? 45 00:02:43,538 --> 00:02:45,499 Warren was so terrific in this scene. 46 00:02:45,666 --> 00:02:49,878 Oh, yeah. Warren had a wonderful, dry humor. 47 00:02:50,045 --> 00:02:55,342 {\an8}With the other actor, Jack Murdock, I wanted somebody who sounded like... 48 00:02:55,509 --> 00:02:58,428 {\an8}...he could piss Jack Daniel's. Like he had had so much... 49 00:02:58,595 --> 00:03:03,475 {\an8}...go through his system with that gravelly, gravelly voice. 50 00:03:03,725 --> 00:03:06,353 Now, at the time that we did this picture... 51 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,731 ...computer technology really did not exist. 52 00:03:09,898 --> 00:03:14,486 So that almost all the day footage... 53 00:03:14,653 --> 00:03:18,824 ...that we see here in the helicopter, was shot up in the sky. 54 00:03:18,990 --> 00:03:23,120 And our guys are actually up in the sky... 55 00:03:23,286 --> 00:03:25,872 ...as we fly along with them. 56 00:03:27,207 --> 00:03:31,044 And we're looking not at a computerized background here... 57 00:03:31,211 --> 00:03:36,425 ...but shooting from the little control tower that we had built on top of... 58 00:03:36,591 --> 00:03:42,305 ...what's known as the Piper Tech facility in Downtown Los Angeles. 59 00:03:42,472 --> 00:03:46,768 And it's where the city of Los Angeles keeps all of its vehicles... 60 00:03:46,935 --> 00:03:49,020 ...and including its helicopter that's on-- 61 00:03:49,187 --> 00:03:55,193 Helicopters, that is on the top pad. 62 00:03:59,781 --> 00:04:01,450 So... 63 00:04:02,117 --> 00:04:07,330 Then we have to make a transition to night here. 64 00:04:07,497 --> 00:04:12,627 And at that point, it really was not safe to be up trying to fly around... 65 00:04:12,794 --> 00:04:14,463 ...in the sky and work at night... 66 00:04:14,629 --> 00:04:20,469 ...so that we actually did use what is an old-fashioned technology... 67 00:04:20,635 --> 00:04:22,471 ...called "rear projection." 68 00:04:22,637 --> 00:04:27,684 And what's behind the guys here is film that's running-- 69 00:04:27,851 --> 00:04:30,812 That you could see with your eye as you were standing there. 70 00:04:30,979 --> 00:04:36,234 And Jim Gavin, the helicopter pilot, and Frank Holgate... 71 00:04:36,401 --> 00:04:40,447 ...would go out at night and film all of these backgrounds. 72 00:04:40,614 --> 00:04:43,533 The ones that you see sweeping past them here. 73 00:04:43,700 --> 00:04:47,579 The points of view down at the drug dealers... 74 00:04:47,746 --> 00:04:50,874 ...who are in Westwood Village, which we all know to be a haven... 75 00:04:51,041 --> 00:04:53,710 ...for drug dealing. 76 00:04:53,877 --> 00:04:56,379 If you want any crack, or anything like that... 77 00:04:56,546 --> 00:05:00,509 ...just go to the corner of Westwood and-- Never mind. 78 00:05:00,884 --> 00:05:03,053 -That's for us. <i>-He's armed and has a hostage.</i> 79 00:05:03,220 --> 00:05:05,180 Well, call it in. 80 00:05:05,430 --> 00:05:09,059 Air-12 to Central. Proceeding to the 211 at Burbank and Vineland. 81 00:05:10,685 --> 00:05:13,772 A lot of the shots we actually used were test shots... 82 00:05:13,939 --> 00:05:17,025 ...that turned out to be very useful. 83 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:22,072 As we were trying to figure out: How do you photograph something at night... 84 00:05:22,239 --> 00:05:25,033 ...and it doesn't look like it's got huge spotlights all over it? 85 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:29,079 It was a very tricky, technical challenge because the film... 86 00:05:29,246 --> 00:05:34,292 ...at the time, was not nearly as fast as the Kodak film that we have now. 87 00:05:34,459 --> 00:05:41,049 So John Alonzo, the cinematographer, was stretching it to its limits. 88 00:05:44,928 --> 00:05:46,930 Hit him! Hit him with the light. 89 00:05:48,807 --> 00:05:50,433 I got him. 90 00:05:53,436 --> 00:05:56,356 The light on the bottom of the helicopter... 91 00:05:56,523 --> 00:06:01,695 ...is popularly known in the helicopter squad as the "midnight sun." 92 00:06:01,862 --> 00:06:05,282 And it puts out a tremendous light. 93 00:06:05,448 --> 00:06:10,078 And this particular incident that's happening right here... 94 00:06:10,245 --> 00:06:14,583 ...we learned from the helicopter police as something they had spotted... 95 00:06:14,749 --> 00:06:17,502 ...with a cop stopping somebody on the freeway for a ticket... 96 00:06:17,669 --> 00:06:19,504 ...and then somebody snuck up on him. 97 00:06:19,671 --> 00:06:24,968 And the observer in the helicopter was able to radio down... 98 00:06:25,135 --> 00:06:28,722 ...to the ground unit and save the guy from being shot by this guy... 99 00:06:28,889 --> 00:06:30,891 ...who was sneaking up. 100 00:06:33,602 --> 00:06:35,770 And when I was riding in the helicopter... 101 00:06:35,937 --> 00:06:38,940 ...we actually watched them do this to another guy... 102 00:06:39,107 --> 00:06:44,279 ...who was really misbehaving and building a fire out in the woods... 103 00:06:44,446 --> 00:06:46,323 ...where he shouldn't be building a fire. 104 00:06:46,489 --> 00:06:49,743 And when the police told him to put the fire out... 105 00:06:49,910 --> 00:06:52,913 ...and get out of there, he shot them the finger. 106 00:06:53,079 --> 00:06:56,791 And the helicopter just dropped down, right 10 feet above his head... 107 00:06:56,958 --> 00:06:58,793 ...and completely drowned the guy in dust. 108 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,421 That also put the fire out. 109 00:07:12,933 --> 00:07:16,811 Sir, what was the business with the watch? 110 00:07:19,564 --> 00:07:22,025 Back in the Ready Room, with the watch? 111 00:07:22,609 --> 00:07:24,235 Sort of a test. 112 00:07:24,486 --> 00:07:26,655 If you think you're going over the edge... 113 00:07:26,905 --> 00:07:28,949 ...you lose your sense of time. 114 00:07:29,199 --> 00:07:32,661 With your eyes shut, you can't tell 25 seconds from 5. 115 00:07:34,913 --> 00:07:38,416 We were able to take a trip on the helicopter... 116 00:07:38,583 --> 00:07:43,630 ...and one of the police pilots told our guy that they get shot at... 117 00:07:43,797 --> 00:07:50,261 ...and all kinds of trouble from the street. 118 00:07:50,679 --> 00:07:54,724 Yeah. And helicopters are very delicate little beasts... 119 00:07:54,891 --> 00:07:58,019 ...as you probably know. 120 00:07:58,186 --> 00:08:01,856 They really are high-maintenance to the ultimate. 121 00:08:02,023 --> 00:08:07,028 A fixed-wing airplane will run like an old Toyota, forever. 122 00:08:07,195 --> 00:08:10,615 But helicopters, you have to be constantly... 123 00:08:10,782 --> 00:08:12,450 ...constantly maintaining them. 124 00:08:12,617 --> 00:08:15,662 So the idea of somebody shooting at them from the ground... 125 00:08:15,829 --> 00:08:18,415 ...is very, very dangerous. 126 00:08:19,499 --> 00:08:23,878 The incident that happened, relating to the movie the <i>Twilight Zone...</i> 127 00:08:24,045 --> 00:08:25,964 ...happened after this movie. 128 00:08:26,131 --> 00:08:30,093 And that was an incident where the helicopter... 129 00:08:30,260 --> 00:08:32,387 ...had an explosion go off underneath it... 130 00:08:32,554 --> 00:08:35,765 ...and its rotor blades broke off, and it came down... 131 00:08:35,932 --> 00:08:39,728 ...and killed Vic Morrow, who was underneath the helicopter. 132 00:08:39,894 --> 00:08:43,940 So the danger of these things is very real... 133 00:08:44,107 --> 00:08:46,568 ...and you have to be very careful around them... 134 00:08:46,735 --> 00:08:49,320 ...because they're finicky beasts. 135 00:08:52,323 --> 00:08:54,784 I suppose you deserve the full initiation. 136 00:08:55,035 --> 00:08:57,454 You might as well have your picture taken. 137 00:09:17,974 --> 00:09:22,103 Here's a house that's way out in the north end of the San Fernando Valley. 138 00:09:22,270 --> 00:09:25,690 And we had to look for the longest time to find something... 139 00:09:25,857 --> 00:09:30,904 ...that we could fly the helicopter outside the building and look inside... 140 00:09:31,071 --> 00:09:35,992 ...and be able to watch this young woman doing yoga. 141 00:09:37,577 --> 00:09:39,537 Oh, my God! There she is. 142 00:09:39,704 --> 00:09:42,457 And we had to keep the pilot of the helicopter... 143 00:09:42,624 --> 00:09:44,042 ...as we're photographing this-- 144 00:09:44,209 --> 00:09:47,796 Keep him from looking over at her as she undressed... 145 00:09:47,962 --> 00:09:50,840 ...and was doing her yoga poses. 146 00:09:52,759 --> 00:09:54,385 Ten-thirty, right on the dot! 147 00:09:55,762 --> 00:10:00,683 If there's one quality that I admire in a person, it's punctuality. 148 00:10:02,393 --> 00:10:07,148 Over in one of the corners of that room is her boyfriend... 149 00:10:07,315 --> 00:10:11,277 ...probably with a gun, to protect her... 150 00:10:11,444 --> 00:10:17,242 ...as she did all of this yoga posing. 151 00:10:17,617 --> 00:10:21,121 She was a very flexible, flexible woman. 152 00:10:24,791 --> 00:10:27,001 Would you look at her tan? 153 00:10:31,339 --> 00:10:33,508 It's so... Oh, it's so even! 154 00:10:34,259 --> 00:10:36,427 Gee, I forgot we got this close. 155 00:10:36,928 --> 00:10:41,099 I had remembered it as this, like, long shot. 156 00:10:41,266 --> 00:10:44,978 But obviously not. 157 00:10:49,774 --> 00:10:52,193 One of the things about working at night... 158 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:57,782 ...is that you have to deal with all the people that live around... 159 00:10:57,949 --> 00:11:00,076 ...where you're shooting. 160 00:11:00,243 --> 00:11:03,538 Where the liquor store was, about three or four minutes ago... 161 00:11:03,705 --> 00:11:05,915 ...in the movie, was in North Hollywood... 162 00:11:06,082 --> 00:11:09,419 ...and the police made us shut down by midnight... 163 00:11:09,586 --> 00:11:11,588 ...because otherwise we'd be keeping people up. 164 00:11:11,754 --> 00:11:15,008 And as it was, a lot of people go to bed much earlier than that. 165 00:11:15,592 --> 00:11:17,302 So this particular part... 166 00:11:17,468 --> 00:11:20,847 ...where we were gonna have to shoot for two or three nights... 167 00:11:21,014 --> 00:11:26,227 ...was done on the Warner Bros backlot... 168 00:11:26,394 --> 00:11:28,313 ...now called the Warner Ranch. 169 00:11:28,479 --> 00:11:31,316 And this is one of their regular sets that eventually... 170 00:11:31,482 --> 00:11:35,612 ...became the house that's in the first <i>Lethal Weapon.</i> 171 00:11:35,778 --> 00:11:37,447 Danny Glover's house. 172 00:11:37,614 --> 00:11:42,619 But we set it up so we could do this flying overhead... 173 00:11:42,785 --> 00:11:47,165 ...and shoot this very elaborate sequence... 174 00:11:47,332 --> 00:11:50,126 ...with a killing of a city councilwoman. 175 00:11:50,585 --> 00:11:54,756 So we'll say goodbye to our yoga girl... 176 00:11:54,923 --> 00:11:59,093 ...and go back to the backlot of the Warner Bros. Ranch. 177 00:12:00,595 --> 00:12:03,431 Oh, shit! Come on, let's go, man! 178 00:12:05,642 --> 00:12:06,768 Around the back. 179 00:12:08,436 --> 00:12:10,230 Hold it! Freeze! 180 00:12:26,579 --> 00:12:28,373 He's bought it. Get on the other guy. 181 00:12:30,166 --> 00:12:35,421 As we're starting to film this movie, we realised... 182 00:12:35,588 --> 00:12:40,385 ...that we were having to shoot every scene several times. 183 00:12:40,551 --> 00:12:43,513 We'd have to film it from the helicopter, like this angle... 184 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:47,725 ...and then we'd have to film the close-ups of Roy Scheider... 185 00:12:47,892 --> 00:12:49,936 ...and his buddy on the stage. 186 00:12:50,103 --> 00:12:53,064 And then we would probably be down on the ground... 187 00:12:53,231 --> 00:12:58,319 ...actually shooting the sequence from down on the ground. 188 00:13:04,450 --> 00:13:08,871 Yes, we actually threw this guy out of the helicopter. 189 00:13:09,038 --> 00:13:12,917 Bill Ryusaki, who is a sensei master... 190 00:13:13,084 --> 00:13:17,005 ...was roped on to the helicopter, and harnessed and everything... 191 00:13:17,171 --> 00:13:24,012 ...so he could fall out and drop down about 20 feet out of camera. 192 00:13:24,178 --> 00:13:27,849 And then we'd have to haul him back up if we needed to do it again. 193 00:13:28,016 --> 00:13:30,560 We only had to throw him out three or four times. 194 00:13:30,727 --> 00:13:35,273 And even though he's a stunt guy, and skilled and brave as anything... 195 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:40,653 ...it'll upset you. And I think it made him pretty sick. 196 00:13:42,363 --> 00:13:45,283 But he did such a good job there... 197 00:13:45,450 --> 00:13:50,038 ...that we brought him back on <i>Point of No Return...</i> 198 00:13:50,204 --> 00:13:52,665 ...to be teaching martial arts. 199 00:13:52,832 --> 00:13:54,208 -You remember that, Frank? -Yeah. 200 00:13:54,375 --> 00:13:56,627 That's where you told me, "That's a sucker punch." 201 00:13:56,961 --> 00:14:01,382 Air-12, wind 150 degrees at 22, clear to land. 202 00:14:02,633 --> 00:14:06,220 Air-14, 1150 degrees at 12, clear for takeoff. 203 00:14:07,180 --> 00:14:09,974 The old man wants to see both of you. Right now! 204 00:14:14,103 --> 00:14:17,648 -I like your haircut. -I like yours too. 205 00:14:26,949 --> 00:14:30,661 So a couple of things here of interest: 206 00:14:30,828 --> 00:14:33,790 This is a set that we built. 207 00:14:33,956 --> 00:14:37,960 Philip Harrison, the English designer... 208 00:14:38,127 --> 00:14:40,755 ...who did <i>Outland</i> with Peter Hyams... 209 00:14:40,922 --> 00:14:45,134 ...and several movies with me afterwards, built this set. 210 00:14:45,301 --> 00:14:49,055 And we wanted to see the background of Los Angeles... 211 00:14:49,222 --> 00:14:52,892 ...so we shot photographic plates at night... 212 00:14:53,059 --> 00:14:57,397 ...and we could project them during the scene. 213 00:14:57,855 --> 00:15:00,900 ...while Commissioner McNeely was getting beaten... 214 00:15:01,109 --> 00:15:04,362 ...in her own front yard in fashionable Brentwood. 215 00:15:06,781 --> 00:15:09,367 Warren Oates said something so interesting to me. 216 00:15:09,534 --> 00:15:11,702 As we were doing this scene, we were having trouble... 217 00:15:11,869 --> 00:15:14,205 ...with the background plates. 218 00:15:14,372 --> 00:15:17,875 And sometimes they would run out, or the film would break... 219 00:15:18,042 --> 00:15:21,671 ...so you'd just see a white screen behind him. 220 00:15:21,838 --> 00:15:24,048 So that wasn't any good. We have to do it again. 221 00:15:24,215 --> 00:15:26,259 So I apologized to him. At one point, I said: 222 00:15:26,426 --> 00:15:30,179 "I'm sorry, Warren, that we're having to go through this again." 223 00:15:30,346 --> 00:15:35,268 And he said, "Listen, son, I'll do this stuff all day long. 224 00:15:35,435 --> 00:15:37,520 I love doing this stuff." 225 00:15:37,687 --> 00:15:42,316 And that's the kind of professional actor he was, you know. 226 00:15:42,483 --> 00:15:46,487 Just brought all of his energy and all of his enthusiasm. 227 00:15:46,654 --> 00:15:50,074 All of these guys did. You know, what real pros are like... 228 00:15:50,241 --> 00:15:53,911 ...and how they can keep their enthusiasm take after take... 229 00:15:54,078 --> 00:15:58,458 ...and keep it fresh, so it doesn't sound robotic. 230 00:15:59,167 --> 00:16:00,877 That rapists don't travel in pairs? 231 00:16:01,043 --> 00:16:05,715 What bothers me is, some son of a bitch may ask what you were doing... 232 00:16:05,965 --> 00:16:08,926 -...five miles out of your patrol area! -Sir-- Sir-- 233 00:16:09,177 --> 00:16:11,095 When I talk to you, I'll look at you. 234 00:16:11,345 --> 00:16:14,640 It was my fault. I talked Murphy into taking us there. 235 00:16:14,849 --> 00:16:18,603 You're supposed to be stupid, son. Don't abuse the privilege. 236 00:16:18,895 --> 00:16:22,565 You think I haven't heard about that silly twit out in Encino? 237 00:16:24,609 --> 00:16:27,862 I just saw us change a word there. 238 00:16:28,029 --> 00:16:32,992 Broadcast Standards got on us for one little word. 239 00:16:34,744 --> 00:16:39,707 Remember, Officer Murphy, there are people who don't like police officers. 240 00:16:39,957 --> 00:16:44,545 They do not like the idea of helicopters flying over their homes... 241 00:16:44,754 --> 00:16:46,464 ...peeking in their windows. 242 00:16:46,923 --> 00:16:49,342 You know what they'll do? They'll burn you... 243 00:16:49,592 --> 00:16:53,262 ...me, your idiotic friend here, and my whole damn division. 244 00:16:53,513 --> 00:16:55,139 I don't want my division burnt! 245 00:16:55,389 --> 00:16:57,767 So here's the way it's coming down! 246 00:16:58,935 --> 00:17:01,771 -You're grounded. Both of you! -Grounded? 247 00:17:02,021 --> 00:17:05,942 I gotta figure out where to hide you until this crap blows over. 248 00:17:06,192 --> 00:17:08,277 Get out of here, Lymangood. 249 00:17:08,736 --> 00:17:10,947 The Daniel Stern character, Lymangood... 250 00:17:11,113 --> 00:17:14,242 ...was just a guy who was seen in one scene... 251 00:17:14,408 --> 00:17:19,747 ...so we had somebody for Roy to talk to while he was up in the air... 252 00:17:19,914 --> 00:17:24,210 ...and somebody else who we could use to explain things to... 253 00:17:24,377 --> 00:17:28,214 ...and a character that we could get to like that, later in the movie... 254 00:17:28,381 --> 00:17:32,927 ...he gets killed, which propels Scheider into the whole action... 255 00:17:33,094 --> 00:17:35,846 ...of the last third of the movie. 256 00:17:38,140 --> 00:17:40,601 Morals are good for you. I love morals. 257 00:17:40,851 --> 00:17:45,648 And the moral of this story is: If you are walking on eggs, don't hop. 258 00:17:48,067 --> 00:17:49,235 That's it. 259 00:17:50,069 --> 00:17:53,364 Scheider brought the humor of the piece up... 260 00:17:53,531 --> 00:17:56,033 ...so that it wasn't quite such a dark kind of mystery. 261 00:17:58,953 --> 00:18:01,998 Now, listen to what Scheider says here. 262 00:18:35,906 --> 00:18:40,328 The script development process on this particular movie... 263 00:18:40,494 --> 00:18:44,206 ...was quite complicated and protracted. 264 00:18:44,373 --> 00:18:45,833 I guess they always are. 265 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,961 Because Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby... 266 00:18:49,128 --> 00:18:52,673 ...had written a very exciting adventure... 267 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,927 ...and it was quite thrilling. 268 00:18:57,094 --> 00:18:59,305 But there were all kinds of possibilities. 269 00:18:59,472 --> 00:19:02,683 And people at Columbia Pictures, at the time... 270 00:19:02,850 --> 00:19:05,936 ...kept saying, "Well, we need more of this kind of an adventure." 271 00:19:06,103 --> 00:19:08,939 Or, "Maybe this doesn't work as well. Try something different." 272 00:19:09,106 --> 00:19:13,903 So right as that happened, there was a big writers strike... 273 00:19:14,070 --> 00:19:19,784 ...that went on for several months, as I remember. 274 00:19:19,950 --> 00:19:24,955 And so we were stymied because Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby... 275 00:19:25,122 --> 00:19:27,541 ...weren't allowed to write. 276 00:19:30,461 --> 00:19:35,049 <i>I don't know whether a postcard from Laguna means we're speaking again...</i> 277 00:19:36,300 --> 00:19:38,678 <i>...but call me when you get in, okay?</i> 278 00:19:38,928 --> 00:19:43,599 <i>Even if we're not speaking, call me. Please? Okay, huh?</i> 279 00:19:48,062 --> 00:19:50,773 <i>Hello. I'm back.</i> 280 00:19:50,981 --> 00:19:53,401 <i>Is there no getting rid of this chick?</i> 281 00:19:54,694 --> 00:19:59,281 <i>The reason I'm pressing is that I've got a really big favour I need.</i> 282 00:19:59,490 --> 00:20:01,951 <i>I'm desperate! Desperate!</i> 283 00:20:02,910 --> 00:20:05,621 <i>No matter what time it is, call me.</i> 284 00:20:05,871 --> 00:20:08,207 <i>Please. Bye.</i> 285 00:20:33,649 --> 00:20:34,942 Freeze! 286 00:20:35,192 --> 00:20:36,485 For chrissake, Murphy! 287 00:20:39,739 --> 00:20:41,574 You wanna get yourself killed? 288 00:20:41,824 --> 00:20:45,661 You bozo! How many burglars come in the front door with a key? 289 00:20:45,911 --> 00:20:49,165 -You scared the shit out of me. -I'm sorry. 290 00:20:49,373 --> 00:20:50,750 Came to make friends. 291 00:20:54,879 --> 00:20:56,088 Here's your key. 292 00:20:59,300 --> 00:21:01,802 Well, I guess that makes that official. 293 00:21:04,472 --> 00:21:06,182 Where's my blender? I need it. 294 00:21:07,892 --> 00:21:08,976 At 3:00 a.m.? 295 00:21:09,226 --> 00:21:12,438 You have this problem. You don't return phone calls. 296 00:21:12,980 --> 00:21:14,148 In the kitchen. 297 00:21:16,609 --> 00:21:17,818 Hold him for me. 298 00:21:19,528 --> 00:21:21,614 This kid must be deaf. 299 00:21:22,531 --> 00:21:26,327 -You coming? -Where? 300 00:21:26,577 --> 00:21:29,205 The Shocks' anniversary party. You remember. 301 00:21:29,455 --> 00:21:33,501 Annie's been open for a year now. We're gonna have guacamole... 302 00:21:33,751 --> 00:21:36,045 ...and margaritas... 303 00:21:36,253 --> 00:21:38,506 ...and chile rellenos-- 304 00:21:41,300 --> 00:21:43,511 Fat chance, huh? 305 00:21:45,054 --> 00:21:47,473 That must've been some leave you had in Laguna. 306 00:21:47,681 --> 00:21:50,810 What did you do? Spend all your time on the pistol range? 307 00:21:51,519 --> 00:21:53,187 Here it is! 308 00:21:55,815 --> 00:21:57,900 What's this? 309 00:22:06,575 --> 00:22:11,372 When we were casting this woman, there were lots of possibilities. 310 00:22:11,539 --> 00:22:16,710 But I had always liked Candy Clark from <i>American Graffiti.</i> 311 00:22:16,877 --> 00:22:19,797 And there's just something slightly, you know, wacky... 312 00:22:19,964 --> 00:22:25,302 ...and kooky about her. She just had kind of a fun thing about her. 313 00:22:25,469 --> 00:22:30,474 So she was the one that wound up with this part. 314 00:22:30,724 --> 00:22:32,977 Maybe you ought to trade me in on a surfer. 315 00:22:33,227 --> 00:22:37,940 Well, I tried that once, but it didn't work. 316 00:22:38,774 --> 00:22:41,068 Come to think of it, neither did he. 317 00:22:41,861 --> 00:22:43,112 Good night, Murphy. 318 00:22:45,322 --> 00:22:47,741 Good night, you little faker. 319 00:22:48,868 --> 00:22:50,452 Watch your legs. 320 00:22:53,455 --> 00:23:00,254 This particular location is real near to Dodger Stadium and Chavez Ravine. 321 00:23:00,421 --> 00:23:05,092 It had a nice look over the city of Los Angeles. 322 00:23:05,259 --> 00:23:06,719 Little tiny, tiny house. 323 00:23:06,886 --> 00:23:13,475 But still, you know, even little tiny houses can have great views. 324 00:23:14,393 --> 00:23:19,064 Frank, I'm gonna have to get tough on you. Are you ready for that? 325 00:23:19,857 --> 00:23:21,317 I'm ready. 326 00:23:32,828 --> 00:23:36,165 Roy Scheider always said she was a great kisser. 327 00:23:37,041 --> 00:23:39,793 I never got to find out myself, but... 328 00:23:43,047 --> 00:23:45,257 Nor did I. 329 00:23:47,885 --> 00:23:52,097 <i>Five, four, three, two, one...</i> 330 00:23:52,348 --> 00:23:53,974 Cue Mario, take one. 331 00:23:54,224 --> 00:23:58,854 <i>The top story is still the assault and attempted rape of Diana McNeely...</i> 332 00:23:59,104 --> 00:24:01,649 <i>...of the mayor's Task Force on Urban Violence.</i> 333 00:24:03,233 --> 00:24:09,657 I could see a director in a yellow shirt there, sitting on the far end. 334 00:24:09,823 --> 00:24:13,160 Somehow, I managed to sneak myself into the movie. 335 00:24:13,827 --> 00:24:16,705 At least I'm not trying to act... 336 00:24:16,956 --> 00:24:18,958 ...which is a mercy for you. 337 00:24:19,959 --> 00:24:23,045 <i>--Which was stolen from a Santa Monica parking lot.</i> 338 00:24:23,462 --> 00:24:26,590 <i>It is unclear what impact this incident will have...</i> 339 00:24:26,799 --> 00:24:30,803 <i>...on the minority community and the increasing racial tensions that--</i> 340 00:24:30,970 --> 00:24:35,432 I think you did a wonderful job last night, too, by the way, with the-- 341 00:24:35,599 --> 00:24:37,142 Oh, yes. 342 00:24:37,309 --> 00:24:40,646 Yes, I-- New series, <i>Blind Justice.</i> 343 00:24:40,813 --> 00:24:42,690 {\an8}Well, here's where I got in terrible trouble... 344 00:24:42,856 --> 00:24:45,526 ...with this particular shot right here... 345 00:24:45,693 --> 00:24:50,364 ...standing in front of Saint Joseph's Hospital in Burbank. 346 00:24:50,531 --> 00:24:53,075 They didn't want to let us shoot at that particular location... 347 00:24:53,242 --> 00:24:55,869 ...but I thought that's where we were going to go. 348 00:24:56,036 --> 00:24:58,205 And when I got there, I lined up the camera there... 349 00:24:58,372 --> 00:25:01,208 ...and then I hear on the walkie-talkie from Jerry Zeismer... 350 00:25:01,375 --> 00:25:04,253 ...the assistant director, that the head of the hospital... 351 00:25:04,420 --> 00:25:05,921 ...won't let us shoot there. 352 00:25:06,088 --> 00:25:08,507 And I said back to him on the walkie-talkie-- 353 00:25:08,674 --> 00:25:12,136 I said, "Jerry, you tell that head of the hospital where he can go. 354 00:25:12,302 --> 00:25:14,888 I'll shoot this thing and be out of here before he even knows... 355 00:25:15,055 --> 00:25:16,473 ...we're doing anything." 356 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:19,309 And Jerry comes back with a kind of gulp in his voice: 357 00:25:19,476 --> 00:25:23,063 "I'm standing right next to the head of the hospital here. 358 00:25:23,230 --> 00:25:26,066 He just heard everything you said." 359 00:25:26,567 --> 00:25:29,903 So I said, "Well, we better roll fast." 360 00:25:30,070 --> 00:25:35,159 So we did it a couple of times with the actor and got out of there. 361 00:25:35,325 --> 00:25:40,205 If I ever get sick, I guess I'd better not go to Saint Joseph's Hospital. 362 00:25:41,123 --> 00:25:43,459 "That's the guy." 363 00:25:56,388 --> 00:25:59,266 I wanna say something about the music here. 364 00:25:59,933 --> 00:26:04,855 Electronic music really didn't exist in movies... 365 00:26:05,022 --> 00:26:07,107 ...very much at all. 366 00:26:07,274 --> 00:26:10,986 High-tech music was pretty low-tech at the time. 367 00:26:11,153 --> 00:26:14,782 And Arthur Rubinstein, who did the score... 368 00:26:14,948 --> 00:26:19,203 ...was actually trying to mimic a German group... 369 00:26:19,369 --> 00:26:22,664 ...who did wonderful electronic scores. 370 00:26:22,831 --> 00:26:25,667 But the equipment that we had in Los Angeles at the time... 371 00:26:25,834 --> 00:26:28,087 ...was very, very primitive. 372 00:26:28,253 --> 00:26:33,842 I mean, they were literally putting microphones in 5-gallon glass jars... 373 00:26:34,009 --> 00:26:38,013 ...putting the glass jar underneath the piano and playing it... 374 00:26:38,180 --> 00:26:40,140 ...to get, you know, wacky sounds. 375 00:26:40,307 --> 00:26:44,520 And they would record all kinds of things... 376 00:26:44,686 --> 00:26:47,231 ...that we could never really hear in combination. 377 00:26:47,397 --> 00:26:51,652 We would hear just a bass track, or a treble track, or, you know... 378 00:26:51,819 --> 00:26:56,073 ...assorted noises, but have no idea what the whole score sounded like. 379 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,951 Only Arthur knew what it sounded like. 380 00:26:59,118 --> 00:27:03,288 And so we didn't know till we got on the final mixing stage... 381 00:27:03,455 --> 00:27:07,334 ...in the weeks before release what this music score... 382 00:27:07,501 --> 00:27:08,877 ...was gonna come out like. 383 00:27:09,044 --> 00:27:11,630 It could've been terrible. It could've been good, you know. 384 00:27:11,797 --> 00:27:15,467 But it was anxiety-making. 385 00:27:17,678 --> 00:27:20,764 --But your city's been chosen as the testing area... 386 00:27:21,014 --> 00:27:24,268 ...and your mayor is anxious that his people participate. 387 00:27:25,102 --> 00:27:30,232 And actually, when we did mix the sound... 388 00:27:30,399 --> 00:27:34,736 ...I was working on another film called <i>WarGames</i> at the time... 389 00:27:34,903 --> 00:27:38,407 ...and had to be shooting on that film. 390 00:27:38,574 --> 00:27:42,828 So I would come by late at night to the mixing stage... 391 00:27:42,995 --> 00:27:44,621 ...and Frank was working there. 392 00:27:44,788 --> 00:27:47,749 Frank had his own opinions about this music. 393 00:27:47,916 --> 00:27:51,545 -Do you remember? -Oh, yeah. 394 00:27:53,046 --> 00:27:57,509 It wasn't something that I think you were crazy about. 395 00:27:57,885 --> 00:27:59,887 It was not your favourite-- 396 00:28:00,053 --> 00:28:04,474 Well, Frank has been a music editor for a lot of his life... 397 00:28:04,641 --> 00:28:07,978 ...before he became a film editor. So he has very strong... 398 00:28:08,145 --> 00:28:10,772 ...powerful opinions on music. 399 00:28:11,315 --> 00:28:13,692 Well, I think Arthur did a terrific job on this... 400 00:28:13,859 --> 00:28:19,031 ...but we lost a lot of it due to the fact that it didn't quite work... 401 00:28:19,198 --> 00:28:21,909 ...with the action, or whatever and... 402 00:28:22,075 --> 00:28:24,995 Or it just didn't fit the character of the movie. 403 00:28:25,162 --> 00:28:28,332 -Two or three cues is all it was. -Yeah. 404 00:28:30,876 --> 00:28:32,753 Every nutcase and terrorist... 405 00:28:32,961 --> 00:28:36,965 ...and crazy with a pipe bomb and a cause is drooling about it. 406 00:28:37,216 --> 00:28:39,384 That's what this detail's all about. 407 00:28:39,593 --> 00:28:42,095 The potential for catastrophe. 408 00:28:42,596 --> 00:28:45,307 We don't want any Munich massacres out here. 409 00:28:45,724 --> 00:28:48,602 Are you talking about crowd control from the air? 410 00:28:48,852 --> 00:28:51,063 Give that man a cigar. 411 00:28:51,688 --> 00:28:54,107 That's been tried. It didn't work out so hot. 412 00:28:55,317 --> 00:28:59,112 Here's an interesting plot that Dean Riesner came up with... 413 00:28:59,279 --> 00:29:04,409 ...as to what exactly was going on, what was this plot. 414 00:29:04,576 --> 00:29:09,665 With the Olympics coming to Los Angeles in 1984... 415 00:29:10,332 --> 00:29:12,876 Certainly a very significant kind of year... 416 00:29:13,043 --> 00:29:15,921 ...for people who have read George Orwell. 417 00:29:16,296 --> 00:29:18,674 And with the Olympics coming here... 418 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:24,304 ...if somebody could create the impression that the... 419 00:29:24,471 --> 00:29:29,434 That the black ghetto, if there's any other way to refer to it... 420 00:29:29,601 --> 00:29:34,273 ...was in an uproar, that they could bring this helicopter in... 421 00:29:34,439 --> 00:29:38,485 ...and start to use it to put down the riots. 422 00:29:38,652 --> 00:29:42,906 So they were looking to stir up trouble in order to justify spending... 423 00:29:43,073 --> 00:29:45,701 ...the millions of dollars of development money... 424 00:29:45,867 --> 00:29:48,704 ...on this particular helicopter. 425 00:29:51,081 --> 00:29:54,251 -What? -Somebody hung a nickname on it. 426 00:29:54,459 --> 00:29:56,336 Blue Thunder. 427 00:29:58,505 --> 00:30:03,969 These amazing shots, we actually did at dawn. 428 00:30:04,511 --> 00:30:10,017 And we had two helicopters that would get miles out from the camera... 429 00:30:10,183 --> 00:30:14,730 ...and line up with the sun and fly right straight toward us. 430 00:30:15,230 --> 00:30:17,816 And it was so exciting to watch the pilots... 431 00:30:17,983 --> 00:30:23,613 ...be able to line up with the sun and fly. 432 00:30:27,284 --> 00:30:30,746 Gentlemen, take your seats. Here she comes. 433 00:30:32,039 --> 00:30:35,959 This is a big set for the movie, to build all of these false fronts... 434 00:30:36,126 --> 00:30:40,172 ...and something that an Army training field... 435 00:30:40,339 --> 00:30:45,093 ...or an Air Force training field would build out in the desert. 436 00:30:45,260 --> 00:30:51,516 And this was up near Lancaster and Rosemead, a little airport. 437 00:30:51,767 --> 00:30:53,977 This whole ship is heavily armored... 438 00:30:54,227 --> 00:30:58,148 ...with Nordoc NATO armor one inch thick. 439 00:30:58,357 --> 00:31:03,362 This ship is equipped with a forward mounted 20 mm electric cannon. 440 00:31:04,321 --> 00:31:06,406 Its six barrels are capable... 441 00:31:06,656 --> 00:31:11,787 ...of firing 4000 rounds of ammunition per minute. 442 00:31:12,496 --> 00:31:16,500 This was actually a prototype, wasn't it, John? 443 00:31:16,666 --> 00:31:18,126 The copter? 444 00:31:18,293 --> 00:31:23,715 Well, the Army and the Air Force have attack helicopters now... 445 00:31:23,882 --> 00:31:28,387 ...that look a lot like this particular helicopter... 446 00:31:28,553 --> 00:31:31,640 ...that Philip Harrison designed. 447 00:31:32,849 --> 00:31:35,852 He took a French helicopter... 448 00:31:36,019 --> 00:31:39,523 ...made by Aerospatial, called the Alouette. 449 00:31:39,689 --> 00:31:43,568 And it's actually a very feminine line. It's very sleek. 450 00:31:43,735 --> 00:31:48,990 And Philip hung all kinds of blocky, choppy... 451 00:31:49,157 --> 00:31:52,035 ...kind of things on it, and rockets and guns and so on... 452 00:31:52,202 --> 00:31:54,621 ...and transformed this sleek look... 453 00:31:54,788 --> 00:31:57,958 ...into something much more militaristic and tough. 454 00:32:08,885 --> 00:32:12,848 Here's an area where our shooting was held up for a couple of days... 455 00:32:13,014 --> 00:32:16,893 ...because our head helicopter pilot, Jim Gavin... 456 00:32:17,060 --> 00:32:21,148 ...wouldn't allow the helicopter fly in low over those explosions. 457 00:32:21,314 --> 00:32:26,611 And he kept making the special effects man, Chuck Gaspar... 458 00:32:26,778 --> 00:32:29,531 ...do various versions of the explosions. 459 00:32:29,698 --> 00:32:31,700 And he'd look at it-- He'd say, "Too much gunpowder. 460 00:32:31,867 --> 00:32:33,201 Too much gunpowder." 461 00:32:33,368 --> 00:32:37,581 And only when he got it to the right amount... 462 00:32:37,747 --> 00:32:40,834 ...did Jim allow the helicopter to fly in. 463 00:32:41,001 --> 00:32:43,336 Because as I said earlier... 464 00:32:43,503 --> 00:32:47,174 ...the explosions could have damaged this helicopter... 465 00:32:47,340 --> 00:32:49,384 ...and caused it to crash. 466 00:32:49,551 --> 00:32:53,180 Not just down on the ground, which would have been bad enough... 467 00:32:53,346 --> 00:32:58,643 ...but as it flies over this whole audience that we have watching. 468 00:33:02,147 --> 00:33:05,066 Lots of extras and our actors... 469 00:33:05,233 --> 00:33:07,652 ...none of whom were real happy to have this helicopter... 470 00:33:07,819 --> 00:33:11,531 ...flying over their head with all of those explosions going off. 471 00:33:11,698 --> 00:33:14,201 And I've always been so grateful to Jim Gavin... 472 00:33:14,367 --> 00:33:17,996 ...for being so tough on us and making sure that we were safe... 473 00:33:18,163 --> 00:33:24,085 ...and that we did not have any problems, as other people have had. 474 00:33:24,252 --> 00:33:26,171 I just saw the script supervisor in there. 475 00:33:26,338 --> 00:33:28,215 As many times as I've looked at this movie... 476 00:33:28,381 --> 00:33:32,135 ...I didn't realise that there was the script supervisor, standing-- 477 00:33:32,302 --> 00:33:35,889 -Writing her notes, right in the shot. -Oh, yeah, right behind. 478 00:33:36,056 --> 00:33:38,475 Yeah, right behind him. 479 00:33:47,817 --> 00:33:50,153 We haven't told our pilot about the bus. 480 00:33:50,403 --> 00:33:53,907 Let's see if he can pick up on what's wrong with it. 481 00:34:04,793 --> 00:34:09,589 We wound up within the neighbourhood of half a million feet, wasn't it, John? 482 00:34:09,756 --> 00:34:13,760 -Half a million feet of film? -Yeah, about 450,000. 483 00:34:13,927 --> 00:34:19,599 Yep. Now, that's a lot of film for a movie to shoot, and-- 484 00:34:19,766 --> 00:34:22,561 A lot of it was test material, but... 485 00:34:22,727 --> 00:34:29,276 But, still, expensive. And we had, easily, eight or nine cameras out-- 486 00:34:29,442 --> 00:34:32,737 Going while this sequence is going on. 487 00:34:32,904 --> 00:34:35,740 We had them planted in the ground behind some of the cars. 488 00:34:35,907 --> 00:34:40,579 We had them on the actors. We had them on the helicopter. 489 00:34:40,745 --> 00:34:45,041 Lot of times, we mounted right on the tail of the helicopter. 490 00:34:45,208 --> 00:34:47,836 And you'll see some shots later on... 491 00:34:48,003 --> 00:34:52,924 ...where we're way back on the tail end, looking forward. 492 00:34:53,091 --> 00:34:56,386 And it's a very exciting angle. 493 00:35:07,439 --> 00:35:09,899 Terrific shooting, colonel. It was beautiful. 494 00:35:10,150 --> 00:35:11,693 Beautiful, was it? 495 00:35:11,943 --> 00:35:14,696 Goddamn it! I had another stoppage. 496 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:19,242 Interesting that... 497 00:35:19,409 --> 00:35:24,581 This is in the early days of Steadicam, which was being used a lot. 498 00:35:24,748 --> 00:35:29,127 But John Alonzo felt that he could operate hand-held... 499 00:35:29,294 --> 00:35:31,129 ...better than any Steadicam. 500 00:35:31,296 --> 00:35:34,924 And so what we're watching here, for the next several minutes... 501 00:35:35,091 --> 00:35:40,388 ...is all completely hand-held by John Alonzo, out in the desert. 502 00:35:40,555 --> 00:35:45,435 It no more looks like hand-held than something on a dolly... 503 00:35:45,602 --> 00:35:49,314 ...but he always felt that he had a flexibility to it... 504 00:35:49,481 --> 00:35:52,025 ...and he was able to maneuver quickly. 505 00:35:52,192 --> 00:35:55,403 So I would just turn him loose on these scenes. 506 00:35:55,570 --> 00:35:59,616 Stage the scene and say, "John, you shoot it." 507 00:35:59,783 --> 00:36:04,329 And he would go along and shoot the scene beautifully... 508 00:36:04,496 --> 00:36:09,417 ...get all the coverage. I almost could've gone home or taken a nap... 509 00:36:09,793 --> 00:36:12,754 ...while he was doing this. 510 00:36:15,090 --> 00:36:18,968 John said he was built for hand-held. Because he was not very tall... 511 00:36:19,135 --> 00:36:23,098 ...and he said his center of gravity is low to the ground. 512 00:36:23,264 --> 00:36:29,396 And a taller person has real trouble staying as steady and stable... 513 00:36:29,562 --> 00:36:31,356 ...as he could do. 514 00:36:31,523 --> 00:36:34,234 But this is-- It's just wonderful, as I'm watching here... 515 00:36:34,401 --> 00:36:40,281 ...how steady the hand-held is and how maneuverable it is. 516 00:36:40,740 --> 00:36:42,784 We're on a rough desert floor... 517 00:36:42,951 --> 00:36:47,664 ...and no special kind of plywood floor laid down for him... 518 00:36:47,872 --> 00:36:49,040 Twelve sharp. 519 00:36:51,209 --> 00:36:54,879 On a hard surface, he had his little apple-box dolly too... 520 00:36:55,046 --> 00:36:57,382 ...that he would scoot around like a monkey with. 521 00:36:57,549 --> 00:37:03,263 Yes, apple boxes are kind of hard wooden boxes... 522 00:37:03,430 --> 00:37:06,141 ...that we'll use on a movie set for all kinds of things: 523 00:37:06,307 --> 00:37:08,727 For people to sit up higher or prop something up. 524 00:37:08,893 --> 00:37:10,895 And they're used all the time. 525 00:37:11,062 --> 00:37:15,108 And John attached casters to an apple box... 526 00:37:15,275 --> 00:37:18,611 ...and he would sit-- If it was on a concrete floor or a hard surface... 527 00:37:18,778 --> 00:37:21,364 ...he would sit on what he called his "silly dolly"... 528 00:37:21,531 --> 00:37:23,783 ...and push himself around with his feet. 529 00:37:23,950 --> 00:37:30,457 And it was another kind of wonderful operating trick that he had. 530 00:37:30,915 --> 00:37:33,668 I gotta log in, but I'll get back to you later. 531 00:37:33,877 --> 00:37:35,378 Keep it under your hat. 532 00:37:35,628 --> 00:37:37,756 Right under the hat. Look at this! 533 00:37:38,006 --> 00:37:40,341 I gotta get dressed. I'll see you in a second. 534 00:37:41,176 --> 00:37:43,094 So this is a terrific set. 535 00:37:43,261 --> 00:37:47,599 This is the one I pointed out to you earlier that we built-- 536 00:37:47,766 --> 00:37:52,979 Philip built right on the site of Piper Tech, up on the roof. 537 00:37:53,146 --> 00:37:58,610 And it looks-- It's totally believable, and yet, very flexible for filming. 538 00:37:58,777 --> 00:38:01,613 They actually didn't have anything like this that we could use... 539 00:38:01,780 --> 00:38:04,574 ...and we needed more space than what they had... 540 00:38:04,741 --> 00:38:06,826 ...so they let us use it. 541 00:38:06,993 --> 00:38:09,078 And then when the filming was done-- 542 00:38:09,245 --> 00:38:12,999 There's the building, right there, that we made. 543 00:38:13,166 --> 00:38:15,084 --We had to take the building away... 544 00:38:15,251 --> 00:38:17,754 ...because it really wasn't built up to code. 545 00:38:17,921 --> 00:38:20,757 Yet, we could give them all the aeronautics equipment-- 546 00:38:20,924 --> 00:38:23,718 The helicopter police-- 547 00:38:23,885 --> 00:38:27,096 --Give them all the aeronautics equipment that we had had to buy... 548 00:38:27,263 --> 00:38:29,849 ...for the movie. And they were delighted to have that... 549 00:38:30,016 --> 00:38:32,227 ...because the city budget wasn't so great. 550 00:38:32,393 --> 00:38:35,522 And a lot of their equipment was kind of out-of-date... 551 00:38:35,688 --> 00:38:38,441 ...and they couldn't afford it. 552 00:38:38,608 --> 00:38:41,277 Now, you take the Ranger and I'll be in my bird. 553 00:38:43,112 --> 00:38:47,283 Malcolm McDowell came onto the film kind of late. 554 00:38:47,450 --> 00:38:50,119 We thought we were going to have an actor named Bryan Brown... 555 00:38:50,286 --> 00:38:55,041 ...who is an Australian actor. And he had conflicts in his schedule. 556 00:38:55,208 --> 00:38:57,961 He couldn't do it, so we brought Malcolm in. 557 00:38:58,127 --> 00:39:02,715 He showed up on this day for the scene that we've just seen... 558 00:39:02,882 --> 00:39:05,176 ...and I said to him, "We're gonna do a liftoff... 559 00:39:05,343 --> 00:39:07,428 ...with you getting in the helicopter. 560 00:39:07,595 --> 00:39:11,933 And it's gonna take off, and you're gonna come set back down." 561 00:39:12,100 --> 00:39:15,103 So he said, "Right." He got a little pale. 562 00:39:15,478 --> 00:39:20,900 And yet, the helicopter lands, and he runs out and he jumps in it... 563 00:39:21,067 --> 00:39:24,279 ...and it takes off and circles around. 564 00:39:24,445 --> 00:39:27,115 And then it lands after we've got the shot. 565 00:39:27,282 --> 00:39:30,618 And Malcolm gets out, goes over to the edge of the building... 566 00:39:30,785 --> 00:39:32,787 ...and throws up. 567 00:39:33,121 --> 00:39:37,584 What I didn't know was that his agent had made a deal... 568 00:39:37,750 --> 00:39:40,837 ...that he never had to fly in the helicopter. 569 00:39:41,004 --> 00:39:44,382 And they didn't tell me this. I'm glad they didn't tell me. 570 00:39:44,924 --> 00:39:49,220 Malcolm was terrified of flying, and helicopters and anything like that. 571 00:39:49,387 --> 00:39:51,264 But when he got to the set... 572 00:39:51,431 --> 00:39:54,934 ...and he saw Roy Scheider and Daniel Stern doing it... 573 00:39:55,101 --> 00:39:59,439 ...he didn't have the nerve to say that he was afraid. 574 00:39:59,606 --> 00:40:02,775 So he actually went ahead and did it. 575 00:40:02,942 --> 00:40:05,153 And his wife at the time, Mary Steenburgen, said: 576 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:08,364 "How did you ever get Malcolm to fly in the helicopter?" 577 00:40:08,531 --> 00:40:11,284 And I said, "Because I didn't know. If I had known... 578 00:40:11,451 --> 00:40:13,077 ...I don't know what I would've done." 579 00:40:13,244 --> 00:40:17,081 And I can't imagine why we ever made a deal where we said: 580 00:40:17,248 --> 00:40:19,334 "Oh, no, he's not gonna get in a helicopter." 581 00:40:19,500 --> 00:40:22,921 Because, as you see, he's actually up in the air here. 582 00:40:23,087 --> 00:40:25,965 This is no computer background. 583 00:40:29,594 --> 00:40:32,263 There's Malcolm flying. And I can assure you... 584 00:40:32,430 --> 00:40:35,475 ...he was terrified in all of these shots... 585 00:40:35,642 --> 00:40:40,021 ...but such a pro, such a good actor, that he was able to cover it. 586 00:40:40,188 --> 00:40:42,023 And then the minute we'd say "cut," he'd go: 587 00:40:42,190 --> 00:40:44,192 "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" 588 00:40:54,494 --> 00:40:55,787 -Damn! Damn it! -Oh, shit! 589 00:40:56,037 --> 00:40:57,622 We got a runaway! 590 00:40:58,581 --> 00:40:59,749 Jeez! What was that? 591 00:41:04,128 --> 00:41:06,965 Grab your ankles and kiss your ass goodbye. We're going down. 592 00:41:07,131 --> 00:41:08,299 Shit! 593 00:41:10,468 --> 00:41:12,804 So all of these close-ups in the helicopter... 594 00:41:12,971 --> 00:41:15,640 ...we actually did right there in the helicopter... 595 00:41:15,807 --> 00:41:18,476 ...so you could see the city and see the background. 596 00:41:18,643 --> 00:41:23,439 And Jim Gavin is flying these guys all over the place. 597 00:41:23,606 --> 00:41:26,734 -Shut the fuel off! -What? Fuel? 598 00:41:34,117 --> 00:41:36,786 And here we're coming close to one of the most dangerous things... 599 00:41:36,953 --> 00:41:41,541 ...that we did in this movie, which is bringing the helicopter down that low... 600 00:41:42,375 --> 00:41:47,005 ...and then landing it on this building... 601 00:41:47,171 --> 00:41:53,302 ...because, again, that's really, really dangerous, what we're doing here. 602 00:41:57,849 --> 00:42:00,059 Central, this is Blue Thunder. 603 00:42:00,309 --> 00:42:05,106 It seems that we have a ship down, somewhere in the Watts area. 604 00:42:10,778 --> 00:42:14,949 And thank heavens we didn't hurt anybody. 605 00:42:16,701 --> 00:42:18,244 Get the hell off me! 606 00:42:18,745 --> 00:42:20,830 Well, that's what makes it real, with the-- 607 00:42:20,997 --> 00:42:22,832 Yep. 608 00:42:25,793 --> 00:42:29,964 One thing about Roy Scheider is, he loves his tan. 609 00:42:30,131 --> 00:42:33,551 And he takes care of that tan all the time. 610 00:42:33,718 --> 00:42:37,764 I keep telling him he's gonna turn into an alligator purse... 611 00:42:37,930 --> 00:42:40,850 ...if he stays out in the sun as much as he does. 612 00:42:41,017 --> 00:42:43,144 But he's sitting down here in the Watts area... 613 00:42:43,311 --> 00:42:45,104 ...while we're lining up these shots... 614 00:42:45,271 --> 00:42:47,648 ...and he's stripped down to his underwear... 615 00:42:47,815 --> 00:42:49,484 ...and sitting in a lawn chair... 616 00:42:49,650 --> 00:42:55,656 ...with one of those aluminium foil reflectors underneath his face... 617 00:42:55,823 --> 00:42:58,618 ...and people coming by and getting his autograph. 618 00:42:58,785 --> 00:43:02,705 You know, the guy from <i>Jaws,</i> the sheriff from <i>Jaws</i> signing... 619 00:43:02,872 --> 00:43:07,043 Rather a near thing today. I heard your turbine failed. 620 00:43:07,210 --> 00:43:08,377 Or was it your flying? 621 00:43:09,212 --> 00:43:10,630 Back off, asshole. 622 00:43:11,589 --> 00:43:14,842 What's that I hear? Threats? 623 00:43:15,134 --> 00:43:18,596 Well, what a change. We are acting brave nowadays. 624 00:43:20,932 --> 00:43:22,642 Are you threatening me, Murphy? 625 00:43:23,309 --> 00:43:26,687 You know what? The dialogue in this scene is terrible... 626 00:43:26,854 --> 00:43:29,565 ...and I know why. This is dialogue that I wrote... 627 00:43:29,732 --> 00:43:32,652 ...and I'm listening to it now, 20 years later, and I'm saying: 628 00:43:32,819 --> 00:43:35,988 "Who wrote this junk? This is the worst stuff--" 629 00:43:36,155 --> 00:43:40,034 And I'm remembering I did, and I didn't like it when we shot it. 630 00:43:40,201 --> 00:43:45,665 It reminds me that I should not try writing as a profession. 631 00:43:57,677 --> 00:44:00,930 -Can I see your watch? -Sure. 632 00:44:02,014 --> 00:44:03,850 You know where it is, don't you? 633 00:44:04,767 --> 00:44:05,977 Are you losing weight? 634 00:44:06,227 --> 00:44:09,063 Getting older too. I think you have to turn up here. 635 00:44:09,272 --> 00:44:10,731 Getting enough sleep? 636 00:44:10,940 --> 00:44:14,193 Are we having two different conversations or I am going nuts? 637 00:44:14,443 --> 00:44:17,947 The train ride. The train ride. I'll find it. 638 00:44:18,197 --> 00:44:21,409 -If you don't run out of gas first. -What? 639 00:44:21,659 --> 00:44:25,163 When that needle points to empty, it means you're out of gas. 640 00:44:25,413 --> 00:44:27,415 That's broken. We got plenty. 641 00:44:27,665 --> 00:44:30,960 Mommy! You missed the train ride. 642 00:44:32,086 --> 00:44:33,462 Hang on. 643 00:44:36,674 --> 00:44:40,428 Now, Candy Clark actually was a pretty wild driver. 644 00:44:40,595 --> 00:44:45,141 And she didn't do that particular stunt, but she did some that come up later... 645 00:44:45,308 --> 00:44:48,311 ...and I'll point them out. And I was foolish enough to get in the car... 646 00:44:48,477 --> 00:44:51,189 ...and ride with her while she was driving. 647 00:44:51,355 --> 00:44:53,691 Scared me to death. 648 00:44:54,483 --> 00:44:56,944 I'll tell you one thing, it's hard to read. 649 00:44:57,195 --> 00:44:59,363 -Yeah, I know. -It's part of a letter. 650 00:44:59,614 --> 00:45:04,243 It says something about strangers in the barrio making trouble. 651 00:45:04,493 --> 00:45:07,622 I don't know. Something like that. Here's a word... 652 00:45:07,872 --> 00:45:10,625 ...that isn't in Spanish: "Thor." 653 00:45:10,875 --> 00:45:13,336 T-H-O-R. 654 00:45:13,586 --> 00:45:15,463 -Thor? -Mean anything? 655 00:45:15,630 --> 00:45:18,257 If you know Los Angeles, you'll recognise this... 656 00:45:18,424 --> 00:45:21,260 ...as being in Griffith Park. Travel Town. 657 00:45:21,427 --> 00:45:24,096 And it's kind of a fun place. 658 00:45:24,263 --> 00:45:28,267 And on Sundays, it's got all kinds of people there. 659 00:45:28,976 --> 00:45:34,273 You know, there's Hispanic people coming up and... 660 00:45:34,440 --> 00:45:36,776 {\an8}Every kind of person, all over Griffith Park... 661 00:45:36,943 --> 00:45:39,320 {\an8}...and they just love this Travel Town. 662 00:45:39,487 --> 00:45:42,531 {\an8}So it's a good location for us to work in. 663 00:45:42,782 --> 00:45:45,826 <i>--Who was tragically murdered several days ago.</i> 664 00:45:46,077 --> 00:45:47,161 Food's up! 665 00:45:47,328 --> 00:45:49,997 <i>McNeely, who chaired the Commission on Urban Violence...</i> 666 00:45:50,248 --> 00:45:53,793 {\an8}<i>...was an outspoken critic of police department policies.</i> 667 00:45:54,043 --> 00:45:57,213 {\an8}<i>The chief was in evidence, as were many of his aides.</i> 668 00:45:57,463 --> 00:46:00,883 {\an8}<i>As temperatures stay high and tempers continue to fray...</i> 669 00:46:01,133 --> 00:46:03,886 <i>...fires continue in the Watts area...</i> 670 00:46:06,681 --> 00:46:09,308 You know what, Frank? This reminds me of some kitchen stuff... 671 00:46:09,475 --> 00:46:13,521 ...that we did in <i>Short Circuit</i> with Ally Sheedy in the kitchen... 672 00:46:13,688 --> 00:46:16,983 ...and the skunk up on the counter, eating food. 673 00:46:17,149 --> 00:46:20,069 -Right. -Boy, that's-- 674 00:46:20,236 --> 00:46:24,949 I'm using the same old ideas over and over again. 675 00:46:26,075 --> 00:46:27,576 Frank? 676 00:46:28,995 --> 00:46:31,080 Frank, are you okay? 677 00:46:43,384 --> 00:46:44,927 Frank? 678 00:46:47,513 --> 00:46:49,849 Is this something kinky? 679 00:46:55,938 --> 00:46:58,524 Goddamn your black Irish heart... 680 00:46:58,733 --> 00:47:01,736 ...Frances McNeil Murphy, if you've left! 681 00:47:05,906 --> 00:47:09,535 The character of Murphy that Scheider plays... 682 00:47:09,702 --> 00:47:13,539 ...started in a very different kind of-- Had a different tone to him... 683 00:47:13,706 --> 00:47:18,085 ...a different kind of character than what we have here. 684 00:47:18,252 --> 00:47:23,299 Dan O'Bannon wrote him as much more disturbed... 685 00:47:23,466 --> 00:47:28,387 ...much more negative, much more on the edge for sanity. 686 00:47:28,554 --> 00:47:34,769 And as we kept working on him, we kept bringing him closer... 687 00:47:34,935 --> 00:47:40,274 ...to somebody who is troubled, but not as insane... 688 00:47:40,441 --> 00:47:44,445 ...as he was originally pictured. 689 00:47:45,237 --> 00:47:50,576 We felt, at the time, that that was a better bet and more interesting... 690 00:47:50,743 --> 00:47:53,454 ...and we could keep the character more likeable-- 691 00:47:53,621 --> 00:47:57,917 There goes poor Bill, out the door again. 692 00:48:02,254 --> 00:48:04,840 This was a way that Scheider liked too. 693 00:48:05,007 --> 00:48:10,096 He liked playing it in this little more positive way. 694 00:48:10,262 --> 00:48:14,809 Somebody who is a little off, but not-- 695 00:48:14,975 --> 00:48:18,187 You know, not wildly crazy. 696 00:48:19,605 --> 00:48:22,191 Infrared filter. Target system. 697 00:48:25,111 --> 00:48:28,781 This helicopter, as you've seen-- I mean, it actually flew. 698 00:48:28,948 --> 00:48:35,121 And we had two of them as backup in case one was not working... 699 00:48:35,287 --> 00:48:39,125 ...because with movie props, you have to always be prepared... 700 00:48:39,291 --> 00:48:43,212 ...for them to break down. Things are happening all the time to them... 701 00:48:43,379 --> 00:48:48,175 ...and they're not coming from Toyota or Honda or General Motors... 702 00:48:48,342 --> 00:48:51,512 ...with 100,000-mile guarantees on them. 703 00:48:53,222 --> 00:48:54,598 They're fantasy things... 704 00:48:54,765 --> 00:48:58,436 ...so our job is to try to make them look real. 705 00:49:01,355 --> 00:49:03,524 You can zero in on any target you want. 706 00:49:04,400 --> 00:49:09,321 But flying in these helicopters was not much fun. 707 00:49:09,488 --> 00:49:13,993 They were so laden with stuff that when they took off, they had this feeling... 708 00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:16,579 ...like when you take off in a loaded 747... 709 00:49:16,745 --> 00:49:18,956 ...that it's never gonna get off the ground. 710 00:49:19,123 --> 00:49:22,835 Whereas, the Bell Rangers, which you see in the background... 711 00:49:23,002 --> 00:49:25,880 ...the blue and white helicopters, are just sprightly... 712 00:49:26,046 --> 00:49:29,550 ...and bounce right up, and you feel the difference. 713 00:49:29,800 --> 00:49:32,219 I mean, they're the most mobile kind of things... 714 00:49:32,386 --> 00:49:37,391 ...and this poor guy was just, like, wheeling a whale around. 715 00:49:37,683 --> 00:49:40,019 Each reel is code-numbered. 716 00:49:43,105 --> 00:49:46,817 This little bug erases the tape on a signal from Central Command. 717 00:49:47,067 --> 00:49:49,778 The tape's gotta be inside the case to erase. 718 00:49:50,112 --> 00:49:53,240 It only erases in the case? That's great. 719 00:49:53,491 --> 00:49:56,952 Adjust for your eye until the red dot rides on your tracer line. 720 00:49:57,203 --> 00:50:01,332 Then press the cannon button and zap! Where you look is where you hit. 721 00:50:01,582 --> 00:50:04,251 Sunshine! Just blew your gizzard away. 722 00:50:05,419 --> 00:50:09,006 What's all this shit I hear about you threatening Cochrane? 723 00:50:10,341 --> 00:50:12,134 Thank you, sergeant. 724 00:50:14,428 --> 00:50:15,471 What? 725 00:50:15,721 --> 00:50:19,099 In the police garage. After your crack-up. 726 00:50:19,350 --> 00:50:21,101 Feeling a little hostility? 727 00:50:21,310 --> 00:50:23,187 I told him to back off, that's all. 728 00:50:23,395 --> 00:50:25,272 That's all? Well, it's enough. 729 00:50:25,689 --> 00:50:30,361 Okay, Warren Oates should actually be complaining about the bad dialogue. 730 00:50:30,528 --> 00:50:32,613 They don't want to see it totaled. 731 00:50:32,863 --> 00:50:34,281 Some kind of bullshit. 732 00:50:36,742 --> 00:50:38,160 Hey. 733 00:50:39,537 --> 00:50:42,456 Now, why we let this go, I will never know. 734 00:50:42,623 --> 00:50:48,379 But Warren Oates says that they spent $5 million on this helicopter... 735 00:50:48,546 --> 00:50:54,260 ...and I'm thinking that's cheap. I mean, it should've been $100 million. 736 00:50:57,263 --> 00:50:59,348 Yeah, that did get quite a bit of comment. 737 00:50:59,515 --> 00:51:01,308 Yeah. 738 00:51:03,060 --> 00:51:05,312 We got a test flight to make out there. 739 00:51:07,147 --> 00:51:08,816 From the editorial staff, that is. 740 00:51:08,983 --> 00:51:11,902 Oh, yeah. Yeah, from the editorial staff. 741 00:51:12,695 --> 00:51:15,489 But you try to get details right... 742 00:51:15,656 --> 00:51:18,867 ...and then these little things jump out at you as-- 743 00:51:19,034 --> 00:51:22,329 Like, "Oh, that doesn't work." 744 00:51:22,871 --> 00:51:25,541 The cabin mike. It records everything we say. 745 00:51:26,166 --> 00:51:27,668 I think we can lose that. 746 00:51:27,918 --> 00:51:30,129 I got the fuse right here. 747 00:51:31,046 --> 00:51:33,257 Get your hat off those circuit breakers. 748 00:51:33,507 --> 00:51:36,343 Tell me what JAFO is. I'm putting the fuse here. 749 00:51:36,594 --> 00:51:38,971 You'll find out. Just be patient. 750 00:51:39,221 --> 00:51:41,890 Night vision. Checked, okay. 751 00:51:42,141 --> 00:51:44,518 Target systems checked, okay. 752 00:51:45,352 --> 00:51:47,563 Let's see what's on HBO tonight. 753 00:51:49,273 --> 00:51:55,362 Now, this movie is filmed in widescreen. 754 00:51:55,529 --> 00:52:00,534 Sometimes that's called Cinemascope, or anamorphic. 755 00:52:00,701 --> 00:52:06,582 And 35 mm film is not wide enough to contain this frame. 756 00:52:06,749 --> 00:52:08,083 It wouldn't fit. 757 00:52:08,250 --> 00:52:11,003 So Panavision and some other people... 758 00:52:11,170 --> 00:52:15,924 ...invented lenses that actually take this image that you're looking at... 759 00:52:16,091 --> 00:52:19,511 ...and squeeze it to the width of a 35 mm frame... 760 00:52:19,678 --> 00:52:24,266 ...which is almost half as wide as what you're looking at. 761 00:52:24,516 --> 00:52:28,354 If you hold up a piece of anamorphic film to the light and look at it... 762 00:52:28,520 --> 00:52:31,607 ...all of these guys would be tall... 763 00:52:31,774 --> 00:52:33,150 ...and skinny and mushed together. 764 00:52:33,317 --> 00:52:38,238 The whole image would suddenly get all squinched. 765 00:52:38,864 --> 00:52:42,534 When you project the image, then you have to have a similar lens... 766 00:52:42,701 --> 00:52:45,162 ...that unsqueezes the image. 767 00:52:45,329 --> 00:52:49,958 But this was an effort to make big, widescreen movies that-- 768 00:52:50,125 --> 00:52:53,837 Not necessarily in Cinerama or techniques like that... 769 00:52:54,004 --> 00:52:58,842 ...but that you could make on ordinary film, and have an experience that was... 770 00:52:59,009 --> 00:53:01,804 ...different from what you're seeing on television. 771 00:53:01,970 --> 00:53:05,891 It had a different aspect ratio, real wide screen. 772 00:53:06,058 --> 00:53:09,728 And the challenges of shooting it are quite interesting... 773 00:53:09,895 --> 00:53:13,399 ...because those lenses require a lot more light... 774 00:53:13,565 --> 00:53:17,903 ...and give you a lot less depth of focus. 775 00:53:18,070 --> 00:53:21,865 So you're always kind of struggling with it. 776 00:53:22,032 --> 00:53:27,037 It's a very special kind of look that I actually prefer. 777 00:53:27,204 --> 00:53:32,000 And it gives you some real challenges in composition and so on. 778 00:53:32,167 --> 00:53:36,839 But you don't see too many pictures shot in anamorphic nowadays. 779 00:53:37,005 --> 00:53:40,592 They have another process called Super 35... 780 00:53:40,759 --> 00:53:45,055 ...that isn't quite so difficult to shoot. 781 00:53:46,306 --> 00:53:51,895 {\an8}I think, Frank, we did <i>Bird on a Wire</i> in Super 35. 782 00:53:52,354 --> 00:53:53,981 Right. 783 00:53:56,400 --> 00:54:00,654 Well, from the standpoint of coverage in this movie... 784 00:54:00,821 --> 00:54:04,158 ...it was an editor's tour de force almost. 785 00:54:04,324 --> 00:54:06,577 It was covered so well. 786 00:54:08,328 --> 00:54:11,999 You mean, in terms of you having the footage that you needed. 787 00:54:12,166 --> 00:54:16,462 Yeah. We had very, very, very few problems. 788 00:54:17,421 --> 00:54:20,883 Well, thank goodness we had enough time to shoot this movie... 789 00:54:21,049 --> 00:54:25,179 ...so that we could get the coverage that we needed... 790 00:54:25,345 --> 00:54:30,184 ...because it was so tricky to tell this story along the way. 791 00:54:36,940 --> 00:54:38,567 I dig this police work. 792 00:54:38,817 --> 00:54:40,736 Yeah. You're breathing heavy. 793 00:54:42,571 --> 00:54:44,531 All right, here goes the whisper mode. 794 00:54:44,782 --> 00:54:46,116 Whisper mode. 795 00:54:46,533 --> 00:54:48,035 That's a check. 796 00:54:49,119 --> 00:54:53,749 You shot, what? About 75 to 80 days on this, or something, didn't we? 797 00:54:53,916 --> 00:54:57,753 I think so. It seemed to go on forever. I was just exhausted. 798 00:54:57,920 --> 00:55:00,923 I think we started in late September... 799 00:55:01,089 --> 00:55:04,885 ...and finished mid-February. 800 00:55:05,052 --> 00:55:08,013 So it went all through the Christmas holidays. 801 00:55:08,180 --> 00:55:10,557 That's a long schedule for a movie. 802 00:55:11,225 --> 00:55:14,728 And I remember that we also had to go back several times... 803 00:55:14,895 --> 00:55:17,564 ...and get shots like this, that were close on the instruments... 804 00:55:17,731 --> 00:55:21,443 ...and things that everybody needed. 805 00:55:22,027 --> 00:55:24,571 That's 221 Bravo 6. 806 00:55:24,822 --> 00:55:29,535 I know that cycle. Jack Moran. Double Dork. 807 00:55:30,536 --> 00:55:34,665 The photographic process here: We're actually on a stage... 808 00:55:34,832 --> 00:55:38,252 ...with the rear projection that I pointed out to you earlier. 809 00:55:38,418 --> 00:55:42,714 But John Alonzo came up with a fairly clever idea. 810 00:55:42,881 --> 00:55:47,803 He got 16 mm prints made of the background plates... 811 00:55:47,970 --> 00:55:52,766 ...and then had a 16 mm projector projecting the background plates... 812 00:55:52,933 --> 00:55:56,144 ...right onto Roy Scheider and Daniel Stern's face. 813 00:55:56,311 --> 00:56:00,190 So you got the same sense of movement inside the helicopter... 814 00:56:00,357 --> 00:56:02,693 ...that you could see outside the helicopter. 815 00:56:02,860 --> 00:56:07,030 And that helped a lot. As you can see, the moving around is in-- 816 00:56:07,197 --> 00:56:09,825 That's on their helmets and their faces... 817 00:56:09,992 --> 00:56:13,704 {\an8}...is pretty much in sync with what's going on in the background... 818 00:56:13,871 --> 00:56:16,957 {\an8}...as though it's reflected off the bubbles. 819 00:56:18,166 --> 00:56:21,795 <i>Yes. Yes.</i> 820 00:56:23,380 --> 00:56:25,549 <i>No, no!</i> 821 00:56:25,716 --> 00:56:28,051 <i>Not yet. Not yet.</i> 822 00:56:28,594 --> 00:56:30,220 <i>I'm not ready!</i> 823 00:56:30,679 --> 00:56:32,681 <i>No!</i> 824 00:56:35,517 --> 00:56:39,354 I wonder who these people were. Well, they sounded very happy. 825 00:56:41,148 --> 00:56:43,609 -We recorded all this? -It's all on tape. 826 00:56:43,817 --> 00:56:45,903 Locked in the memory in the belly. 827 00:56:46,111 --> 00:56:49,531 I think old Double Dork's entitled to a quickie. Don't you? 828 00:56:49,698 --> 00:56:54,369 Photographing this helicopter at night was a serious challenge. 829 00:56:54,536 --> 00:56:57,039 Because the normal way that they had done it... 830 00:56:57,205 --> 00:56:59,750 ...was to have another helicopter fly along... 831 00:56:59,917 --> 00:57:02,711 ...and spread light all over the chopper. 832 00:57:02,878 --> 00:57:06,590 But it looked just terrible, you know. 833 00:57:06,757 --> 00:57:08,717 It looked all lit up and phony. 834 00:57:08,884 --> 00:57:12,304 And Alonzo came up with the idea-- He said: 835 00:57:12,471 --> 00:57:15,766 "I'm gonna make this helicopter light itself." 836 00:57:15,933 --> 00:57:17,267 I said, "What did you mean?" 837 00:57:17,434 --> 00:57:20,687 And he said, "I'm gonna put lights all over it that are hidden... 838 00:57:20,854 --> 00:57:25,233 ...and wherever it goes, it will have light on it." 839 00:57:25,400 --> 00:57:30,322 So he and his electricians built lights that are... 840 00:57:30,489 --> 00:57:34,117 ...hidden along the bottom of the skids of the helicopter. 841 00:57:34,284 --> 00:57:37,162 They're hidden up in the tail, all over the place. 842 00:57:37,329 --> 00:57:42,709 Just little tiny guys spreading light along the body of the helicopter... 843 00:57:42,876 --> 00:57:46,713 ...so you could see it against the real night sky. 844 00:57:46,880 --> 00:57:51,093 And it took them a long time to develop it. 845 00:57:51,259 --> 00:57:53,845 And they would keep coming back with test footage... 846 00:57:54,012 --> 00:57:56,264 ...where I'd say, "Oh, this looks very nice. 847 00:57:56,431 --> 00:57:58,934 When do we get to see the helicopter?" 848 00:57:59,101 --> 00:58:01,645 And they'd say, "Well, it's right in the middle of the frame." 849 00:58:01,812 --> 00:58:05,315 But it was so pitch black. Because we had to make a helicopter... 850 00:58:05,482 --> 00:58:07,609 ...that was, like, midnight blue. 851 00:58:07,776 --> 00:58:12,531 And, of course, that was terrible. The only thing worse than that... 852 00:58:12,698 --> 00:58:14,449 ...would have been if it were painted black. 853 00:58:14,616 --> 00:58:16,868 Then we never would have seen it at all. 854 00:58:17,035 --> 00:58:19,454 Well, we're actually very lucky, because right now... 855 00:58:19,621 --> 00:58:22,457 ...we've just been joined in this session... 856 00:58:22,624 --> 00:58:28,255 ...by an absolute genius in the area of special effects. 857 00:58:28,422 --> 00:58:30,549 Hoyt, would you introduce yourself? 858 00:58:30,716 --> 00:58:34,886 Hi, I'm Hoyt Yeatman. I was the Visual Effects Supervisor for <i>Blue Thunder.</i> 859 00:58:35,053 --> 00:58:38,015 And this was the very first film that Dream Quest Images... 860 00:58:38,181 --> 00:58:40,976 ...the company I founded a number of years ago, worked on. 861 00:58:41,143 --> 00:58:43,061 So it was our big break. And John was so nice... 862 00:58:43,228 --> 00:58:45,439 ...giving a chance to show what we could do. 863 00:58:46,440 --> 00:58:48,734 Does Cochrane drive a gray Corvette? 864 00:58:48,942 --> 00:58:50,068 Yeah. Why? 865 00:58:50,277 --> 00:58:51,987 Check 9:00. 866 00:58:52,154 --> 00:58:54,489 At the time... 867 00:58:54,656 --> 00:58:58,118 ...the shots that we needed done-- 868 00:58:58,285 --> 00:59:00,454 And there were many shots needed for this movie. 869 00:59:00,620 --> 00:59:05,083 --were very expensive. And when we got a quote on them... 870 00:59:05,250 --> 00:59:08,628 ...they were in the area of $25,000 a shot. 871 00:59:08,795 --> 00:59:12,507 And a shot may only last for two seconds or something. 872 00:59:13,008 --> 00:59:16,094 So Columbia said, "Oh, that will never work." 873 00:59:16,261 --> 00:59:18,096 And... 874 00:59:18,305 --> 00:59:22,517 And so the Columbia guys went out and they found some guys that said: 875 00:59:22,684 --> 00:59:25,103 "We can do this for $5000 a shot." 876 00:59:25,270 --> 00:59:29,524 And that particular group, that will remain nameless... 877 00:59:29,691 --> 00:59:35,655 ...came and did some test shots, and when they finally came back to us... 878 00:59:35,822 --> 00:59:39,242 ...they were unwatchable. And the producer, Phil Feldman... 879 00:59:39,409 --> 00:59:41,078 ...would not even show them to me. I said: 880 00:59:41,244 --> 00:59:44,748 "Well, Phil, I can see it. I'm a big boy. I know what stuff looks like." 881 00:59:44,915 --> 00:59:47,626 He says, "I'm not showing you these shots." 882 00:59:47,793 --> 00:59:52,714 So at this point, we discovered Hoyt. 883 00:59:52,881 --> 00:59:56,635 And Hoyt, if I remember right, you, or you and your company... 884 00:59:56,802 --> 00:59:59,930 ...was working in kind of a garage in Culver City. 885 01:00:00,097 --> 01:00:03,141 That's right. It was a very small little room where we had built... 886 01:00:03,308 --> 01:00:05,185 ...our first motion-control system. 887 01:00:05,352 --> 01:00:08,230 And on this show, what we did, instead of building exotic models... 888 01:00:08,396 --> 01:00:12,150 ...we went down to the hobby store, basically, and bought a Tamiya... 889 01:00:12,317 --> 01:00:15,737 ...a very finely made, you know, model of an F-16... 890 01:00:15,904 --> 01:00:18,365 ...and Greg Jean, a renowned model maker, built it for us. 891 01:00:18,532 --> 01:00:20,909 And so that was the first real model shop that we had. 892 01:00:21,076 --> 01:00:23,537 It was Greg building a standard, off-the-shelf model. 893 01:00:23,703 --> 01:00:28,250 And that's what we used for the model work in <i>Blue Thunder.</i> 894 01:00:29,042 --> 01:00:34,172 So the shots that came in from Hoyt were just fabulous... 895 01:00:34,339 --> 01:00:38,927 ...and at an amount that we could afford... 896 01:00:39,094 --> 01:00:43,557 ...a little bit more than the $5000 that Columbia wanted to spend. 897 01:00:43,723 --> 01:00:48,562 But on the other hand, thank goodness we were backed by Ray Stark... 898 01:00:48,728 --> 01:00:50,814 ...who was powerful enough to tell Columbia... 899 01:00:50,981 --> 01:00:54,317 ...that we had to have the thing look right... 900 01:00:54,484 --> 01:00:57,320 -...and not cheesy-- -Right. 901 01:00:57,487 --> 01:00:59,990 --like some old horror movie. 902 01:01:00,157 --> 01:01:03,702 Right. Believability, I think, in this picture, was of prime importance. 903 01:01:05,412 --> 01:01:09,541 Yes, we always wanted to have things very, very believable. 904 01:01:09,708 --> 01:01:11,877 And with the helicopter... 905 01:01:12,085 --> 01:01:16,464 ...to do as much real stuff with the helicopter as possible. 906 01:01:16,631 --> 01:01:19,342 But then when we get into areas with F-16s... 907 01:01:19,509 --> 01:01:22,387 ...and some trick things the helicopter did... 908 01:01:22,596 --> 01:01:26,308 ...we would have to rely on, you know, some new technology. 909 01:01:26,474 --> 01:01:28,351 Right. 910 01:01:33,690 --> 01:01:38,528 We're coming up on a scene that's an interesting special effects scene... 911 01:01:38,695 --> 01:01:41,615 ...as they find some people inside this building. 912 01:01:41,781 --> 01:01:46,620 They're using heat-sensing technology for the helicopter. 913 01:01:49,289 --> 01:01:52,209 I'm holding you responsible for that man's behaviour. 914 01:01:52,459 --> 01:01:55,712 Dr. Haycock strongly recommended he be grounded. 915 01:01:56,004 --> 01:01:58,006 For your information, Mr. Icelan... 916 01:01:58,215 --> 01:02:01,551 ...there are no paranoid schizophrenics on duty here. 917 01:02:01,760 --> 01:02:04,054 He checks his sanity with his wristwatch! 918 01:02:06,932 --> 01:02:09,434 That's my favourite line in the movie. 919 01:02:11,019 --> 01:02:12,187 He's finished as of now. 920 01:02:12,437 --> 01:02:15,190 If there's a scratch on that aircraft, so are you. 921 01:02:16,024 --> 01:02:17,651 -Try the thermograph. -Yeah. 922 01:02:22,948 --> 01:02:24,241 I told you it was cool. 923 01:02:24,741 --> 01:02:26,326 Lovely, lovely! 924 01:02:31,039 --> 01:02:32,874 -Park here. -I'll bring it around. 925 01:02:33,166 --> 01:02:34,251 I got something! 926 01:02:38,797 --> 01:02:43,843 So this was an extremely complicated scene to shoot. 927 01:02:44,386 --> 01:02:47,931 {\an8}Here, we're on the stage doing the actors... 928 01:02:48,098 --> 01:02:54,646 ...against rear projection. And now these images here, there was-- 929 01:02:54,813 --> 01:02:58,108 It had to be done in a very low-tech way. 930 01:02:58,275 --> 01:03:04,614 All the actors were put in white suits and had white makeup on. 931 01:03:04,781 --> 01:03:09,452 So we shot them in this room, doing all of this action... 932 01:03:09,619 --> 01:03:11,705 ...in their normal wardrobe. 933 01:03:11,871 --> 01:03:15,625 And once we had finished shooting the scene, we sent them off... 934 01:03:15,792 --> 01:03:18,378 ...where they put on the white suits and the white makeup. 935 01:03:18,545 --> 01:03:21,047 They came back and we reshot it... 936 01:03:21,214 --> 01:03:27,554 ...on a black stage that duplicated the same office. 937 01:03:28,305 --> 01:03:32,434 And now you had these weird images... 938 01:03:32,600 --> 01:03:35,979 ...that were run through all kinds of video process... 939 01:03:36,146 --> 01:03:38,440 ...to make them look like the way they are... 940 01:03:38,606 --> 01:03:41,860 ...reflecting, supposedly, the heat of the bodies. 941 01:03:43,945 --> 01:03:47,073 This is in kind of a pre-digital era, too, when we're doing this. 942 01:03:47,240 --> 01:03:51,036 We had television effects, but we really didn't have digital technology for film. 943 01:03:51,244 --> 01:03:54,164 If I remember right, this was done at Warner Bros... 944 01:03:54,331 --> 01:04:00,045 ...in one of their little video studios that the man built... 945 01:04:00,253 --> 01:04:05,050 ...who kind of invented 24-frame video for movies. 946 01:04:10,305 --> 01:04:12,932 We're in deep shit! Let's get the hell out! 947 01:04:28,573 --> 01:04:31,284 <i>Tower, we have 330 degrees and 15.</i> 948 01:04:31,534 --> 01:04:34,662 <i>Altimeter still 3000. Clear to land?</i> 949 01:04:35,663 --> 01:04:38,333 <i>Air-12 traffic, 1 o'clock two miles north-eastbound.</i> 950 01:04:38,541 --> 01:04:40,710 <i>It's a Cessna 182 to 5000 VFR.</i> 951 01:04:42,962 --> 01:04:49,135 The air traffic controllers here-- This guy is an air traffic controller... 952 01:04:49,302 --> 01:04:51,429 ...who was also an actor. 953 01:04:51,596 --> 01:04:55,558 So I got the benefit of both skills. 954 01:04:55,725 --> 01:04:59,187 And he could sit there and make this stuff up all day long... 955 01:04:59,354 --> 01:05:02,857 ...and provide chatter for us so it sounded very real. 956 01:05:03,024 --> 01:05:05,568 And Lord knows what the planes would actually do... 957 01:05:05,735 --> 01:05:08,822 ...if they followed his directions. 958 01:05:09,364 --> 01:05:11,241 All right, sir. I will. 959 01:05:11,491 --> 01:05:12,992 Yes, thank you. 960 01:05:15,120 --> 01:05:18,081 -Did you have a nice flight? -I enjoyed it. 961 01:05:18,331 --> 01:05:20,667 I hope so. It's your last for a while. 962 01:05:20,875 --> 01:05:23,253 -Now listen, Jack-- -No, you listen. 963 01:05:23,461 --> 01:05:24,921 That's how it is from now on: 964 01:05:25,171 --> 01:05:27,090 Me captain, you cop. Me talk, you listen. 965 01:05:27,757 --> 01:05:30,635 If I don't have an ass when I get out of this chair... 966 01:05:30,844 --> 01:05:33,054 ...it's because the old man chewed it off. 967 01:05:36,141 --> 01:05:40,228 This is more of that great Dean Riesner dialogue. 968 01:05:42,188 --> 01:05:46,151 You're beautiful when you're angry, but let's talk privately. 969 01:05:46,401 --> 01:05:49,070 We don't have any secrets from Mr. Icelan. 970 01:05:49,446 --> 01:05:52,615 You're off the program. You and your buddy Lymangood. 971 01:05:52,866 --> 01:05:55,368 I'll be lucky if I'm not in Pacoima tomorrow... 972 01:05:55,535 --> 01:05:56,995 ...driving a black-and-white. 973 01:05:59,998 --> 01:06:01,791 Captain Braddock speaking. 974 01:06:02,250 --> 01:06:03,918 Yes, sir. He's here, colonel. 975 01:06:06,754 --> 01:06:07,797 Icelan. 976 01:06:10,758 --> 01:06:13,511 Guys, don't forget to check under the hood. 977 01:06:13,761 --> 01:06:15,763 Just gonna get my cuff links. 978 01:06:26,191 --> 01:06:27,233 Yeah. 979 01:06:27,442 --> 01:06:30,320 Who are you conning with that phony radio shit? 980 01:06:30,528 --> 01:06:34,657 For chrissakes, that went out three days after Marconi invented it! 981 01:06:39,829 --> 01:06:41,623 Captain Braddock speaking. 982 01:06:44,000 --> 01:06:45,168 Yes, sir. 983 01:06:46,920 --> 01:06:48,588 Yes, sir. It's taken care of. 984 01:07:07,065 --> 01:07:08,650 Who unlocked the memory bank? 985 01:07:08,858 --> 01:07:10,693 That tall numb-nuts cop. 986 01:07:10,944 --> 01:07:13,571 I understood you weren't really able to fly the Blue Thunder... 987 01:07:13,738 --> 01:07:15,573 ...over populated areas? Is that correct too? 988 01:07:15,740 --> 01:07:19,702 Because it wasn't really FAA approved. So you had to clear areas out... 989 01:07:19,869 --> 01:07:22,038 ...when you flew. That's why you flew on weekends. 990 01:07:22,205 --> 01:07:24,832 -Was this a rumor, or was that true? -Well, it's-- 991 01:07:24,999 --> 01:07:27,919 That's a partially true story. 992 01:07:28,086 --> 01:07:31,381 When you fly below 1 000 feet... 993 01:07:31,548 --> 01:07:35,927 ...you have to be in an area that is controlled. 994 01:07:36,094 --> 01:07:40,848 So the Blue Thunder helicopter flew all over Los Angeles. 995 01:07:41,015 --> 01:07:44,561 I mean, everywhere, but above 1 000 feet. 996 01:07:44,727 --> 01:07:48,856 But when we got to Downtown Los Angeles for later sequences... 997 01:07:49,023 --> 01:07:53,194 ...that we'll come up on, we were sometimes only at 50 feet... 998 01:07:53,361 --> 01:07:54,988 ...flying around. 999 01:07:55,154 --> 01:07:57,615 And so those areas were locked off... 1000 01:07:57,782 --> 01:08:02,203 ...and we could only shoot in Downtown Los Angeles on Sundays. 1001 01:08:02,370 --> 01:08:06,833 So Sundays in Downtown Los Angeles, unlike New York-- 1002 01:08:07,000 --> 01:08:10,837 I mean, the place is deserted, and... 1003 01:08:11,004 --> 01:08:14,090 You know, nobody is down there. 1004 01:08:14,257 --> 01:08:18,553 Or at least at the time. So we could clear out eight or 10 blocks... 1005 01:08:18,720 --> 01:08:20,638 ...and just work in that area... 1006 01:08:20,805 --> 01:08:27,312 ...and control the pedestrians and the traffic going there. 1007 01:08:28,396 --> 01:08:30,898 John, when you remix this, do me a favour. 1008 01:08:31,065 --> 01:08:33,192 -What? -Put the finger snaps in. 1009 01:08:33,359 --> 01:08:35,153 Put the finger snaps in. 1010 01:08:35,320 --> 01:08:39,657 Oh, yeah, this was a big argument with Columbia, constantly. 1011 01:08:41,034 --> 01:08:46,122 The crack of the fingers that you just heard: How loud should it be? 1012 01:08:46,289 --> 01:08:48,583 It seemed no matter how much we turned it down... 1013 01:08:48,750 --> 01:08:52,629 ...people were still horrified by it if you could hear a little bit. 1014 01:08:53,755 --> 01:08:55,381 They just go: 1015 01:08:56,132 --> 01:08:58,301 Because everybody knows what that must feel like... 1016 01:08:58,468 --> 01:09:01,554 ...even if you've never had it done. 1017 01:09:05,183 --> 01:09:08,603 The guy who just went out the door-- This is Terry Leonard... 1018 01:09:08,770 --> 01:09:10,938 ...one of the great stuntmen of Hollywood. 1019 01:09:11,105 --> 01:09:12,899 He was our stunt coordinator. 1020 01:09:13,066 --> 01:09:18,196 And he's a phenomenal guy who's done... 1021 01:09:18,738 --> 01:09:23,368 ...the most amazing stunts in Westerns where he's being dragged... 1022 01:09:23,576 --> 01:09:27,080 ...by a stagecoach, right in between the horses. 1023 01:09:28,247 --> 01:09:32,960 Terry directs a great deal, so we were very lucky to have him. 1024 01:09:34,253 --> 01:09:37,298 And one reason I bring it up... 1025 01:09:37,465 --> 01:09:41,177 ...is he's got a lot of broken bones and hips and pelvis and so on... 1026 01:09:41,344 --> 01:09:43,137 ...he's accumulated over the years... 1027 01:09:43,304 --> 01:09:48,768 ...and yet he insisted on doing this stunt where he falls down. 1028 01:09:48,935 --> 01:09:51,854 And the reason he insisted on it was, he felt bad... 1029 01:09:52,021 --> 01:09:55,066 ...because the guy he hired for the job couldn't show up... 1030 01:09:55,233 --> 01:09:59,487 ...was stuck on a movie at Universal that went over on the day. 1031 01:09:59,654 --> 01:10:02,490 And he said, "Well, I'll do it. I'll do it." 1032 01:10:02,657 --> 01:10:05,910 And I said, "Terry, you can't. Your bones won't stand for it." 1033 01:10:06,119 --> 01:10:07,745 "Oh, no, it's fine." 1034 01:10:07,912 --> 01:10:11,874 That's how nuts these stunt guys can be. 1035 01:10:13,376 --> 01:10:18,131 This car was being driven by great stunt driver, Carey Loftin. 1036 01:10:19,048 --> 01:10:21,467 Carey Loftin did all the driving in <i>Bullitt...</i> 1037 01:10:23,177 --> 01:10:25,805 ...that Steve McQueen did not do. 1038 01:10:25,972 --> 01:10:28,808 And he was a phenomenal, phenomenal driver... 1039 01:10:28,975 --> 01:10:33,396 ...and he was pretty elderly at this time. He was almost 70... 1040 01:10:33,563 --> 01:10:37,942 ...but he could still whip that car around like nobody's business. 1041 01:10:52,832 --> 01:10:57,170 These stunts on the ground, like just getting that kind of rolling, you know-- 1042 01:10:57,336 --> 01:10:59,589 I don't remember how we did that. 1043 01:10:59,756 --> 01:11:04,719 So the guy looked like he was run over, but he was not run over. 1044 01:11:06,095 --> 01:11:11,684 I've always felt that I made a huge mistake at this point in the movie... 1045 01:11:11,851 --> 01:11:14,187 ...that we killed Lymangood. 1046 01:11:14,353 --> 01:11:16,481 There's my daughter, Kelly, right in the center. 1047 01:11:18,524 --> 01:11:24,113 So I always thought that things would've been happier... 1048 01:11:24,280 --> 01:11:26,741 ...if we had him taken off to the hospital... 1049 01:11:26,908 --> 01:11:29,452 ...but maybe he could recover later on. 1050 01:11:29,619 --> 01:11:32,246 But at the time, I insisted on, "No, he's gotta be dead... 1051 01:11:32,413 --> 01:11:35,082 ...that we have to see him go in the body bag." 1052 01:11:37,502 --> 01:11:42,507 And I found that it depressed people in the audience a great deal. 1053 01:11:42,715 --> 01:11:44,258 They got so upset. 1054 01:11:44,425 --> 01:11:47,386 But my thinking was that... 1055 01:11:47,553 --> 01:11:51,307 ...this was gonna give Scheider's character, Murphy... 1056 01:11:51,474 --> 01:11:57,396 ...the motivation he needed to do all the crazy things he's about to get into. 1057 01:11:58,981 --> 01:12:01,818 But I think that it would've worked just as well... 1058 01:12:01,984 --> 01:12:06,531 ...if the guy was severely injured but still gonna live. 1059 01:12:06,739 --> 01:12:09,784 <i>California license 909 King-Edward-Boy.</i> 1060 01:12:09,951 --> 01:12:13,246 <i>Frank Murphy. Detain and hold for questioning...</i> 1061 01:12:13,412 --> 01:12:16,958 <i>...in connection with the death of Officer Richard Lymangood.</i> 1062 01:12:32,265 --> 01:12:34,600 Well, this is right close to your neighbourhood, Hoyt. 1063 01:12:34,767 --> 01:12:38,020 This is right across from old Hampton's... 1064 01:12:38,187 --> 01:12:43,776 -...now called Mo's, in Toluca Lake. -Right. 1065 01:12:44,652 --> 01:12:48,823 There's a Bob's Big Boy across the way. 1066 01:12:52,076 --> 01:12:54,287 <i>Call me if you want to talk.</i> 1067 01:13:09,468 --> 01:13:14,140 Los Angeles police did not want their insignias used... 1068 01:13:14,307 --> 01:13:18,811 ...and so the "Astro Division" was a phrase that was made up... 1069 01:13:20,146 --> 01:13:24,859 ...because they really didn't want connection with us on the movie. 1070 01:13:25,026 --> 01:13:26,736 They were very helpful and cooperative... 1071 01:13:26,903 --> 01:13:30,072 ...they just didn't want their name all over the place. 1072 01:13:30,239 --> 01:13:32,575 I forgot that. 1073 01:13:35,036 --> 01:13:37,496 -Here's your tea, colonel. -Thank you. 1074 01:13:38,080 --> 01:13:39,874 Why don't we just blank the tape? 1075 01:13:40,041 --> 01:13:42,627 That's what it's designed for, right? 1076 01:13:42,835 --> 01:13:45,504 This set really worked. 1077 01:13:46,255 --> 01:13:48,591 The mechanics' shop out there-- 1078 01:13:48,758 --> 01:13:51,510 Was that the same location as built on this--? 1079 01:13:51,677 --> 01:13:55,973 Same location. And actually, that is an actual garage... 1080 01:13:56,140 --> 01:14:00,478 ...that's up on top of the Piper Tech, and we were able to use this set. 1081 01:14:00,645 --> 01:14:03,522 This is a practical garage... 1082 01:14:03,689 --> 01:14:07,693 ...and it had been built for servicing these helicopters. 1083 01:14:07,860 --> 01:14:14,492 So that was really, really nice for us to have the ability to use this space. 1084 01:14:14,659 --> 01:14:18,037 And plus, the mechanics could actually take the helicopters inside... 1085 01:14:18,204 --> 01:14:21,791 ...and work on them when they needed to. 1086 01:14:24,877 --> 01:14:28,089 Here we're trying to pass a lot of this off as... 1087 01:14:28,255 --> 01:14:32,593 ...you know, possible to happen and actual. 1088 01:14:32,760 --> 01:14:35,262 And by today's standards, it certainly is possible. 1089 01:14:35,429 --> 01:14:37,640 -Yeah, it is. Yeah. -It's old-hat stuff now. 1090 01:14:37,807 --> 01:14:40,226 Yeah, I know. It's gotten closer and closer. 1091 01:14:40,393 --> 01:14:44,021 We even have some forms of "whisper mode"... 1092 01:14:44,188 --> 01:14:47,149 ...where the helicopter will be a lot quieter... 1093 01:14:47,316 --> 01:14:51,153 ...than it is in its normal, noisy self. 1094 01:14:55,116 --> 01:14:57,284 The way we would do some of our aerial shots... 1095 01:14:57,451 --> 01:15:00,246 ...in Downtown Los Angeles, for example-- 1096 01:15:00,413 --> 01:15:03,624 We were down there for 10 Sundays in a row... 1097 01:15:03,791 --> 01:15:07,503 ...and would meet at about 7:30 in the morning... 1098 01:15:07,670 --> 01:15:09,964 ...in some parking lot, Downtown Los Angeles... 1099 01:15:10,131 --> 01:15:13,009 ...where the caterer had some hot coffee and so on. 1100 01:15:13,175 --> 01:15:15,511 And I would sit down with Jim Gavin... 1101 01:15:15,678 --> 01:15:20,599 ...who acted like we had all the time in the world to do this. 1102 01:15:20,766 --> 01:15:23,936 And I'm nervous and scared we're not gonna get our day's work done... 1103 01:15:24,103 --> 01:15:27,106 ...because this was being done in December and January... 1104 01:15:27,273 --> 01:15:28,816 ...where you had very short light. 1105 01:15:28,983 --> 01:15:31,193 It wouldn't get light enough till 8 in the morning... 1106 01:15:31,360 --> 01:15:33,362 ...and by 4:00, you're out of business. 1107 01:15:33,529 --> 01:15:36,449 But we'd sit there at one of the little picnic tables... 1108 01:15:36,615 --> 01:15:40,494 ...and leisurely discuss the shots that we're doing... 1109 01:15:40,661 --> 01:15:43,914 ...and I couldn't hurry him up in any way at all. 1110 01:15:44,081 --> 01:15:46,834 But we would get it really down. 1111 01:15:47,001 --> 01:15:49,003 He wanted to know exactly what I wanted... 1112 01:15:49,170 --> 01:15:52,214 ...and exactly how it was supposed to look. 1113 01:15:52,381 --> 01:15:56,552 Then he would leave, go get his helicopters ready... 1114 01:15:56,719 --> 01:16:00,222 ...and I would get my cameras ready, that were on the ground. 1115 01:16:00,389 --> 01:16:01,932 And he had cameras up in the air. 1116 01:16:02,099 --> 01:16:06,520 So when we were all ready for that particular set of shots... 1117 01:16:06,687 --> 01:16:11,317 ...he would take off from the helicopter pad that we were using at Piper Tech... 1118 01:16:11,484 --> 01:16:16,614 ...and we would start to work and just keep going like that all-- 1119 01:16:16,781 --> 01:16:21,619 Without lunch, just straight through the day and use every hour we could. 1120 01:16:21,994 --> 01:16:22,995 Shit! 1121 01:16:26,207 --> 01:16:27,416 <i>Los Angeles mobile.</i> 1122 01:16:29,335 --> 01:16:31,921 This is how things have changed now. 1123 01:16:32,088 --> 01:16:36,008 Every television show, people are walking around with mobile phones... 1124 01:16:36,175 --> 01:16:38,677 ...and little cell phones that they're carrying around. 1125 01:16:38,844 --> 01:16:41,597 There are millions and millions of them in the world... 1126 01:16:41,764 --> 01:16:44,308 ...but at this time that this movie was done... 1127 01:16:44,517 --> 01:16:49,230 ...you had to get the mobile operator on and wait your turn. 1128 01:16:49,396 --> 01:16:52,691 You know, if there are other guys online, talking on the phone... 1129 01:16:52,858 --> 01:16:55,653 ...it was like having an old-fashioned party line. 1130 01:16:55,820 --> 01:16:59,990 And you needed to know the number in your mind that you were calling... 1131 01:17:00,157 --> 01:17:01,992 ...because you say to the mobile operator: 1132 01:17:02,159 --> 01:17:05,162 "Get me such and such a phone number"... 1133 01:17:05,746 --> 01:17:07,289 Did you shoot those shots air-to-air? 1134 01:17:07,456 --> 01:17:10,167 Were you actually airborne and then had a--? 1135 01:17:10,334 --> 01:17:15,631 Yes, there are a lot of air-to-air shots that worked. 1136 01:17:15,798 --> 01:17:20,094 Now, this is the heli-- The camera is mounted right on the helicopter. 1137 01:17:20,261 --> 01:17:23,347 But we would also then go up and do the-- 1138 01:17:23,556 --> 01:17:28,310 Fly the pattern with one helicopter watching the other one. 1139 01:17:28,477 --> 01:17:32,731 And that was the best way to do it, and very efficient. 1140 01:17:32,898 --> 01:17:36,944 So Jim Gavin is flying above the Blue Thunder helicopter... 1141 01:17:37,111 --> 01:17:42,366 ...right there, and having it do the maneuvers. 1142 01:17:43,075 --> 01:17:44,118 Where is he now? 1143 01:17:44,326 --> 01:17:47,121 Over the Hollywood and Ventura Freeway interchange. 1144 01:17:47,580 --> 01:17:50,207 Get the mayor's office on the phone. 1145 01:17:50,416 --> 01:17:52,751 We're gonna get the Air Force, and now! 1146 01:17:54,295 --> 01:17:56,172 Were you up there much? 1147 01:17:56,338 --> 01:17:59,633 I got to go up there lots and lots. 1148 01:17:59,800 --> 01:18:02,928 I really love flying in a helicopter. 1149 01:18:04,138 --> 01:18:06,390 It's quite exciting... 1150 01:18:06,599 --> 01:18:12,897 ...and Gavin was actually teaching me how to fly, a little bit. 1151 01:18:13,689 --> 01:18:16,734 Roy Scheider really did learn how to fly it. 1152 01:18:16,901 --> 01:18:21,739 I'll show you some shots where he was actually flying the helicopter... 1153 01:18:22,364 --> 01:18:26,327 ...and not just being a passenger pretending to fly the helicopter. 1154 01:18:31,498 --> 01:18:34,376 I regret I didn't take a free ride with him... 1155 01:18:34,543 --> 01:18:38,088 ...other than the fact that we could've been shot at, but... 1156 01:18:38,255 --> 01:18:40,341 Well, that's true. 1157 01:18:45,387 --> 01:18:47,514 Here's another almost-- Antiquity. 1158 01:18:47,681 --> 01:18:52,728 You have to really go a long ways to find drive-in movie theaters. 1159 01:18:55,689 --> 01:18:57,316 And I think Frank and I laughed a lot... 1160 01:18:57,483 --> 01:19:01,528 ...about the idea of burying a tape inside a dumpster. 1161 01:19:02,279 --> 01:19:05,532 -You know, this-- -This is stretching it a bit. 1162 01:19:05,699 --> 01:19:07,743 We're really, really stretching it... 1163 01:19:07,910 --> 01:19:12,915 ...that Lymangood would put this stupid thing inside the dumpster. 1164 01:19:13,082 --> 01:19:16,418 I mean, it was a lot of fun because, here, look what-- 1165 01:19:16,585 --> 01:19:19,797 Candy Clark getting to flip upside down and so on. 1166 01:19:19,964 --> 01:19:24,718 But it was not the smartest place in the world to do this. 1167 01:19:26,553 --> 01:19:32,017 When Columbia later decided to make a <i>Blue Thunder</i> television series... 1168 01:19:32,184 --> 01:19:35,354 ...this truck is the very one that they decided to use... 1169 01:19:35,521 --> 01:19:38,107 ...because they couldn't afford to fly the helicopter... 1170 01:19:38,274 --> 01:19:44,196 ...so they had to do it all on the ground, which was another brilliant decision. 1171 01:20:00,504 --> 01:20:02,339 I mean, what was he thinking? 1172 01:20:02,506 --> 01:20:05,551 "I'll put it--" And they don't dump this thing out till Monday. 1173 01:20:05,718 --> 01:20:08,887 I mean, this is, like, nuts. How does he know that? 1174 01:20:09,054 --> 01:20:10,889 Oh, well. 1175 01:20:24,236 --> 01:20:27,156 This is the part I told you about where Candy Clark... 1176 01:20:27,323 --> 01:20:30,159 ...is actually driving the vehicle here. 1177 01:20:30,326 --> 01:20:36,290 And the silly director, who doesn't have the sense God gave a billy goat... 1178 01:20:36,457 --> 01:20:40,085 ...is actually in the car with her... 1179 01:20:41,754 --> 01:20:45,299 ...which is kind of nuts. Like, for this shot... 1180 01:20:45,466 --> 01:20:46,800 ...and this shot... 1181 01:20:46,967 --> 01:20:49,053 ...I'm in there saying, "Okay, drive faster." 1182 01:20:49,261 --> 01:20:51,597 And look at that car bouncing all over the place. 1183 01:20:53,932 --> 01:20:57,353 Eventually, flying through the gate. 1184 01:21:09,782 --> 01:21:11,825 This shot, right there-- 1185 01:21:11,992 --> 01:21:16,789 We almost killed a young Japanese guy who was observing John Alonzo. 1186 01:21:16,955 --> 01:21:19,583 And John said, "Here, you can operate this camera." 1187 01:21:19,792 --> 01:21:22,628 And that police car went into a spin right there. 1188 01:21:22,795 --> 01:21:27,216 You saw how close it came to the camera. 1189 01:21:27,383 --> 01:21:33,097 And he was only saved because the key grip had a hold of his belt. 1190 01:21:33,305 --> 01:21:36,850 And he was a small Japanese guy so he was able to pick him up... 1191 01:21:37,017 --> 01:21:42,064 ...and, you know, save him, because otherwise... 1192 01:21:42,231 --> 01:21:44,316 Otherwise, he would've been toast. 1193 01:21:48,320 --> 01:21:49,863 No shit, <i>pendejo!</i> 1194 01:21:50,114 --> 01:21:51,907 Set that thing down, man. 1195 01:21:52,116 --> 01:21:54,785 We got two choppers full of SWAT guys. 1196 01:21:54,952 --> 01:21:59,123 So here we've got four helicopters up in the air now. 1197 01:21:59,331 --> 01:22:01,375 It's getting real cosy up here. 1198 01:22:01,834 --> 01:22:04,169 Return to base or we're gonna open fire. 1199 01:22:08,257 --> 01:22:10,175 Come on, will you, Murphy? 1200 01:22:13,429 --> 01:22:14,847 All right, knock him down. 1201 01:22:18,642 --> 01:22:21,687 -Were you up here? -No, this part I actually-- 1202 01:22:21,854 --> 01:22:28,068 I sent Jim Gavin up, and let him direct some of this. 1203 01:22:33,365 --> 01:22:35,659 A couple of the shots, I would do down on the ground-- 1204 01:22:35,868 --> 01:22:37,828 The close-ups in the helicopter-- 1205 01:22:37,995 --> 01:22:40,164 --But most of them were done up in the air. 1206 01:22:40,372 --> 01:22:43,459 We had so much work to do that we were spread out... 1207 01:22:43,625 --> 01:22:48,005 ...sometimes as many as five or six different camera units working... 1208 01:22:48,172 --> 01:22:51,383 ...you know, getting this footage. 1209 01:22:54,011 --> 01:22:56,805 And things like this I would give to Jim Gavin and say: 1210 01:22:56,972 --> 01:23:01,560 "Here, go and get this started." 1211 01:23:03,312 --> 01:23:09,735 I remember there were very few action scenes that did not have six cameras. 1212 01:23:09,902 --> 01:23:12,654 Right. Because doing things like this... 1213 01:23:12,821 --> 01:23:16,909 ...as we go into the Los Angeles riverbed... 1214 01:23:17,075 --> 01:23:21,163 ...which is actually a big flood-control channel... 1215 01:23:21,747 --> 01:23:24,583 ...for the occasions when it does rain. 1216 01:23:24,750 --> 01:23:28,337 This is the only thing that keeps Los Angeles from washing away. 1217 01:23:28,504 --> 01:23:33,342 And we got permission to fly down inside the flood-control channel... 1218 01:23:33,509 --> 01:23:36,553 ...for a length of about four miles... 1219 01:23:36,720 --> 01:23:41,767 ...to go in and shoot this whole chase sequence. 1220 01:23:49,441 --> 01:23:53,612 And you can see that Scheider is actually in the helicopter... 1221 01:23:53,779 --> 01:23:57,950 ...and we're down in the riverbed with him, and he's being flown through. 1222 01:23:58,116 --> 01:24:04,414 We're getting these close-ups, actually, as low as you're seeing them. 1223 01:24:04,581 --> 01:24:09,753 Fabulous stuff. Very, very exciting things. 1224 01:24:09,962 --> 01:24:13,090 -Amazing sequence. -Amazing. It is. 1225 01:24:13,966 --> 01:24:16,260 Well, they're all amazing. 1226 01:24:18,220 --> 01:24:22,057 And there's so much special effects work here... 1227 01:24:22,224 --> 01:24:27,479 ...with squibs that have to be mounted onto the helicopters... 1228 01:24:27,646 --> 01:24:30,107 ...and smoke that you want to have coming out of them... 1229 01:24:30,274 --> 01:24:32,609 ...and broken windows, and so on. 1230 01:24:33,402 --> 01:24:38,448 And here, this whole crash was an amazing thing... 1231 01:24:38,615 --> 01:24:43,912 ...with a combination of almost a balsa-wood helicopter... 1232 01:24:44,079 --> 01:24:50,168 ...that was pulled along a track and crashed into the abutment there... 1233 01:24:50,335 --> 01:24:54,423 ...and then substituted with this helicopter, so... 1234 01:24:55,591 --> 01:24:59,720 Very, very complicated footage to get. 1235 01:25:04,850 --> 01:25:08,228 And this is where Terry Leonard's stunt guys... 1236 01:25:08,395 --> 01:25:10,606 ...really started to outdo themselves. 1237 01:25:10,772 --> 01:25:16,862 We'll see a lot of phenomenally good stunt driving coming up here. 1238 01:25:23,035 --> 01:25:25,037 <i>Okay, lady! Pull over!</i> 1239 01:25:25,203 --> 01:25:30,000 We're probably coming up to one of the most famous shots from this movie... 1240 01:25:30,167 --> 01:25:33,545 ...and one that's been often imitated... 1241 01:25:33,712 --> 01:25:38,800 ...as they've stopped Candy Clark here, and she's trapped. 1242 01:25:40,135 --> 01:25:44,431 Now play it very cool. I need your license and your registration. 1243 01:25:44,640 --> 01:25:46,058 Sure. 1244 01:25:51,563 --> 01:25:54,274 -I think I left them-- -Get out of the car. 1245 01:25:59,571 --> 01:26:04,242 So here, to achieve this shot... 1246 01:26:04,409 --> 01:26:07,204 ...we had a 1 000 mm lens... 1247 01:26:07,371 --> 01:26:11,917 ...that was almost a mile down the riverbank... 1248 01:26:12,084 --> 01:26:16,004 ...shooting that shot to get that effect. 1249 01:26:16,171 --> 01:26:20,884 And on a platform. It was the craziest thing. 1250 01:26:25,138 --> 01:26:29,768 And now, watching here, we have to have a car that's made to break apart... 1251 01:26:29,935 --> 01:26:35,399 ...and yet can still drive-- So it had extra wheels in the back. 1252 01:26:35,607 --> 01:26:38,735 --Once the car had split apart, and that's just quite something. 1253 01:26:38,902 --> 01:26:43,323 Going 40 miles an hour, it's gotta become two cars. 1254 01:26:43,490 --> 01:26:47,244 Now watch this motorcycle in this little chase. 1255 01:26:47,411 --> 01:26:52,499 There's Candy Clark still driving the vehicle. 1256 01:26:53,792 --> 01:26:57,546 And this stunt guy did not have good luck. 1257 01:26:58,463 --> 01:27:01,425 He has to lay the bike down deliberately... 1258 01:27:01,633 --> 01:27:07,347 ...but here, he crashed. And actually I think he broke his ankle. 1259 01:27:07,514 --> 01:27:08,932 Oh, my. 1260 01:27:09,766 --> 01:27:15,814 Our producer, Phil Feldman, is on the right. Balding guy in the uniform. 1261 01:27:15,981 --> 01:27:20,527 He really wanted to do a part in this movie, and he said: 1262 01:27:20,694 --> 01:27:24,448 "Oh, I could be the Air Force major." 1263 01:27:24,656 --> 01:27:27,200 A couple of F-16s are standing by at March Field. 1264 01:27:27,451 --> 01:27:30,495 Phil had been in <i>The Godfather.</i> 1265 01:27:30,662 --> 01:27:33,165 Francis Ford Coppola had put him in <i>The Godfather.</i> 1266 01:27:33,331 --> 01:27:35,709 And he said he could do this. 1267 01:27:35,876 --> 01:27:38,253 He loved acting. 1268 01:27:40,797 --> 01:27:43,175 We can surgically remove him. Like a tumor. 1269 01:27:43,425 --> 01:27:45,343 We're not talking about a tumor. 1270 01:27:52,934 --> 01:27:54,936 You gotta make a right there! 1271 01:27:59,524 --> 01:28:00,942 No, Kate! 1272 01:28:15,916 --> 01:28:19,211 This is where we dropped one of the scenes out of the movie with-- 1273 01:28:19,377 --> 01:28:23,131 Well, we probably have it in our outtakes. 1274 01:28:23,298 --> 01:28:28,804 We're hoping so, because it was a really good little sequence... 1275 01:28:28,970 --> 01:28:32,057 ...where she's going through the alley. 1276 01:28:32,224 --> 01:28:34,392 But at the time, we thought, "Well--" 1277 01:28:34,559 --> 01:28:37,896 We had to trim some things out of the movie. 1278 01:28:47,364 --> 01:28:49,658 Thattagirl. Good work! 1279 01:28:52,994 --> 01:28:55,956 The scene that was cut out was her driving down the alleyway... 1280 01:28:56,122 --> 01:29:00,085 -...and as she got to a very narrow-- -Here we go. Yeah. 1281 01:29:00,252 --> 01:29:01,795 Here we go. Hoyt, you better take over. 1282 01:29:01,962 --> 01:29:04,631 On this one, it's interesting. We're not using blue screen... 1283 01:29:04,798 --> 01:29:06,967 ...which is the reason it looked as good as it did... 1284 01:29:07,133 --> 01:29:08,885 ...back in those days of photo opticals. 1285 01:29:09,052 --> 01:29:11,513 As opposed to shooting the models on a blue-screen stage... 1286 01:29:11,680 --> 01:29:13,849 ...with blue-screen pylons with motion-control... 1287 01:29:14,015 --> 01:29:18,228 ...that model actually is coated with an ultraviolet invisible material... 1288 01:29:18,395 --> 01:29:20,689 ...that isn't photographed during the production pass. 1289 01:29:20,856 --> 01:29:22,607 So in other words, the F-16 model... 1290 01:29:22,774 --> 01:29:25,443 ...is shot against black using motion-control... 1291 01:29:25,610 --> 01:29:27,320 ...and then the motion-control camera-- 1292 01:29:27,487 --> 01:29:30,699 The film was unloaded and replaced with a black-and-white film... 1293 01:29:30,866 --> 01:29:33,910 ...and then the model is illuminated with ultraviolet light... 1294 01:29:34,077 --> 01:29:36,580 ...and special suppression filters are put on to the camera... 1295 01:29:36,788 --> 01:29:39,624 ...that prevent the black-and-white film from seeing the ultraviolet. 1296 01:29:39,791 --> 01:29:41,501 But the model would glow. 1297 01:29:41,668 --> 01:29:44,379 And then the camera, it reproduces the move... 1298 01:29:44,546 --> 01:29:46,423 ...and we get a first-generation matte. 1299 01:29:46,590 --> 01:29:49,551 That was the secret why we were able to pull mattes against blue sky... 1300 01:29:49,718 --> 01:29:52,178 ...where everyone else was using the blue-screen techniques. 1301 01:29:52,345 --> 01:29:54,472 That was a thing we came up with. 1302 01:29:55,056 --> 01:29:59,102 Where did you come up with this technique of the ultraviolet? 1303 01:29:59,311 --> 01:30:01,730 It was at the same time Apogee was playing around with it. 1304 01:30:01,897 --> 01:30:07,569 It's a very unique substance that is a very high-fluorescent material... 1305 01:30:07,736 --> 01:30:10,238 ...that is literally invisible to the eye... 1306 01:30:10,405 --> 01:30:12,616 ...but is one of the strongest fluorescent materials... 1307 01:30:12,824 --> 01:30:14,659 ...when illuminated with ultraviolet light. 1308 01:30:14,826 --> 01:30:17,871 So the advantage is that you get a first-generation black-and-white matte. 1309 01:30:18,038 --> 01:30:20,040 It's more difficult to shoot... 1310 01:30:20,206 --> 01:30:23,960 ...and requires you having a black-and-white department... 1311 01:30:24,127 --> 01:30:26,338 ...and getting perfect exposures. But once it's done... 1312 01:30:26,504 --> 01:30:28,715 ...the mattes go together like never before... 1313 01:30:28,882 --> 01:30:30,759 ...and so it gives a much superior look... 1314 01:30:30,926 --> 01:30:33,553 ...when you're doing it photographically on an optical printer. 1315 01:30:33,720 --> 01:30:36,389 Well, it's true, the difference is amazing... 1316 01:30:36,556 --> 01:30:41,269 ...because here, we see these images and we can't see a line around them... 1317 01:30:41,436 --> 01:30:43,438 ...which we always used to see. 1318 01:30:43,605 --> 01:30:45,690 Apogee, that was John Dykstra's company. 1319 01:30:45,857 --> 01:30:48,944 That's right, yeah. John, he called it the "reverse blue technique"... 1320 01:30:49,110 --> 01:30:50,612 ...which was a little different. 1321 01:30:50,779 --> 01:30:53,657 Their system used a blue fluorescent material and a red ship. 1322 01:30:53,865 --> 01:30:58,203 Ours was shot against black and a first-generation matte was pulled. 1323 01:30:58,370 --> 01:31:00,288 -There's the test shot that-- -Yes, we did. 1324 01:31:00,455 --> 01:31:05,794 That one, I think, that Hoyt did and several companies did in competition. 1325 01:31:05,961 --> 01:31:07,420 Right. 1326 01:31:07,587 --> 01:31:13,468 That's a little 16-inch-long Tamiya model kit that's used together, so-- 1327 01:31:13,635 --> 01:31:18,848 Has that F-16 in the background of the cockpit. 1328 01:31:19,015 --> 01:31:21,810 And that's all that you inserted. 1329 01:31:21,977 --> 01:31:24,229 Right. Correct. 1330 01:31:30,318 --> 01:31:32,946 {\an8}There he is. He's all yours, cookie. 1331 01:31:33,822 --> 01:31:37,617 {\an8}Now, we're hearing the voice of Frank Morriss, who's sitting next to me... 1332 01:31:37,784 --> 01:31:41,538 ...who played the F-16 pilot here. 1333 01:31:42,455 --> 01:31:45,208 -So I just want you to know. -Yeah. 1334 01:31:49,629 --> 01:31:52,424 This sequence, I was told by the assistant director... 1335 01:31:52,590 --> 01:31:59,472 {\an8}...would never wind up in the movie because it was too silly and too crazy. 1336 01:31:59,639 --> 01:32:03,852 {\an8}But it is definitely one of my favourite, favourite scenes in the movie. 1337 01:32:04,019 --> 01:32:10,358 And, yes, it's silly, but, you know, it's just great fun. 1338 01:32:11,860 --> 01:32:15,321 -This is-- Hoyt, you were there shooting. -That's my first day of shooting. 1339 01:32:15,488 --> 01:32:17,824 Kind of woke me up, because after the explosion... 1340 01:32:17,991 --> 01:32:21,369 ...we looked at our matte box and it had melted the front element of it... 1341 01:32:21,536 --> 01:32:23,997 ...so it got pretty hot. 1342 01:32:35,967 --> 01:32:37,635 Holy shit! 1343 01:32:39,971 --> 01:32:45,852 Now, these are actual barbecued chickens, honest to God. 1344 01:32:46,019 --> 01:32:48,146 Everybody thought they were rubber chickens. 1345 01:32:48,313 --> 01:32:52,150 But the actual chickens were cheaper than the rubber chickens. 1346 01:32:52,317 --> 01:32:53,985 You could go to Ralphs supermarket... 1347 01:32:54,152 --> 01:32:57,489 ...and buy them for $2.50 apiece for the chicken... 1348 01:32:57,655 --> 01:33:00,909 ...and the rubber chickens cost, like, 20 bucks apiece... 1349 01:33:01,076 --> 01:33:04,871 ...and we needed thousands of these things. 1350 01:33:05,038 --> 01:33:09,209 And the whole street was covered in chicken fat. 1351 01:33:09,375 --> 01:33:11,836 And we had homeless guys coming out of the woodwork... 1352 01:33:12,003 --> 01:33:14,756 ...you know, grabbing hold of chickens, running around. 1353 01:33:14,923 --> 01:33:18,676 It was one of the craziest things I've ever done in filming. 1354 01:33:24,641 --> 01:33:27,894 -Here they come. -More plates over Santa Monica. Right? 1355 01:33:28,061 --> 01:33:30,897 We shot those from the rooftops. 1356 01:33:31,064 --> 01:33:34,400 Isn't this the area where you had the flameout and...? 1357 01:33:34,567 --> 01:33:36,653 Yeah, that's coming up. 1358 01:33:36,820 --> 01:33:42,408 The flameout is shortly as we go around these buildings. 1359 01:33:44,452 --> 01:33:49,457 This is the Arco Towers in Downtown Los Angeles. 1360 01:33:49,916 --> 01:33:55,463 Twin towers that were among the first... 1361 01:33:55,630 --> 01:33:59,634 ...modern skyscrapers built in Downtown L.A. 1362 01:34:03,221 --> 01:34:09,602 Now, we're looking at a lot of stunt people running around... 1363 01:34:09,769 --> 01:34:15,316 ...because they all participated in this sequence that came up... 1364 01:34:15,483 --> 01:34:20,029 {\an8}...as the F-16s lock in on the heat source... 1365 01:34:20,196 --> 01:34:22,365 ...of our Blue Thunder helicopter. 1366 01:34:22,574 --> 01:34:26,828 And Scheider gets his plane where it's up against the sun reflection. 1367 01:34:26,995 --> 01:34:30,957 He's hoping to decoy the helicopter into this. 1368 01:34:31,124 --> 01:34:33,835 That was the miniature helicopter, too, going across right there. 1369 01:34:34,002 --> 01:34:36,004 There's the miniature helicopter. 1370 01:34:38,882 --> 01:34:42,927 Certainly the idea of it going into a building like this... 1371 01:34:43,094 --> 01:34:46,806 ...was viewed by us as complete fantasy. 1372 01:34:46,973 --> 01:34:49,934 And it never, ever occurred to us... 1373 01:34:50,101 --> 01:34:53,563 ...that somebody would actually do something like that, you know. 1374 01:34:53,730 --> 01:34:56,608 It's just beyond the range of thinking. 1375 01:34:56,774 --> 01:34:59,777 At the time of 9/11, you couldn't have shown an image like this. 1376 01:34:59,944 --> 01:35:03,907 Everybody got so sensitive. And then, suddenly, they realised... 1377 01:35:04,115 --> 01:35:06,409 ...that people weren't as terrified of it... 1378 01:35:06,618 --> 01:35:08,620 ...as we were saying they were going to be. 1379 01:35:08,786 --> 01:35:12,415 Remember, people were saying, "We'll have nothing but Doris Day movies." 1380 01:35:12,624 --> 01:35:15,919 Or, you know, whatever today's version of Doris Day movies is. 1381 01:35:16,127 --> 01:35:19,172 But then, suddenly, the video stores started telling us... 1382 01:35:19,339 --> 01:35:23,301 ...that every terrorist movie they had was gone from the shelves... 1383 01:35:23,468 --> 01:35:25,345 ...that everybody was suddenly fascinated... 1384 01:35:25,511 --> 01:35:27,764 ...with the very thing we said they wouldn't be... 1385 01:35:27,931 --> 01:35:33,019 ...which proves William Goldman's old adage of, "Nobody knows anything." 1386 01:35:34,270 --> 01:35:36,689 And you'll remember, when I talked about the first shot... 1387 01:35:36,856 --> 01:35:38,775 ...with Malcolm McDowell. Well, here it is. 1388 01:35:38,942 --> 01:35:41,402 This is the one where he comes... 1389 01:35:41,569 --> 01:35:45,990 ...and has to jump inside the helicopter and take off. 1390 01:35:46,157 --> 01:35:48,034 We probably won't be able to get permission... 1391 01:35:48,201 --> 01:35:50,620 ...to do practical work like was done on <i>Blue Thunder.</i> 1392 01:35:50,787 --> 01:35:52,789 In other words, I think the laws have changed... 1393 01:35:52,956 --> 01:35:55,083 ...and people's concern for safety has increased. 1394 01:35:55,250 --> 01:35:58,086 So we won't be seeing the same kind of amazing, live stunt work... 1395 01:35:58,253 --> 01:36:01,256 ...which is really, you know, just some of the best ever done. 1396 01:36:01,422 --> 01:36:04,759 They would depend on visual effects, other methods, to achieve the look... 1397 01:36:04,926 --> 01:36:07,679 ...but it wouldn't be the real thing, which is what we got here... 1398 01:36:07,845 --> 01:36:09,681 ...which is a real treat. 1399 01:36:10,265 --> 01:36:14,686 So he didn't know he had the option of-- No option here. 1400 01:36:14,852 --> 01:36:17,063 No, no option. But it looks really good. 1401 01:36:17,230 --> 01:36:20,108 I mean, it looks like he's taking that helicopter off. 1402 01:36:20,275 --> 01:36:22,860 And the pilot, Karl Wickman, was-- 1403 01:36:23,027 --> 01:36:27,198 I don't know where Karl was, but I couldn't see him. 1404 01:36:27,365 --> 01:36:32,578 At that point in Los Angeles, in the early 1980s... 1405 01:36:32,745 --> 01:36:36,040 ...lots of new, giant structures were being built... 1406 01:36:36,207 --> 01:36:41,838 ...and here we got to use one where we could shoot through it. 1407 01:36:42,005 --> 01:36:43,881 And this is where we lost this helicopter... 1408 01:36:44,048 --> 01:36:49,137 ...this little Hughes 500 helicopter. Its engine blew up. 1409 01:36:51,014 --> 01:36:55,518 And the helicopter auto-rotated down to the ground... 1410 01:36:55,727 --> 01:36:58,646 ...onto those parking lots that you see. 1411 01:36:58,813 --> 01:37:01,107 And only because we had cleared the lots out... 1412 01:37:01,274 --> 01:37:06,946 ...and had no traffic down there and no cars, no people, was it safe. 1413 01:37:07,113 --> 01:37:09,991 And we thought we had killed Karl Wickman... 1414 01:37:10,867 --> 01:37:13,036 ...because the engine blew up. 1415 01:37:13,244 --> 01:37:15,997 But he was a Vietnam helicopter pilot... 1416 01:37:16,164 --> 01:37:22,754 {\an8}...and he had rehearsed auto-rotating to the ground hundreds of times... 1417 01:37:22,920 --> 01:37:26,466 ...and he took his helicopter down to the ground... 1418 01:37:26,632 --> 01:37:29,844 ...and it only bent a couple of skids. 1419 01:37:30,011 --> 01:37:33,473 And as it hit the ground, he actually was jumping out of it... 1420 01:37:33,639 --> 01:37:38,019 ...right simultaneously backwards with a fire extinguisher... 1421 01:37:38,186 --> 01:37:43,024 ...in his hand to put out the flame. 1422 01:37:43,191 --> 01:37:46,110 But now you can see, we're down 40, 50 feet... 1423 01:37:46,277 --> 01:37:50,114 ...above the Music Center in Los Angeles. 1424 01:37:51,783 --> 01:37:55,661 That was not Bill Ryusaki. Good for him. 1425 01:38:00,500 --> 01:38:04,212 But we wanted to get these helicopters right in the middle of things. 1426 01:38:06,130 --> 01:38:09,634 <i>Rough her up? Is that a euphemism for "assassination"?</i> 1427 01:38:09,884 --> 01:38:15,014 <i>She had street informants, and she'd connected our project to the trouble...</i> 1428 01:38:15,348 --> 01:38:17,433 Lollie, you ought to hear this stuff. 1429 01:38:17,683 --> 01:38:19,727 They sound like cops and feds. 1430 01:38:19,977 --> 01:38:24,065 They're stirring up the barrio to prove what that chopper can do. 1431 01:38:25,024 --> 01:38:28,152 -A bit of lost language there. -Yes. 1432 01:38:29,529 --> 01:38:32,448 You think that we changed something? It wasn't just a sync problem? 1433 01:38:32,615 --> 01:38:34,492 That we changed the dialogue? 1434 01:38:34,659 --> 01:38:36,202 -I think we changed it. -Yes. 1435 01:38:36,369 --> 01:38:38,287 Well, we did a lot of that. 1436 01:38:38,454 --> 01:38:44,919 This movie is like a, you know, an Italian movie for sync. 1437 01:38:46,838 --> 01:38:50,508 An old sword-and-sorcery movie. 1438 01:39:01,436 --> 01:39:07,316 But getting these helicopters down in the streets-- It's so exciting. 1439 01:39:07,483 --> 01:39:10,445 Now, those are all our cars, our traffic. 1440 01:39:10,611 --> 01:39:14,699 And we've got at least eight cameras up in the air... 1441 01:39:14,866 --> 01:39:17,827 ...photographing these as they go by... 1442 01:39:17,994 --> 01:39:23,374 ...and do these various tricky, tricky maneuvers. 1443 01:39:24,876 --> 01:39:28,129 And nobody had ever tried anything this dangerous. 1444 01:39:28,296 --> 01:39:29,922 It's amazing. 1445 01:39:30,089 --> 01:39:32,717 And I don't think they'd let us do it nowadays... 1446 01:39:32,884 --> 01:39:37,889 ...because of the accident that happened on the <i>Twilight Zone</i> movie. 1447 01:39:39,640 --> 01:39:42,477 You had to cut down wires, too, didn't you, to clear areas to fly? 1448 01:39:42,643 --> 01:39:46,397 Yes, absolutely. Because wires are the enemy of a helicopter. 1449 01:39:46,564 --> 01:39:52,069 I mean, that will ruin a helicopter quicker than anything. 1450 01:39:53,529 --> 01:39:59,410 I wanted to have a big camera crane inside this parking lot... 1451 01:39:59,577 --> 01:40:04,290 ...but Jim Gavin would not let me bring one in... 1452 01:40:04,457 --> 01:40:08,920 ...because he said if I hit the building with these rotor blades... 1453 01:40:09,086 --> 01:40:11,380 ...you'll kill everybody on the camera crane. 1454 01:40:11,547 --> 01:40:14,967 So we had to back off down the street, and... 1455 01:40:15,426 --> 01:40:19,180 While they're doing these tricky maneuvers... 1456 01:40:19,347 --> 01:40:22,975 ...you know, we're blowing up the building across the way. 1457 01:40:28,147 --> 01:40:31,567 And you didn't have a camera ship in here? 1458 01:40:31,734 --> 01:40:34,237 -In that parking lot? -Yes, here are the pictures. 1459 01:40:34,445 --> 01:40:36,739 Well, we had it down the street, and then we're-- 1460 01:40:36,948 --> 01:40:41,536 Now we've got a helicopter following the other helicopter. 1461 01:40:42,828 --> 01:40:46,165 -This is amazing stuff. -It is amazing. 1462 01:40:46,332 --> 01:40:52,880 This was a kick to edit, trying to figure out which was the best... 1463 01:40:53,047 --> 01:40:56,592 ...because I had at least six angles on every shot... 1464 01:40:57,301 --> 01:40:59,512 ...and they were all terrific. 1465 01:40:59,679 --> 01:41:02,890 Well, we wanted to cover everything. 1466 01:41:03,266 --> 01:41:06,769 The close-ups that you see here of Malcolm McDowell... 1467 01:41:06,978 --> 01:41:08,271 ...he was scared to death. 1468 01:41:08,479 --> 01:41:12,066 We were actually flying up in the air through these traffic patterns... 1469 01:41:12,233 --> 01:41:17,363 {\an8}...and, I mean, it's very scary when you come close to those buildings. 1470 01:41:17,530 --> 01:41:20,449 And his eyes were wide as saucers. 1471 01:41:20,616 --> 01:41:24,704 We had to actually go back and reshoot his close-ups for this... 1472 01:41:24,870 --> 01:41:29,375 ...because he looked so terrified in the first version we did. 1473 01:41:29,542 --> 01:41:32,003 That's beautiful right there. Gosh. 1474 01:41:32,169 --> 01:41:33,796 They just did a great job. 1475 01:41:36,799 --> 01:41:40,177 You can see his eyes. They're way too big. 1476 01:41:40,344 --> 01:41:43,097 -He looks petrified. -Yes. Oh, absolutely. 1477 01:41:43,264 --> 01:41:46,017 -Not evil, at this point. -No, no. 1478 01:41:46,183 --> 01:41:48,686 Very little evil. 1479 01:41:55,067 --> 01:42:01,282 Now, Jim Gavin and Frank Holgate did this whole sequence... 1480 01:42:01,449 --> 01:42:03,826 ...all by themselves as a separate second unit... 1481 01:42:04,035 --> 01:42:09,165 ...and were able to get the flying started... 1482 01:42:10,124 --> 01:42:12,418 ...as these elaborate stunts are going on... 1483 01:42:12,585 --> 01:42:18,591 ...with things breaking and the big chimney being blown up, and so on. 1484 01:42:22,053 --> 01:42:26,182 And now, watch this helicopter doing an impossible maneuver. 1485 01:42:26,349 --> 01:42:32,980 To do a flip, a 360-degree flip-- It's not designed to do that aeronautically... 1486 01:42:33,147 --> 01:42:38,152 ...and yet we had to bring it off. 1487 01:42:38,319 --> 01:42:42,740 If we couldn't do it here, then Hoyt would've had to do it. 1488 01:42:44,659 --> 01:42:46,035 And the way we managed to do it... 1489 01:42:46,202 --> 01:42:52,583 ...was with a 1/4-scale helicopter that was remote control. 1490 01:42:55,127 --> 01:42:58,589 And it's one of the few models that's in the movie. 1491 01:42:59,340 --> 01:43:03,511 The remote-controlled small helicopter would actually flip into a loop... 1492 01:43:03,678 --> 01:43:06,722 ...but a full-sized one... 1493 01:43:06,889 --> 01:43:10,768 There was no way that it would do it without falling apart. 1494 01:43:17,358 --> 01:43:19,318 Amazing. 1495 01:43:20,611 --> 01:43:22,196 Another terrific sequence. 1496 01:43:22,363 --> 01:43:25,408 This shot here, we nearly killed Frank Holgate... 1497 01:43:25,616 --> 01:43:28,285 ...who was standing on the skids outside. 1498 01:43:28,452 --> 01:43:30,705 He's strapped to the outside of the helicopter... 1499 01:43:30,871 --> 01:43:33,290 ...and his straps started coming apart. 1500 01:43:33,457 --> 01:43:37,628 And this is where Scheider was flying the helicopter himself... 1501 01:43:37,795 --> 01:43:40,798 ...because Jim Gavin had to let go of the controls... 1502 01:43:40,965 --> 01:43:47,847 ...and grab hold of Frank Holgate, and then hold on to him. 1503 01:43:48,013 --> 01:43:51,434 And he had Roy landing the helicopter. 1504 01:43:57,231 --> 01:44:01,277 Now, why the train company let us do this, I have no idea. 1505 01:44:01,444 --> 01:44:05,740 But we landed a helicopter right directly on the tracks... 1506 01:44:05,906 --> 01:44:08,284 ...in front of this big train coming toward us. 1507 01:44:10,828 --> 01:44:15,958 John Alonzo and I are standing down on the tracks, right here. 1508 01:44:16,167 --> 01:44:18,419 We're standing here with this helicopter landing on us. 1509 01:44:18,586 --> 01:44:21,464 We've got the camera right here and a train coming toward us... 1510 01:44:21,672 --> 01:44:25,926 ...and I said, "John, what in the world are we doing standing on the tracks? 1511 01:44:26,093 --> 01:44:27,553 We can be killed right here." 1512 01:44:29,555 --> 01:44:32,516 And it was also a rainstorm going on that night. 1513 01:44:32,683 --> 01:44:37,271 You can see the water on the helicopter. 1514 01:44:42,860 --> 01:44:44,862 Needless to say, we got out of the way-- 1515 01:44:45,029 --> 01:44:47,156 -For this, yeah. --when we got to this part. 1516 01:44:47,323 --> 01:44:49,492 And we only had one take. 1517 01:44:49,700 --> 01:44:51,702 We had one helicopter to blow up. 1518 01:44:52,286 --> 01:44:55,998 So all of these angles had to be shot simultaneously... 1519 01:44:56,207 --> 01:45:00,127 ...and Scheider's reaction there was a very honest reaction. 1520 01:45:00,294 --> 01:45:07,218 I don't think he expected the explosion to be as loud and as big as it was. 1521 01:45:08,636 --> 01:45:11,931 <i>That was the end of the helicopter, but not of this story.</i> 1522 01:45:12,348 --> 01:45:15,768 <i>On the strength of a tape that Murphy delivered to this reporter...</i> 1523 01:45:15,935 --> 01:45:18,145 I think this is one of the first times... 1524 01:45:18,312 --> 01:45:22,399 ...anybody ever blew up a train four times. 1525 01:45:22,566 --> 01:45:23,984 Yeah. 1526 01:45:24,151 --> 01:45:30,616 Oh, yeah, you had the explosion go off four times, right? In editing. 1527 01:45:31,408 --> 01:45:33,410 It was all too good to throw away. 1528 01:45:33,577 --> 01:45:35,287 Yep. 1529 01:45:35,454 --> 01:45:36,747 <i>Coming up, weather...</i> 1530 01:45:36,997 --> 01:45:40,876 <i>...and a preview of a bullet train soon to be seen in the Southland.</i> 1531 01:45:41,085 --> 01:45:42,253 <i>Maybe.</i> 1532 01:45:42,962 --> 01:45:47,049 {\an8}"Japanese bullet train soon to be seen in the Southland." There we go. 1533 01:45:47,258 --> 01:45:50,886 1982. Now it's 2005... 1534 01:45:51,053 --> 01:45:53,764 ...no Japanese bullet train yet. 1535 01:45:56,851 --> 01:46:00,062 {\an8}-Not likely soon, either. -Not likely soon. 1536 01:46:00,271 --> 01:46:05,818 {\an8}But we do have some trains that we didn't have at the time. 1537 01:46:21,083 --> 01:46:25,337 {\an8}This film is dedicated to Warren Oates... 1538 01:46:25,504 --> 01:46:30,718 {\an8}...who died about a month after we finished shooting... 1539 01:46:30,885 --> 01:46:32,970 ...of a heart attack. 1540 01:46:33,137 --> 01:46:38,767 {\an8}And it was a great loss for all the movie-going world... 1541 01:46:38,934 --> 01:46:43,939 {\an8}...and all of us that loved him so much. 1542 01:46:44,189 --> 01:46:48,485 {\an8}Interestingly enough, it took me a while to convince Columbia... 1543 01:46:48,652 --> 01:46:50,821 {\an8}...into letting us put the dedication on... 1544 01:46:50,988 --> 01:46:54,491 {\an8}...because they thought that it would bum people out so much... 1545 01:46:54,658 --> 01:46:56,869 ...at the end of the movie. 1546 01:46:57,036 --> 01:47:02,625 {\an8}But his wife, his widow, was very grateful. 1547 01:47:02,833 --> 01:47:06,754 {\an8}And we always thought that it was wonderfully appropriate... 1548 01:47:06,921 --> 01:47:09,173 ...to dedicate the movie to Warren... 1549 01:47:09,340 --> 01:47:12,343 ...who had given us so many fabulous performances... 1550 01:47:12,509 --> 01:47:16,680 {\an8}...in the <i>Wild Bunch</i> and Westerns and <i>Two-Lane Blacktop</i> and so on... 1551 01:47:16,847 --> 01:47:20,351 ...for just years and years and years. 1552 01:47:29,944 --> 01:47:33,906 The Landakers, that's who-- The video guys at Warner Bros. 1553 01:47:34,073 --> 01:47:37,409 -Right. -Hal Landaker, yeah. 1554 01:47:46,210 --> 01:47:49,755 This music has been used over and over and over... 1555 01:47:49,922 --> 01:47:53,509 -...in various commercials along the... -Oh, yeah. 1556 01:47:53,676 --> 01:47:56,512 Well, Arthur Rubinstein told me that-- 1557 01:47:56,679 --> 01:48:01,809 First of all, he got a lot of work on other movies out of this movie. 1558 01:48:01,976 --> 01:48:05,187 And he would go in to see the other movie he'd been hired for... 1559 01:48:05,396 --> 01:48:08,732 ...and they would've used this score... 1560 01:48:08,899 --> 01:48:15,072 ...to put temporarily on to their movie. 1561 01:48:18,450 --> 01:48:22,329 I mentioned that he did a lot of work with electronic music... 1562 01:48:22,496 --> 01:48:25,332 ...but here he also had a full orchestra... 1563 01:48:25,499 --> 01:48:31,046 ...that he could get, you know, big, big sound combining the two things... 1564 01:48:31,213 --> 01:48:37,094 ...of an electronic sound and then an orchestral sound at the same time. 1565 01:48:37,261 --> 01:48:42,558 Gives it a wonderful life to it. 1566 01:48:57,948 --> 01:49:00,325 {\an8}Thank you so much for bearing with us here... 1567 01:49:00,492 --> 01:49:05,122 {\an8}...and we're glad that you could listen to this commentary. 1568 01:49:05,289 --> 01:49:09,334 And here's our dedication to Warren. 1569 01:49:09,752 --> 01:49:12,379 Hope you've enjoyed it. 1569 01:49:13,305 --> 01:50:13,574