At 91, Shoemaker To The Stars Is Still In Business
The man behind Charlton Heston's sandals in The Ten Commandments is 91-year-old Willie Rivera, who began making shoes at the age of 13 in Mexico City. He moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s and has...
View ArticleHow Hollywood Gets Fed: A Lesson In Craft Service
Gone are the days when actors brought their own lunches to the set in brown paper bags. It's a full-time job feeding the hundreds — sometimes thousands — of men and women working each day on major...
View ArticleBelief On The Big Screen: Secrets Of Special Effects
A spaceship lands. Humans become avatars. A man in a cape can fly. Special effects have made movies magical for decades. NPR's Susan Stamberg goes backstage to learn how moviemakers frighten, fool and...
View ArticleLong Before Computers, How Movies Made Us Believe
Once upon a time, scenery and special effects were crafted entirely by human hands. NPR's Susan Stamberg reveals some of the surprising secrets behind Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Dr. Zhivago...
View ArticleObjectively Speaking, It's All About The Prop Master
When The Social Network needs 60 vintage computers that work — or Steven Spielberg needs live crabs, and needs them in motion — it's prop masters who move heaven and earth to make it happen. In the...
View ArticleFor Location Scouts, It's All About Making The Scene
Among the earliest production crew members hired on a film, they help directors turn words into pictures — and help manage the chaos of a movie set. For the second of this year's Hollywood Jobs...
View ArticlePrivate Screening: How Hollywood Watches Its Work
Filmmakers rely on private screening rooms to show their unfinished films to invite-only audiences. NPR's Susan Stamberg visits one screening room on Rodeo Drive, run by 97-year-old Charles Aidikoff...
View ArticleThe Extraordinary, Ordinary Life Of Alexander Payne
Life is a collection of "extraordinarily ordinary moments," says the Academy Award-winning director, if only people would "wake up and pay attention to how beautiful it all is." Payne's latest film,...
View ArticleFor Film Set Decorators, Tiny Details Count
On a movie set, every piece of furniture, wall hanging or bit of desktop clutter that an actor doesn't touch is chosen by the film's set decorator. For her annual Oscar-season series on Hollywood jobs,...
View ArticleFor Publicist Marvin Levy, It's All About Eyeballs
A publicist is responsible for making a movie known — in a good way, with any luck. It's a multifaceted job, but what does he or she really do? NPR's Susan Stamberg continues her annual Hollywood Jobs...
View Article'Clap!' On Set, The Signature Sound Of The Slate
On a movie set, every scene and every take gets "slated" during filming, and there's that distinctive clap sound we all know. But what's it for? The job of the clapper, revealed.» E-Mail This
View ArticleKeen Eyes, Uncanny Instincts Keep Films In Sharp Focus
Believe it or not, the person responsible for keeping each and every shot of a movie in focus never looks through a camera lens. NPR's Susan Stamberg explains the role of the focus puller.» E-Mail This
View ArticleNever Seen And Sometimes Barely Heard, Loopers Fill In Hollywood's Soundtrack
In movies, crowd noise, hospital waiting room chatter and barroom brawl sounds are created by voice actors called loopers. "If it's done right, you shouldn't even notice it," one sound mixer says.
View ArticleAs 'Hollywood Jobs' Turns 10, We Follow Up With The Folks In The Credits
NPR's Susan Stamberg has talked to everyone from focus pullers to foley artists. She finds that in the last 10 years, technology and out-of-state tax incentives have been Hollywood game-changers.
View ArticleHollywood Food Stylists Know: You Can't Film Styrofoam Cake And Eat It, Too
Melissa McSorley's job is to make food look good — and last — on camera. Sometimes that means cooking 800 Cubano sandwiches, other times it means scooping butter instead of ice cream.
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