American Cinematographer - April 2016 - 65

Top photo courtesy of Frederic Goodich, ASC. Bottom photo courtesy of Suree Towfighnia.

Richard Gere (actor on Days of
Heaven): We were supposed to start
shooting in Texas in the spring or early
summer, but the production got
pushed later and later, and we ended up
in Canada. Because production was
delayed, Néstor [Almendros, ASC]
had to leave before it wrapped, and
Haskell was brought in to shoot the last
couple of weeks. Néstor set the tone, of
course; Haskell watched the footage
and matched what Néstor had been
doing. Both men were true artists, but
their personalities were quite different.
Néstor was a very soft, sensitive person;
Haskell was more assertive - an alpha
personality. Haskell had the kind of
personality [required of ] a director,
who has to be able to lead a set of 400
people. Not every cinematographer can
do that. And he was a storyteller in the
sense that whatever the story required,
he could do. You wouldn't expect the
guy who shot Bound for Glory to have
also shot Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Jeff Wexler: Pop and I worked
on seven or eight features together -
Bound for Glory was the first one - as
well as 40 or so documentaries and
commercials. He initiated many of the
documentaries, but he would shoot for
other people when he believed in the
subject matter. He also pretty much
funded them. He loved viewing the
world through the camera; I think it
was his way of being involved in social
and political struggles.
Another thing I learned from
Pop is that the way we talk about things
is really important. Being a cameraman, he knew that the way in which
you frame something influences [the
viewer's] attitude. I remember him
telling me early on, 'When we go in
and kill a bunch of people, it's called a
mission, which has a religious connotation. When the bad guys go in and kill
a lot of people, we say it's a slaughter.'
Conrad W. Hall: Next to my
dad [Conrad L. Hall, ASC], Haskell
was probably the most influential man
in my life. My dad was the lover and

Top: Wexler
shows off
his trusty
12on12off cap
with fellow
ASC member
Frederic
Goodich.
Bottom: Wexler
with Four Days
in Chicago
producer Suree
Towfighnia.

Haskell was the fighter. You realize as
you grow up you need both, and I think
a lot of us are natural-born peoplepleasers, so Haskell was the one guy
who taught me to stick up for what you
believe in. More importantly, he
believed in me. He was the one who
gave me a shot after my dad went down
with Guillain-Barré Syndrome and I
was still green as grass. He was a champion for so many people and causes that
many might view as controversial.
My first union meeting, it was
Haskell who took me. We sat there
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through the first few categories, and
when it came to new business, I found
out that the guy I came with was
[being] brought up on charges for operating a camera. What ensued I can only
describe as 'inspiring.' He stood up in
the middle of the crowd and took on the
whole room. It was like Mr. Smith Goes
to Washington. I was shocked because I
thought these 'brothers' were all about
solidarity. Nope. The union leaders
wanted blood, and he was going to have
no part in it.

➣

April 2016

65
http://www.theasc.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - April 2016
