Rene Haynes and Brooks Robinson Interview

Hard work, grit hallmark of movie business

As Hollywood stars collect Academy Awards next Sunday night, television and film actor Jeff Leaf won't begrudge winners their thank-yous.

That's because each movie and television project typically enlists hundreds of people, Leaf says.

"It's not just Tom Hanks doing it all in the movie," Leaf said.

Leaf, a Great Falls native, and two others who grew up in Great Falls revealed what they like about working in motion pictures. The other two are Rene Haynes and Brooks Robinson. All three live in Southern California but still have relatives in the Great Falls area.

Last year was a fine one for movies, with "The King's Speech," "The Social Network," "The Fighter" and "True Grit" all popping up late in the year. The Oscar show will be telecast at 6 p.m. MST Sunday on ABC.

RENE HAYNES, casting director.

Despite all the glitz of the Oscars, "it really is a myth that this is a glamorous business," said Rene Haynes, whose speciality is casting Native Americans in films and mini-series. "Filmmakers are all very hard-working people who sacrifice a lot for their art."

Haynes enjoyed casting Native Americans for the popular vampire film "Twilight" sequels "New Moon" and "Eclipse," notably as characters that morph into giant wolves. Fans of "Twilight" were enthusiastic.

"It was like being at the center of a really crazy pop-culture cyclone," Haynes said. She's proud of the young native actors she cast for the "Twilight" films, including "great new faces" such as Australian actor Xavier Samuel.

"I am not part of the casting team of the last two films in the series," Haynes said in an e-mail interview. "However, it hasn't stopped the flow of 'Twilight'-related e-mail I get every week, mostly from people that want to know if I can ask Rob Pattinson to attend their birthday party. Sorry; that answer will always be no."

Haynes lately has been casting for the film "Winter in the Blood," based on the James Welch novel, for filmmakers Alex and Andrew Smith, who "have written a great script," she said. More than 500 Montanans have already auditioned, with filming expected to begin during the summer. Haynes said there may be more casting calls; check online by visiting www.winterinthebloodfilm.com.

BROOKS ROBINSON, camera operator.

Robinson, a camera operator for 18 years, says his job beats working in a cubicle all day.

On the other hand, "some days you're out on sand dunes when it's 115 degrees," he said in a telephone interview.

At the moment, Robinson is working in Georgia on a Disney film, "The Odd Life of Timothy Green," starring Jennifer Garner. Last summer, he filmed "Water for Elephants," a Depression-era story with a circus setting, featuring Pattinson and Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon.

Predicting whether a film will become a hit or a bomb is not always easy for crew members.

"Sometimes you're pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised," Robinson said. He is convinced "Water for Elephants" will be terrific when it's released this spring.

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xoxo
Carrie