Cinema Canada (Oct 1979)

Twenty-year old stunt girl, Karen Pike of Toronto, plunges to her nine-year-old “death” in Prom Night interesting shooting. After directing The Hard Part Begins and more recently Blood and Guts, it has given him the opportunity to approach a story with the challenge of unusual angle compositions in order to build a significant amount of terror for his audience. Sections of the film have been directed witha broad slash 4/October-November of colour and violence. reminiscent of gruesome headlines splashed across national tabloids. What Lynch hopes to come up with is a terror picture that is sheer entertainment. A firm believer that people go to the theatres to experience a wide range of purging emotion. he has constructed a thriller that will be immensely entertaining as well as a box office success. The director feels that time is the most important element that you could buy on any shoot. “The script is relatively complex (seventeen principle performers) and requires a lot of sensitivity during the filming.” With a budget of 1.5 million dollars, and only a 28 day shooting schedule, | don’t think that he had quite the time he would have liked. None the less, he was very satisfied with the special effects and impressed with the performances of his actors. “Usually there is at least one weak performance, but from what I’ve seen in the rushes all our characters are strong.” Finally. the bullhorn pierces through the darkness and a hush falls over the crew. The van has been throughly checked to avoid mishap. It has been about an hour and a half since the last attempt at this very tricky effect. When Steve Wright is satisfied that his crew and equipment are ready he again calls for action. A small jeep propels the van over the cliff at about 30 miles per hour. Fora brief moment the van is airborne. a graceful free fall, then it bursts into an incredible corollary of colour and sound. The dark cliffside is suddenly aflame as the twisted wreck tumbles into the black lake. Bob New was so close, I think he singed his eyebrows. Larry Moore Final Assignment d. Paul Almond asst. d. Pedro Ganbol, Pierre Poirier sc. Mark Rosen ph. John Coquillon p. designer Harry Pottle a.d. René Petit cost. Nicoletta Massoni cast. Danny Haussman I.p. Burgess Meredith, Genevieve Bujold, Michael York Brooke Adams, Colline Dewhurst exec. p. James Shavik, Arnold Kopelson p. Larry Hertzog co-p. Gail Thomson loc. man. Cary Ross p. man. Monique Mercier asst. p. man Daniel Louis p. sec. Jacqueline Wanner p.c. Cinema One, 1979 unit pub. Denise DiNovi pub. David Novek, Berger and Asso. world sales: Inter Ocean Films (L.A.), Ann Feinberg. “Has anybody here seen Geneviéve?” “Where's our Brezhnev? We need him on the set!” “We already have a Russian advisor.” “She’s in her trailer.” “What? Who cast a woman as Party Secretary?” “No, not Brezhnev: Geneviéve! Genevieve is in her trailer!” “Brezhnev, Genevieve, what's the difference? A tyrant’s a tyrant.” “Brezhnev is on the phone, he’s been waylaid at the Saydie Bronfman Center.” “What, is he defecting to Israel?” “No, he got lost.” “Tll say he got lost.” “Where’s Genevieve?” “Who cares? Send a driver to pick up Brezhnev, and also ten boxes of croissants and two dozen bananas and uh... oh yes, and today’s script.” “Which one?” “Draft number 14478.0092” (74 3” “Well, get on it!” “We don’t have any goffers left.” “Paul wants Genevieve!” “Tell him to take a taxi.” “But her trailer’s just around the back.” “Tell her to take a walk.” “Hey, you, with the baby face.” “Me?” “Yea, you. Here take my car and go get Brezhnev at the Saydie Bronfman.” “Tm sorry, but I can’t.” “A refusenik, eh? Well, take a walk.” “You can't fire me, I’m James Shavik, the executive producer!” “Weren't you fired last week?” “No, that was Narizzano.” “Where’s Geneviéve?” “Quiet, please, we’re rehearsing.” “Well, James, old buddy, heh-heh-heh, did you hear the one about the juicer, the grip and the scriptgirl?” “Shhh!!!” “Where’s Genevieve?” So began another day on the set of Final Assignment, a $6.5 million political thriller produced by Cinema One of Montreal. For a change, the crew began the day well-rested, fresh from two days of R&R following a hectic weekend of shooting in Mont Tremblant, north of Montreal. But it was not only the last weekend that had been hectic for the cast and crew of Final Assignment. The film had been beset with problems since its