by Bob Fisher

Jack Green was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. He was a passionate still photographer during his boyhood, but decided to follow in his father’s and his uncle’s footsteps. Green attended barber school and began his career cutting other people’s hair.

Maybe it was destiny, because that’s how he met, Joe Dieves, a local director of photography. Green began working as an assistant cameraman with Dieves and other local cameramen in the San Francisco area. He frequently worked as an assistant on helicopter camera shoots, which led to an opportunity to work with Tyler Camera in Los Angeles. Green transitioned into narrative film work, and was an assistant cameraman and operator for about seven years.

He earned his first narrative credit for Heartbreak Ridge in 1982 and has subsequently compiled some 35 cinematography credits. Green earned an Oscar nomination for Unforgiven. His eclectic body of work includes Bird, White Hunter, Black Heart, A Perfect World, The Net, The Bridges of Madison County, Twister, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Secondhand Lions.  He has also directed several films.

Following are excerpts of a conversation:

ICG: We heard you are a native Californian?

GREEN: I was born in San Francisco, and lived in and around that area while I was growing up. I was the fourth generation of my family raised in San Francisco. We were all born in the same hospital. I graduated from high school in Daly City, which is just south of San Francisco.

ICG: Were you a movie fan or photography fan while you were growing up?

GREEN: I was interested in black-and-white still photography because of my Dad, he took family pictures and made prints. I was around nine when he made a little black-and-white contact printer made of wood, a piece of milk glass with a light bulb in it. I processed my film in the bathtub and made contact prints. I still get misty-eyed when I get a sniff of acidic acid, even if it’s just vinegar. I just had a little Brownie camera. I took a lot of still pictures trying to imitate people who were classic black-and-white photographers. I took pictures of things like sunlight on trees and shapes made from shadows. I was more interested in abstractions than documenting people on streets or events.

ICG: Do you remember what you dreamed about doing when you grew up?

GREEN: My first love was music. I studied music from a very early age and wanted to become a professional musician. I really liked classical music. I worked very hard to get a music scholarship to college. It didn’t work at all, because my grades in all of the other subjects were not very good. I did get offered an athletic scholarship for springboard diving, but I didn’t take anybody up on that one. My hobby was still photography. I thought maybe I could earn some side money as a still photographer. I didn’t like the idea of photographing weddings or events or things like that, but I thought if I could found the right niche, maybe somebody would hire me.

ICG: It sounds like you didn’t go to film school?

GREEN: I went to the film school of hard knocks. I went to work in the family business. My dad was in vaudeville until he retired.  He and my uncle became partners in five barbershops in Daly City. When I was 16 years old, my dad asked me what I was going to do when I got out of high school? Did I plan to go to college? I told him I didn’t know, and suggested that I come into the family business. He said, ‘you can go to barber college and earn a few bucks and see if that’s what you want to do. It’s something you can fall back on if nothing else works out.’ I started barber college during the summer between my junior and senior years and finished barber college before I graduated from high school.            

I started cutting hair in my dad’s barbershop about three weeks after I graduated from high school. I had a baby face, so everybody was afraid to sit in my chair. I did that for a few years. My dad and my uncle opened a new shop and asked me if I wanted to manage it. I was 21 when I began managing their Skyline Plaza Barber Shop, but I had business cards that said Jack Green, Photographer.

One of my first customers was a director of photography named Joe Dieves. He had been a World War II combat cameraman on the beach during invasions. He was shooting industrial films, documentaries and an occasional commercial. We would talk all the time, because I pestered him for ideas about photography every time he sat in my chair. I think more than anything else, I wanted to impress him with what I knew about photography. After a couple of years of cutting his hair, I asked if I could watch him work? He said, rather than come watch me work, why don’t you help me work?

Barbers typically had Sunday and Monday off. He got a job on a Monday shooting film of the first DC-8 from an open door on a Navy aircraft. He filmed the plane as it flew over the Golden Gate Bridge and around San Francisco. I don’t remember if it was an ad or an industrial film. I was supposed to keep my eyes on the tachometer, but I was so excited I barely looked at it. I kept asking him, ‘Is this what photography is about?’ I was hooked from that moment on. Joe never paid me for another haircut.

ICG: Did you make a life altering decision to change careers at that point?

GREEN: Several weeks later, Joe called and asked if I wanted to assist him on an educational film shoot in a studio. The night before, he taught me how to load magazines, set up and breakdown equipment. Sometimes it was months between jobs. It took about five years before I left the barber business, and became a full-time assistant cameraman for Joe and a half a dozen other cameramen he introduced me to. Next, I got a job offer. A new piece of equipment came to San Francisco. It was called the Westcam aerial mount. They called the union for a camera assistant, and I was available. It was a gyro-stabilized helicopter camera. It was a great piece of equipment. You could pan, tilt, focus and do tracking shots. The aerial mount was owned by the John Lowry Company out of Canada. After my first job with them, they invited me to move to Los Angeles with their company. I had just gotten married. We moved to Southern California within a few days.

ICG: How did you get into the Guild? Was it difficult in those days?

GREEN: After I did a few jobs for Joe Dieves, he said I should try and to get in the union. At that time the Local was called the Golden Gate Wing of 659. A few of the executive board members sort of chuckled at a barber becoming an assistant cameraman, but Joe assured them that I was qualified. That was a rather easy transition. The tougher transition happened when I moved to Southern California. Fortunately, Herb Aller (the executive director) gave me his blessing. He was a wonderfully interesting man who became kind of a great uncle to me. He took me under his wing.

ICG: How did your transition to Los Angeles work?

GREEN: I worked on Westcam crews for about a year. They were having a very tough time making inroads into the aerial business, because Tyler Camera Systems was so established. There was this tier system in Local 659 at that time. There were three groups. When I moved to Southern California, I was put into group two, which meant I couldn’t work if anyone in Group One was available. When Lowry gave up in Los Angeles, I got a job offer from Tyler Camera Systems. Nelson Tyler was very good to me. This was probably around 1971-2. The business was very depressed at the time, and Tyler was affected by it. Nelson had to let me go, because I was the last one hired. I started sneaking jobs on non-union commercials and anything that would help me pay the bills until I finally got into Group One. I worked for Westcam for a year and for Tyler Camera Systems for about a year, and then I worked freelance as a camera assistant on any job that I could get. Preferably it was union work, but I had to pay the bills, so I took anything that came along. I was having a great time working on commercials and then I did a couple of very small films.

ICG: Were there any cameramen you worked with who became kind of mentors?

GREEN: I got lucky and hooked up with Don (M.) Morgan (ASC). I met Don when he was a cameraman working at Tyler Camera Systems. We had worked on a couple of commercials together. He got a picture and needed a camera assistant. I think it was his first film. It was called Santee, and it starred Glenn Ford, Dana Wynter and Jay Silverheels. That was in 1973. They were going to shoot most of it on video thinking that they could get their tape transferred to film. I was hired as the film camera technician for the shots they knew they couldn’t do on videotape. About two weeks into the show, the whole thing went to film. We had two and three cameras, and I was the crew. I didn’t have a second assistant or a loader. I was putting in an incredible 18 to 22 hours a day. It was great fun and an interesting film. After that, I worked with Don for seven years as his assistant on every picture that he did. I love Don. My kids still call him Uncle Don. Of course, I was working with other cameramen too. I was hoping that Don would move me up to camera operator, but that opportunity was offered to me by Michael Watkins (ASC). I also worked with, Davey Walsh, did lots of TV pilots with Hector Figueroa (ASC), and I worked on five pictures with Ric Waite (ASC) as a camera operator.

I was also mentored during that period by every cinematographer whose films I saw. I didn’t study film as much as I studied art. My wife, who is so important in my life and career, brought me an armload of art books one day and said, ‘If you want to be a goodcameraman, study these. This art has been around and appreciated for centuries. If you want to create photography that is appreciated, learn from these guys.’ I put art books around every room in our house, so there was something I could study wherever I was. I love the Flemish and the Dutch painters and some of the earlier masters. I also studied a lot of classic black-and-white still photography. What I wanted to do was apply this other art to moving images as much as I could.

ICG: Was it your goal to become a cinematographer?

GREEN: I can remember being an assistant cameraman and putting directors of photography on a pedestal that seemed to be at a very far distance. I never made it a goal because it seemed unobtainable. I didn’t think I was qualified, so I never thought of it as an ultimate goal. I had always had short-term goals, which were pay the bills, pay the mortgage, and stay employed. When I got the idea that I might have an opportunity to get to that level it suddenly become a short-term goal. But, when the opportunity came, it was a big surprise.

ICG: How did you begin working with Clint Eastwood?

GREEN: I got a really lucky break. Rex Metz (ASC), who was a friend and a mentor, invited me to come on as a B camera operator on The Gauntlet, which he shot for Clint. Jan Kiesser (ASC) was the A camera operator. I worked on The Gauntlet for about five weeks. About a year later, I get a call from Rex, who said he was about to do Every Which Way But Loose and Jan wasn’t available. He asked if I wanted operate the A camera. That was my first movie as the A camera operator for Clint. Rex went in a different direction, and I was invited to be the A camera operator for Bruce Surtees (ASC) on a number of pictures with Clint. Clint asked me if I wanted to move up to director of photography on a picture called Honkytonk Man. (1982). I actually said that I didn’t think I was ready yet. I think it disappointed him, but he was okay with it. I still operated on the camera on that film.

Bruce was probably my most important mentor for motion picture images. He has a wonderfully eccentric personality, and his imagery was so interesting and so different. Bruce approached every set like it was an art canvas . . . even in his description of how he wanted a room lit. He would just gesture, almost like a painter using a brush stroke. ‘Give me a scratch of light here. Bring in something there. Put some color on it, and make it colorful there.’ He is a brilliant artist. I loved working with him. After three or four pictures, I visited his home in Carmel, and stayed in the guesthouse. You know, his father was Robert Surtees (ASC), one of the greatest cinematographers of all time. Mrs. Surtees was showing me around the house. We got to the study where there was a case with his three Oscars and 13 nominations. His Oscar for Ben-Hur was staring me in the face. She said, ‘Go ahead and pick it up. Isn’t it wonderful?’ I still get goose bumps thinking about it. My feet didn’t touch the ground for days. Bruce was very exciting to work with. He worked at the extremes of exposure latitude with a great range of contrast. I still remember working with him on Tightrope. It was a dark, gritty look. The movie needed that. He was great at creating environments without being trendy I learned that from him. I’d rather work on the edge. I only worked with Bill Fraker (ASC) for a few days, but he’s that way, too.

ICG: How did you take the next step up?

GREEN: I was working with Bruce on a picture called Beverly Hills Cop, and we were riding in together every day. He lived in a house near me, so we could commute together. One day, I said, ‘You know, Clint’s going to invite me to move up again one of these days, and I don’t know how that’s going to affect our relationship.’ I didn’t want to have our relationship hurt. He said, ‘Jack, don’t worry about it. Everybody gets to move up.’ The next thing I know, Clint tells me that Bruce recommended that he move me up. He must have gone straight from that conversation to Clint’s office and said, ‘Jack’s ready to move up.’ Isn’t that an amazing story? Bruce has a very dear place in my heart.

ICG: What was your first picture as a cinematographer?

GREEN: Clint invited me to photograph Heartbreak Ridge in 1985. I was nervous, but Bruce advised me to have a good time and enjoy myself. By the way, I got into the Guild in 1965 and became a camera operator in 1975, became a director of photography in 1985, and I directed my first film in 1995. I guess I have two more years before I’ve got to figure out what I can do next?

ICG: What do you remember about Heartbreak Ridge?

GREEN: Almost nothing. I was inundated with ideas and feeling very under prepared. I needed help from everyone, including the gaffer and the key grip, and the rest of the crew. Everyone willingly helped, and they protected me like crazy. It was a wonderful experience. Clint had such good ideas about how the choreography of the camera should work, and he had definite opinions about composition. I offered my own ideas, and when he thought they were better, we used them. When I thought his were better, I kept my mouth shut. I was smart that way, at least.

ICG: Isn’t the relationship between cinematographers and directors interesting?

GREEN: In the history of art, there were always patrons and artists. Without patrons there couldn’t have been many artists. This was almost the same. Clint was almost like my patron. He invited me back so many times to photograph his movies, including a documentary about his life. I was director of photography for 14 of his films, his camera operator for 14 films, and an assistant cameraman on two. So, it was 30 projects in all. I was always running to catch up. I always felt like everybody else was out ahead of me a little bit further than I thought they should be.

ICG: One picture I loved from that period is White Hunter, Black Heart.

GREEN: What an interesting picture that was. We went to Zimbabwe, actually Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. This was a time when you could actually safely go to Zimbabwe, because they were anxious to have U.S. dollars coming into their country. We shot for nine weeks in Zimbabwe, and so many wonderful anecdotes came out of that movie. The boat that was made for the picture was supposed to be the African Queen. It was made to float in a tank, where they were going to create artificial waves and wind. When we got to the Zambezi River, Clint decided he didn’t want to do that. He wanted to go down the Zambezi River in the African Queen, so that’s what we did. We started at a falls that were barely more than a ripple, but it quickly became quite a bit larger than a ripple. They designate the roughness of the river by a number. The higher the number, the greater degree of difficulty or survivability. Five is the highest degree of difficulty, and only insane people take on fives. Slightly insane people take on fours. We went into the threes and fours after doing the ones and twos. Remember, we were in a boat that wasn’t intended to be on a river, let alone run the falls. We made the first run and the boat got a little wet inside. It was no big deal. They helicoptered the boat up to the next set of falls. We got in the boat, and I was running one of the cameras handheld . . . . Tony Rivetti wore the belt battery. We were running down the falls, and it was getting rough as hell. Waves were breaking all around us. Pretty soon, I noticed that I was shooting up at a fairly severe angle, and that my feet were wet. I took my eye away from the eyepiece, and I was almost up to my calves in water. I also noticed the boat was sinking. The next thing I knew, the boats that were babysitting us—they called them rubber duckies—came up alongside. They were Zodiacs with high-powered outboard engines. Everybody started tossing their equipment overboard and jumping over the side into the rubber duckies. Clint and I were the last people to leave, except for the pilot who tried to ground and save the boat. We got off in the country of Zambia on the other side of the Zambezi River. We were walking towards a helicopter landing area, which had been designated in case of an emergency. Pretty soon, rocks and sticks start coming down at us from this high cliff on our right. We looked up and saw baboons were throwing rocks and sticks down at us. They’re like naughty children most of the time. We got into the helicopter, and the last we saw of the African Queen was about a foot of its nose sticking out of the water. It had run aground and come to rest on a rock.

ICG: A few years later, you did Unforgiven with Clint Eastwood?

GREEN:  I knew Clint had that picture on the docket for at least five years, and I’ve heard longer than that. He was waiting for the right opportunity, and for him to age into what he thought his character’s age should be. It was made in an area called High River. They had looked for locations in Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Idaho. They were looking for a place where there weren’t too many people, too much civilization, and that looked right for the period. Clint organized a scout that included the production designer Henry Bumstead (“Bummy”). We flew in Clint’s corporate jet. They had helicopters waiting, which took us to this site. We landed and got out. Clint stretched and said, ‘This looks like a great place to work.’ You could look 360 degrees in any direction and not see any sign of anything man-made or any human habitation. “Bummy” was 78 years old. He’s 88 years old now and in pretty fair shape.

Clint asked him, ‘How’s this look to you?’

He said, ‘looks fine to me.’

Clint asked him, ‘how do you think the town ought to lay out?’ Bummy gestured toward the mountains. Clint said, ‘let’s lay it out so the street faces these mountains right here.’ He asked Bummy, ‘how’s that for you?’

He answered, ‘anything you want.’ and gave me a wink and a smile. Later during filming I took a cue from something that Bruce (Surtees) had told me. When he was getting ready to do Beguiled for Clint, Bruce knew he would be working in candlelight. For a few weeks, he lived in candlelight in his own home. Each evening, I asked Bummy to turn on the kerosene lamps, the practicals that we used in the Big Whiskey Saloon. I wanted to be alone for at least a half hour. I would go into the bar, sit in there in the kerosene light, observe and let my eyes adapt to it. Kerosene lamps put out very little light, so it had to be augmented. After a while, I brought in a few people and put them around the room. I had them put cowboy hats on to see how the shadows fell. That’s how I got the idea for how to light the interior of the saloon. We designed a lighting scheme to duplicate how that light felt and that was also bright enough for anamorphic lenses.

ICG: This is really interesting in the context of the recent Los Angeles Times interview with Robert Rodriguez who said you don’t need to light with the new digital cameras.  [Editor’s Note: The story mentioned – “One Director’s Take on the Latest Digital Camera” --  appeared in The Los Angeles Times on Sept. 12, 2003.]

GREEN: I don’t want to speak about him, but everyone knows that control of light is an important part of what makes this an art. Remember, we spoke about the art books my wife bought for me? The Flemish painters didn’t just place light on the subject as if it was any time of day. They created light for very specific times of day, and for very specific effects, which created the emotions they wanted to emphasize. That applies to artists who paint, still photographers and also to cinematographers. You can’t just use everyday light on every film. You have to idealize the light, so its more beautiful or more threatening depending on the emotions you are emphasizing.

ICG: I’m going to mention another picture, A Perfect World, because it is a totally different story, and yet the lighting is still so artful in the context of that story. Can you talk about that?

GREEN: A Perfect World was produced in Austin, Texas. Clint kind of took a backseat as an actor in this picture. He appeared in it, but he was really more interested in directing Kevin Costner. That picture was all about some uncomfortable moments in a criminal’s life, so it called for not-so-pretty light. I worked hard at making the light feel like counterpoint. We lit the sheriff and people who were chasing him (Costner) in a more idealistic way. When I was working with Kevin and his partner in crime, I tried to dramatize them in a grittier, sort of less-attractive light.

Let’s face it. An audience listens to the words, sees the images, and feels the light. Light hits a viewer in a subconscious area that is equal to or greater than the other senses. It makes an impression in a way that gives the spoken word more energy and more emphasis. Your lighting has to help emphasize what the writer has written, but in a subconscious way. It’s very important because we maintain our subconscious memories much longer than conscious memories. In many cases people are going to remember the images longer than the words. I believe we can affect emotions on a subconscious level.

ICG: How does the choice of format affect the audience?

GREEN:  That’s another part of the impression we make on audiences. A spherical or 1.8:5:1 motion picture gives you a medium picture impression. When you go to anamorphic and/or scope—they’re calling Super 35 scope these days—the image fills up your peripheral vision out to its edges. Its a bigger than life impression. If you’re telling an intimate, slice of life story, the 1:8:5:1 format is a great for feature films. But if you’re talking about imagery with outdoor expanses or big cityscapes or just big storytelling, it’s got to be anamorphic or scope. The more you fill up their peripheral vision, the more you make an impression on the subconscious.

ICG: How about Bridges of Madison County?

GREEN: I actually debated with Clint on that film. Because of the length of the bridges, and the scope of the countryside, I suggested anamorphic. Clint felt that because it was an intimate story, mainly two people, he wanted to keep it spherical. It turned out to be the right format for that film. I never wanted to be accused of being a stylist cinematographer, but I did tell him that I wanted to create a little bit warmer colors of light, especially during the romantic sequences, and he went along with that suggestion, which felt great.

ICG: After that, you couldn’t have done a more different movie than The Net, right?

GREEN: The Net was more like some of the earlier films that I’d done for Clint. Irwin Winkler directed. He was terrific and it was wonderful working with Sandy Bullock. It harkened back to the more contrasty and shadowy films that I did with Clint earlier. We have a wonderful tool in our ability to use shadows and light. Where there are shadows, there is mystery, and where there is light, there’s a lack of mystery. You can create mystery and hiding places and scary places with shadows, and you can make places feel safe with light. Irwin Winkler is a great storyteller.

ICG: Do cinematographers tend to get cast the way actors do?

GREEN: Yes, in theory, you’re supposed to be part of that process where the director or studio decides that you’re the right person for a particular project. That’s the reason I don’t want to be typecast as someone who only does dark movies, for instance. I would rather be considered an art forger, who is capable of duplicate any lighting style. I shot some very dark pictures early in my career, and I probably could have specialized in that style, but I didn’t want to spend my life doing that one type of film. Speaking about this topic, I forgot to mention Stanley Cortez (ASC) before. He was one of the cameramen whose work I followed. He was famous for his use of hard blacks and film noir style. He was a very big favorite of mine.

ICG: How about Twister?

GREEN: Jan (DeBont, ASC) was an absolutely different kind of director. I had never worked with anybody quite like him. He liked chaos. If there wasn’t chaos, he’d create some. My crew enjoyed him, and he enjoyed working with the crew. We had a minimum of five cameras on little set-ups and 15 or more on big set-ups. It was interesting working with a director who is an eminently qualified cinematographer, but he never tried to influence my lighting. He had ideas about camera motion, and how many cameras should be where, but he never about lighting.

ICG: You also took a whack at directing. Can you tell us about that?

GREEN: I directed two films. Bill Paxton contacted me while I was still shooting Twister, and told me that he had a script, just a little story, for me to read. I said, “Bring it on.” I thought he was asking me to shoot it for him. I read the script and a couple of days later he asked me what I thought.  I said, ‘That’s a damn good script.” Then, he asked if I would like to direct and shoot the film with him as producer, in addition to him starring in it? I thought that sounded like a great plan, so I said, ‘Let’s see if we can make it work.” Maybe a month after I finished shooting Twister, we were scouting locations in South Carolina. We were shooting film in a few weeks. That is how I came to direct my first movie. It was called Traveller.

ICG: What was that like?

GREEN: It was great fun working on that project, and also collaborating with Bill Paxton. He had ideas about acting, storytelling and just about everything. Of course, I had my own ideas about directing, cinematography, as well as everything else. Occasionally, we’d have moments when we disagreed, but they were very few. I loved working with Bill, because he is a dedicated filmmaker who truly loves the process. It was a great experience to be able to control both photography and directing. It was like having a wonderful meal, and no matter how much you ate; your plate was always full. I enjoyed directing, working with actors and editing. It was Mark Wahlberg’s first film, and we had some wonderful veteran actors who were just sensational. I remember how Bill Paxton and I sat with Julianna Margulies and her agent in the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, and whispered behind the menu as to whether we thought she should be in the film or not. She gets a kick out of telling that story.     

ICG: What was the second film you directed?

GREEN: An HBO picture for the independent producers, the Gebbia Brothers. They called my agent who recommended me. It was a very fascinating, dark subject about child molestation, and what happened when the child became an adult. In this case, the child was a female who grew up and became a sexual predator herself. We got Sam Elliott to play the main detective investigating the case, and Jamie Kennedy portrayed the initial suspect. It was a wonderful mystery about a titillating subject. We tried to avoid being too sexually graphic. I also shot that film.

ICG: Isn’t that a big burden to carry?

GREEN: Yes. You really need good support, including the gaffer, key grip, camera operator and the rest of the crew. You prepare a scene for the actors as the director of photography. Then, you wander over to the actors and spend 20 or 30 minutes and talk with them as the director about the intentions of the story, and to see if they have questions or suggestions. You get them on the set and rehearse, tune-up the lighting and camera positions, and you rely on your operator.

ICG: Did you learn anything from directing that helps you as a cinematographer?

GREEN: It has helped me immensely in relating with directors, because I went through what they have to go through. I have practical experience in climbing the ladder they have to climb, and a better understanding of what they go through to get the actors to deliver the kinds of performances that tell the story. I can commiserate, help plan and make their job easier.

ICG: Can you tell us about a very interesting film called True Crime that you shot in 1990?     

GREEN: True Crime was a mystery novel that became a mystery movie in typical Clint Eastwood fashion. We photographed it in Oakland, California, very close to my hometown, and in his hometown; so we had some wonderful old haunts that we loved to chat about.

ICG: How does a cinematographer keep control of the looks they create during production with all of the ways that films can be manipulated today during post-production?

GREEN: I try to establish a really good relationship with the director and the producers, and try to impress them with the importance of having me involved in every aspect of preparing the movie for release to cinemas. This morning, I was timing parts of a film that are going to be manipulated digitally. I timed them for a consistent match when the film is edited. I come all the way to Los Angeles from Idaho to make sure that they had my input. I make sure that everybody understands that I am totally available.

ICG: What tips do you have for less established cinematographers?

GREEN: When your film is being timed, even if it’s only digital timing for inserts, the surest way to lose control is to not be there. You have to show interest from the day you get on the film until you wrap production, and emphasize to everybody who will listen how important it is for you to be there. Then, you have to follow through by showing up no matter what else you have to do. If you have to make a trip from wherever you are working on location, or on holiday, it’s worth doing. You have to get there and supervise. The job isn’t finished until it’s ready to go into theaters.

ICG: What were you working on this morning?

GREEN: The film is Fifty First Kisses. I was timing a few scenes that are going to be digitally manipulated. It’s just about seven or eight shots that were about an hour’s worth of work, including replacing some mountains with another background. I came into town to make sure that the print everyone will see is my best idea of what it should look like. 

ICG: I really liked Secondhand Lions. Can we talk a little about that film?

GREEN: I read the script, met the producer and Tim McCanlies, the director. I absolutely fell in love with the screenplay. It was the most wonderful story about a boy coming-of-age that I’d ever read. It had a lot of heart and humor, and it is a wonderful way of telling a story that makes a moral point. After I met with Tim, who wrote and directed the film, I got more deeply hooked. It’s a story about a boy who moves in with his two very eccentric uncles. They are as curmudgeonly as hell, and as reclusive as you can be. They reluctantly accepted this relationship with their nephew. He didn’t like it any more than they did, but they figure out a way to work it out and become friends, and a functional family. Tim had this story for 10 years, and he just couldn’t bring himself to let anybody else direct it. He had to direct another small movie to convince New Line. They backed him up 100 percent, and he directed a magnificent picture. The only other picture that I’ve worked on with a director who was as emotionally connected to the story was Clint on Bird.

I had never seen Clint as emotionally connected to anything before or after that film. Bird included many of the things he feels passionate about, including his love of music, particularly jazz. It was the nirvana of filmmaking for him. We got close on Unforgiven and on Bridges of Madison County. They were nineson a scale of 10, Bird was a 10.

ICG: How did Tim communicate his ideas for the visual style or look of Secondhand Lions?

GREEN: We had a lot of time together in preproduction. My office was right next to his. He insisted on that, so that every time the storyboard artist or production designer came into his office, he could pull me into that meeting. He included me in absolutely every part of the process. He wanted was a natural looking movie. He also had ideas about a fantasy sequence, which he wanted to be very vivid and much more colorful than the normal mundane life on a ranch in the middle of the Texas landscape. I mainly used different filters in the more mundane and fantasy sequences. He also wanted some big, expansive shots, almost like the old Westerns with enough coverage to pick apart every scene and make it work editorially.

ICG: How do you keep up with all of the new technology? There are, I think, 10 different cameras films, all kinds of new devices for moving cameras, decision about whether to time films on the traditional way in a film lab, or digitally, and so on…

GREEN: It’s your job. You’re either keep up or you get left behind.

ICG: Do you teach at film schools and pass on your insights and know-how?

GREEN: I’ve made appearances at classes at USC as a guest, but I will tell you this. I once asked Joe Dieves, what I could do to pay him back for the new life he gave me. He said the way to pay him back was to pass on what I have learned to the next generation. I try to do that, by teaching classes when I’m asked, and by inviting young filmmakers onto my sets.

ICG: What advice do you have for aspiring directors about how can they get the most out of their cinematographers?

GREEN: If you have a specific visual concept, try showing the cinematographer pictures from magazines and books, or look at motion pictures together and try to show them your vision. Tell them, I want my film to look like in this scene. Don’t assume anything. Every cinematographer wants to know what’s important to the director. You also should explain your intentions, scene by scene, if necessary, even if you haven’t thought it all out, yet. You should always be open to discussion if the cinematographer has suggestions about the images. Don’t just talk about what you want. You should also discuss why you want a particular look or visual style.

ICG: Would you describe yourself as optimistic or pessimistic about the future?

GREEN: Mankind has been telling stories with images for many centuries, and that’s not going to go away anytime soon. It is constantly evolving though, hopefully for the better. In the beginning of this industry, people saw movies in nickelodeons, and then legitimate theaters were converted to movie theaters. There was a period when the experts predicted that was the end of the legitimate theater and there was never going to be a live performance again. It was all going to be movies. Then, the experts said that television was going to kill movies. I guess the lesson is that you can look very foolish by predicting what the future will bring.

ICG: If you were appointed Czar of movies, what would you change?

GREEN: I’d order more event movies in scope format. People go to theaters to see movies. It should be a special experience like going to see a play on Broadway. I’m afraid that the public isn’t going to put up with seeing 10 previews and 20 minutes of commercials. They want to sit down, have the lights dim, and experience event movies. I’d also tell exhibitors to create better environments. You can’t expect the public to go out and pay to see movies if the experience isn’t that much different than television. Our model should be IMAX. It’s a different feeling when you see an IMAX film in a big amphitheater, and there is nothing projected on the screen but the movie.