Phil: “Kathleen thinks you’re really good at scheduling the movie.”
Phil said this after I spent the requisite five minutes on the apple box. January had come and gone, as had Jackie’s labor.
She had a boy and stopped by Skellington to show off the baby. Beautiful child. Understandable given her parents, Ms. Tolumne County and the strikingly handsome head of animation for The Nightmare Before Christmas, Eric Leighton.
Her appearance made me giddy, and I did my best Road Runner imitation and zipped over to Phil’s office to find out how soon I could leave Castle Skellington. You can understand how the first sentence to this chapter might have taken some of the jam out of the old doughnut.
Me: “Happy to hear that, given that I know bupkis about stop motion.”
Phil: “You know that is no longer the case.”
Me: “If I may. You cannot have two people in charge of scheduling. Jackie won’t take kindly to that, particularly given she was none too happy about relinquishing her responsibilities, baby or no.”
Phil: “I agree.”
Me: “And according to Jackie, she’s on track to be back here by, weirdly, April first, also known as April Fool’s Day. She’s not messing with me, is she?”
Phil: “No. That is the plan.”
Me: “I’m not sure I want to hear this. But I’ll ask anyway. What is the plan?”
Phil: “Jackie is made head of the animation department. You stay on and schedule the movie to completion, which is sometime this summer. Looking like the middle of August.”
Me: “Not that I have a say in the matter, but isn’t her husband the head of the animation department?”
Phil: “Yes, but that’s the beauty of this plan. Jackie takes over the allocation of the animators, their shot sequences, vacation time, days off. And her husband gets to come back and animate full time. He is the best animator we have.”
Me: “He sure is, and we could use the help, particularly on some of the more demanding shots. Okay, I’ll just make plans to turn down freelance work through mid-August.”
Phil: “I can commit to that.”
I turned just before I exited Phil’s office.
Me: “I just thought of something.”
Phil: “Okay.”
Me: “If I make it to mid-August without fleeing the country, I’ll be one month shy of a one year anniversary on this gig.”
I continued.
Me: “Isn’t that funny? At that point, eleven months. And to think you hired me initially for only two weeks.”
Phil: “That is funny.”
He added a little Peter Lorre-like laugh at that end of his statement and shuffled some papers.
Me: “You did hire me for only two weeks.”
Phil: “That’s what I remember.”
Me: “What I mean is you had no way of knowing that circumstances would lead to me sticking around for so long? Why, it’s been more than a half year already.”
Phil: “Just a series of events. The stage expansion getting approved. Jackie’s maternity leave.”
Phil stopped there when he realized he’d just stepped in it.
Me: “Well now, that is strange. Disney approved Jackie’s maternity leave more than two months before she was due to take it? They must have known about her situation long before I even came in for those two weeks. Geez, even before she and her husband—”
Phil started rummaging through some files. He started speaking to no one in particular.
Phil: “The paperwork must be around here somewhere.”
I laughed, which threw him off the butt-covering attempt. He stood up and away from the filing cabinets behind him.
Me: “Forget it, Lofaro. I am flattered that you would entrust me with so many new things in your world. Did not have a clue about nearly everything that I threw myself into over the past five plus months. You supported me the whole time, and you have a very difficult job.”
Phil: “Thanks, George.”
Me: “And I was hip to the Ms. Tuolumne County scam way before Halloween. I’m just glad that The Big Board didn’t turn into more of a chaotic mess than it is right now.”
Phil: “I’m glad you’re here.”
I think he wiped away a tear. Okay, no he didn’t.
Me: “Me too. Gotta go. It’s 11am and time for the daily caterwauling from at least three, but no more than five, animators about their current workload.”
Phil: “Good luck.”
Me: “So far so good.”
HALLOWEEN 1993
There were several more delays, creative differences, broken puppets, unapproved final shots, and temper tantrums during the last six months I spent on NIGHTMARE. And yes, I did make it to a one-year anniversary . . . by one week.
Halloween 1993, the movie opened.
Prior to the release, Disney threw a lavish cocktail party in San Francisco for everyone who worked on the film. Lee and I attended the bittersweet black-tie affair.
Sweet because a lot of hard work had gone into the making of such a unique film. It showed.
Bitter because Phil and Kathy were off to Los Angeles. Disney offered Phil a great job and as with Nightmare, he could not turn down the opportunity. It meant, however, that we would not be seeing much of each other for quite a while. He went on to a very successful career eventually becoming the VP of Feature Animation for The Mouse.
If I’d been asked early in my career who, of all the people I’d worked with, could have taken on such a responsibility and flourished in the role, I’d have had one answer.
Phil Lofaro.
****
The Nightmare Before Christmas recouped its production dollars and made some money on domestic box-office, but the real profits turned up in a continued cult-like fascination with the film. An entire generation of movie goers has been born during the 30 years since the film’s release. I still get compliments on my role in the making of it, small as my contributions were.
I see merchandising with Jack, and Sally, and Oogie-Boogie, and Lock, Shock, and Barrel everywhere I go in both the United States and abroad.
Let me raise a glass to The Nightmare Before Christmas, the two-week job that occupied an entire year of my life.
I’d do it all over again.
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