American Cinematographer - March 2009 - (Page 50) A Life Full of Miracles Top: Liu (standing, second from right) poses with some Kodak executives and the other participants in the 1959 visiting student program at the University of Southern California. The students are at Kodak’s Santa Monica office. Middle: When Robert Wise came to Taiwan to scout for The Sand Pebbles, Liu (seated next to the camera, wearing sunglasses) was shooting a World War II movie on Eastmancolor for the Central Motion Picture Corp. His fatherin-law, Chuang Kuo Chuen, was the director. Bottom: Liu poses on the set of his first feature as director of photography for the Central Motion Picture Corp., in 1962. (1966), he brought Liu aboard the picture as first assistant director. Liu subsequently directed and edited a documentary, Industry: A Free China, for the U.S. Information Office in Taiwan. “When I showed the film to James Wong Howe, he complimented me on the editing, and that meant a lot to me,” Liu recalls. “I didn’t pay a lot of attention at the time, but that film helped me immigrate to the United States. “When I came to America for the first time, in 1959, I realized what freedom actually is, and I dreamed of immigrating to the United States someday,” he continues. “A dream doesn’t cost anything!” Without family in the United States, he needed three things to make his dream a reality: an advanced degree at an established U.S. university, five years of experience, and a special achievement in his field. When Industry: A Free China won an award at an Asian film festival, it fulfilled the final requirement, and Liu’s immigration was approved. He wrote to Farmer, who immediately offered him a job running USC’s motionpicture laboratory, and in 1966, Liu and his family moved to America. Almost three years later, Liu left his job at USC for a chance to work as a cinematographer. He spent almost four years as the principal cinematographer at the UCLA Media Center, where he shot documentaries and surgical films for various medical departments. His next step was to enter the camera union, and he tried entering the Minority Group Pool Program as a cinematographer but was turned down. He tried again, this time as a second camera assistant, and within two weeks, he had a job on Gunsmoke. “I have to thank John Flinn [ASC],” he says with a laugh. “The day he went out for his acting career, I was hired on 50 March 2009
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