“I blanked,” Mazursky admitted.
Thankfully, Charles Lang, the DP, saw the panic. He shouted for all to hear that he and the frozen Mazursky should take a film crane up to figure the opening shot.
Paul, scared of heights, agreed. They strapped him in and up they went. Paul, gripping the seat, couldn’t look down. He was petrified.
Then, Charlie leaned over and said, “There’s no shot up here, but let’s talk about what to do. Start with this, then that.”
After three minutes of Charlie’s calm talk, Paul relaxed and his confidence roared back. He yelled down, “Okay, bring us down, we’re ready to roll!”
Just like that, Mazursky, who passed in 2014, went from a terrified newbie to a confident director.
“From then on, I was a cocky little devil,” he joked later.