DAVID WORTH

Q&A WITH DAVID WORTH

David Worth is an American cinematographer and film director whose work can be seen in such films as Bloodsport, Any Which Way You Can, Bronco Billy, Warrior of the Lost World, Lady Dragon and Hard Knocks and Kickboxer. He serves as Co-Director with Alan Dabie of Borrowed Time.

Although you are the well-known director of Kickboxer (the original Van Damme movie), for our readers who may not know, what is David Worth like as a person? Besides films, what are your other passions? I love being a husband and father. I’ve been married to a lovely Singaporean woman for over 30 years and I’m extremely proud of my son David II who has recently discovered the most amazing recipe for cooking steaks. Also, my daughter Chrystina has made me a grandfather twice. I’ve been mentoring those boys, Finn and Bowie. They are now teenagers and are becoming amazing, young filmmakers! Starting from your cinematic beginning, what was the big break that enabled you to become a major movie director? It was by doing several very small movies, (under $150,000) that eventually led to me working as the Director of Photography (DP) with the iconic director Clint Eastwood on two films: Bronco Billy and Any Which Way You Can. That then led me to the DP role in Bloodsport. I then directed the original Kickboxer. All of this came about because I happened to become the DP and editor on a small film called Deathgame. One of the stars of that film, the late and outstanding actress Sondra Locke, went on to work with Clint Eastwood on The Outlaw Josie Wales. She thought my cinematography made her look amazing and she opened the door for Clint to see my work. That’s exactly how a “break” in Show Biz happens!

With the quality of your directing well known, particularly in action films, it suggests that you may have a martial arts background. If so, tell me about your formal training. What attracts you to action movies? No, I do not have a martial arts background. My background is totally in all things Cinema. I studied the films of DW Griffith, John Ford and Orson Welles, as well as the films of Kurosawa, the Italian Neo-Realists, the French New Wave and especially Stanley Kubrick and the ¬American Independent filmmakers. I was attracted to action films because they have no language barrier and appeal to everyone. They reach an entire world-wide audience. With such an impressive resume of film projects under your belt, what attracted you to become the director of Borrowed Time (Denard 3)? Borrowed Time came my way because for the past several years I’ve been first a fan of, then a mentor for Alan Delabie. I saw his original film work in the streets with just a video camera and a few friends. I loved what he was doing. I’m extremely proud of what he’s been able to accomplish with his talent, tenacity and determination.

Photo courtesy courtesy of David Worth

What elements are you looking to capture to make this film great, like your other cinematic accomplishments? Every film is a different experience and each one has its own ensemble of actors, locations and story elements. I always try to bring out the best in each of those elements, then mold them into the best film possible. I understand this film will feature some amazing talent. Have you previously worked with any of the actors who will have major roles in Borrowed Time? What do they each bring to the film that you hope to capture through your camera lens? I haven’t worked with any of these outstanding actors before. However, we all speak the same language: the language of cinema. We will each bring our various backgrounds to the table, then we will creatively pool our talents and experiences to capture Borrowed Time 3 to make it the best film that we possibly can.

Q&A WITH

What is the secret to your success? There are so many avenues. If you watch documentaries on the great Anthony Quinn and many other actors, you will see that there are many different roads to a successful career. And I guess everybody has their own little secrets as far as learning how to work and how to express themselves in the movie world, in the theatrical world and I think great mentors can help you, especially at an early age. Great teachers can teach you at any time though. I heard that the great Al Pacino still works with somebody to this very day. Secrets come from wise people. And every now and then I think you learn a little something yourself along the winding road of ups and downs of being a performer. One of the great acting teachers I had was Janet Alhanti. She was a mentor. She said that you had to bring your life to your art. I was lucky enough to grow up in a kind of rough and tumble world of nightclubs and nightlife because my uncles had these kinds of establishments. I was educated on the street early in life, so that was some sort of wisdom I had as a youngster. Having a background in sports provided me with a discipline, so being fit and ready for whatever came was another part that prepared me. Bits and pieces of life, wisdom gets gathered along the way. All of the sudden you might have something to look back on and work from, which I do. But discipline is special; staying away from the parties and drugs, and all the silly stuff. I went through a phase that I never thought that I would go through and I look back thinking what a waste of time it was. Having a healthy lifestyle and discipline are important. Of course, some people have a natural talent, which doesn’t hurt. Some people have to work at it harder. These are the secrets that I’ve learned.

COSTAS MANDYLOR

What kind of training did you have? As far as training is concerned, Janet Alhanti was my first official teacher. She worked with the great Sandy Meisner. Some of my classmates-Josh Brolin, Kevin Sorbo, Dean Cain and many others passed through the doors of Janet Alhanti. She had a lot of wisdom to share and prepared us for the years to come. Of course life is one of the great teachers if you pay attention to what’s around you. And idols. There are so many wonderful actors that I’ve worked with. I’m totally in love as a brother with William Dafoe. He keeps on trucking and is always right there doing brilliant stuff. Of course the great Anthony Quinn. The great Robert Loggia. Both were my two Hollywood fathers, so to speak. I can say that because they called me their son many, many times. They were incredible to talk to and be with. I could go on. So many great actors. Joe Pesci, who I became friends with. Gerard Butler, who has done wonderfully, is like a brother. Josh Brolin, who I respect. I am proud to have spent time with these people and to now watch them on screen; I try to keep a childlike view of our business and watch people that I adore. There are many more I adore. I hope I don’t offend anybody. But watching great movies, great theater with great writers and directors is an untouchable piece of beauty that lasts forever.

What was it like working with Oliver Stone in The Doors? The great Oliver Stone. The wonderful, crazy, brilliant man that he is. I’ll never forget when I first met him. I was so nervous. His offices were in Venice, California. I remember going in and he wanted to improvise. His casting agent, I forget her name now, was there. And he said to me, “I’ll play Jim Morrison and you play the Count.” The Count, the Italian Count, who was actually a real person in that era of the craziness of Jim Morrison and The Doors in Venice Beach. He said, “I’ll pretend to walk in on you sleeping with my girl.” I didn’t know what to do, but I just went with the flow. I was on the floor with the lady and Oliver Stone walked in on us and I just smiled because I thought how funny it was that I was doing this. Oliver Stone looked at me and said, “You’ve got the part.” I’ll never forget it. He took me through the office and introduced me to everyone. He announced, “This is Costas Mandolyr, an unknown entity. But he’s working with us and he’s playing The Count.” I left there thinking, “what just happened?” I met so many wonderful actors on that set. Of course Val Kilmer and Meg Ryan, Michael Wincott, Michael Madsen. So many were somewhat born around that era. I would have loved to have worked with Oliver again, but I'll never forget how great and exhilarating it was working on that film.

How did your role in this latest film, Borrowed Time, come about? I happened to be in Europe when Alan Delabie requested me for the film, which is always an honor when someone wants to work with you. It is an action-packed, thriller film. I’d rather Alan speak about the film though, which is still ongoing.

Tell us about your ongoing role in the Saw franchise. Can you talk about that? I was introduced in Saw III and I’ve gone all the way up until the latest installment. I’m actually the longest survivor in the films I think. I’m proud of that. The producers are great and I’m so grateful that they invited me in. It’s been a really great ride. I am excited for when the theaters will open back up and we can see the prequels.

Do you have any advice you’d pass along to younger actors? Career-wise, I’d say to just respect the art and try to remain fearless. Gather as much knowledge as you can and trust in yourself. If you fall flat on your face, get up and try again. Many actors have said the same thing. Going back to the classics like Anthony Quinn, Robert Loggia. It was not easy for them in the beginning. But they just kept developing. And along the way you meet excellent directors like Oliver Stone and of course Cecil B. DeMille, who I think was Anthony Quinn’s first director. We could go on and on, but you begin to build trust. The great director Robert Zemickis gave me an opportunity once to do Beowulf with Ray Winstone, Sir Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich. All of these experiences build you and you learn to just go for it, but always being well prepared. I say this to the younger actors because I mentioned it in the beginning: stay away from the stupid stuff and when you get to work, FLY. I always get nervous during auditions, but I’m never nervous on set. When you are working with such wonderful people, it is such a joy. I will finish by saying that I worked with Jack Nicholson and Sean Penn; and I will never forget how complementary they were after a very long scene. It felt like they were right there with me and we were such a team. It gave me a sense of rebirth and hope for what this career could actually be like. It’s like dancing with a partner, when you are gliding along the floor and you know what you are doing with the steps. It’s exhilarating.

Thank you for listening to me. I’m not done yet. And to all you up-and-comers, Kick Ass.

Photo courtesy of Bram Heimens

ALAN DELABIE