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GREG ROBBINS INTERVIEW by Hrvoje Bubić
Hrvoje Bubić
Greg Robbins američki je kaskader, glumac, pisac i redatelj. Za SolinLive govori o sebi, svome radu, kao i o brojnim suradnjama.
First, can you introduce yourself to our readers and say something about yourself?
My name is Greg Robbins, I have been in the motion picture industry for over 41 years. I am married with kids and grandkids:)
You have been in the film industry for quite a long time, so I was interested in hearing more about your work and what motivated you to do it.
Most of my career has been in the stunt world, I have been fortunate enough to write and direct some Indi films and TV series. Somehow my path keeps going back to stunts and stunt coordinating. My motivation is simply I love telling stories with moving pictures. Some say it’s an art form, others say it’s a career, to me it’s an addiction. A wonderfully told story makes us humans cry, laugh, feel fear, joy, sad, glad, happy, sorrow. To be able to display a human emotion of any kind and that emotion grabs an audience is a wonderful feeling.
You collaborated with James Cameron on the film Terminator. What was it like working with him as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger?
I didnt collaborate as much as do what Jim wanted. Jim had a vision and his attention to detail and perfection was amazing. He was very kind to me and everyone and generous with his talent and knowledge. I’m not even sure he knew how amazing he was back then. Arnold was always very polite, and humble. He took time to talk with people when he wasnt in preparation for his character.
As a cult following movie, Terminator is a part of popular culture, so I wanted to ask you what is your opinion on the Terminator movie, as well as its legacy.
The legacy of the Terminator franchise is a very rare timeless product. Long after this generation has passed on the franchise like the Terminator lives on:)
Besides the aforementioned film Terminator, you have appeared in films such as Spinal Tape, Re-Animator, Beastmasters, Traces, etc. Could you tell us more about these films?
I had a lot less involvement with Spinal Tap, Re-Animator, and Beastmaster, compared to T1, I was just stunts and crew on those films. I had a great time working on these films, especially reanimation and tracers because I got to work with some people from T1.
Since you have been involved in film for a long time, I was wondering which film remained in your fond memory, and if you could tell us an anecdote.
Out of all the work I’ve done some of my fondest memories come from T1. Lately, I have had wonderful times because I work with my grown kids and son-in-law which is a delight. But, when I look back to my younger years, working on Terminator I feel I learned a lot that stayed with me through these years and I had a great time. A memorable moment was when we shot the tiki motel scenes. I was called to sit by Jim and he wanted me to pull up in the truck and Michael (Kyle Reese) was going to throw me out of the truck. He told me what to do and I did it exactly the way he directed. I started the truck, put it in gear looked over my shoulder to back out and Reese opened the truck door and pulled me out onto the ground. When he did the truck started to roll and Michale and I scrambled to get to the brake all of a sudden Jeff Fawm the head makeup artist grans us both and yanked us out of the way and someone jumped in the truck and stopped it. I rolled backward out of the way and Jim said Nice move, but why did you back up the truck I said because you told me to. Everyone laughed and we altered the direction.
In addition to movies, is there anything else you do besides movies?
I work on movies and I am a martial artist. I have 2 black belts and I compete in tournaments. Outside of that I just play with my grandchildren 🙂
As for the end, what are your future projects? What would you recommend to our readers?
I wrote a very heartwarming yet tragic story called Running After Me about human trafficking that I am trying to get produced. Outside of that, I stunt coordinate films here in New York.
HRVATSKI PRIJEVOD
1. Prvo, možeš li se predstaviti našim čitateljima i reći nešto o sebi?
Moje ime je Greg Robbins, u filmskoj industriji sam više od 41 godine. Oženjen sam, imam djecu i unuke 🙂
2. Dugo ste u filmskoj industriji pa me zanimalo čuti nešto više o vašem radu i što vas je motiviralo da to radite.
Veći dio moje karijere bio je u svijetu kaskadera, imao sam sreću pisati i režirati neke neovisne filmove i TV serije. Nekako se moj put vraća na kaskadere i koordinaciju kaskadera (Koordinatora kaskadera, obično iskusnog kaskadera, angažira televizijski, filmski ili kazališni redatelj ili produkcijska tvrtka za dodjelu uloga kaskaderima,op.prev.).Moja motivacija je jednostavno što volim pričati priče uz pokretne slike. Neki kažu da je to umjetnost, drugi kažu da je to karijera, za mene je to ovisnost. Divno ispričana priča nas ljude tjera na plač, smijeh, strah, radost, tugu, radost, veselje, tugu. Biti u mogućnosti prikazati ljudsku emociju bilo koje vrste i ta emocija zaokupiti publiku je prekrasan osjećaj.
3. Surađivali ste s Jamesom Cameronom na filmu Terminator. Kako je bilo raditi s njim kao i s Arnoldom Schwarzeneggerom?
Nisam toliko surađivao koliko sam radio ono što je Jim (redatelj J. Cameron, op.prev.) želio. Jim je imao viziju i njegova pozornost na detalje i savršenstvo bila je nevjerojatna. Bio je vrlo ljubazan prema meni i svima i velikodušan sa svojim talentom i znanjem. Nisam ni siguran da je tada znao koliko je nevjerojatan. Arnold je uvijek bio vrlo pristojan i skroman. Odvojio je vrijeme za razgovor s ljudima kada se nije pripremao za svoj lik.
4. Kao kultni film, Terminator je dio popularne kulture, pa sam vas htio pitati kakvo je vaše mišljenje o filmu Terminator, kao i o njegovoj ostavštini.
Nasljeđe franšize Terminator vrlo je rijedak bezvremenski proizvod. Dugo nakon što je ova generacija prenijela franšizu kao što Terminator živi dalje 🙂
5. Osim spomenutog filma Terminator, pojavljivali ste se u filmovima kao što su Spinal Tape, Re-Animator, Beastmasters, Traces itd. Možete li nam reći nešto više o tim filmovima?
Bio sam puno manje uključen u Spinal Tap, Re-Animator i Beastmaster, u usporedbi s T1, bio sam samo kaskader i radnik na tim filmovima. Sjajno sam se zabavio radeći na ovim filmovima, posebno na Re-Animator i Traces jer sam morao raditi s nekim ljudima iz T1.
6. Budući da se dugo bavite filmom, zanimalo me koji vam je film ostao u lijepom sjećanju i možete li nam ispričati neku anegdotu.
Od svega što sam radio, neke od mojih najljepših uspomena potječu iz T1. U zadnje vrijeme sam imao divne trenutke jer radim sa svojom odraslom djecom i zetom što je pravo zadovoljstvo. Ali, kada se osvrnem na svoje mlađe godine, radeći na Terminatoru, osjećam da sam puno naučio što je ostalo sa mnom kroz ove godine i bilo mi je super. Trenutak za pamćenje bio je kada smo snimali scene u motelu Tiki. Pozvali su me da sjednem pokraj Jima i htio je da se zaustavim u kamionu, a Michael (Kyle Reese) me namjeravao izbaciti iz kamiona. Rekao mi je što da radim i ja sam to učinio točno onako kako je naredio. Upalio sam kamionet, ubacio ga u brzinu, pogledao preko ramena da izađem i Reese je otvorio vrata kamioneta i izvukao me na tlo. Kad je to učinio, kamion se počeo kotrljati, a Michael i ja smo se požurili da pritisnemo kočnicu, a odjednom nam je Jeff Fawm, glavni šminker, obojicu dodijelio i trgnuo nas s puta, a netko je uskočio u kamion i zaustavio ga. Otkotrljao sam se unatrag s puta i Jim je rekao “Dobar potez”, ali zašto si išao unatrag s kamionom rekao sam jer si mi to rekao. Svi su se nasmijali i promijenili smo smjer.
Uz filmove, bavite li se još nečim osim filmovima?
Radim na filmovima i bavim se borilačkim vještinama. Imam 2 crna pojasa i natječem se na turnirima. Izvan toga samo se igram sa svojim unucima 🙂
Za kraj, koji su tvoji budući projekti? Što biste preporučili našim čitateljima?
Napisao sam vrlo dirljivu, ali tragičnu priču pod nazivom Running After Me o trgovini ljudima koju pokušavam producirati. Osim toga, ovdje u New Yorku koordiniram filmove.
