I was fortunate to be working in England for a while one summer. Fortunate because I had met a terrific crane crew while filming FREE AS A BIRD. I was talking with the grip and it was interesting, as he had worked with Kubrick on the still filming EYES WIDE SHUT.
‘He fired me on the first day.’
‘The first day? Why?’
‘He was doing lens tests on the dolly…’
‘Why on the dolly?’
‘He wanted to see if the Christmas tree lights would strobe.’
‘Why didn’t the DP do it?’
‘Stanley does everything himself.’
‘But why were you fired?’
‘When he got to the end of the track he shouted and asked why there was no rostrum there.’
‘I said that we had just built the track when you got on the dolly and said to start tracking. He turned to the assistant and I was fired.’
‘For that?’
‘First day.’