Jerry Bruckheimer: The Hollywood Interview

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer.


JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: KING OF THE BIG-TOP
By
Alex Simon

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2001 issue of Venice Magazine.

You don't hear the word "impresario" used much in the 21st century vernacular. If you don't know it's meaning, Webster's defines impresario as "one who puts on or sponsors an entertainment (as a television show or sports event)." Dry, dictionary-style definitions aside, impresario brings to mind those colorful characters of yesteryear. The Buffalo Bill Codys, the Flo Zigfelds, the Cecil B. DeMilles: larger-than-life characters whose moniker conjured up images of bigger-than-life entertainment spectacles. If Jerry Bruckheimer seems too low-key a guy to join the aforementioned rogues gallery, grab your magnifying glass and look closer, Sherlock.

Born the only child of German-Jewish immigrants in 1945, the Detroit, Michigan native attended University of Arizona, seeking out an arid climate to battle chronic asthma which he'd suffered since childhood. After earning a degree in psychology, Bruckheimer returned to Detroit to work in the advertising trade. After producing an award-winning Pontiac television ad, a take-off on then-current hit movie Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Bruckheimer's pinache caught the eye of renowned ad agency BBD & O, which lured him to Madison Avenue. It was during his four year stint with the prestigious agency that Bruckheimer met photographer, and aspiring filmmaker, Dick Richards. Bruckheimer, not yet 30, left BBD & O to produce three films for Richards: the gritty western The Culpepper Cattle Company (on which he was associate producer, 1972), the Philip Marlowe film noir Farewell My Lovely (1975), and the French Foreign Legion adventure March or Die (1977).

It was during the 1980's, however, that Bruckheimer truly found his place: as a producer of slick, big-budget, highly-commercial stories with pulsating rock music soundtracks, populated by a cast of beautiful up-and-comers. American Gigolo (1980), which made Richard Gere a household name, was the first of the decade, followed in rapid succession by Michael Mann's feature debut Thief (1981), and Paul Schrader's sexy remake of Cat People (1982).

It was with Flashdance, in 1983, that Bruckheimer formed a business partnership that would change his life, and the Hollywood landscape, forever, joining forces with Don Simpson to produce one of the biggest hits that year, not to mention one of the most influential films to American pop culture. Don Simpson was a larger-than-life force who seemed to consume the world and all it had to offer with the gusto of a starving child. His in-your-face approach to life sharply contrasted Bruckheimer's low-key, poker-faced, all-business style, forming the perfect balance between the extreme and the subdued. The Simpson-Bruckheimer logo on a film soon became a brand-name of its own, promising a bigger, louder, splashier moviegoing experience for all who came, turning the young producers into a sort of cinematic Barnum and Bailey. The suburban multiplex was their big top. And they were the undisputed kings. Just a few of their other titles include: Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and its sequel Cop II (1987), Top Gun (1986), Days of Thunder (1990), his first project with director Michael Bay Bad Boys (1995), Crimson Tide (1995), Dangerous Minds (1995), and The Rock (1996). It was during production on The Rock that Simpson died suddenly, leaving Bruckheimer to carry on their tradition of blockbusters. In the annals of show biz, only Paul McCartney has fared as well as a solo act. Jerry Bruckheimer Films went on to produce Con Air (1997), Armageddon (1998), Enemy of the State (1998), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), and Remember the Titans (2000). To date, Bruckheimer's films have earned over $3.8 billion in box office, video and recording receipts, more than any other producer in history.

Bruckheimer's latest is (surprise) the biggest, most anticipated blockbuster of the summer. Pearl Harbor marks Bruckheimer's fourth collaboration with director Michael Bay, telling the epic story of the infamous Japanese bombing raid that kick-started America's involvement in the second World War. An all-star cast of heartthrobs (Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding, Jr.), newcomers (Josh Hartnett, James King) and old pros (Jon Voight, Colm Feore, Mako) guide this epic during its three hour running time. The 40 minute sequence which re-creates the bombing itself might be the most spectacular movie spectacle ever filmed. See it on the biggest screen, equipped with the best sound system you can find. This is not a movie to wait for on video and DVD! The Disney release is currently playing nationwide.

Jerry Bruckheimer's Santa Monica offices say a lot about the man. Located on a small side-street in an unobtrusive part of the city, the red brick building with the unassuming facade houses an interior that resembles something out of Architectural Digest, its walls decorated with pop art canvases, and offices decorated with modern furniture, that look as if they were plucked directly from the Museum of Modern Art. Appropriate digs for a guy who walks softly, and carries one of the biggest sticks in the business.

Pearl Harbor must've been a real challenge for a producer logistically, since it has more big set pieces than any film in recent memory.
Jerry Bruckheimer: It was very difficult initially to get (Disney) behind it. Originally, when Joe Roth was running the studio, he was all for it. Once we finally got it to the number that he wanted to spend, Joe Roth was out and we had to pull the plug, and start all over again. We had to pull more money out of the budget. Michael Bay quit a bunch of times. The whole process was on-again, off-again for six or eight months 'til we finally got the go-ahead.

Was it difficult finding enough period aircraft?
It was. We were able to locate 14 of the real planes. One guy found one in the Philippines that was at the bottom of the ocean. He fished it out, got the original plans from Japan that were written in this ancient Japanese dialect. It was on microfilm because the Japanese had destroyed all their original plans. He restored it like new using those as his reference.

You also shot in a variety of locations: California, Hawaii, Mexico to name a few.
We were in England and Corpus Cristi, Texas as well. All the stuff in Baja, Mexico was stuff we shot in the tank that was built for Titanic. Most of the stuff with people going into the water and the U.S.S. Oklahoma rolling over. We were down in Baja for ten days.

How many days did you shoot total?
I think it was close to 100, amazingly fast for a film of this size.

Your cast is a combination of new faces, established actors and old veterans. You've always had a knack for finding new talent. Tell us about James King, for starters, who's a new face.
Michael saw her in a magazine and thought she was really interesting, loved her personality, her beauty, and she got the part. She really radiates a kind of youthful innocence that you don't see much anymore, more like the young women of (the early 1940's).

Josh Hartnett has an interesting quality, too. A lot of people think he has an uncanny resemblance to Tommy Lee Jones.
I see him more as a Gary Cooper type, a throwback, with a little Montgomery Clift thrown in.

I thought it was interesting that you decided to use the old three strip Technicolor process, which hasn't been used in decades, in some of the release prints.
Yeah, that was Michael's idea. He wanted to evoke that bygone look that movies used to have.

This is your fourth film with Michael Bay. Tell us how you originally connected with him.
We needed to do a video for Days of Thunder and we didn't have any money, so we called a commercial production house that had the best directors. And I said "Who do you have that's on the way up, a new star?" They sent us three or four reels and one stood out, that was Michael's. When it came time for Bad Boys, I asked for his reel again, and it was amazing. It's been an amazing collaboration. Each picture he does grosses double or triple from the previous one.

Like the other directors you've worked with, Dick Richards, Paul Schrader, Michael Mann, Adrian Lynne, Bay has an amazing visual eye, which is obviously important to you.
I think interesting visuals separates what we do from most other films. When a director has a unique take, a unique vision, that's what makes a unique, memorable film, and that's what I've always looked for in the directors that I like to work with: is their work interesting? Is it different? Is it unique? The image has always been important to me. When I was six years old, my uncle gave me his old camera and I fell in love with photography. I did it for years, then eventually gave it up when I just didn't have time for it anymore. Recently, I picked up the camera again, and shot lots of stills on the Pearl Harbor set, many of which are in the book on the film's production.

Pearl Harbor didn't feel like an "effects movie" which really added to its impact.
As an example, Armageddon had 400 visual effects shots. Pearl Harbor has 150. We always wanted to keep as much of it real as we could, so it stayed a "period" picture, as opposed to a film with a more modern feel.

How long did it take to shoot the entire bombing sequence?
That was all part of the Hawaii stuff and we were over there about six weeks.

Did the Navy and Army give you full cooperation in shooting at Pearl Harbor?
Yeah, we went to the Pentagon and met with the Secretary of Defense, who was a supporter of ours, and that kind of had a trickle down effect. I think it's the biggest joint operation they've ever done (for a Hollywood movie).

When you produce a picture how much of a voice do you have in the actual filmmaking process?
I get involved in the casting. I get involved in the screenplay. I get involved in the music, and the promotion. When it comes to filming it, I leave that to the director.

You were born and raised in Detroit.
Yeah, my parents were both born in Germany. My dad was a salesman who sold mostly clothes, never made more than about $140 a week. We were lower middle class. I was an only child. My mom's still here. She came out for the premiere, which was exciting for her.

When did you fall in love with movies?
Oh yeah, I was an avid moviegoer. I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to be part of it somehow.

Was there one movie that really did it for you?
Probably The Great Escape (1963). I said 'I wanna be Steve McQueen. I want to ride that bike!' (laughs)

From Detroit, you went to University of Arizona.
Yeah, I couldn't get into a lot of other schools, didn't want to go to school at home, and I wanted a warm climate for my asthma. I started at Arizona State, which I attended for a year. It was very much a city school, then, the campus was just deserted on the weekends, so I transferred to U of A the following year, which had a lot more out of state students. I majored in psychology, with an algebra minor. Psych teaches you communication skills and how to sell your point of view, which has been very helpful to me. U of A was great. I'd never experienced weather like that before. In Michigan it was always six below (zero).

From there you went back to Detroit and got into advertising.
Yeah. I started out in the mailroom, then got promoted to tracker for television, then an assistant producer, and from there to BBD & O in New York.

It was there that you met Dick Richards and your film career began.
Yeah, he hired me as associate producer on The Culpepper Cattle Company. It was tough. I was a new kid in Hollywood and I was this interloper, but we struggled and got it done. I worked with him on two more films, then went out on my own.

Your first film as a producer was a period piece, Farewell My Lovely, which has a strong cult following. What was that like?
That was a great experience. Robert Mitchum was...a lot of fun. (laughs) A nice guy, but real complicated. A character.

All of your films have made money, if not been outright blockbusters. What is it about a particular story that attracts you?
Do I want to go see it? That simple.

How did you meet Don Simpson?
My ex-wife was working at Warner Bros. for Don's best friend. We went to a screening of The Harder They Come (1973) and my then-wife introduced us after we came out of the theater. Then when I got divorced, he had this big house in Laurel Canyon with lots of bedrooms. One of his roommates had just moved out, and he invited me to take his place. We became roommates and he borrowed my only sportcoat to attend his first meeting at Paramount, where he eventually became head of production.

From everything I've read, it sounds like you guys were complete opposites and that's why you complimented each other so well.
Don was very funny, bombastic. He would've entertained you through this whole conversation. He had a great sense of humor. He could talk about himself for hours. Once you got him going, there was no stopping him. Whereas I'm much more laid back, even-keeled. Don was always up and down. Don understood the studio politics and all the things that people like Michael Eisner were saying in subtext, things which I didn't have a clue about. He'd report to me afterward, like a translator: "This is what was said."

What was it like suddenly being on your own again?
Very tough. One minute you have your best friend sitting next to you, bouncing ideas off him, then all of the sudden he's gone, and you're on your own.

What advice would you have for a first-time or aspiring producer?
Get on the floor, start working. Get any job you can, just to get in the door. Once you get in the door, if you're good, you'll move up so fast, you won't know what hit you.