American Cinematographer - March 2015 - 64

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Feeling the Light

Top left: Roe (behind camera) operates for Owen Roizman, ASC (far right) on Wyatt Earp.
Top right: Roe works with Kevin Costner on the same production. Bottom: On the set of Walk Like a
Man with (clockwise from left) Victor J. Kemper, ASC; Larry Hezzelwood; Roe; Tracy Langan; Phil Radin;
and Howie Mandel.

noon, then drive over to Warner Bros.,
sneak on the lot - in those days you
could just wave and walk into the studio
like you belonged there - and help out
in the loading department."
His first official job was as a
loader on 1978's Sgt. Peppers' Lonely
Hearts Club Band, shot by Owen
Roizman, ASC. "I always tried to find
people whose personalities I thought I
would enjoy, and I liked Bill right away,"
Roizman recalls. "I liked his personality,
64

March 2015

his work ethic. He was smart and very
dedicated to what he was doing."
Roe was put on salary as a 2nd
AC. "They paid me for 30 days, so when
the production company became [a
union] signatory, I got grandfathered in
with the company," he says. "My dad,
however, made me pay back those 30
days to the company [because] they
were paying me as a camera assistant
when I was really just a loader." Indeed,
the elder Roe's attitude toward his job
American Cinematographer

rubbed off on his sons. Bill notes, "Dad
was a working-class guy. He worked 10
months a year, every single day, and he
instilled that work ethic in me and my
brothers: to be dedicated, to enjoy what
you do and, obviously, to be good at
what you do."
Early in his career, Roe also had
the opportunity to work with Victor J.
Kemper, ASC, who promoted him
from 2nd to 1st AC on Cloak & Dagger,
and then to operator on Hot to Trot. As
with Roizman, it was Roe's personality
that first grabbed Kemper's attention. "I
felt he was very much like me," Kemper
recalls. "His personality was happy; I
never saw him upset or angry. There
was never a problem, no matter what
we needed. On top of that, he was
always looking forward, looking to
make things better."
As an operator, Roe collaborated
on a number of projects with Michael
Chapman, ASC, including Primal Fear
(1996) and Space Jam. "Bill was a superb
operator," Chapman enthuses, and like
Kemper, he adds, "as soon as I met Bill,
I liked him. He's just one of the good
guys."
In 1994, Roe again teamed with
Roizman, this time as camera operator
on Wyatt Earp. "His work was
phenomenal," Roizman states unequivocally. "I could tell right then that he
would be a top director of photography
one day." Told that Roe considers him a



American Cinematographer - March 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - March 2015

Contents
American Cinematographer - March 2015 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - March 2015 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - March 2015 - 1
American Cinematographer - March 2015 - 2
American Cinematographer - March 2015 - Contents
American Cinematographer - March 2015 - 4
American Cinematographer - March 2015 - 5
American Cinematographer - March 2015 - 6
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