American Cinematographer - May 2022 - 43

AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER ASCMAG.COM
Top: Lindley serves as cinematographer on the classic
romantic comedy You've Got Mail, directed by Nora Ephron
(pictured). Bottom: Lindley at work on Manhattan.
Many series followed, including Unbelievable, Manhunt, Hunters, Your
Honor, The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window,
Divorce, Snowfall, Castle Rock, and the upcoming Showtime drama
Coercion.
Pondering whether there's any genre he'd still like to try, Lindley says,
" I've worked in a lot of genres and have good feelings about all of them.
But I'd love to go back to shooting documentaries again, and I would
direct my own. What I love now are the formats; length doesn't mean
anything anymore. You look at some of the New York Times: Op-Docs, and
they're incredible. I think right now is the golden age of documentary. "
Industry Initiatives
Pleasantville also marked a critical turning point in another aspect of
Lindley's life, motivating his decades-long fight for safe work hours.
Brent Hershman, who served as 2nd AC on Pleasantville, died when he
fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed into a utility pole, after a 19hour
day on the movie's set that followed multiple long days in a row.
Lindley and gaffer Bruce McCleery (now ASC), coauthored Brent's Rule,
a petition to cap the workday at 14 hours, and the initiative garnered
10,000 signatures. " It got a lot of attention, but did not result in a change
of behavior, " he notes.
Frustrated by this inaction, Lindley joined the national executive
board of the Local 600. " Being a board member was valuable for learning
the structure and the way policy is formed, " he says. " But I felt like
an extra and I wanted a speaking part. So I ran for vice president, which
gave me a speaking platform. But then I realized that the presidency is
where you can be really effective and have the broadest reach - and
that's why I ended up running for president. It was in that role that I had
the biggest influence in negotiating for the Basic Agreement. "
Lindley is precise about language. " I like to call it 'unsafe' hours rather
than 'long' hours. Some people might want long hours, but it's hard to
find anyone who would advocate for unsafe hours. "
Last fall, after IATSE voted to approve a strike, the labor union and the
Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) reached
an agreement that contained progress on the safety front: a mandatory
10-hour rest period without the exemptions for pilots and first seasons
that were contained in the 2018 contract. " That is where a lot of unsafe
hours occur, " Lindley says. In addition, the 2021 agreement included a
weekend turnaround [i.e., time off] - of 54 hours - for the first time
ever. " Getting a weekend turnaround was a giant breakthrough, " he says.
" Right now, if that weekend turnaround is invaded, there's a penalty of
straight time for invaded hours when returning to work, " so crewmembers
are paid an extra hourly rate for every hour that invades the 54-hour
weekend turnaround, in addition to their standard pay for those hours.
" I would like to see that penalty increased to make it even more undesirable
to invade the weekend turnaround. "
Under Lindley's tenure, Local 600 also introduced a pilot initiative to
fund " rides and rooms. " Lindley explains, " If a production doesn't fulfill
its obligations, a member who feels it would be unsafe to drive their
MAY 2022 / 43
TOP PHOTO BY BRIAN HAMILL, COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.
http://www.ASCMAG.COM
American Cinematographer - May 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2022
