Site created 12/15/97.		page created: 6/6/00 Todd Doogan interviews DVD producer David Fein of Sharpline Arts As film fans know, before DVD, there was laserdisc - and the name behind some of the biggest special editions being created was Sharpline Arts. The format may have changed, but Sharpline Arts is still a major player. Together, David C. Fein and Michael Matessino (founders of Sharpline) have produced The Thing, The Last Starfighter and the Alien Legacy documentary (among others) for DVD. Most recently, they were the creative force behind an incredible documentary for Columbia’s new The Guns of Navarone special edition. We liked it so much, in fact, that we decided to contact Sharpline Arts about their work on the disc. David Fein was gracious enough to let me talk with him about the work he puts into what he does, his philosophies as a special edition producer and some of the fascinating stories that didn’t make the documentary's final cut. Todd Doogan (The Digital Bits): How does Sharpline Arts prepare for an interview? How much research goes into preparing for the interviews that you guys do for documentaries like Memories of Navarone? David C. Fein (Sharpline Arts): The first thing that I do is review the feature and I imagine how I would feel had I taken the role of the interview subject… I usually look for the pivotal moments in the film and look at what may or may not have been going through the subject’s mind during different points in the production. It also helps to have an excellent knowledge of film and film history. But at the same time, whenever there is a new person that we will be interviewing, I do a historical review of their career and life. For example, I’ve always been a fan of Anthony Quinn in Zorba the Greek, so before interviewing him, I went back and reviewed it again… It is such a definitive role for him. It’s rare, but sometimes you can learn so much more about an actor from watching how they perform, rather than simply talking to them. In addition, I re-read Tony’s autobiography and reviewed another good book called The Films of Anthony Quinn. Overall, we’re movie lovers, and love to be entertained. If you have a basic knowledge of film and an exceptional love and passion about it, you can usually jump into a conversation with someone who’s shared many of your experiences in a theater… from fear, to hope, to love, and terror… That’s the magic of a great classic movie. I wish there were more… Todd Doogan: How did you track everyone down? It has to be hard, especially with the level of film legends you guys often get interviews with? David C. Fein: It always varies. Often, scheduling is the greatest detractor to obtaining an interview. With Alien Legacy, we only had roughly six weeks from start to finish. There were some concerns early on about “we didn’t have the actors.” While we did contact agents and friends of the actors, no one was readily available, so we proceeded with an excellent group of filmmakers and I’m really satisfied with the results. In the case of Guns, after locating and contacting J. Lee Thompson, we sought Gregory Peck through Robert Wise, and then we were able to locate Anthony Quinn through another friend. It was somewhat difficult, but we are truly appreciative of the wonderful support we’ve received on this project. For us, that’s usually how interviews evolve. We also respect everyone that we interview for their contribution to the industry, and do our best to make our short time with them as enjoyable as possible. We want them to walk away as satisfied with us as we are appreciative of them giving us their time... and almost always without financial compensation. I’m always touched by their generosity. Todd Doogan: Are there cases when people want money? David C. Fein: There have been a few cases where people wanted financial compensation. For cases like that, we go back to the client and ask them if they are willing to compensate them. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. However, we don’t treat these projects as exploitation, we treat them as dedications to the artists who made the film. I always want filmmakers to feel that a piece of history has been captured and put in a box to sit on their shelf waiting for them to revisit it - almost like a scrapbook or home movies. Now is our best chance to honor the people in our cinematic history. Consider this... you spend two or three years making a film, and the average person, at best, lives to be 90 years old. That’s roughly 3 percent of their life. In that time, there are so many great events that happen and go untold about the making of the movie. Retelling and sharing the history of those years was one of our biggest goals with Alien and Aliens (laserdisc special editions). We weren’t focused on which types of new marketing bonuses we add to the movie to convince people to buy the film. I want people satisfied with their purchase, and I want them to tell their friends that the project is worth investing in because they enjoy it... not because their curiosity got the better of them. Todd Doogan: You're often thought of as being "film fans" who create documentaries for other film fans. Would you say that this is the ultimate approach that Sharpline Arts takes - to preserve film and honor the filmmakers? David C. Fein: Based on our work, more and more we are being labeled as "film fans." We ARE film fans, there's no question about that. But really I'd rather be respected more for our ability to tell an entertaining story than for the fact that we're merely fans of film. I do think that to do what we do, you need to be a film fan to be a good storyteller. After all, just about every filmmaker is a film fan. But you have to acknowledge the past and the more you appreciate our cinematic history the more inspired you get. I believe, overall, that the goal of Sharpline Arts is to entertain audiences by producing the best possible project under whatever circumstances we’re facing. I want audiences to really walk away after viewing our work with something tangible to think about. For example, there are a few personal bonuses in the Memories of Navarone documentary that I hope will help to open people’s eyes to an older era of publicity, where actors took a stand and make a statement about the film they were making. Specifically, the way Memories of Navarone begins with a clip from the trailer. This was entirely intentional. Gregory Peck recorded a message to audiences: “This is Gregory Peck speaking and I’d like to tell you something about The Guns of Navarone, because it’s the most unusual film in which I’ve appeared. The Guns of Navarone is crowded with action and excitement but it is even more than great adventure. Over and above it’s tremendous thrills, this is a story of human beings, each with his intense personal fears, his deep personal conflicts - each with his moment of triumph and tenderness. This is a story of unrivaled courage and suspense. The Guns of Navarone, I promise you, is probably the most exciting film you will ever see.” Today this level of showmanship and personal dedication to a film is lost in fear of being personally responsible, and perhaps even wrong about a film. My opinion is that you have to stand behind your work, and that great showmanship is an art. You just don’t see people taking a personal step forward like Gregory Peck did to say that they care about what they are working on. (Not to be blind, of course, it was just marketing at the time, but that personal touch meant something to people.) For this project, the filmmakers did their best to market the people behind the making of the project, and we tried to continue this great dynamic in Memories of Navarone. It's funny, but when we started, we faced the standard goal to “tell the story about how the film was made”. But in the end, we discovered that the better stories occurred behind-the-scenes, rather than in front of the camera. Todd Doogan: Like the chess stories. David C. Fein: Oh, the chess stories and the red shirt. Everyone told such vivid personal stories about the camaraderie. That’s where the most energy and pure joy came across. However, you have to look at what you’ve shot and make the most out of what’s available. What I mean is, we didn’t plan the documentary the way it turned out, we just produced the best we were able to with the materials we had available. In general, I’ve always envisioned the creation of Sharpline Arts as an opportunity to offer people a name they could trust. A name that, if they saw it, they would not get another “empty promise” release. We’re doing something very rare in general in this world - we’re taking responsibility for our actions and work, and we’re also taking credit for the work as well (which I often think annoys people.) We stand behind our endeavors, and we always will. Todd Doogan: Who did the interviews and who did you get to interview first? When I was watching it, I couldn’t help but wonder from whom you heard stories from first and knew to ask others about them? Because there are some great stories going on in this documentary. David C. Fein: Michael and I both did the interviews. First I interviewed and sat with J. Lee Thompson during his commentary. J. Lee Thompson is a brilliant filmmaker and was absolutely wonderful to work with. Michael then interviewed Gregory Peck and James Darren, and finally I interviewed Anthony Quinn. Todd Doogan: Was there anyone you tried to get but couldn’t? David C. Fein: Unfortunately, Irene Pappas was unavailable to us - she was in Spain. We would have loved to have her as part of the project, but she was unavailable. We did ponder how much a female touch would have improved the documentary, I think it would have enhanced it greatly. Todd Doogan: Did you try and get anyone like, say the original director for the film? David C. Fein: We do our best to focus on the triumphs of the film and avoid the politics if possible. In most cases, do you really care about who kissed who and who slept with whom? That’s personal and private politics and not artistic creativity. However, there are some films out their where the politics were more prominent than the film itself. For example, Heaven’s Gate - the politics are clearly a huge part of the story behind the film. Todd Doogan: What kind of questions do you ask the subjects? Is there a preliminary discussion with the actors to get them ready. I ask this because in Memories of Navarone, the actors are clearly enjoying themselves and seem very comfortable. How did you prepare them for conversing like that? David C. Fein: Actually, actors are always fun to work with. Number one, you really have to love performers and understand the talent that goes into a great performance. It’s also a matter of trust; I want a relationship with all interview subjects that is based upon respect and trust. Those are the two things that very hard to stand by and for in this industry these days, and it’s even harder to be acknowledged for. Todd Doogan: Where there any really great stories that were lost? David C. Fein: There always are. I’d love to someday get back to projects that are even more extensive, or even go off in a new direction. With every project there are casualties… stories that you’d love to tell that end up on the cutting room floor. On Guns, everyone expressed a lot of love and care for the late David Niven. Gregory Peck and David were very good friends. Greg even sought out some herbs that may have helped him in his final days. He told us a story of how he had the herb ground up and made into pills for him, but his doctors recommended against it. There was so much love and care for each other between these people, and such a great loss was felt by all about David Niven’s departure. I appreciated everyone sharing a thought about him. Another loss were stories about the silent competition going on between the two camps as Anthony points out in the show. There was Niven, Peck and Anthony Quayle in one, and Stanley Baker and Quinn in the another group, with Jimmy Darren bouncing between the two. As we discussed, it was chess that brought them together. Did you see how incredibly Anthony Quinn’s eyes lit up when we were talking about the chess matches? I was so very thrilled to relive that moment of remembrance with him… it was terrific, and truly personal that we were able to share that moment with everyone else. It’s moments like those that I want to remember - simple moments in time. When I interview, I like to enjoy the interplay… I want to make sure that the person I’m interviewing is enjoying the interview as much as I am. In regard to Quinn, that’s how much of the interview went. What we lost was much of the time we spent talking about his family, the magic of nature, and the wonders of life. Quinn made a wonderful comment about the characters he’s portrayed. He commented that “Acting is like putting on a suit.” He ‘puts on’ his characters one leg at a time. I have to say that the man is an amazing performer… I’d love to see him perform in a silent film. Todd Doogan: What I like most about the program is that it’s just so true to its name, it’s Memories of Navarone. There really isn’t anything stuffy about it and it’s the stories that make it work for me. David C. Fein: I have to give credit where credit’s due. We had various names for the show: Building the Guns, Behind the Guns, The Events at Navarone and so forth. It was Mike Stradford,the head of DVD at Columbia, who said, “Why don’t we just call it Memories of Navarone because we were playing with the title and nothing really sat. In the end, the show became just Memories of Navarone. It stuck. Todd Doogan: Where there any stories about the wrangling up of all the characters? David C. Fein: Usually, at the start of a project, you simply don’t know where all of the actors are. There are always ways to find them though. On older projects like this we have the sad job of figuring out who was with us and who had departed. A lot of the cast has departed. The strangest story was finding James Darren. I was working on the casualty list when I started to think, “James Darren - he’s the youngest in the cast…. he HAS to be around somewhere.” At that same time, we were working on the Bride of Re-animator DVD with Jeffrey Combs and took up watching episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that he was in. So at this point I was watching the show while pondering, “Where’s Jimmy Darren? How are we going to find a connection to him?” Sometimes, it’s like the game six degrees of separation. Then I started paying more attention to the Star Trek episode. This episode had the characters go into the holodeck at Quark’s Bar and connect with a reoccurring character named Vic Fontaine. Vic is a Frank Sinatra-like character, who helps the characters face various personal issues in their lives. It’s really a deep character that shows up on and off in the series and dispenses his wisdom on life. Suddenly, the obscurity of the moment got the best of me and I burst out laughing! Suddenly, I realized that right there on the screen in front of me is James Darren. Jimmy plays Vic Fontaine! The whole time, I’m thinking about where to find Jimmy and not paying real attention to the screen and when I finally do, he’s sitting there right in front of me. The next day I called Jeffrey and asked how we could best get a hold of Jimmy. He called Ira Steven Behr, the executive producer on the show, for us and he called Jimmy’s agent. Finally, we got in contact with him and he happily agreed to the interview. He’s a really great person and a fantastic singer… I’m so happy that his Star Trek role has helped renew interest in his singing career. It's even launched a terrific new CD release of songs he sang on DS9. Sometimes, you just don’t see things that are right in front of you. Actually, it was through him that we first found out about those great featurettes that were included on the disc. He had copies of Honeymoon on Rhodes, No Visitors and Two Girls on the Town. Happily, Columbia found two additional clips for the disc. Actually, here’s a nice bit of trivia - Jimmy told us that the featurettes were all directed by John Schlesinger of Midnight Cowboy and Marathon Man fame. Todd Doogan: What did you think about J. Lee Thompson? David C. Fein: J. Lee Thompson, in his commentary, was reminiscing about how he’d like to change things today about the movie. I thought that was fantastic. Because there are so many people out there who can’t change with the times, can’t acknowledge them and can’t let things evolve. He’s had a tremendous career and is still working today…you have to respect that. Shortly after interviewing him, I heard from Ronald Shusett that Lee was another director who, at one point, was possibly going to direct Alien. It’s such a small industry… Todd Doogan: Do you see DVD as an important part of film culture and history? David C. Fein: I really care about the future, and I’m far more concerned that the projects that we produce have a life after DVD. Technology evolves and grows - DVD has a limited life, just like laserdisc, and what concerns me is that these materials we produce today will be available in some form in the future. The one satisfying aspect about working on a project like The Guns of Navarone (or any project for that matter) is that the documentary is going to be out and available in 30, 40 or even 50 years from now. People will be able to listen to the stories of Anthony Quinn, Gregory Peck, J. Lee Thompson and James Darren reminiscing even if, God forbid, they aren’t with us. That’s part of what’s special for me. One of the greatest lost comments of Gregory Peck was in response to a question about any trouble he may have had portraying the reluctant hero in the film. He turned to us and started laughing. And he said, “The script said I was a reluctant hero, so I was a reluctant hero.” That’s professionalism and that’s class. Today, you ask someone if they had trouble playing a character, and they’ll tell you they had to spend six months really planning and getting into that character and learning what it was like to be reluctant. I don’t in any way mean to downplay the art of great preparation for a role, but his answer and professionalism about the issue, was magic. That’s the magic of real Hollywood class. Todd Doogan: You’ve done documentaries at varying running times. Is it easier to tell a story in 60 or more minutes, or is there a certain joy in pulling something in at the 30-minute mark? David C. Fein: Well, yes and no on both. We’re beginning to think that 30 minutes is an ideal running time… not too long, and not too short. Personally I’m leaning more towards having multiple 30-minute documentaries over one very long one. But overall, the quality of the materials available for the show really dictates how long it should be. We found that if you keep it short and dense, really filled with info - which is what I think we did with Guns - you end up with something that flows and is enjoyable. With this one, we cut away everything we could and distilled it down. It can really make for a tight and enjoyable show. Todd Doogan: How does Sharpline Arts work the credits out? You’re credited here as producer with Michael as director. Is that common? David C. Fein: That’s our partnership. We’ve actually made it more so. All of our projects in the future will be credited similarly. Todd Doogan: Is it a kind of Coen Brothers thing, where you both do both things, but separate the credits out like that? David C. Fein: It tends to be that way. I tend to bounce more to Michael’s director’s side and he bounces stuff to me as producer, but we basically do as much for each other as we can. We make a good team. There’s a lot of respect and care between us. Over the years, we’ve begun to appreciate the fact that the credits aren’t what matters... it’s the final results. Recently, I’ve started noticing that collaboration is far more satisfying than working alone. Have you ever witnessed someone stand up at an awards show to congratulate themselves? Todd Doogan: No. But that would be great. David C. Fein: Nowadays, you just have to acknowledge and appreciate the people around you who help you to get where you want to be in your life. That’s what we do for each other now. Our mission is to do the best work that we can. ---end--- The staff of The Digital Bits would like to thank David for taking the time to chat with us. Thanks also to Sharpline Arts, Columbia TriStar Home Video and Irene Dean. Be sure to read our full-length review of The Guns of Navarone on DVD, as well as Bill Hunt's interview with director J. Lee Thompson and my chat with actor James Darren. Keep spinning those discs! Todd Doogan todddoogan@thedigitalbits.com
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