MOVIE QUEUE

Touchstone Pictures' The Guardian opens on Sept. 29. The movie gives us a young U.S. Coast Guard recruit (Ashton Kutcher) who trains under the wing of an instructor (Kevin Costner) with unorthodox teaching methods.

The Guardians' director, Andrew Davis, studied journalism and his first movie gig was on the 1969 classic, Medium Cool.

Bringing a journalist's soul and a cinematographer's eye to his directing chair is what makes Davis' work stand apart. But, he's also made movies that failed. I know. I was there.

I worked for Davis for several years in Santa Barbara, Calif. I arrived on his doorstep when his production company was still riding a wave launched by the record-breaking success of The Fugitive.

You should know that I can't be objective here. When Davis hires an employee, they become family, out of necessity. It's nearly a 24/7 job.

As assistant to the director, I had access to situations, information and experiences that few people will ever witness. Whatever Davis was working on, I was working on.

I learned about developing scripts into viable projects, how films are marketed and not to wear dark-soled shoes on the Davis' new sailboat.

I felt as if I was attending a film school where I was always on the dean's list. Our office was frenetic, but I'm certain others in The Industry had it worse.

Davis likened our movie crew to a band of roving troubadours, but it also felt like we were going off to war on a daily basis.

I often commanded Chevy Suburban No. 2 as it pulled from the curb of the Four Seasons Hotel and took its place in what civilians would call a threecar convoy, but was, in reality, a Hollywood motorcade. As a rule, we travelled in packs.

With a walkie-talkie pressed to my ear and a clipboard stacked with impossible tasks, the glamour quotient of big studio filmmaking faded after a week.

I knew the honeymoon was over when I was happier to see the caterer arrive on set than I was to see Keanu Reeves or the Entertainment Tonight crew.

Unfortunately, it's no longer possible to impress me with live celebrities and Hollywood “glamour.”

I still live and breathe for movies. But, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I feel like I've seen the man behind the curtain who pulls the levers and makes things shimmer and shine.

See Andrew Davis' filmography at www.theblazeronline.com