American Cinematographer - December 1996 - 32

I

been retold in Turner Network

suggested that we build the
"prisoner's bedroom" on a stage,
as we have about five days of
shooting there. This was met with
guarded enthusiasm. I hope they
will go for it, because everyone will

Television's The Man Who

be much

JnAdolph
1962,Eichmann
Nazi SS Obersturmfiihrer
was found hiding
in Argentina. Peter Malkin of the
Mossad was assigned the task of bring¬

ing him back to Israel. The tale has
Cap¬

tured Eichmann, starring Arliss
Howard as Malkin and Robert Duvall
as

Eichmann. In the foil owing

excerpts

from his location diary written in
January and Febuary of this year, cin¬
ematographer Robert Steadman, ASC
reveals the production's logistical and
artistic challenges.
♦ We have arrived in Buenos

Aires at last. At fourteen and

hours, this

a

half

long trip. The
hotel sent a nice young lady out to
the airport to collect my gaffer,
Alan

was one

Goldenhar, and

me,

and she

had us whisked through customs
with no problems. We saw our di¬
rector, Billy Graham, and Bobby
Duvall in the lobby when we ar¬

rived, and headed out for dinner

immediately - at Dora's, that Old
World temple of gastronomy that
was to become our indulgence.
Steaks, potatoes, and calamaretti,
with good red wine and flan swim¬
ming next to a huge blob of dulce de
leche. Health food hasn't made

many

inroads here.

Billy at
morning, then
proceeded to check out some loca¬
tions on the way to the office. Billy,
decked out in the full regalia of an
urban warrior/filmmaker, is a sort
of aging Boy Scout who's prepared

for

anything. His ensemble

con¬

sisted of shorts, a New York Yacht
Club shirt and ball cap with "Surf

Dog" embroidered on the front.
Strung around his neck was a
Minolta with a long lens and a
Leica with

a

21mm;

on

production designer is drawing up
some plans now.
♦ Pretty much the whole
company blithely walked out into
the world this morning with noth¬
ing more on our backs than light
shirts, figuring that the gods who
protect filmmakers from the vicis¬
situdes of weather would be with

today. Wrong. By the end of the
day we were dirty, muddy, soggy
soldiers. All of us except one: the
Boy Scout. Billy was snug and dry
in his yellow slicker.

us

the hotel coordinates,"

am

eccentric, but we'll

lost!" He is such

a

think I

never

get

character.

We met the office staff to¬

day, then did
and

a

a

round of meetings

preliminary location scout.

American

Cinematographer

to

a

filled with old books and

antiques.
elegant, like something
from Madrid or Paris. This is truly
a
European city. At the opposite
end of the spectrum, we saw the
It

was so

to the

dollar,

one

to one.)

♦ They are going to go for
prisoner's bedroom on stage.
The cost of the set was only about

the

$5,000, and who knows, it may
save

♦ Alan and I went

a

over

to

a chart with all of
the lenses, and then went through
both 5248 and 5296 with progres¬
sive

river. Old warehouses down there

cut

steady test, shot

was

and industrial pollution.
Alan and I grabbed a cab
dinner tonight down by the

we

the rental house, Cameras Y Luces,
and shot some camera tests. I did a

Almost a hovel, it was set next to a
fetid canal that stunk of raw sew¬
age

them 10 times that if

day out of the schedule.
1 am going to have to watch
my waistline around here. It is not
just the Argentine beef, it is all the
stuff that goes with it. The wine,
beef, empinadas and flan con leche
dulce are so good that it is pretty
hard to say no. Heard something
amusing at dinner last night: "The
Argentinean is really an Italian
who speaks Spanish and thinks he
is an Englishman."

house where Eichmann had lived.

navigation, a GPS receiver. "You
see, you just set the waypoints of
the locations you like in here, and
are

us

breathtaking apartment, probably
built early in this century. At least
3,500 square feet in size, it was

for

he enthused. "I know you

30

Our Scout led

rather heavy backpack with
who knows what inside. A water
bottle hung on one hip, and the
other sported the ultimate in urban

oh, here

credibly good natured about being
taken so badly. (Pesos are pegged

Cinematographer Robert Steadman, ASC
recounts his experiences shooting
TNT's The Man Who Captured Eichmann
on location in
Argentina.

his back he

wore a

comfortable. The

gotten from

the driver hadn't been in circula¬
tion for some years, and were
worthless. Too bad, but he was in¬

Argentine Diary

Alan and I met

breakfast the next

more

the bank notes he had

over- and
underexposures. I
welcomed not only as the cin¬

ematographer of the show, but as the
inventor of the Weaver/Steadman

Head. That was very nice; I felt like
bit of a celebrity. They told me

a

have been refurbished into smart

that a commercial company was in
there recently and had one, which

shops and restaurants. The cab

they liked

driver

a

classic hustler, who
wanted to steer us to his restau¬
was a

rants, asked us about our taste in
senoritas, etc. When we got out, he
wanted to

change his 50 peso notes
for Alan's 100 peso notes. Alan
obliged, and we were rid of him.

The steaks
cor

pay

were

great, and the de¬

very much. I gave them
demo of the head, and they said

that

they wanted to buy one, as
they got a lot of requests for them.
I'll put Weaver in touch with them.
♦ Billy, Fernando (the first
A.D.) and I went out to scout for

night locations last night. We found
a
really cool location for the "road¬

time to

block"

scene.

the bill, Alan discovered that

streets,

ominously heavy trees

tres chic. When it

December 1996

was

It has cobblestone

on
American Cinematographer - December 1996

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