Episode 33 – Behind The Scenes of “Grease” With Director Randal Kleiser – Part 1
On this episode of Hollywood Obsessed, host Tony Miros has a fascinating conversation with celebrated film director Randal Kleiser – who is best known for directing the blockbuster movie musical “Grease” starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John! During their captivating conversation, Randal talks about what it was like working with John Travolta (before “Grease”) on the TV movie “The Boy In The Plastic Bubble”, what legendary movie producer Alan Carr was like working with, how director Robert Wise’s work on the film “West Side Story” illuminated him on how to cut the musical number “Summer Nights”, his experience directing iconic Hollywood luminaires such as Sid Ceasar, Dody Goodman, and Eve Arden, what it took to write his best-selling book “Grease: The Director’s Notebook” and many more fascinating behind the scenes facts about the highest-grossing film musical at the time – “Grease”!
RANDAL KLEISER
Randal Kleiser has been an internationally known film director since the release of his first feature the 1978 musical romantic-comedy, “Grease.”
He was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and attended the University of Southern California. As a freshman, he appeared in George Lucas' student film “Freiheit”.
His career began when his award-winning USC Master’s Thesis “Peege” was seen by executives at Universal who signed him to begin directing for television. In December of 2007, “Peege” was selected as one of 25 films to be added to the National Registry of Congress.
He directed several television movies in the mid-1970s, including “Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway” (1975) and “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble” (1975), which starred John Travolta. He was tapped to direct his first feature film, the 1978 film “Grease,” in large part because of Travolta's recommendation based on their work together on “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble.”
Kleiser’s other directing credits include “The Blue Lagoon,” “Summer Lovers,” “Flight of the Navigator,” “White Fang,” “Honey I Blew up the Kid,” “Getting It Right,” “Lovewrecked,” “It’s My Party” and the critically acclaimed play “The Penis Chronicles.”
Working with Paramount and Intel Studios, he directed the Lumiere Award-winning project "Grease AR"; an augmented reality experience using 20 dancers captured volumetrically.
He taught a graduate workshop at USC and Masters Directing Classes for European students at film festivals in Deuville and Sarlat, and Malaga. He serves as a judge on the Student Awards for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; and, as chairman of the Academic Subcommittee for the Directors Guild of America, he inaugurated a videoconferencing program to connect film classes with working directors.
Kleiser has served as chair of the Directors Guild’s annual Digital Day for over two decades and was invited to join the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
His first book, "Grease: The Director’s Notebook", was published by HarperCollins in 2019, a retrospective look at the making of his first feature film.
His most recent book “Drawing Directors: Volume I” pays tribute to Kleiser's favorite directors, including Steven Spielberg, John Singleton, Ron Howard, Guillermo del Toro, Robert Wise, and Billy Wilder by featuring Randal’s sketches of his fellow directors along with recounting their professional careers, revealing anecdotes about them & his personal opinion about their work.
Randal’s Official Website - https://www.randalkleiser.com
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Randal Kleiser
Director / Author
Randal Kleiser has been an internationally known film director since the release of his first feature the 1978 musical romantic-comedy, “Grease.”
He was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and attended the University of Southern California. As a freshman, he appeared in George Lucas' student film “Freiheit”. (He also lived in the house that Lucas was renting at the time.)
His career began when his award-winning USC Master’s Thesis “Peege” was seen by executives at Universal who signed him to begin directing for television. In December of 2007, “Peege” was selected as one of 25 films to be added to the National Registry of Congress.
He directed several television movies in the mid-1970s, including “Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway” (1975) and “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble” (1975), which starred John Travolta. Kleiser was tapped to direct his first feature film, the 1978 film “Grease,” in large part because of Travolta's recommendation based on their work together on “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble.”
Kleiser’s other directing credits include “The Blue Lagoon,” “Summer Lovers,” “Flight of the Navigator,” “White Fang,” “Honey I Blew up the Kid,” “Getting It Right,” “Lovewrecked,” “It’s My Party” and the critically acclaimed play “The Penis Chronicles.”
Working with Paramount and Intel Studios, he directed the Lumiere Award-winning project "Grease AR"; an augmented reality experience using 20 dancers captured volumetrically.
He taught a graduate workshop at USC and Masters Directing Classes for European s… Read More
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