The Omen
Lee Remick falls from a balcony… It was a very low- budget film, so everything we did we prepared well in advance. We were going to put her in a body harness attached to a crane. But she said, “My husband is an assistant director and he said none of these things are foolproof. I’m not doing it.” I said, “It shoots tomorrow!” John Richards, the special effects guy, said, “There’s something I’ve always wanted to try…” We ended up putting the floor on the wall. We put Lee on a dolly on the floor in front of the camera, and the dolly had a little turntable. She starts with her face right up against the lens. As we dolly her away she flails her arms and we turn the turntable so it goes right up against the wall. As it stops — bang! — we cut to the real floor. We did the last three- inch drop of her face, because she was in the foreground.