Scott Holston

From an early age, I became addicted to movies. My home in Jerusalem was next door to a movie theater. Each Tuesday afternoon, from the age of five, I would go to the weekly double feature. Like many youngsters around the world, I thrived on a steady diet of American movies: westerns, war pictures, crime dramas’ and Tarzans. Not understanding English, and too young to read the Hebrew subtitles, I would sit for hours, mesmerized by the moving images on the screen. But it took another ten years before I understood that behind every movie there is a director. I was exposed to the role of the movie director only when I started my studies in film school when I was 22 years old.

Until I went to film school my diet of movies was very general main stream Hollywood production plus some independent, artistic and European movies. Once I started to study cinema I become familiar with various directors, different styles and genres. I particularly liked then the movies of Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford. Although I was familiar with Japanese samurai movies (I love the films of Akira Kurusawa,) before directing "Revenge of the Ninja" I knew very little of the Hong Kong Kung Fu genre and nothing about Ninjitsu. Sho Kusogi introduced me to both martial arts and Ninjitsu, together we watched many Chinese movies, without subtitles in theaters full of Chinese speaking audience members.

I met Menahem Golan when I was 22 years old and a film student at Columbia College in Los Angeles it was 1972. By then Golan was the most famous and most prominent filmmaker in Israel, a household name. Like every other Israeli, I had heard his name and saw his Hebrew speaking movies, but I had never met him before. He had just arrived in Hollywood with his partner and cousin Yoram Globus, to produce and direct his first American movie, "Lepke" with Tony Curtis under the banner of AmeriEuro Pictures. At a New Years Eve party I suddenly found myself in the room with him, and during the party I learned that he was about to embark on that production. I expressed my desire to be part of it, or more exactly, just to be around. Learning that I was willing to work even without a salary, I was invited to join the production the next day. For the next few years I worked for Golan and Globus off and on as general "go for" office runner, second assistant director, and finally in my first AD job. AmeriEuro Pictures did not last long and they moved back to Israel, so did I.

seeking completion funds. The turning point came when I walked into a meeting with Menahem Golan in the offices of Cannon Films. Earlier that year Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus had purchased this New York based ailing production company with its considerable library of sexploitation movies. They moved the operation to Hollywood and started producing low budget horror flicks. I had known the two heads of the company as I had worked for them as an office runner and assistant director before they purchased Cannon. I was surprised and elated when I learned that upon viewing the material, Golan and Globus expressed a willingness to finance completion of the production and thereafter to take it for distribution.

The script was ready and Golan decided not to direct it himself but rather, to hire someone else to direct, and that someone else would be me. Golan was willing to take a chance on me. He knew I could put a movie together; I had proven that I could construct a scene, shoot, and edit logically. The big question was whether I could handle action, could I tackle a fight sequence or a chase. Clearly I did not have experience in these areas, but when he asked if I could do it, with utmost confidence I gave a positive yes. I knew I was not going to let this once in a lifetime opportunity slip away. Apparently my self confidence assured them so the next question was what kind of salary I would demand. I told Golan to pay me whatever he saw fit and so the deal was made and I was given the script and asked to start pre-production immediately,

I have known Menahem and Yoram for many years, in fact many years before I directed Revenge of the Ninja - I worked as an assistant director on many of their films, even one that Menahem Golan directed (Diamonds with Robert Shaw). The way they worked was that Yoram Globus was in charge of finances, and had little input on the creative side; Menahem Golan was the creative producer, involved in all the stages of making the movies. His main interest was in the script and in the editing. During the shooting I was basically left alone. I would say that in this sense, it was very easy to work with them, as long as we did not go over budget or exceed the schedule - which I never did. I have proven myself and they trusted me so they left me alone and overall we had a very good working relationship.

I don’t know if the laws and regulations regarding stunt changed throughout the years as a director I did not deal with that stuff it is the responsibility of the stunt coordinator and the assistant director, but as a general knowledge I am aware to the fact that after few tragic stunt and weapon accidents in the 90s the rules regarding safety on the filming sets were toughened.

When it comes to action in all the movies I directed I cooperated with two stunt coordinators or rather action creators – Steve Lambert and B.J. Davis they both are innovators and brave and so at times we together came up with some crazy stuff dear devil stunts. One day in American Ninja we came up with the idea that Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikuff) will go a-wall from his military base by jumping a motorcycle over the base’s well, The real wall was about 8 to 10 feet tall and since at those days we did not have an access to any visual optical effects a stunt rider had to perform this jump for real. Steve Lambert the stunt coordinator ordered a jumping ramp to be built at one side of the wall as a kicker that, at high speed, will lift the motorcycle and its rider over the wall. In Hollywood Steve knew few motorcycle stunt expert that are able do it but back there in the Philippines he did not know anyone. So one local guy came in to attempt to do it but when he saw the height of the wall he got cold feet and backed off we had to pospond the filming of the stunt. The next day another biking expert came in an actually took the motorcycle to the edge of the ramp but did not have it within him to take it over the wall, on the other side there was a stack of hay for the landing. At that point Steve lambert looked at me and said "just give me the uniform and the wig" (to make him look like Michael) he put them on mounted the motorcycle raved it to the max (it was a Honda Ninja) four cameras rolled and he toke off onto the ramp and just flew over that damn wall landing perfectly on the other side into the stack of hay bales. The honest truth is that I was not sure that he will come out in one piece on the other side but as I have learned long before I just kept my mouth shut and hoped for the best. In the final editing the shot is spectacular.

After the release of Revenge of the Ninja Menahem Golan head of Canon Film wanted to produce a third sequel to the Ninja franchise but this time with a female heroin at the lead. This time Sho Kosugi was given a secondary role, he insisted that women did not receive Ninjitsu training and have no strength for all the ninja action. We had to come up with a solution, I just saw the movie "Poltergeist" and was very impressed and so in its spirit I come up with the idea that the main character the actress Lucinda Dickey will be possessed by the spirit of a dead Ninja and this possession will propel the plot of the movie. Since we already dealt with that genera we throw in also some elements from the movie "The Exorcist" that I saw years earlier and impressed me a lot as well.

I do not choreograph the dance (or fight) the choreographer dose, for me as a director it is all about deconstructing the certain piece of action or dance to its elements on the set, in a way that later, in the editing room using the cinematic language, it could be reconstructed in the most effective way, to enhance it to the delight of the potential audience.

My military service was not full of action; actually it was not that exiting. I never participated in any fighting or other dangerous operations but as a child I saw many Hollywood war movies and that probably inspired me more. Delta Force 3 and Operation Delta force are military movies and I enjoyed directing them. May be I felt comfortable among the military hardware because I am familiar with them

To me as a director every movie I am about to direct, be it a sequel or not, is a new challenge to tell a compelling story through cinematic means. All the sequels I directed are not a continues of their originals but rather a new independent story some of them with even different characters. It is only the title and the franchise that’s all.

It is actually amazing, I don’t believe it myself. Hundreds if not thousands of movies are made every year and within 35 years it is tens of thousands of flicks big and small, studio and independent, most of them are forgotten after a short wail. To be among the directors that even only some of their works survive this disappearance in the historical abyss is unbelievably satisfactory. And you are right, some of the movies I directed still resonant with people even today, I get a lot of fan emails, Facebook messages, and requests for interviews they all reflect that sentiment, and then I fill that I have done my job right, tell exciting stories.

My web site is www.samfirstenberg.com and I also have a Facebook page and they are full of photos and stories regarding my career.