There have been many animators and special effects individuals that have put their personal stamp on cinema. Willis O’Brien, who created King Kong, started the chain reaction in 1925, which led to the most famous puppet and stop motion animator of all time, Ray Harryhausen.
Neil Simon once said the best comedy comes from pain and veteran television writer, Russ Woody, proves there might be something to Simon’s theory. Woody has used his painful beginnings to create a successful career in television writing. He has won an Emmy for his work as a writer/producer on Murphy Brown and a Golden Globe for his work as a writer/producer on Cybil. He has also written for TV shows like Bosom Buddies, Benson, Hillstreet Blues, and Slap Maxwell. Presently, he’s the co-executive producer for the CBS sitcom, Becker.
The crew bites back the bitter cold, as they attempt to get one of the lights to work. It keeps flickering, and the lighting crew is trying to fix it. 9 o’clock in the morning has come and gone, and they are just setting up. The shoot is starting behind schedule.
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The cameras were ready to role, the actors were in place. The director drew in a breath to yell action. Suddenly, the lights went out.
“What happened?” one of the crew said, on the darkened sidewalk of Bell Boulevard.
Lit by the streetlights, the crew of this no-budget film named “Dungeon Dogs” searched for the problem. The director/writer of the film, Don Calabrese, isn’t too upset. The first day of shooting of his short film has gone smoothly since it began at 6 p.m. The final shot of the day, a quick close of up actor Jimmy Vlachos, is all that’s needed to wrap for the night.
And the shoot is still right on schedule.