Best Seat in the House - An Assistant Director Behind the Scenes of Feature Films

by David McGiffert, Bob Gale (Foreword), Cameron Crowe (Introduction)

Shooting a feature film is a fascinating and complex process. With his uniquely personal insight and experience, David McGiffert offers a captivating and entertaining view of moviemaking from the Best Seat in the House. Drawing from over three decades as an assistant director, McGiffert charts a revealing and informative journey through the making of many major studio productions working with noted directors such as Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton, Cameron Crowe, Sydney Pollack, Milos Forman, Peter Weir, Steve Zaillian, Jon Avnet, and Terry Gilliam, and top actors like Tom Cruise, Michael Fox, Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Newman, Natalie Wood, Christopher Walken, and Robin Williams. Illustrated with photographs from across the author's cinematic career, this behind-the-scenes book is a must-read for casual moviegoers and committed film lovers alike

368 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 20, 2022

Reviews

[A Cesspool · Rating 2 out of 5]

Principle takeaway: '...Oh, the stories I could tell edit...'

David McGiffert's Assistant Director's memoir constitutes one of the worst trends in showbiz autobios -- probably 35% of BearManor's surplus inventory -- the dilettante's cocktail party-ready anecdotal; Rather, the salacious prattle while on-location or production rumors, principally culled from hearsay and half-remembered dreams, sanitized of schadenfreude, repurposed to fit their narrow, folksy outlook.

My least favorite Hollywood tell-all: genuine scenarios re-edited to demonstrate the storyteller's industry appeal.
Nearly every chapter/job showcasing McGiffert's fantastic portrayals & achievements features a now-deceased or redacted principle player

Example:

There is no fcking way Natalie Wood invited you to spend Thanksgiving with her -- while on-location, making Brainstorm (1983) (an invitation supposedly relayed within earshot of no one else, and within days of her untimely demise murder, natch). The author would also have us believe he's clairvoyant (Clairvoycant?); the same chapter includes a tasteless tangent- retrospection: McGiffert delicately recalls that time he Shined (à la Scatman Crothers) a bullshit "premonition" after glimpsing some useless nautical-tchotchke on display (while at a restaurant) -- prior to Woods' drowning death off Santa Catalina Island.
He trifflin.

Some events/recollections have been sanitized to the point of making null sense (or needless inclusion). Such as,

Chapter 17. It’s My Turn – Claudia Weill 1980, NYC

Srsly WTF is this? [see excerpt below] The author plainly intended on sharing somewhat unseemly b-t-s/production story involving the film's director (and other probable cast or crew) .. with comprehensive specs… only to reconsider sometime later, redacting persons, allusions to confidential behavior, and/or complicity from the manuscript; What remains is fcking nonsensicalness. Only worse, one might interpret the point of McGiffert's abridged story is:

You should count on Women Directors being excused their responsibilities

[??] Srsly why? Initially he's frantically looking for the director, but then nevermnd, everything cool, she only needed to blow-dry her hair?? Fck Off.

The following chapter is an overlong recital of something that allegedly never happen while making Absence of Malice (1981) -- a Four-page anecdotal recalling the time

  Sydney Pollack fcked Sally Field.

That's it.
Big deal. Although, it's more probable to presume Sally Field fcked Pollack (while making Absence of Malice) -- but based on McGiffert's traditional ideals about feme filmmakers he'd never say as much.

Best Seat in the House isn't without some merits...
McGiffert affirms the widely contended industry presumption regarding Tim Burton's directing acumen; Specifically, Burton, an absolute fluke, is lackin requisite principles necessary to helm a major motion picture. With the rare exception of passion projects (Ed Wood or Scissorhands), Burton routinely resolves all responsibilities be delegated by his AD or Production Designer (depending on the studio or project).

McGiffert also confirms, if only casually (srsly in the most broadly specific least aggressive/wholly pussified posture capable), what investigative-litigator/author, Sam Perroni, meticulously chronicled in his Natalie Wood exposé Brainstorm: Christopher Walken, indeed, bulldozed newb director Douglas Trumbull, highjacking his sophomore production, exploiting Trumbull's inexperience and preferred technician-savvy [director's] approach (e.g. hands-off thespians' external-association or time-wasting/resources-draining "improvisations"); Walken slowed photography, to the point of re-directing the shooting-script himself (to the gushing delight of Natalie Wood, allegedly …according to McGiffert Wood’s & Robert Wagner’s longtime Yacht Skipper, Dennis Davern). MGM/UA executives were so perturbed by Trumbull's ineffectiveness, they fired his directing staff and installed their own surrogates to reclaim their over-budget/schedule production. And yet, newly on-location, representing studio interests (breaking up actors’ pioneering, mutinous camaraderie), Wood feels compelled to extend an invitation, to one of these executives’ strawmen, to spend the holiday break with — only just narrowly rescinding an invite to Wood’s murder site… that’s some Forrest fcking Gump shenanigans.

Unfortunate only some principle players have passed away, obviously still not enough for McGiffert to feel safe from publishing-repercussions, blowback, or misapprehensions.

Chap. 17 EXCERPT:

It's My Turn location production at Yankee Stadium, on a tight schedule, tighter budget, Asst Director, McGiffert, is "hurriedly" looking for director Claudia Weill but she's off-comms and unreachable (to everyone)... > “It was exciting to be allowed to film inside the iconic stadium but this was one of those mornings where every second counted, there was a lot of work to do and I was a little on edge. “Come on folks, has anyone seen Claudia? We need her above third base right away, please, let’s find her.”
Dead air in my headset.
..
A wardrobe girl making last-minute adjustments to one of the baseball player’s uniforms called over to me. “I know where I’d be on a morning like this.” I turned to her impatiently, “Come on Cynthia, where?” She looked back over her shoulder at a large make-up trailer on the far side of the parking lot and smiled.
I hurried over to the trailer, knocked on the door twice, and opened it. Two make-up women straightened up quickly as I stepped in. One held an unusually large hairdryer. Claudia sat up in the make-up chair, blushing an attractive shade of pink. “Hi!” she said brightly, “I’ll be right there, just getting a little early morning help from the girls. Big day you know, want to try to look my best. Where are you, up above third base?”? I nodded, smiling through my seriousness.
“Check, I’m on my way, thanks.” She gave me a quick thumbs-up and sat back in the chair. “Let’s go ladies!” The hairdryer started up as I quietly closed the door and trotted back into the stadium.
..
As Claudia was making her way down the steps toward the exit I caught her eye. She paused for a beat looking up at me, and then with a quick smile and a conspiratorial wink, she disappeared into the tunnel. THE END

Excerpt From: Chapter 17. It’s My Turn – Claudia Weill 1980, New York City. Pp. 81-84

[Gina Burrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I thought it would be. McGiffert worked on many iconic movies, but his stories were boring. Didn’t really give insights into the movies with great stories. Basically a diary of movies he worked on.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book with a very friendly personality. But for all its swift anecdotes about the back-breaking and extremely relevant work of first assistant directing, it seems more quaint than deep. Instead of more hands-on stories involving crisis or creativity, there are a lot of chapters devoted to practical jokes and more postcard-friendly information. Considering the wealth of mainstream directors McGiffert worked with (Zemeckis, Pollack), I was disappointed there weren't more stories about the earlier, grungier films with lower budgets. It's a decent journal with a great start. The anecdotes about working on the "King Kong" remake are worth the price of the book, alone.

[Marsha Scarbrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

David McGiffert was one of the most highly respected and in-demand First Assistant Directors in Hollywood. In this delightful memoir, he shares stories about his encounters with Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, Sydney Pollack, and a host of other geniuses of film. He takes readers on the set with him and shows how it went down.

[Dean Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tales of what goes on behind the camera on Hollywood films. No glamor, just truthful insights from a top Assistant Director who has has worked with the best people on the best projects. An EXCELLENT read of behind the scene realities of film making. Enjoy!

[Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I wish that McGiffert had expanded more on Sydney Pollack and wrote about his time working on Little Giants. He doesn’t even mention the film during interviews, which is a shame because there are many Rick Moranis fans out there.