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Michael Chapman - 'The Lost Boys': Covering all the genres (65/94)

294 views · Published 12 July 2017 · 2:53 · Indexed 10 November 2026

Channel: Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People · 2017 · Film & Animation

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To listen to more of Michael Chapman’s stories, go to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVV0r6CmEsFyKbX3v4q3w3U_-c2SOkXm9

Michael Chapman (1935-2020) was an innovative cinematographer. He worked with a number of acclaimed directors including Martin Scorsese with whom he created his two best-known films, 'Taxi Driver' and 'Raging Bull'. [Listener: Glen Ade Brown; date recorded: 2004]

TRANSCRIPT: 'The Lost Boys' is a vampire movie, with Keifer Sutherland and various other people as these vampires metaphorical... whatever they are. But I've always liked horror movies. I love vampire movies and, particularly, I love werewolf movies. I've never gotten to do a werewolf movie, except maybe 'Taxi Driver', but... I've always wanted to do it. If anybody wants me to a werewolf movie, I'll really do it very cheaply. I love werewolf movies. But I quite like vampire movies too. I like horror movies of all kinds. They seem wonderfully metaphorical, you know. Vampire movies are obviously about the sort of oral stage of sexuality and I think that werewolf movies are about the anal stage, you know, it's sort of there behind and you don't know what it is... is it going to erupt? No, I think that's true, really. I know it sounds silly, but I... so I got to do a vampire movie and I've always wanted to do every kind. You know, in a way, ['The] White Dawn' was my western. Although I did do a western which we skipped over, and just this last... under an assumed name, because I... well, that's a long story.

Oh my God. I'd fled New York with the woman who is in the other room and I had no money, and I was out here. But I was a reasonably well-known cameraman. How did we get into this? Oh, I know. So I couldn't just do movies under my own name, you know. And I didn't have a card in the Union here. At that time there were separate Unions and I was really broke. I had left with, like, 35 cents. And so I got a job doing a pathetic non-union western in New Mexico and Arizona with various actors and things who were on their uppers, for one reason or another, or in low points in their career. And I couldn't do it under my own name, and so I did it under the name of... I can't think. What's the name of... of the hero of the Henry James novel, 'The Ambassadors'? Oh, Jesus. Sort of naive middle-aged New England man, off in the great world of Paris, in this case. I thought it was just right so I took his name and did the movie under that name. Now, isn't that terrible, it's a good... and I can't remember the man's name. Bloody hell! Anyway, I don't know how I got off on that, but... what was I talking about? Oh, vampire movies, yes! ['The] Lost Boys'. 'The Lost Boys', mmmm. I think maybe I... Well, 'Lost Boys' is worth seeing. 'Lost Boys' is worth seeing because it is really quite a stylish, slightly comedic, vampire movie and it's, I think, Joel Schumacher's most heartfelt film, really.

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