{"product_id":"the-lion-and-the-giraffe-a-naturalists-life-in-the-movie-business-paperback","title":"THE LION AND THE GIRAFFE: A NATURALIST'S LIFE IN THE MOVIE BUSINESS (paperback)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003e\"He's a Hyphenate\". That's Hollywood lingo for a person who has done more than one job on a film. Director-Writer-Cameraman-Producer-Naturalist, and Oscar nominee, Jack Couffer falls into that rare niche of multi-taskers who has done it all. He has made movies of many genres all over the world, but his specialty has been films with animals sharing the screen with human characters.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eRing of Bright Water, Never Cry Wolf, Out of Africa, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, \u003c\/em\u003eand\u003cem\u003e Living Free\u003c\/em\u003e all bore the Couffer identity. This is the story of the pains and joys in making these and many other delightful films.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eLeonard Maltin says:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eThe author of this colorful memoir may not be a household name, but he's been involved in everything from Walt Disney's \u003cem\u003eThe Living Desert\u003c\/em\u003e to \u003cem\u003eOut of Africa\u003c\/em\u003e, from Disney animal movies like \u003cem\u003eThe Incredible Journey\u003c\/em\u003e to \u003cem\u003eNever Cry Wolf\u003c\/em\u003e...and he has great stories to tell.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eCouffer was a naturalist and a seaman before he ever thought of looking through a viewfinder. It was only by chance, when he attended USC on the G.I. bill after World War Two, that he became friendly with a fellow student named Conrad Hall, who persuaded him to try a cinema class. He fell under the spell of the celebrated montage-maker and teacher Slavko Vorkapich, and before long, he, Hall, and another newcomer were filmmaking partners. Couffer's tales of trying to break into the business-and how the three hungry newcomers bent and broke rules to do so in the 1950s-are evocative and still instructive today. How the trio made its first dramatic feature (\u003cem\u003eRunning Target\u003c\/em\u003e) on location, with very little money and not-always-cooperative actors, could still be used as a textbook on indie filmmaking.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eEventually he shot some macro-footage of insects, which got his foot in the door at the Disney studio and his first assignment. He and Hall, who shared his adventurous spirit and love of the outdoors, spent almost a year living in the Galapagos Islands, for starters, filming wildlife that had never been put on film before. He continued working for the company on a freelance basis well into the 1960s, and reveals fascinating details about how some of the remarkable animal footage for films like \u003cem\u003eNikki, Wild Dog of the North\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Legend of Lobo\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Incredible Journey\u003c\/em\u003e was accomplished. He also spills the beans about Disney's not-so-generous attitude toward freelancers, and how-after push came to shove-he got the last laugh.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eCouffer isn't bitter, however; he seems to be a pragmatist, and realizes how fortunate he was to do something he genuinely loved and get paid for it. He also has kind words for Walt himself, and marvels at the fact that whenever he chanced to run into the boss, he always knew exactly what Couffer was working on at the time and had a ready supply of questions.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eHis other far-reaching adventures crisscross the globe and provide insights into the process of working in remote locales, with all sorts of wild creatures, and always coming home with Hollywood-grade material. For some of the animal films-or second-unit work involving animals-preparation work might begin a year ahead of time, raising anything from an eagle to a lion to be able to work in front of a camera. Couffer occasionally got to work with humans, as well, as director of such films as \u003cem\u003eRing of Bright Water\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eLiving Free\u003c\/em\u003e. Over the years he became a good writer, which is evidenced by this absorbing, highly readable autobiography.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eSome of his funniest stories involve disastrous shoots like \u003cem\u003eSheena\u003c\/em\u003e (1984), for which Couffer shot second-unit action under the direction of John Guillermin, who functioned best in an atmosphere of chaos. Another second-unit shoot, for Sydney Pollack on \u003cem\u003eOut of Africa\u003c\/em\u003e, reveals the darker side of the movie business, where personality clashes take precedence over getting good results on screen.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eCouffer delves into his personal life, with some degree of discretion, and tells us how his long trips away from home put strain on his first marriage, but also shares some wonderful times he spent with his son where they got to share the fun of being on location and learning about nature.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eArticle in the Glendale News Press\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: black;\"\u003eRead the new review!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c!--\"''\"--\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BearManor Media","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44712740814890,"sku":"qhi1787291378071","price":18.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0664\/4380\/4714\/files\/the-lion-and-the-giraffe-a-naturalists-life-in-the-movie-business-paperback_1.jpg?v=1787291383","url":"https:\/\/streetstylestore.shop\/products\/the-lion-and-the-giraffe-a-naturalists-life-in-the-movie-business-paperback","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}