Tony Scott—More Than Just a Brilliant Director

Dear Friends,

We hear about celebrity deaths all the time. Sometimes we are shocked because we do believe that because we watch their TV shows or pay to see them in the movies, we kind of "know them."

When I was in my early 30s, I was in the ceiling fan and lighting industry. Our company was one of the first Internet websites that dealt with the "Trade" and sold the products at a discount. I was single, young with a great career that just kept getting better. I was working constantly with electricians, designers, etc. supplying them with the perfect ceiling fan for their application. Oftentimes, I was harnessed with confidentiality agreements because of the house location or the particular celebrity. It would be fun to tell you someday about the different people that I met but today I want to talk with you about Tony Scott.

About the time that "Tone" as he was referenced, was getting ready to film the "Last Boyscout" with Bruce Willis, I got the call to meet with Tony Scott to discuss a particular look he wanted for this film. I went to a location in Santa Monica known as "Totem Productions" which did not have any identification out front except for a "Totem Pole." 

He was wearing his trademark baseball cap that I have been told was red but it was so worn, I always thought it was pink. He took me up to his loft office at the top and told me that he wanted two Malibu Star ceiling fans by Casablanca in a particular shot. This was the beginning of a wild ride for me.

I was then invited to do the production offices with Casablanca Avalon Ceiling fans. He sent me down the street to RSA productions which at the time looked almost a little ahead of its time, design-wise, right down to a coffee area which resembled a future Starbucks. 

I felt that with time, I just became a figure at the production offices. Supplying ceiling fans for numerous films, I was then invited by "Tone" to the cast and crew party for the movie "True Romance." After wrapping a film, the cast and crew gets an opportunity to view the film first, before the red carpet events. I took my brother with me and he could not believe that he was sitting almost next to Dennis Hopper. I am still in awe of the celebrity cast; I was at Totem tweaking ceiling fans on casting day, and met everyone imaginable in the industry that was auditioning for a part. His close friend who I believe was an assistant director Jerry, was going back and forth with Ernie Hudson, who was one of the original "Ghostbusters" (however he did not get cast).

I could go on and on. The films cast included Christian Slater, Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Patricia Arquette, James Gandolfini, but for me Tony Scott was the one who caught my eye. He always stood close to you when speaking, in the most friendly way. He looked you in the eye and spoke in a soft warming voice which made you feel so comfortable. He made me feel like I was this "HUGE" contributor because I would drive the ceiling fans to the "set" and look over the area that he wanted to use them. He talked to me by a Kraft table when Gene Hackman was standing there while filming "Crimson Tide" knowing that I thought he was one of the greatest actors on earth—the smile that came across his face when I finally noticed Gene Hackman standing there. And his ability to have this sheepish grin—the whole time he is not acknowledging that I am having serious heart failure.  

He helped me when I was getting hunted down by the fire marshal at some stupid studio where he was filming for not parking in the "right place." ( I considered Denzel Washington's Trailer the "right place," by the way.) This was a guy who could send an assistant but from the lowest to the most important—every one mattered on the set of a Tony Scott film.

The last time I saw him, he was getting ready to film the movie "The Fan." I had just met my future husband and I was getting tired of the drive and wanted to stay in the office more and delegate. I went one last time to Totem and we spoke in that loft office. Up behind his desk he had a huge photograph of himself that was framed, in this photo he had on a trench coat and had just taken a big puff off a cigar—the photo was taken with all this smoke swirling round his smiling face. For some reason to me, that photo, in all it's simplicity, showed the graciousness of a wonderful man.

A few years later, I tried calling Totem Productions again. It was a new crew that did not know me from the old days. I had just lost my dad and I was working on getting crazy prizes to be able to raffle off for a fundraiser for Calvary Murrieta Christian School where we have a school scholarship fund named after my dad.

Tony was out of the office. I left my name and a brief history. I told them I was hoping that Tony would remember me and let me auction off a "day on the set" raffle prize for the highest contributor. They told me that they would give him the message and when to call back. I called again, he was out again but just like I expected, Tone remembered me, told me to call back he would do something. That was just exactly the type of man he was. Charming, sweet, considerate, normal—just plain lovely to know.