INTERVIEWS

 

LYNN SALVATORI
(Stunt Coordinator during the reshoots)

- What did you do on THE 13TH WARRIOR?
- I coordinated some PU shots (pick up shots) in LA, for a fight defending the Wendol Mother, when the warriors ventured underground. Bud Davis was the [stunt] coordinator that started the picture and left. Brent Woolsey took over in Canada. I did a week worth of pick up shots [in january 98] and then, 3 months later, more or less, Brent came down to LA and Billy Lucas co-coordinated some more pick up shots for them.
- Do you know why Bud Davis "left" the picture?
- Let's just say "creative differences"...
- What are "pick up shots"?
- Pick up shots are re-shoots of scenes that don't work well in a movie. Maybe the audience that previewed the movies didn't like them, or they weren't exciting or interesting enough, or the director just may have another vision... In any case, they go back to the drawing board and re-write the scene, and go back and pick up those few shots for the movie.
- Do you recall where exactly your scene was shot?
- We shot our scene in a warehouse, in Los Angeles.
- Who was the actress who portrayed the Wendol Mother in your scene?
- When I worked, Susan Willis was the Wendol Mom. Here are a couple of pics. She is in white, I was in black.

- Wow! These a great pictures! Have I got your permission to use them on my site?
- Sure, you can use them.
- Were there other stuntmen or women involved in the scene?
- I hired only one other stuntwoman (Karen Sheperd) for the scene we did, to be one of the other Wendol guards.
- Could you elaborate a little bit on the choreography of the fight you coordinated? What was occuring during this fight?
- The scene had one guy attacking us and we end up dying. I cannot remember who it was that attacked, but I believe it was Vlad Kulich. It was mostly a hand to hand combat. I had bear claws on one hand, and a dagger, and Vlad had a sword, with which he killed us. I was supposed to jump on top of him and he ducks and uses his sword to stab me. In reality, he was knelling on the floor and I used a mini tramp to jump over him and, as I went over, he swung his sword.
- Was there any gory effect involved?
- No. Unfortunately, there was nothing gory.
- Was Vladimir Kulich the only actor involved in your scene, to portray a Viking warrior? (or were there other Vikings in it?)
- I can't remember for sure, but I believe that Vlad was the only Viking. Antonio [Banderas] was there earlier, to do dialogue with some of the other Vikings, but he left right after I got there.
- Wasn't black singer Yolande Bavan involved in your scene too? She is listed in the ending credits as the "Wendol Mother companion"...
- Several months later, they reshot the whole scene and I wasn't available. Yolande Bavan may have been in these later reshoots, but she was not involved in the scene I did. I have never seen the final movie, to see what was used, but I think our scene didn't make it to the final cut...

- Who directed your scene? One of the producers, namely Michael Crichton, allegedly reshot several scenes in 98, after McTiernan's exit-date...
- John McTiernan directed the pick up shots that I did, as well as the ones several months later in LA of the same scene, with a different Wendol Mother and more people. In our scene, there were really only 4 people.
- More people? You mean, more than 4 people? Strangely, in the final cut, the Wendol Mother is only attended by one (male) Wendol guard... They must have reshoot this scene several times after you!
- I didn't work on the other pick up shots but I stopped by the set and saw quite a few people. That could have been for other scenes, as they brought Brent down from Canada to coordinate with Billy. I heard that they hired another stunt girl to do the part I did. The wardrobe consisted of only a bear skin tied around our waist; our upper bodies were painted with mud, and I didn't care to be half naked around the stunt guys, as they are not the classiest guys in the business, so I passed on the job! (laughs)
- Do you recall who was in charge of the special make-ups for your scene? (or, possibly, do you recall the name of the guy with a moustache who is working on your make-up in one of your photos?)
- Boy, you're testing my memory! I can't remember his name for the life of me. Sorry! [Note: Another source tells me the guy with the moustache on the photo is hair designer Peter Tothpal.] I hope this helps.
- This is very useful!
- Good luck with your site...
- Thanks a lot, Lynn!


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© 2002 -The John McTiernan Central
All photos featured on this page
© 2002 - Lynn Salvatori.