March 29, 2023 • 54 mins
Let's Talk - Cobra Kai
Episode 140: Interview - Bud S. Smith (Associate Producer, Editor - The Karate Kid)
Jason Connell shares a conversation with two-time Oscar-nominated editor Bud S. Smith, who was an Associate Producer and Editor on The Karate Kid. They discuss working with some legendary directors (William Friedkin, John G. Avildsen, Sam Raimi), as well as producing, directing, and much more.
Recorded: 03-28-23 & 12-17-20
Studio: Just Curious Media
https://www.JustCuriousMedia.com/
Listen:
https://LetsTalkCobraKai.buzzsprout.com/
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNfekAT0gN4to-6j2iKhGQw/
Follow:
https://www.facebook.com/LetsTalkCobraKai/
https://www.instagram.com/LetsTalkCobraKai/
https://twitter.com/TalkCobraKai/
Hosts:
https://www.instagram.com/MrJasonConnell/
https://www.instagram.com/SalvadorLosAngeles/
Support:
https://www.patreon.com/LetsTalkCobraKai/
#justcuriousmedia #letstalkcobrakai #mrjasonconnell #salvadorlosangeles #cobrakai #thekaratekid #daniellarusso #johnnylawrence #mrmiyagi #senseikreese #ralphmacchio #williamzabka #patmorita #martinkove #allvalleykaratechampionships #martialarts
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jason Connell (00:01):
Whoa, just curious. Welcome to Just curious
media. This is let's talk CobraKai. And I'm Jason Connell. So I
am here today with a veryspecial episode. I interviewed
bud s. Smith, the AssociateProducer and editor of The
(00:24):
Karate Kid, the classic film Theorigin of it all. Way back in
December of 2020. It wasactually December 17 of 2020.
And the reason I did thisinterview is because I was doing
an episode of Let's Talk movies,it was actually episode three,
to live and die in LA. Williamfreakin incredible masterpiece
(00:49):
of a movie. I love it. I revisitit all the time. But while I was
researching the movie, doing mynotes for the episode, I came
across bud s. Smith, he was coproducer of that film, second
unit director, supervising filmeditor. But what stood out to me
was the fact that he was born inTulsa, Oklahoma. So I reached
(01:13):
out to him, we had a greatconversation. His credits are in
credible. And then we did aninterview. And I was gonna just
maybe talk about to live and diein LA, or maybe just talk about
the Karate Kid. But we talkedabout lots of things. And I
released it as episode 14 onLet's Talk movies, because it
(01:35):
was so encompassing. It was morethan the Karate Kid. Well, it's
been some time and I figuredthis episode this interview
needs to be on let's duck CobraKai as well. So I didn't pull
everything out just leaving theKarate Kid stuff because it's
not a ton. I wanted to play itin its entirety. So more about
bud s. Smith. He is a two timeOscar nominated editor.
(02:02):
Incredible. And that was for theexorcist. 1973 also with William
Friedkin, who directed andFlashdance in 1983 he didn't win
either. But he was nominated.
And then he won a BAFTA for BestEditing of Flashdance. So, this
guy, this mud guy is killing it.
(02:26):
And him and William freakingdeveloped a friendship. And he
went on to work with freakin onthe sorcerer in 1977, the brinks
job 1978 Cruzi 1980 deal of thecentury in 1983. And beyond
working with frickin but asSmith worked on some kind of
wonderful with Howard Deutsch,the John Hughes movie as the
(02:49):
editor, he directed Johnny begood in 1988 dark man 1990 Sam
Raimi movie, he was editor andsupervising editor and of
course, dark man was LarryDrake, also from Tulsa,
Oklahoma, rest in peace, spokeat my high school graduation, he
did the commencement speech, butamazing, these weird parallels.
(03:11):
So it's a wonderfulconversation. He's very witty,
very smart, new, any andeverybody in Hollywood just was
in that era, right? An erabefore mine, maybe even more
than one era. But it's justamazing to see these talented
guys who worked on tons ofmovies guys and girls, I should
say. But something came to lightduring my conversation, my
(03:34):
preliminary phone call with butI discovered this and really
thought long and hard how tohandle it, but I'll explain. So
he had survived throat cancer inmore recent times, and lost half
of his tongue and had his jawreplaced. So for bud to speak,
(03:54):
it's difficult. It's more of asoup and smoothie diet. And you
have to really focus to hear allof his words. He's incredibly
bright, like I mentioned, but,and he speaks very fluently, but
you've got to focus. And when Ifirst talked to him on the
phone, I was like, Oh my gosh,how's this going to translate to
podcasting, but that I was inpost production editing the
(04:16):
original episode that I aired iton, and I was like, it sounds
great. We had a nice fluid andfun conversation. And so I
figured I'd bring it here aswell. And release it on let's
talk Cobra Kai. So I do hope youenjoyed those watching on
YouTube. Unfortunately, you'regoing to have to download the
(04:37):
podcast version to hear but asSmith but it's well worth your
time. Trust me on that. Sowithout further ado, please
enjoy. But as Smith but I wasreally fascinated like because I
haven't grown up in Tulsa aswell and moved to Los Angeles.
(04:58):
It's amazing. I couldn't believeand I looked up your name where
he said Also from Tulsa.
Bud S. Smith (05:02):
Oh no, I was born and salsa. And I, my parents
moved because houseplant five isso
Jason Connell (05:10):
Okay, so you're more of a California.
Bud S. Smith (05:13):
I hit sure I was awesome. Yeah, you did.
Jason Connell (05:16):
You did. So you moved to California when you
were five? And yes. From fiveyears old until we started your
career. Were you just alwaysfascinated by movie making
filmmaking or, like what led youtowards it?
Bud S. Smith (05:30):
I was kind of a rich man. I wanted to be a
racecar driver. And so when Iwas young, I was in high school.
And I was doing that and so I aJava zero water and the
(05:53):
documentary. And I did that withDario Walter for 10 years. And
then I moved to New York, andworked with Douglas Grayson for
a try. So I've had very strangeworking relationships. You
(06:15):
didn't jump ahead. That's okay.
Go ahead and move on. Well, I
Jason Connell (06:23):
didn't know about the David wallpaper. I actually
read a biography of his twice Ienjoyed it so much. He did a
bunch of documentaries. Didn'the wind up producing the
Olympics in Los Angeles at onepoint in time?
Bud S. Smith (06:34):
Well, I didn't. I was only right.
Jason Connell (06:41):
Of course. So and then you jumped into freakin
which is obviously a talkingpoint because I've been a huge
fan of William frequence foreverand you worked on several of his
movies. I mean, going back tothe Exorcist, which you also
nominated for an Oscar for filmediting.
Bud S. Smith (07:00):
Yeah, the I was a billy fishin when I was doing
Jack Demetri Hey handsome asyoung documentarian, and I was
in as very low water. And wehave a kid and he went off to do
(07:22):
his, his vicious situation withAaron Fisher there. And Fisher
back in New York. And if I, Iwas doing a film as well as Jai
Shinya, and I live five yearswith him, and I have run as a
(07:44):
spaceman. As the laboratory. Werun Jays. And so we just have
gone to a show. And a few yearslater, he called me Want me to
work with him on the acidosis.
And they sent me a fine pricerange. And I said, Hey, you
(08:07):
can't do this. Well, he's Yes.
All shy away. I go, New York,and we work on on the asbestos.
And I find what I say LosAngeles in his hand, Sue, and we
(08:32):
wish to say hi to, to you. Finalsound there. And we were there
for like three months. Duringthe sound. It says a way that
the showing says I jump ahead.
Jason Connell (08:51):
But no apologies needed. So did you know in the
middle of editing the Exorcist,just how special the film was
always going to be?
Bud S. Smith (09:00):
Yeah, really? No.
Yeah, just you see, one to herchanges. Excellent film. And
that's when I realized this wasmore than just high film right.
So it was Fujairah shale?
Jason Connell (09:25):
Absolutely. And it still holds up today.
Bud S. Smith (09:30):
Yeah, well, I have
Jason Connell (09:35):
I bet you're very close to it indeed. And
obviously you guys built a goodworking relationship to work on
that many projects together.
Bud S. Smith (09:43):
We here took us into this.
Jason Connell (09:52):
Absolutely. So after the exorcist and sorcerer
and the brinks job cruising dealof the century, it leads me to a
movie that I'd like to discuss.
Gus with you, which is to liveand die in LA. Yeah. And on that
movie, you were credited assecond unit director,
supervising film editor and COproducer. And I just covered
this movie on my let's talkmovies podcast. I've always
(10:15):
loved this film. And you had abig role in it many roles. And
so maybe you could just kind oftake me behind the scenes a
little bit about thisproduction.
Bud S. Smith (10:28):
I can only show you what you know, I was one who
was Billy and his came upposition to live in Jaya Laya
also have ish but and I say bothhigher shutter speed. And we
(10:49):
just whip when we're probably ayear shooting it. And we just
had a location which i i was adriver, that issue is high. And
show I was driving really everyplace we went out location,
(11:11):
which was down a river VIVA LAand I will up the water submit
size and around here I set so wekind of put that in a movie to
use that
Jason Connell (11:28):
same gimmick or the same terrain and the movie
Grease
Bud S. Smith (11:31):
as right after that. Yeah. After I Oh, wait.
Jason Connell (11:38):
I think Greece is actually sooner.
Bud S. Smith (11:41):
They enjoy what we Yeah,
Jason Connell (11:44):
no, no, you guys took it to a whole other level.
You showed a side of Los Angelesthat I didn't know existed. And
yeah, that chasing? I've got tosay that I've read so much
behind the scenes, but I'm justreading you were there. But was
it true that that was put offuntil the end just in case
someone got injured?
Bud S. Smith (12:02):
Just session?
Yeah. Pretty much I sit in thehardware location. Shoot that on
a weekend. So we will shoot itSaturday and Sunday and then
wrap it away and do somethingelse. So come back and say I saw
and Dash was belly is more ideasof what to do. And that was the
(12:31):
chase down a river bottom.
Comment from ever Joe was goingas fast as we could. And we're
horses wire sail and out of ariver bottom and went down. Then
(12:55):
we made a harvest had to go downto San Pedro and actually found
downtown. Downtown San Pedro.
And you couldn't tell thedifference. It was just a good
sanitation.
Jason Connell (13:12):
Absolutely. I noticed that there's a lot of
things that are in Long Beach inthat movie. Yeah.
Bud S. Smith (13:18):
But not a lot. The Song Song.
Jason Connell (13:20):
Yeah. So a second unit director, what were you
shooting? What was yourresponsibilities?
Bud S. Smith (13:26):
I had a seven year arrow, which meant I had to go
out and shoot live I was that Iwould shoot for high stages. And
you know, I would be shootingalong with Billy face and he
would be shooting an actor. AndI was shooting a stuntman and a
(13:47):
chase car. Because here's aCheyenne car chase, say who's
down to Aruba was trained. Andso this high has out run the
train. And it has a stunt guysdoing what's a zoo, which was
(14:08):
out running this train goingover this fast young lady they
went and champagne. And it'sjust as him. Yeah. I don't know,
if you tell us what's that allabout?
Jason Connell (14:26):
Oh, it's great.
And earlier, you had mentioneddocumentaries and just to kind
of catch up on myself I actuallyproduced and directed like 10
award winning documentaries. Icut my teeth on documentaries.
So I have a lot of respect forthem. And with documentaries,
you find the story in theediting a lot of times most of
the time. So I think it made youprobably a more astute editor.
For sure. Obviously in yourcredits speak for themselves.
(14:51):
And not to put me in your classby any means. You worked on some
of the greatest movies of alltime.
Bud S. Smith (14:59):
Yeah, I was Jana I Aspies via Ovation drive around
three very exciting places. Iwish alone for a few years. And
that's when i i wish highs thatfilmmaker. I had I been in
(15:23):
filmmaking but raishin andfilmmaker. And so I've finally
shy I've made her living. Andthat's why you're shy various
sets of film.
Jason Connell (15:37):
Yeah, all those scenes from to live and die in
LA had to really be exciting foryou because you were able to tap
into your love for car racing.
And it obviously led to one ofthe greatest car chase scenes
and American film history isdefinitely a crowning
achievement for that movie. I'vebrought it up for years. Because
a movie needs like that scenethat you can quickly just tell
(15:58):
someone about like, Oh, you gotto see till the night in LA,
this is a great car chasing,it's more than that the movie is
much more than that. And aboutthe movie, it's one of the first
times that I can recall that hasthat big pivotal change late in
the movie or you lose your leadactor. And it just continues on.
I mean, that's a device that isnot very common. And I know that
freak Ken had to shoot thiscrazy all ending. And maybe just
(16:21):
talk a little about that aboutjust how dramatic that was to
make a movie lose your lead, andalso how William freaking had to
fight for that, right?
Bud S. Smith (16:34):
We shine as different engines over has a
studio, and for years are one ofthe engines are still alive. So
we had to figure out how to dothat. So we went off and shot it
(16:54):
was to Alaska. And anyway, weshot that on a chaise in LA. And
Alaska, in shows was LA and weshot this is it. And Bailey Hey.
(17:15):
So it's fair for the producers.
And I say hey, so we didn't useit.
Jason Connell (17:23):
It's terrible. I No offense. I saw it on YouTube.
And I'm like, No, the movieworks the way it is. Yeah. What
did you think of that kind ofpivot in the movie at that point
in time to lose chance. And thatfashion in that very grotesque
fashion
Bud S. Smith (17:38):
in a way that's not having says die by having a
different engine. But we didn'trealize that we wanted to share
sewage shot in the face for thisisland. And wheezes and that's
why we The film went out.
Jason Connell (17:57):
I mean, but the film is called to live and die
in LA it's very fitted
Bud S. Smith (18:03):
that it was
Jason Connell (18:05):
and that's a great and then obviously he had
some great stars in that moviehad a young William Defoe, you
had John Turturro and I likedit. He also cast these two
relatively unknown so he justweren't caught up in their
Mystique as a star. And theylater became bigger names. I
mean, it William Peterson whowent on to have some success, of
course, but I love that he castthese relatively unknown They
(18:27):
had been together, acting inChicago and he found them there
and it was really smart. He madesome smart decisions along the
way. And there was also Valentinde Vargas was in the film and he
had a small role and to live anddie in LA. He was also great. Do
you know where Valentin was bornby chance? No, no Tulsa
(18:49):
Oklahoma. True story
Bud S. Smith (18:57):
maybe I should wait.
Jason Connell (19:00):
Wait a second. I stand corrected. I had it
flipped. He was bornAlburquerque he passed away in
Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Bud S. Smith (19:07):
Ah, so that was it?
Jason Connell (19:13):
Yes, exactly.
Yeah. So I had that flipped. Iremember looking this up when I
was researching the film and I'mlike, wait another Tulsa time,
but he actually passed away. AndTulsa. But yeah. And there was
other great characters in themovie. By the way. There was
great performances by SteveJames who passed away too soon.
Dean Stockwell was fantastic inthe movie as well. Yeah. Some
really, really wonderful actors,but I just think it's a movie
(19:35):
that holds up over time. It wasso fun to cover on our podcast,
and even the music even to get asong by Wing Chun who was huge
at the time. Yeah.
Bud S. Smith (19:49):
It is, and decided he wanted me to film. So he sent
him a squid and said why I firstfilm. And they did. And what
Bill it was trying to do it, ithadn't raced Fontana, right. So
(20:09):
he bombed LA and put them up andtook them over the Thai jail for
missing the film. And they spenta month. And they wrote his
music for the film. And Iwondered, anyway, I really liked
(20:30):
it. And I liked it. And that isI said, So it said,
Jason Connell (20:36):
the music is wonderful. It helps us the
pacing throughout the wholefilm. But I did read that freak
and said, Whatever you do, don'tmake a song called to live and
die in LA. And of course, theymade that track to the title.
Bud S. Smith (20:51):
But I said,
Jason Connell (20:53):
yeah, yeah, exactly. He kept it in there. So
yeah, it's a great, it's sofitting. And I gotta say
something else with that moviethat you just don't see. It
shows you how to makecounterfeit bills. Really,
essentially, it's like a lessonon how to do it.
Bud S. Smith (21:08):
I shot all right, that was second unit is
finishing on a sentence that welaid it in the film, and Billy
didn't have time to stop andshoot that song in church. So I
had a shot. I knew where he wasgonna put stuff in. Well on the
(21:32):
phone and show I was justthrough it and knew Hey, I have
put this stuff together. And wehad out and Palmdale warehouse.
It was pretty bizarre to say hi,mate nine. It was shot. So you
could do if you want to. Theyhad to do it on both sides.
Jason Connell (21:58):
Right? Well, how did you know how to do it? Did
you have these people on setthat showed you how to do it.
Bud S. Smith (22:04):
I was lucky enough to have done some research and I
found shoe found. That had beena rashes. We had our payload
chest to LA and hill that housesJoey brought his power foods in
(22:28):
and I wasn't sure where theywere. And they had this prayer
machine. And I put it up all ofus might shoot an arrow shirt.
And then Billy went back andputs a room's a photo shots. And
and you may say
Jason Connell (22:50):
oh, it looks great. When you see masters
played by William Defoe. Andhe's cutting the bills. And he's
doing all the behind the sceneshow to do it all the way up to
putting it in a dryer with pokerchips, the whole bit. And I even
read that some fake bills gotinto circulation. Was there some
truth to that?
Bud S. Smith (23:08):
Yeah, yeah. So it had to do as a prop. Boy, he was
the one ahead all of thecounterfeit money. And I said
his his Troy bells, and went toa liquor store and bought
(23:31):
santoon found lots ofcounterfeit. And I trashed it
all back to us. And we have aration for Halloween. Yeah, so
we had a we had Asians on thefilm. That kind of was our
chance neighborhood advisor. Andhe has a chef can stop them from
(23:54):
coming in.
Jason Connell (23:56):
Did you get a sense of those bills when you
actually held it in your handsand felt it? Does it feel like a
real bill? Does it look verypassable to you? I've never even
seen a counterfeit bill as faras I know. Anyway. The bills?
Yeah, the bills themselves ifDid you hold them and feel them?
And if you didn't know anybetter, would you recognize them
as phonies? No. Yeah, in themovie, they looked amazing. Of
(24:18):
course, I'm seeing a movie, butit's cool to hear up close and
personal that they obviouslycould pass for real money. Which
is
Bud S. Smith (24:25):
yes, they did.
Obviously he did. Yeah, he spent
Jason Connell (24:29):
them exactly.
They did use them. Now manymovies covered this subject
matter. And that's what I wasalways intrigued by. And it's a
movie that shows the darker sideof law enforcement really life
they'll break a million laws tobust one guy I enjoyed as a film
watch your film view or filmlover, but the ethical questions
(24:51):
they went against any andeverything that they should they
crossed every line and the moviealso feels like It's kind of a
self fulfilling prophecy in theway that chance loses his
partner. And then he loses hisown life. So then Vukovich is
the new guy in charge. And it'sjust going to keep going to the
next guy in a VUCA veteranprobably have a new partner,
(25:13):
he'll show him the ropes, andthen maybe he'll be often it's
this kind of continues tohappen.
Bud S. Smith (25:21):
light goes on.
Yeah, it would pass out. Youknow, yeah. His outfit, his
shirt and his heart and allthat. And then he was open to
rifles on.
Jason Connell (25:42):
Yeah, I did like that I liked the way he stepped
up from the nervous guy to beingthe guy. And yeah, now she's his
informant. And what just itstayed with me. And that's the
beauty of great filmmaking, youcan hold it up. 20 3040 years
later, it still works. I've toldso many people about it that had
never seen it. And then they goand watch it. And they're
(26:04):
riveted. Like, I had no ideathis movie was out there. And I
think because it wasn't as bigof a hit, as it probably should
have been, in my opinion. Butit's a little treasure that
definitely holds up becauseobviously yourself and frickin
and the cast and crew and it'sjust a great film soundtrack the
whole bit from head to toe. Socongratulations. Thank you for
(26:25):
putting that in the filmarchives for us, if you will.
And if you don't mind, I'd loveto pivot to this other movie
that I cover on a differentpodcast. It's a podcast called
Let's Talk Cobra Kai, that iseverything Karate Kid and the
new show Cobra Kai related. Andof course, that is the Karate
Kid. Which your editor andassociate producer on. That's
(26:49):
insane. I cannot believe this.
But how did that come about? Howdid you get a job working with
John G. Appleton. Rest in peace?
Bud S. Smith (26:57):
Oh, Ashley was Was she produces? Yeah. Oh, yes.
Yeah. And I, we hit. I hit I washim. And it was just a marriage.
Amazing heaven. And so he wentoff and dies. Yeah, he was a
(27:18):
survivor with his girlfriend.
And then he'll come back. Isthis died in a hotel. It was a
young guy who I know. Yes,wasn't his way.
Jason Connell (27:34):
Right. I read his autobiography several years ago
loved it. Then the HBO did awhole special on his story. So I
became a huge fan the way heworked with Elvis, and then
Frank Sinatra. And he was justthis producers producer. And he
movies like Ocean's 11. And ofcourse, he had a lot to do with
the Karate Kid, which launched ahuge franchise, but so you knew
(27:57):
him you got to work on thisfilm. But I'm telling you did
you know again, maybe not likethe exorcist or to live in LA.
But did you know how specialthis project was at the time?
Bud S. Smith (28:10):
No, I did not. I didn't have clues. I didn't have
a clue. But it was. So boy shinevia light head high school. And
I've been tested on and a fivegot into me. I was the horizon
(28:35):
issue. He showed her how to doit one of Hawaii championship.
Yeah, there is
Jason Connell (28:47):
I can imagine. So please tell me I mean, yeah.
What was it? What was thatjourney?
Bud S. Smith (28:52):
It says, Wait a while, right. They'll realize
you have to fill it out fill, asthey do realize that that was a
surprise. Should we put thisfive words
Jason Connell (29:09):
as your role as an associate producer on the
Karate Kid? What were you doingexactly in that role? Besides
the editor? We'll get to theeditor in a minute, but the
associate producer in you, whatwas your job?
Bud S. Smith (29:21):
Well, I had was to survive to elevate myself and
production. And so just being afilm show, I wanted to be like
associate producer somethingthat would elevate me. And yeah,
why shop and I was like friends,and he made me wherever,
(29:45):
wherever I was, and that was it.
Jason Connell (29:48):
Okay, okay. So the relationship and you got a
producer credit. But really,you're an editor on this film,
and I'm assuming that you haddidn't really find this movie in
the Edit because, I mean, it's asimple The story Yes, bullied
kid learns karate winstournament but you and I both
know it's much more magical thanthat. I mean, you had a great
(30:08):
team. You had the director JohnG. Allison, who did Rocky, and
it really has some tie ins toRocky. And of course, some
themes, if you will. Yes. BillConti. Exactly. Yeah. And Ralph
mazzio was coming off some greatmovies, one of which was the
outsiders, which was filmed inour hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
(30:30):
And he had the chops. He's agreat actor and Miyagi, played
by Pat. Marita would go on to benominated for an Oscar in his
incredible role of Mr. Miyagi.
So there was a lot of goodthings at play here. And there
was other editors, right? If I'mnot mistaken, are you the lead
editor? Or
Bud S. Smith (30:48):
I say who I had one person was okay, there sighs
my assistants, and I chose threeassistants. Anyway, we had
enough hateful zoos job,
Jason Connell (31:01):
but when you're in there editing and finding the
solution to the flying thechopsticks and all these funny
little things and moments andConte score, what was that
editing like that whole processfinding?
Bud S. Smith (31:16):
John Allison shoots a lot of film. So do you
have also his Jay's daily basis?
And shoot the best part shot andyou fail for the best pies have
ever seen as far as now is JohnAllison, but every one I have
famous US is lava. Jaikishan.
(31:47):
Five years for him. It wasalways trying to find this joy
and find a piece that fits it.
Jason Connell (31:55):
Speaking of Robert Downey senior he was also
in to live and die in LA whichwas nice.
Bud S. Smith (32:00):
Yeah, he was.
Yeah, he was a because of me. Iwas he was of the police Hasson.
Yeah. And
Jason Connell (32:12):
he was great in that role. Yeah,
Bud S. Smith (32:14):
it was just a soulless thing. But
Jason Connell (32:20):
okay, pivoting back to the Karate Kid. So
you're editing the movie, youhave all this abundance of
footage courtesy of Appleton.
And you start to pull out theright takes of each scene. And
you start putting it together.
And of course, we can't seescore. I'm sure it starts to
come to life. And there isbeautiful moments in this movie.
But it had to be exciting tofind the story in there. Yeah.
(32:43):
What was that? Like? I think Iread that Allison was also an
editor. He took an editingcredit. So he must. Yeah,
Bud S. Smith (32:50):
he said he's really a sloppy, hire an
assistant. But he was put shotshere. And so hey, I wouldn't
call him in.
Jason Connell (33:07):
Okay, fair enough. Well, I'm not I just saw
the credits. But you know, thisis why I'm talking to the man
that can set the story straight.
But so anyway, you're startingto put the story together. And I
mean, he already told me he hadno idea it would have this sort
of life, but for it to becomethe hit that it did. But
obviously, it has to be excitingto be part of a hit. It's
obviously something that'shappened in your career more
(33:28):
than a few times. But thismovie, I mean, it still works
today, this many years later,because this movie came out in
85, as did to live and die inLA. And in fact, it spawned
several sequels and it'slaunched his TV show in 2018.
That I don't know if you've paidattention but Cobra Kai after
going on Netflix and August iswas the number one show on
(33:50):
Netflix for several months. Soit all started with the Karate
Kid because the show brings backruff maggio, William Zabka
Martin Cove, and they'recontinuing the characters on 35
years later and I'm telling youit is really well done well
crafted. So not very often doyou see a show revisit something
(34:12):
and hitting the same notes andSeason Three comes out in
January. And it has become acrown jewel of Netflix. So you
might want to take a look at it.
Yeah.
Bud S. Smith (34:25):
Oh Cobra Kai COVID.
Jason Connell (34:27):
They took on the the moniker from the movie of
course the Cobra Kai dojo, andit starts to tell that story you
you see a different side toJohnny, Johnny Lawrence, played
by William Zabka get tounderstand his side more you see
him mature Daniel Russo.
Obviously we have no Mr. Miyagibecause Pat Morita passed away,
but it's beautifully done. wellcrafted is a younger generation
(34:50):
of Miyagi dough and Cobra Kaistudents and mixed with the
adult versions of the Russo andLawrence and of course, Martin
Cove is amazing as usual. He wasa great villain as I was growing
up and it just hated it. Itfeared the Cobra Kai dojo. And I
mean it works today, obviously,as I just pointed out because of
(35:12):
the show, but you know what elseI noticed from that movie when
it came out it had a huge impacton probably martial arts across
the country. In a positive way.
It probably made karate dojo isopen up all over the country.
Bud S. Smith (35:26):
Yeah, well, Ash was supposed to do.
Jason Connell (35:29):
That's exactly right. Yeah, this
Bud S. Smith (35:31):
is why I was with fire. La, here and I have a
relationship and, and that's whyit is right here.
Jason Connell (35:45):
I always wanted to meet him. And unfortunately,
I didn't. But it's reallyamazing to hear that you guys
had this bond and friendship.
And that's really special.
Bud S. Smith (35:54):
If it wasn't a bearish position. If you wanted
to boys, right. Yeah. So what hewas he loves to come. And watch
me work. That was one of his Jswitch. Yeah.
Jason Connell (36:11):
Why everything I read about him. He was just a
larger than life character andanything he touched turned to
gold. It's amazing, right?
Bud S. Smith (36:19):
Yeah. Yeah, everything is it was when I was
a script. Yeah, I love T shirts.
This is visually visualization,and hash and addressing it turns
out it all. So I remember whenwe went to Favier, we went to
(36:47):
Jim for how to favorite summermovies here. And there was full
edge. And when after that wasall over it. They were clapping.
You know, I was out in the lobbywaiting for people streaming out
(37:09):
of the seer just fucking fallslights. I mean, I thought it was
hilarious. So at that point, hehad a hit on his hands. And if
she changed last time, lasttime, million dollar film, and
(37:30):
that was a half a half a show aone shot.
Jason Connell (37:36):
I gotta tell you, I was one of those kids. I was
14 when the movie came out. Andhad I been in that screening, it
would have lost my mind. I sawit. I saw it in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
right after it came out. And itwas a game changer. For me. It
was the right age. It hit mevery deeply. And when you're
young, and you see that andyou're very impressionable, and
(37:57):
you see a movie that way that isabout young people dealing with
problems and overcoming them andbullied and rising above the
situation. Yeah, it'striumphant. It's something I'll
never forget. And the movie hasreal magic to it.
Bud S. Smith (38:12):
Yeah, right. It meant a lot to it says time?
Jason Connell (38:15):
Yes, it did. Yes, it did. And in fact, a wine
shop, I read that he was inproduction on the sequel 10 days
after the original movie wasreleased. So yes, he was very
aware that he had himself a hita hit franchise. And he was
exploiting it for sure. Yeah.
But
Bud S. Smith (38:32):
he knew I was off doing something. It was really a
twist and it in. And I had nodesire to go on with another
device. Right. So that was myproblem, because I probably own
pilot.
Jason Connell (38:52):
Well, just to pivot really quickly, not as in
depth those the two movies, Ireally wanted to get in depth,
and thank you, but for your timeon those. I just wanted to hit a
couple other movies that werebig to me. And obviously it's
want to hear just a little bitabout but you edited some kind
of wonderful, directed by HowardDeutsch and written by John Yes,
that was a great film as wellcoming of age movie, Eric
(39:14):
Stoltz. And so what was thatexperience like?
Bud S. Smith (39:17):
The choice was not was considered that we were on a
set where I said, I'm gonna showyou a lot, but who is shooting?
So every day, as the day says,and he was shoot so far when I
(39:42):
filmed that people were asleepand yes, 50 cents or something.
So that was how is judge who isone of my favorite investors.
Jason Connell (39:56):
So your memory of some kind of wonderful was a ton
of film to go Throw.
Bud S. Smith (40:01):
So how wonderful was just film of us? That high
school? Yeah.
Jason Connell (40:11):
Well, I'd had that John Hughes magic about it.
I did like it. He wrote it.
Obviously he didn't direct it aswe've talked about, but it's
still enjoyable. It still holdsup. It really captures that era
and the 80s, which John Hugheswritten movies did. And great
soundtrack again, had a lot ofyoung bands, and obviously, it's
made for a younger audience thismovie was, but I always enjoyed
it. But then this led to thenext year. It's the only
(40:35):
directing credit I saw for you,but it was Johnny be good. In
1988 I saw this movie in thetheater bud
Bud S. Smith (40:44):
jovia.
Jason Connell (40:45):
Yes. Anthony Michael Hall, Uma Thurman,
Robert Downey, Jr. What was thatlike directing this movie?
Bud S. Smith (40:53):
As soon as I was a townie shear bath on a slope,
you know, way back, way backwhen. And Julia was just a
little boy. So time. And he wasone of the films his dad called
lb, it was about jobs at town.
And painful is a job. All thejobs table, and vice versa. So
(41:23):
the other virus is yours. Theyfirst film show if you have a
chance. Yeah. Yeah. Say forsomething of it. It still holds
up.
Jason Connell (41:43):
But being a director on this film. Did you
enjoy that role? I mean, you hadalways been around these other
directors, you had been aneditor, associate producer, lots
of different things. But this isthe first time I'm assuming that
you are. You're helming thewhole thing. Did you enjoy the
job? Was it a fun, enjoyableexperience? Or was it just a
(42:04):
nightmare?
Bud S. Smith (42:05):
It really was.
Because this is I asked thisabout locations. And I had
worked with a wild personbefore. And that may have have
do whatever I want. And show Iwill locations for about a
month. And I chasis is mybackground for these young kids.
(42:31):
I like to say Shire. And thatwas my base. I shot the main
film. And that was all good. Imean, it was all good for me.
You know, when we put it alltogether, I realized that we
didn't have a great film. Wejust had an okay film. And we
(42:54):
have fun. Have fun. exciting towork with Favier I just have a
lot of different things I have Ijust pretty much has the same
material. And I had a shoot in ashooting last time was a certain
(43:18):
amount of money. And it wasokay. I mean I I asked to do it.
Jason Connell (43:26):
Yeah, well, I was such a fan of Hall and Downey
Jr. And they had teamed up priorand weird science. And then both
of them went on to be onSaturday Night Live. And Hall
was like the youngest castmember on that show at the time.
And I remember wanting to loveit. And I remember just liking
it. You know, I thought oh, it'senjoyable. I like them. And
they're fun. But you're right.
It didn't have the stayingpower. The stakes weren't as
(43:47):
high but it was a lot of thesekinds of movies, a fun little
comedy in the 80s. And that hadto be a lot of fun to do. And
then obviously, you went on todo sell for more and I just want
to mention one more becausethere's a tie in here but was
dark man 1990. The Samory Yeah,were you editor supervising
(44:08):
editor. And of course the leaddark man was Larry Drake, born
and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
And he spoke but I swear to youat my high school graduation, he
did the commencement speech,Mary Drake rest in peace. We
lost him too early,unfortunately. But that movie
was kind of a big deal and SamRaimi went on to become a very
(44:30):
prolific director. Any goodtakeaways, thoughts on dark man
Bud S. Smith (44:37):
says I wasn't on the film the shot. I was on
vacation. I was up in loughreajust doing nothing. And I had a
call from my agent saying thatSam very well, we found his film
called jars. And so I went backI sell I go back. And I traded a
(45:05):
film on Tuesday. And it was justa fish hit. In my opinion, so I
wasn't working. So I say, Oh,I'll say is this on? And I did.
And I was four months ofwhatever. And yeah, and the
(45:26):
shapes of Favier and with Favierand wells are really well, yeah,
Julio was really happy with thatI had. That was kind of a it
was, for me, it was kind of aSam Raimi went on fish or fell.
I don't know what he's donesince then. But nothing to my
(45:49):
knowledge.
Jason Connell (45:50):
After dark man, he did a great film called Army
of Darkness, which I reallyenjoyed. A simple plan came out
98 So army darkness was 92 asimple plan is a great movie.
They needed Spider Man, SpiderMan to Spider Man three than
Drag Me To Hell. So he became apretty big director. And it all
(46:12):
probably started or hinged onthe success of dark man, which
was a hit. And I remember seeingthe theater and enjoying it. So,
bud, you probably saved the daybecause that first cut of dark
man would have probably tankedat the box office.
Bud S. Smith (46:26):
Yeah. Well, that was my Sam Raimi.
Jason Connell (46:31):
That's great. You know, I just realized I have to
bring up one last movie. I skipit at the top because we were
talking freakin and I'd be sadif I didn't at least mention it
because it is an iconic movie.
And that is Flashdance. whichcame out in 1983. I can't.
Flashdance. You won a BAFTA. Andyou were nominated for an Oscar.
So that's two nominations,exorcist and dance. So what was
(46:53):
that? Like? Were you on set withFlashdance? Or were you just
Bud S. Smith (47:00):
very rough time it was five. And he called me I
wish you in South County. Andhis parents want to have a meal
with me and the USA. And so Iwas at a hotel wherever. And I
(47:23):
eventually dresser and it wasjust Hi. I have no idea what to
say. And I didn't know what thisauthor to ask about. And Jay and
I have worked here. And so hetrusts you raise your what, what
(47:43):
I used to do. And so I signedon. There was a pitch for the
shoot. And I was in New York.
There's in New York. And I wasand I say this is shit. Yeah
(48:05):
I wish that I could. Because itwas well that was supposed to be
a wonderful gesture. They have atopcoat and I realized that she
had been asked and and andanyway, that was a sigh of flash
(48:31):
in
Jason Connell (48:34):
it Sure yeah Jennifer bills are coming out
role it's one scene of coursethe maniac dance number. So
you're the editor. What was thatlike putting this iconic scene
together? Did you know you hadmagic in the bottle?
Bud S. Smith (48:50):
Yeah, this is my vision is to see film a
different way I'm gonna shoot itmay air was done in her law. And
her house it was showed off on ashow her foot wrapping her feet
and Chaffin and then should havefull body and it has to be very
(49:17):
helpful for his stunt double.
The dance level was reallygreat. And Jennifer, it was only
when she shook her head and yousee her hair flat back and
forth. That was about allGenesis. And Dasho was as a
whole. So that was flashingYeah,
Jason Connell (49:41):
we also had that what a feeling song and the
movie, also a huge song. But alot of music, a lot of dancing,
a lot of choreography, but yeah,it worked. And it's held up for
this many years later. So Ican't help but think that you
had something huge to do withthese Movies beyond these great
(50:02):
directors and actors and crew.
You played a role in thesemovies success without a doubt.
Bud S. Smith (50:09):
Yeah. Well, I said so shoot, good job. Not to toot
my own horn. It's just I wasbrought up during Jack's
administration. And then forless scientific issues and
measures ation of watches in zoowas filmed. If you have no slip,
(50:29):
no, nothing, just a bunch offootage. Exactly. That was my
background.
Jason Connell (50:36):
So as far as directors you worked with, I
didn't get into cat people, butyou work with Paul Schrader, and
of course, we talked aboutAppleton and you are great
friends with Friedkin. And sowho was the most interesting
director you work with, or thetoughest director to work with?
Bud S. Smith (50:49):
Well, I said Billy face, he was your most
imaginative. Here's her thing,and maybe read it and you will
then by the way, he shot a lot.
Especially when you're inMexico, though, for sure sound,
the love shots. And he was justgreat to work with, probably
(51:18):
because I was with him indocumentaries. And we went off
and five years later, we hookedup, and I had Schleyer run with
him. That was
Jason Connell (51:33):
Do you guys still talk today?
Bud S. Smith (51:35):
Oh, yeah. Now, shoot, Father knows.
Jason Connell (51:42):
He's still working. He's still working?
Bud S. Smith (51:46):
Well, we're still both alive. So that's about live
and say
Jason Connell (51:50):
absolutely.
Absolutely. So but how do youspend your days you watch
anything interesting. On TV now?
Bud S. Smith (51:57):
Kind of fish oh, so speed that I had in my
stroke. And I had operations.
And I hear if I shop there has acut my child in half, and my jaw
has all been the place. And I'vejust been an old filmer.
Jason Connell (52:20):
Wow. Well, congrats on beating cancer. When
did that all happen?
Bud S. Smith (52:25):
Almost four years ago, three years ago, for sure.
And when I saw hit me, I had noidea who I was air for. I
realize how lucky I was workingon a daily face. And he put me
in touch with UCLA. And UCLA hasa best surgeons. And when they
(52:50):
got me and UCLA they told me apipe and patch me up. So I'm
still alive because of that. Butthat was Billy freeze and got me
feel like
Jason Connell (53:06):
is there pain? Or do you not have pain? Oh,
Bud S. Smith (53:09):
no, no. I just had chocolate. And I had it they
have a central of my jaw. Right.
And so I hit shoe because I kindof unless shoot babies Yeah,
Jason Connell (53:27):
soup or shakes or? Yeah. Okay. You have a great
fighting spirit. You soundgreat. How young are you? If I
may ask? A 383. Wow. It'sawesome. That's awesome.
Bud S. Smith (53:45):
So five, so it's been a long time. I've done a
lot in my life.
Jason Connell (53:50):
You sure haven't, you may not have become a pro
racecar driver. But we're allbetter for the career that you
did choose. I want to thank youfor everything you've done and
not to mention, you've given memore than an hour of your time.
And it was a real pleasure.
Really, my pleasure. Thank youman. Take care.
Bud S. Smith (54:12):
Alright. Bye.
Jason Connell (54:15):
So thank you so much for listening and please be
sure to subscribe to the let'stalk Cobra Kai podcast and the
let's talk cover Guy YouTubeLive Channel. You can also
really help us by giving theshow a five star rating on Apple
podcast and for all yourlisteners and enjoy sharing your
thoughts. You can leave us areview on Apple podcast send us
a direct message or post acomment on any let's talk Cobra
(54:37):
Kai social media platform. Wealso highly recommend checking
out our other podcast andvisiting just curious media.com
No Mercy
Whoa, just curious. Welcome to Just curious
media. This is let's talk CobraKai. And I'm Jason Connell. So I
am here today with a veryspecial episode. I interviewed
bud s. Smith, the AssociateProducer and editor of The
(00:24):
Karate Kid, the classic film Theorigin of it all. Way back in
December of 2020. It wasactually December 17 of 2020.
And the reason I did thisinterview is because I was doing
an episode of Let's Talk movies,it was actually episode three,
to live and die in LA. Williamfreakin incredible masterpiece
(00:49):
of a movie. I love it. I revisitit all the time. But while I was
researching the movie, doing mynotes for the episode, I came
across bud s. Smith, he was coproducer of that film, second
unit director, supervising filmeditor. But what stood out to me
was the fact that he was born inTulsa, Oklahoma. So I reached
(01:13):
out to him, we had a greatconversation. His credits are in
credible. And then we did aninterview. And I was gonna just
maybe talk about to live and diein LA, or maybe just talk about
the Karate Kid. But we talkedabout lots of things. And I
released it as episode 14 onLet's Talk movies, because it
(01:35):
was so encompassing. It was morethan the Karate Kid. Well, it's
been some time and I figuredthis episode this interview
needs to be on let's duck CobraKai as well. So I didn't pull
everything out just leaving theKarate Kid stuff because it's
not a ton. I wanted to play itin its entirety. So more about
bud s. Smith. He is a two timeOscar nominated editor.
(02:02):
Incredible. And that was for theexorcist. 1973 also with William
Friedkin, who directed andFlashdance in 1983 he didn't win
either. But he was nominated.
And then he won a BAFTA for BestEditing of Flashdance. So, this
guy, this mud guy is killing it.
(02:26):
And him and William freakingdeveloped a friendship. And he
went on to work with freakin onthe sorcerer in 1977, the brinks
job 1978 Cruzi 1980 deal of thecentury in 1983. And beyond
working with frickin but asSmith worked on some kind of
wonderful with Howard Deutsch,the John Hughes movie as the
(02:49):
editor, he directed Johnny begood in 1988 dark man 1990 Sam
Raimi movie, he was editor andsupervising editor and of
course, dark man was LarryDrake, also from Tulsa,
Oklahoma, rest in peace, spokeat my high school graduation, he
did the commencement speech, butamazing, these weird parallels.
(03:11):
So it's a wonderfulconversation. He's very witty,
very smart, new, any andeverybody in Hollywood just was
in that era, right? An erabefore mine, maybe even more
than one era. But it's justamazing to see these talented
guys who worked on tons ofmovies guys and girls, I should
say. But something came to lightduring my conversation, my
(03:34):
preliminary phone call with butI discovered this and really
thought long and hard how tohandle it, but I'll explain. So
he had survived throat cancer inmore recent times, and lost half
of his tongue and had his jawreplaced. So for bud to speak,
(03:54):
it's difficult. It's more of asoup and smoothie diet. And you
have to really focus to hear allof his words. He's incredibly
bright, like I mentioned, but,and he speaks very fluently, but
you've got to focus. And when Ifirst talked to him on the
phone, I was like, Oh my gosh,how's this going to translate to
podcasting, but that I was inpost production editing the
(04:16):
original episode that I aired iton, and I was like, it sounds
great. We had a nice fluid andfun conversation. And so I
figured I'd bring it here aswell. And release it on let's
talk Cobra Kai. So I do hope youenjoyed those watching on
YouTube. Unfortunately, you'regoing to have to download the
(04:37):
podcast version to hear but asSmith but it's well worth your
time. Trust me on that. Sowithout further ado, please
enjoy. But as Smith but I wasreally fascinated like because I
haven't grown up in Tulsa aswell and moved to Los Angeles.
(04:58):
It's amazing. I couldn't believeand I looked up your name where
he said Also from Tulsa.
Bud S. Smith (05:02):
Oh no, I was born and salsa. And I, my parents
moved because houseplant five isso
Jason Connell (05:10):
Okay, so you're more of a California.
Bud S. Smith (05:13):
I hit sure I was awesome. Yeah, you did.
Jason Connell (05:16):
You did. So you moved to California when you
were five? And yes. From fiveyears old until we started your
career. Were you just alwaysfascinated by movie making
filmmaking or, like what led youtowards it?
Bud S. Smith (05:30):
I was kind of a rich man. I wanted to be a
racecar driver. And so when Iwas young, I was in high school.
And I was doing that and so I aJava zero water and the
(05:53):
documentary. And I did that withDario Walter for 10 years. And
then I moved to New York, andworked with Douglas Grayson for
a try. So I've had very strangeworking relationships. You
(06:15):
didn't jump ahead. That's okay.
Go ahead and move on. Well, I
Jason Connell (06:23):
didn't know about the David wallpaper. I actually
read a biography of his twice Ienjoyed it so much. He did a
bunch of documentaries. Didn'the wind up producing the
Olympics in Los Angeles at onepoint in time?
Bud S. Smith (06:34):
Well, I didn't. I was only right.
Jason Connell (06:41):
Of course. So and then you jumped into freakin
which is obviously a talkingpoint because I've been a huge
fan of William frequence foreverand you worked on several of his
movies. I mean, going back tothe Exorcist, which you also
nominated for an Oscar for filmediting.
Bud S. Smith (07:00):
Yeah, the I was a billy fishin when I was doing
Jack Demetri Hey handsome asyoung documentarian, and I was
in as very low water. And wehave a kid and he went off to do
(07:22):
his, his vicious situation withAaron Fisher there. And Fisher
back in New York. And if I, Iwas doing a film as well as Jai
Shinya, and I live five yearswith him, and I have run as a
(07:44):
spaceman. As the laboratory. Werun Jays. And so we just have
gone to a show. And a few yearslater, he called me Want me to
work with him on the acidosis.
And they sent me a fine pricerange. And I said, Hey, you
(08:07):
can't do this. Well, he's Yes.
All shy away. I go, New York,and we work on on the asbestos.
And I find what I say LosAngeles in his hand, Sue, and we
(08:32):
wish to say hi to, to you. Finalsound there. And we were there
for like three months. Duringthe sound. It says a way that
the showing says I jump ahead.
Jason Connell (08:51):
But no apologies needed. So did you know in the
middle of editing the Exorcist,just how special the film was
always going to be?
Bud S. Smith (09:00):
Yeah, really? No.
Yeah, just you see, one to herchanges. Excellent film. And
that's when I realized this wasmore than just high film right.
So it was Fujairah shale?
Jason Connell (09:25):
Absolutely. And it still holds up today.
Bud S. Smith (09:30):
Yeah, well, I have
Jason Connell (09:35):
I bet you're very close to it indeed. And
obviously you guys built a goodworking relationship to work on
that many projects together.
Bud S. Smith (09:43):
We here took us into this.
Jason Connell (09:52):
Absolutely. So after the exorcist and sorcerer
and the brinks job cruising dealof the century, it leads me to a
movie that I'd like to discuss.
Gus with you, which is to liveand die in LA. Yeah. And on that
movie, you were credited assecond unit director,
supervising film editor and COproducer. And I just covered
this movie on my let's talkmovies podcast. I've always
(10:15):
loved this film. And you had abig role in it many roles. And
so maybe you could just kind oftake me behind the scenes a
little bit about thisproduction.
Bud S. Smith (10:28):
I can only show you what you know, I was one who
was Billy and his came upposition to live in Jaya Laya
also have ish but and I say bothhigher shutter speed. And we
(10:49):
just whip when we're probably ayear shooting it. And we just
had a location which i i was adriver, that issue is high. And
show I was driving really everyplace we went out location,
(11:11):
which was down a river VIVA LAand I will up the water submit
size and around here I set so wekind of put that in a movie to
use that
Jason Connell (11:28):
same gimmick or the same terrain and the movie
Grease
Bud S. Smith (11:31):
as right after that. Yeah. After I Oh, wait.
Jason Connell (11:38):
I think Greece is actually sooner.
Bud S. Smith (11:41):
They enjoy what we Yeah,
Jason Connell (11:44):
no, no, you guys took it to a whole other level.
You showed a side of Los Angelesthat I didn't know existed. And
yeah, that chasing? I've got tosay that I've read so much
behind the scenes, but I'm justreading you were there. But was
it true that that was put offuntil the end just in case
someone got injured?
Bud S. Smith (12:02):
Just session?
Yeah. Pretty much I sit in thehardware location. Shoot that on
a weekend. So we will shoot itSaturday and Sunday and then
wrap it away and do somethingelse. So come back and say I saw
and Dash was belly is more ideasof what to do. And that was the
(12:31):
chase down a river bottom.
Comment from ever Joe was goingas fast as we could. And we're
horses wire sail and out of ariver bottom and went down. Then
(12:55):
we made a harvest had to go downto San Pedro and actually found
downtown. Downtown San Pedro.
And you couldn't tell thedifference. It was just a good
sanitation.
Jason Connell (13:12):
Absolutely. I noticed that there's a lot of
things that are in Long Beach inthat movie. Yeah.
Bud S. Smith (13:18):
But not a lot. The Song Song.
Jason Connell (13:20):
Yeah. So a second unit director, what were you
shooting? What was yourresponsibilities?
Bud S. Smith (13:26):
I had a seven year arrow, which meant I had to go
out and shoot live I was that Iwould shoot for high stages. And
you know, I would be shootingalong with Billy face and he
would be shooting an actor. AndI was shooting a stuntman and a
(13:47):
chase car. Because here's aCheyenne car chase, say who's
down to Aruba was trained. Andso this high has out run the
train. And it has a stunt guysdoing what's a zoo, which was
(14:08):
out running this train goingover this fast young lady they
went and champagne. And it'sjust as him. Yeah. I don't know,
if you tell us what's that allabout?
Jason Connell (14:26):
Oh, it's great.
And earlier, you had mentioneddocumentaries and just to kind
of catch up on myself I actuallyproduced and directed like 10
award winning documentaries. Icut my teeth on documentaries.
So I have a lot of respect forthem. And with documentaries,
you find the story in theediting a lot of times most of
the time. So I think it made youprobably a more astute editor.
For sure. Obviously in yourcredits speak for themselves.
(14:51):
And not to put me in your classby any means. You worked on some
of the greatest movies of alltime.
Bud S. Smith (14:59):
Yeah, I was Jana I Aspies via Ovation drive around
three very exciting places. Iwish alone for a few years. And
that's when i i wish highs thatfilmmaker. I had I been in
(15:23):
filmmaking but raishin andfilmmaker. And so I've finally
shy I've made her living. Andthat's why you're shy various
sets of film.
Jason Connell (15:37):
Yeah, all those scenes from to live and die in
LA had to really be exciting foryou because you were able to tap
into your love for car racing.
And it obviously led to one ofthe greatest car chase scenes
and American film history isdefinitely a crowning
achievement for that movie. I'vebrought it up for years. Because
a movie needs like that scenethat you can quickly just tell
(15:58):
someone about like, Oh, you gotto see till the night in LA,
this is a great car chasing,it's more than that the movie is
much more than that. And aboutthe movie, it's one of the first
times that I can recall that hasthat big pivotal change late in
the movie or you lose your leadactor. And it just continues on.
I mean, that's a device that isnot very common. And I know that
freak Ken had to shoot thiscrazy all ending. And maybe just
(16:21):
talk a little about that aboutjust how dramatic that was to
make a movie lose your lead, andalso how William freaking had to
fight for that, right?
Bud S. Smith (16:34):
We shine as different engines over has a
studio, and for years are one ofthe engines are still alive. So
we had to figure out how to dothat. So we went off and shot it
(16:54):
was to Alaska. And anyway, weshot that on a chaise in LA. And
Alaska, in shows was LA and weshot this is it. And Bailey Hey.
(17:15):
So it's fair for the producers.
And I say hey, so we didn't useit.
Jason Connell (17:23):
It's terrible. I No offense. I saw it on YouTube.
And I'm like, No, the movieworks the way it is. Yeah. What
did you think of that kind ofpivot in the movie at that point
in time to lose chance. And thatfashion in that very grotesque
fashion
Bud S. Smith (17:38):
in a way that's not having says die by having a
different engine. But we didn'trealize that we wanted to share
sewage shot in the face for thisisland. And wheezes and that's
why we The film went out.
Jason Connell (17:57):
I mean, but the film is called to live and die
in LA it's very fitted
Bud S. Smith (18:03):
that it was
Jason Connell (18:05):
and that's a great and then obviously he had
some great stars in that moviehad a young William Defoe, you
had John Turturro and I likedit. He also cast these two
relatively unknown so he justweren't caught up in their
Mystique as a star. And theylater became bigger names. I
mean, it William Peterson whowent on to have some success, of
course, but I love that he castthese relatively unknown They
(18:27):
had been together, acting inChicago and he found them there
and it was really smart. He madesome smart decisions along the
way. And there was also Valentinde Vargas was in the film and he
had a small role and to live anddie in LA. He was also great. Do
you know where Valentin was bornby chance? No, no Tulsa
(18:49):
Oklahoma. True story
Bud S. Smith (18:57):
maybe I should wait.
Jason Connell (19:00):
Wait a second. I stand corrected. I had it
flipped. He was bornAlburquerque he passed away in
Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Bud S. Smith (19:07):
Ah, so that was it?
Jason Connell (19:13):
Yes, exactly.
Yeah. So I had that flipped. Iremember looking this up when I
was researching the film and I'mlike, wait another Tulsa time,
but he actually passed away. AndTulsa. But yeah. And there was
other great characters in themovie. By the way. There was
great performances by SteveJames who passed away too soon.
Dean Stockwell was fantastic inthe movie as well. Yeah. Some
really, really wonderful actors,but I just think it's a movie
(19:35):
that holds up over time. It wasso fun to cover on our podcast,
and even the music even to get asong by Wing Chun who was huge
at the time. Yeah.
Bud S. Smith (19:49):
It is, and decided he wanted me to film. So he sent
him a squid and said why I firstfilm. And they did. And what
Bill it was trying to do it, ithadn't raced Fontana, right. So
(20:09):
he bombed LA and put them up andtook them over the Thai jail for
missing the film. And they spenta month. And they wrote his
music for the film. And Iwondered, anyway, I really liked
(20:30):
it. And I liked it. And that isI said, So it said,
Jason Connell (20:36):
the music is wonderful. It helps us the
pacing throughout the wholefilm. But I did read that freak
and said, Whatever you do, don'tmake a song called to live and
die in LA. And of course, theymade that track to the title.
Bud S. Smith (20:51):
But I said,
Jason Connell (20:53):
yeah, yeah, exactly. He kept it in there. So
yeah, it's a great, it's sofitting. And I gotta say
something else with that moviethat you just don't see. It
shows you how to makecounterfeit bills. Really,
essentially, it's like a lessonon how to do it.
Bud S. Smith (21:08):
I shot all right, that was second unit is
finishing on a sentence that welaid it in the film, and Billy
didn't have time to stop andshoot that song in church. So I
had a shot. I knew where he wasgonna put stuff in. Well on the
(21:32):
phone and show I was justthrough it and knew Hey, I have
put this stuff together. And wehad out and Palmdale warehouse.
It was pretty bizarre to say hi,mate nine. It was shot. So you
could do if you want to. Theyhad to do it on both sides.
Jason Connell (21:58):
Right? Well, how did you know how to do it? Did
you have these people on setthat showed you how to do it.
Bud S. Smith (22:04):
I was lucky enough to have done some research and I
found shoe found. That had beena rashes. We had our payload
chest to LA and hill that housesJoey brought his power foods in
(22:28):
and I wasn't sure where theywere. And they had this prayer
machine. And I put it up all ofus might shoot an arrow shirt.
And then Billy went back andputs a room's a photo shots. And
and you may say
Jason Connell (22:50):
oh, it looks great. When you see masters
played by William Defoe. Andhe's cutting the bills. And he's
doing all the behind the sceneshow to do it all the way up to
putting it in a dryer with pokerchips, the whole bit. And I even
read that some fake bills gotinto circulation. Was there some
truth to that?
Bud S. Smith (23:08):
Yeah, yeah. So it had to do as a prop. Boy, he was
the one ahead all of thecounterfeit money. And I said
his his Troy bells, and went toa liquor store and bought
(23:31):
santoon found lots ofcounterfeit. And I trashed it
all back to us. And we have aration for Halloween. Yeah, so
we had a we had Asians on thefilm. That kind of was our
chance neighborhood advisor. Andhe has a chef can stop them from
(23:54):
coming in.
Jason Connell (23:56):
Did you get a sense of those bills when you
actually held it in your handsand felt it? Does it feel like a
real bill? Does it look verypassable to you? I've never even
seen a counterfeit bill as faras I know. Anyway. The bills?
Yeah, the bills themselves ifDid you hold them and feel them?
And if you didn't know anybetter, would you recognize them
as phonies? No. Yeah, in themovie, they looked amazing. Of
(24:18):
course, I'm seeing a movie, butit's cool to hear up close and
personal that they obviouslycould pass for real money. Which
is
Bud S. Smith (24:25):
yes, they did.
Obviously he did. Yeah, he spent
Jason Connell (24:29):
them exactly.
They did use them. Now manymovies covered this subject
matter. And that's what I wasalways intrigued by. And it's a
movie that shows the darker sideof law enforcement really life
they'll break a million laws tobust one guy I enjoyed as a film
watch your film view or filmlover, but the ethical questions
(24:51):
they went against any andeverything that they should they
crossed every line and the moviealso feels like It's kind of a
self fulfilling prophecy in theway that chance loses his
partner. And then he loses hisown life. So then Vukovich is
the new guy in charge. And it'sjust going to keep going to the
next guy in a VUCA veteranprobably have a new partner,
(25:13):
he'll show him the ropes, andthen maybe he'll be often it's
this kind of continues tohappen.
Bud S. Smith (25:21):
light goes on.
Yeah, it would pass out. Youknow, yeah. His outfit, his
shirt and his heart and allthat. And then he was open to
rifles on.
Jason Connell (25:42):
Yeah, I did like that I liked the way he stepped
up from the nervous guy to beingthe guy. And yeah, now she's his
informant. And what just itstayed with me. And that's the
beauty of great filmmaking, youcan hold it up. 20 3040 years
later, it still works. I've toldso many people about it that had
never seen it. And then they goand watch it. And they're
(26:04):
riveted. Like, I had no ideathis movie was out there. And I
think because it wasn't as bigof a hit, as it probably should
have been, in my opinion. Butit's a little treasure that
definitely holds up becauseobviously yourself and frickin
and the cast and crew and it'sjust a great film soundtrack the
whole bit from head to toe. Socongratulations. Thank you for
(26:25):
putting that in the filmarchives for us, if you will.
And if you don't mind, I'd loveto pivot to this other movie
that I cover on a differentpodcast. It's a podcast called
Let's Talk Cobra Kai, that iseverything Karate Kid and the
new show Cobra Kai related. Andof course, that is the Karate
Kid. Which your editor andassociate producer on. That's
(26:49):
insane. I cannot believe this.
But how did that come about? Howdid you get a job working with
John G. Appleton. Rest in peace?
Bud S. Smith (26:57):
Oh, Ashley was Was she produces? Yeah. Oh, yes.
Yeah. And I, we hit. I hit I washim. And it was just a marriage.
Amazing heaven. And so he wentoff and dies. Yeah, he was a
(27:18):
survivor with his girlfriend.
And then he'll come back. Isthis died in a hotel. It was a
young guy who I know. Yes,wasn't his way.
Jason Connell (27:34):
Right. I read his autobiography several years ago
loved it. Then the HBO did awhole special on his story. So I
became a huge fan the way heworked with Elvis, and then
Frank Sinatra. And he was justthis producers producer. And he
movies like Ocean's 11. And ofcourse, he had a lot to do with
the Karate Kid, which launched ahuge franchise, but so you knew
(27:57):
him you got to work on thisfilm. But I'm telling you did
you know again, maybe not likethe exorcist or to live in LA.
But did you know how specialthis project was at the time?
Bud S. Smith (28:10):
No, I did not. I didn't have clues. I didn't have
a clue. But it was. So boy shinevia light head high school. And
I've been tested on and a fivegot into me. I was the horizon
(28:35):
issue. He showed her how to doit one of Hawaii championship.
Yeah, there is
Jason Connell (28:47):
I can imagine. So please tell me I mean, yeah.
What was it? What was thatjourney?
Bud S. Smith (28:52):
It says, Wait a while, right. They'll realize
you have to fill it out fill, asthey do realize that that was a
surprise. Should we put thisfive words
Jason Connell (29:09):
as your role as an associate producer on the
Karate Kid? What were you doingexactly in that role? Besides
the editor? We'll get to theeditor in a minute, but the
associate producer in you, whatwas your job?
Bud S. Smith (29:21):
Well, I had was to survive to elevate myself and
production. And so just being afilm show, I wanted to be like
associate producer somethingthat would elevate me. And yeah,
why shop and I was like friends,and he made me wherever,
(29:45):
wherever I was, and that was it.
Jason Connell (29:48):
Okay, okay. So the relationship and you got a
producer credit. But really,you're an editor on this film,
and I'm assuming that you haddidn't really find this movie in
the Edit because, I mean, it's asimple The story Yes, bullied
kid learns karate winstournament but you and I both
know it's much more magical thanthat. I mean, you had a great
(30:08):
team. You had the director JohnG. Allison, who did Rocky, and
it really has some tie ins toRocky. And of course, some
themes, if you will. Yes. BillConti. Exactly. Yeah. And Ralph
mazzio was coming off some greatmovies, one of which was the
outsiders, which was filmed inour hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
(30:30):
And he had the chops. He's agreat actor and Miyagi, played
by Pat. Marita would go on to benominated for an Oscar in his
incredible role of Mr. Miyagi.
So there was a lot of goodthings at play here. And there
was other editors, right? If I'mnot mistaken, are you the lead
editor? Or
Bud S. Smith (30:48):
I say who I had one person was okay, there sighs
my assistants, and I chose threeassistants. Anyway, we had
enough hateful zoos job,
Jason Connell (31:01):
but when you're in there editing and finding the
solution to the flying thechopsticks and all these funny
little things and moments andConte score, what was that
editing like that whole processfinding?
Bud S. Smith (31:16):
John Allison shoots a lot of film. So do you
have also his Jay's daily basis?
And shoot the best part shot andyou fail for the best pies have
ever seen as far as now is JohnAllison, but every one I have
famous US is lava. Jaikishan.
(31:47):
Five years for him. It wasalways trying to find this joy
and find a piece that fits it.
Jason Connell (31:55):
Speaking of Robert Downey senior he was also
in to live and die in LA whichwas nice.
Bud S. Smith (32:00):
Yeah, he was.
Yeah, he was a because of me. Iwas he was of the police Hasson.
Yeah. And
Jason Connell (32:12):
he was great in that role. Yeah,
Bud S. Smith (32:14):
it was just a soulless thing. But
Jason Connell (32:20):
okay, pivoting back to the Karate Kid. So
you're editing the movie, youhave all this abundance of
footage courtesy of Appleton.
And you start to pull out theright takes of each scene. And
you start putting it together.
And of course, we can't seescore. I'm sure it starts to
come to life. And there isbeautiful moments in this movie.
But it had to be exciting tofind the story in there. Yeah.
(32:43):
What was that? Like? I think Iread that Allison was also an
editor. He took an editingcredit. So he must. Yeah,
Bud S. Smith (32:50):
he said he's really a sloppy, hire an
assistant. But he was put shotshere. And so hey, I wouldn't
call him in.
Jason Connell (33:07):
Okay, fair enough. Well, I'm not I just saw
the credits. But you know, thisis why I'm talking to the man
that can set the story straight.
But so anyway, you're startingto put the story together. And I
mean, he already told me he hadno idea it would have this sort
of life, but for it to becomethe hit that it did. But
obviously, it has to be excitingto be part of a hit. It's
obviously something that'shappened in your career more
(33:28):
than a few times. But thismovie, I mean, it still works
today, this many years later,because this movie came out in
85, as did to live and die inLA. And in fact, it spawned
several sequels and it'slaunched his TV show in 2018.
That I don't know if you've paidattention but Cobra Kai after
going on Netflix and August iswas the number one show on
(33:50):
Netflix for several months. Soit all started with the Karate
Kid because the show brings backruff maggio, William Zabka
Martin Cove, and they'recontinuing the characters on 35
years later and I'm telling youit is really well done well
crafted. So not very often doyou see a show revisit something
(34:12):
and hitting the same notes andSeason Three comes out in
January. And it has become acrown jewel of Netflix. So you
might want to take a look at it.
Yeah.
Bud S. Smith (34:25):
Oh Cobra Kai COVID.
Jason Connell (34:27):
They took on the the moniker from the movie of
course the Cobra Kai dojo, andit starts to tell that story you
you see a different side toJohnny, Johnny Lawrence, played
by William Zabka get tounderstand his side more you see
him mature Daniel Russo.
Obviously we have no Mr. Miyagibecause Pat Morita passed away,
but it's beautifully done. wellcrafted is a younger generation
(34:50):
of Miyagi dough and Cobra Kaistudents and mixed with the
adult versions of the Russo andLawrence and of course, Martin
Cove is amazing as usual. He wasa great villain as I was growing
up and it just hated it. Itfeared the Cobra Kai dojo. And I
mean it works today, obviously,as I just pointed out because of
(35:12):
the show, but you know what elseI noticed from that movie when
it came out it had a huge impacton probably martial arts across
the country. In a positive way.
It probably made karate dojo isopen up all over the country.
Bud S. Smith (35:26):
Yeah, well, Ash was supposed to do.
Jason Connell (35:29):
That's exactly right. Yeah, this
Bud S. Smith (35:31):
is why I was with fire. La, here and I have a
relationship and, and that's whyit is right here.
Jason Connell (35:45):
I always wanted to meet him. And unfortunately,
I didn't. But it's reallyamazing to hear that you guys
had this bond and friendship.
And that's really special.
Bud S. Smith (35:54):
If it wasn't a bearish position. If you wanted
to boys, right. Yeah. So what hewas he loves to come. And watch
me work. That was one of his Jswitch. Yeah.
Jason Connell (36:11):
Why everything I read about him. He was just a
larger than life character andanything he touched turned to
gold. It's amazing, right?
Bud S. Smith (36:19):
Yeah. Yeah, everything is it was when I was
a script. Yeah, I love T shirts.
This is visually visualization,and hash and addressing it turns
out it all. So I remember whenwe went to Favier, we went to
(36:47):
Jim for how to favorite summermovies here. And there was full
edge. And when after that wasall over it. They were clapping.
You know, I was out in the lobbywaiting for people streaming out
(37:09):
of the seer just fucking fallslights. I mean, I thought it was
hilarious. So at that point, hehad a hit on his hands. And if
she changed last time, lasttime, million dollar film, and
(37:30):
that was a half a half a show aone shot.
Jason Connell (37:36):
I gotta tell you, I was one of those kids. I was
14 when the movie came out. Andhad I been in that screening, it
would have lost my mind. I sawit. I saw it in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
right after it came out. And itwas a game changer. For me. It
was the right age. It hit mevery deeply. And when you're
young, and you see that andyou're very impressionable, and
(37:57):
you see a movie that way that isabout young people dealing with
problems and overcoming them andbullied and rising above the
situation. Yeah, it'striumphant. It's something I'll
never forget. And the movie hasreal magic to it.
Bud S. Smith (38:12):
Yeah, right. It meant a lot to it says time?
Jason Connell (38:15):
Yes, it did. Yes, it did. And in fact, a wine
shop, I read that he was inproduction on the sequel 10 days
after the original movie wasreleased. So yes, he was very
aware that he had himself a hita hit franchise. And he was
exploiting it for sure. Yeah.
But
Bud S. Smith (38:32):
he knew I was off doing something. It was really a
twist and it in. And I had nodesire to go on with another
device. Right. So that was myproblem, because I probably own
pilot.
Jason Connell (38:52):
Well, just to pivot really quickly, not as in
depth those the two movies, Ireally wanted to get in depth,
and thank you, but for your timeon those. I just wanted to hit a
couple other movies that werebig to me. And obviously it's
want to hear just a little bitabout but you edited some kind
of wonderful, directed by HowardDeutsch and written by John Yes,
that was a great film as wellcoming of age movie, Eric
(39:14):
Stoltz. And so what was thatexperience like?
Bud S. Smith (39:17):
The choice was not was considered that we were on a
set where I said, I'm gonna showyou a lot, but who is shooting?
So every day, as the day says,and he was shoot so far when I
(39:42):
filmed that people were asleepand yes, 50 cents or something.
So that was how is judge who isone of my favorite investors.
Jason Connell (39:56):
So your memory of some kind of wonderful was a ton
of film to go Throw.
Bud S. Smith (40:01):
So how wonderful was just film of us? That high
school? Yeah.
Jason Connell (40:11):
Well, I'd had that John Hughes magic about it.
I did like it. He wrote it.
Obviously he didn't direct it aswe've talked about, but it's
still enjoyable. It still holdsup. It really captures that era
and the 80s, which John Hugheswritten movies did. And great
soundtrack again, had a lot ofyoung bands, and obviously, it's
made for a younger audience thismovie was, but I always enjoyed
it. But then this led to thenext year. It's the only
(40:35):
directing credit I saw for you,but it was Johnny be good. In
1988 I saw this movie in thetheater bud
Bud S. Smith (40:44):
jovia.
Jason Connell (40:45):
Yes. Anthony Michael Hall, Uma Thurman,
Robert Downey, Jr. What was thatlike directing this movie?
Bud S. Smith (40:53):
As soon as I was a townie shear bath on a slope,
you know, way back, way backwhen. And Julia was just a
little boy. So time. And he wasone of the films his dad called
lb, it was about jobs at town.
And painful is a job. All thejobs table, and vice versa. So
(41:23):
the other virus is yours. Theyfirst film show if you have a
chance. Yeah. Yeah. Say forsomething of it. It still holds
up.
Jason Connell (41:43):
But being a director on this film. Did you
enjoy that role? I mean, you hadalways been around these other
directors, you had been aneditor, associate producer, lots
of different things. But this isthe first time I'm assuming that
you are. You're helming thewhole thing. Did you enjoy the
job? Was it a fun, enjoyableexperience? Or was it just a
(42:04):
nightmare?
Bud S. Smith (42:05):
It really was.
Because this is I asked thisabout locations. And I had
worked with a wild personbefore. And that may have have
do whatever I want. And show Iwill locations for about a
month. And I chasis is mybackground for these young kids.
(42:31):
I like to say Shire. And thatwas my base. I shot the main
film. And that was all good. Imean, it was all good for me.
You know, when we put it alltogether, I realized that we
didn't have a great film. Wejust had an okay film. And we
(42:54):
have fun. Have fun. exciting towork with Favier I just have a
lot of different things I have Ijust pretty much has the same
material. And I had a shoot in ashooting last time was a certain
(43:18):
amount of money. And it wasokay. I mean I I asked to do it.
Jason Connell (43:26):
Yeah, well, I was such a fan of Hall and Downey
Jr. And they had teamed up priorand weird science. And then both
of them went on to be onSaturday Night Live. And Hall
was like the youngest castmember on that show at the time.
And I remember wanting to loveit. And I remember just liking
it. You know, I thought oh, it'senjoyable. I like them. And
they're fun. But you're right.
It didn't have the stayingpower. The stakes weren't as
(43:47):
high but it was a lot of thesekinds of movies, a fun little
comedy in the 80s. And that hadto be a lot of fun to do. And
then obviously, you went on todo sell for more and I just want
to mention one more becausethere's a tie in here but was
dark man 1990. The Samory Yeah,were you editor supervising
(44:08):
editor. And of course the leaddark man was Larry Drake, born
and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
And he spoke but I swear to youat my high school graduation, he
did the commencement speech,Mary Drake rest in peace. We
lost him too early,unfortunately. But that movie
was kind of a big deal and SamRaimi went on to become a very
(44:30):
prolific director. Any goodtakeaways, thoughts on dark man
Bud S. Smith (44:37):
says I wasn't on the film the shot. I was on
vacation. I was up in loughreajust doing nothing. And I had a
call from my agent saying thatSam very well, we found his film
called jars. And so I went backI sell I go back. And I traded a
(45:05):
film on Tuesday. And it was justa fish hit. In my opinion, so I
wasn't working. So I say, Oh,I'll say is this on? And I did.
And I was four months ofwhatever. And yeah, and the
(45:26):
shapes of Favier and with Favierand wells are really well, yeah,
Julio was really happy with thatI had. That was kind of a it
was, for me, it was kind of aSam Raimi went on fish or fell.
I don't know what he's donesince then. But nothing to my
(45:49):
knowledge.
Jason Connell (45:50):
After dark man, he did a great film called Army
of Darkness, which I reallyenjoyed. A simple plan came out
98 So army darkness was 92 asimple plan is a great movie.
They needed Spider Man, SpiderMan to Spider Man three than
Drag Me To Hell. So he became apretty big director. And it all
(46:12):
probably started or hinged onthe success of dark man, which
was a hit. And I remember seeingthe theater and enjoying it. So,
bud, you probably saved the daybecause that first cut of dark
man would have probably tankedat the box office.
Bud S. Smith (46:26):
Yeah. Well, that was my Sam Raimi.
Jason Connell (46:31):
That's great. You know, I just realized I have to
bring up one last movie. I skipit at the top because we were
talking freakin and I'd be sadif I didn't at least mention it
because it is an iconic movie.
And that is Flashdance. whichcame out in 1983. I can't.
Flashdance. You won a BAFTA. Andyou were nominated for an Oscar.
So that's two nominations,exorcist and dance. So what was
(46:53):
that? Like? Were you on set withFlashdance? Or were you just
Bud S. Smith (47:00):
very rough time it was five. And he called me I
wish you in South County. Andhis parents want to have a meal
with me and the USA. And so Iwas at a hotel wherever. And I
(47:23):
eventually dresser and it wasjust Hi. I have no idea what to
say. And I didn't know what thisauthor to ask about. And Jay and
I have worked here. And so hetrusts you raise your what, what
(47:43):
I used to do. And so I signedon. There was a pitch for the
shoot. And I was in New York.
There's in New York. And I wasand I say this is shit. Yeah
(48:05):
I wish that I could. Because itwas well that was supposed to be
a wonderful gesture. They have atopcoat and I realized that she
had been asked and and andanyway, that was a sigh of flash
(48:31):
in
Jason Connell (48:34):
it Sure yeah Jennifer bills are coming out
role it's one scene of coursethe maniac dance number. So
you're the editor. What was thatlike putting this iconic scene
together? Did you know you hadmagic in the bottle?
Bud S. Smith (48:50):
Yeah, this is my vision is to see film a
different way I'm gonna shoot itmay air was done in her law. And
her house it was showed off on ashow her foot wrapping her feet
and Chaffin and then should havefull body and it has to be very
(49:17):
helpful for his stunt double.
The dance level was reallygreat. And Jennifer, it was only
when she shook her head and yousee her hair flat back and
forth. That was about allGenesis. And Dasho was as a
whole. So that was flashingYeah,
Jason Connell (49:41):
we also had that what a feeling song and the
movie, also a huge song. But alot of music, a lot of dancing,
a lot of choreography, but yeah,it worked. And it's held up for
this many years later. So Ican't help but think that you
had something huge to do withthese Movies beyond these great
(50:02):
directors and actors and crew.
You played a role in thesemovies success without a doubt.
Bud S. Smith (50:09):
Yeah. Well, I said so shoot, good job. Not to toot
my own horn. It's just I wasbrought up during Jack's
administration. And then forless scientific issues and
measures ation of watches in zoowas filmed. If you have no slip,
(50:29):
no, nothing, just a bunch offootage. Exactly. That was my
background.
Jason Connell (50:36):
So as far as directors you worked with, I
didn't get into cat people, butyou work with Paul Schrader, and
of course, we talked aboutAppleton and you are great
friends with Friedkin. And sowho was the most interesting
director you work with, or thetoughest director to work with?
Bud S. Smith (50:49):
Well, I said Billy face, he was your most
imaginative. Here's her thing,and maybe read it and you will
then by the way, he shot a lot.
Especially when you're inMexico, though, for sure sound,
the love shots. And he was justgreat to work with, probably
(51:18):
because I was with him indocumentaries. And we went off
and five years later, we hookedup, and I had Schleyer run with
him. That was
Jason Connell (51:33):
Do you guys still talk today?
Bud S. Smith (51:35):
Oh, yeah. Now, shoot, Father knows.
Jason Connell (51:42):
He's still working. He's still working?
Bud S. Smith (51:46):
Well, we're still both alive. So that's about live
and say
Jason Connell (51:50):
absolutely.
Absolutely. So but how do youspend your days you watch
anything interesting. On TV now?
Bud S. Smith (51:57):
Kind of fish oh, so speed that I had in my
stroke. And I had operations.
And I hear if I shop there has acut my child in half, and my jaw
has all been the place. And I'vejust been an old filmer.
Jason Connell (52:20):
Wow. Well, congrats on beating cancer. When
did that all happen?
Bud S. Smith (52:25):
Almost four years ago, three years ago, for sure.
And when I saw hit me, I had noidea who I was air for. I
realize how lucky I was workingon a daily face. And he put me
in touch with UCLA. And UCLA hasa best surgeons. And when they
(52:50):
got me and UCLA they told me apipe and patch me up. So I'm
still alive because of that. Butthat was Billy freeze and got me
feel like
Jason Connell (53:06):
is there pain? Or do you not have pain? Oh,
Bud S. Smith (53:09):
no, no. I just had chocolate. And I had it they
have a central of my jaw. Right.
And so I hit shoe because I kindof unless shoot babies Yeah,
Jason Connell (53:27):
soup or shakes or? Yeah. Okay. You have a great
fighting spirit. You soundgreat. How young are you? If I
may ask? A 383. Wow. It'sawesome. That's awesome.
Bud S. Smith (53:45):
So five, so it's been a long time. I've done a
lot in my life.
Jason Connell (53:50):
You sure haven't, you may not have become a pro
racecar driver. But we're allbetter for the career that you
did choose. I want to thank youfor everything you've done and
not to mention, you've given memore than an hour of your time.
And it was a real pleasure.
Really, my pleasure. Thank youman. Take care.
Bud S. Smith (54:12):
Alright. Bye.
Jason Connell (54:15):
So thank you so much for listening and please be
sure to subscribe to the let'stalk Cobra Kai podcast and the
let's talk cover Guy YouTubeLive Channel. You can also
really help us by giving theshow a five star rating on Apple
podcast and for all yourlisteners and enjoy sharing your
thoughts. You can leave us areview on Apple podcast send us
a direct message or post acomment on any let's talk Cobra
(54:37):
Kai social media platform. Wealso highly recommend checking
out our other podcast andvisiting just curious media.com
No Mercy
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.