In his many speaking opportunities before groups and organizations, the audience often asks Micky questions about his life and career. Below are the most commonly asked questions and Micky's responses. Who were the most influential people in your life? What was your favorite film project? What were other challenging films you worked on? What do you consider your greatest professional achievement(s)? What was your greatest personal achievement(s)? Do you regret not holding out to direct more features than you did? You traveled a lot for your work. Do you have any favorite places that are near and dear to you? What is the role of the second unit director? How, if any, has the role of second unit director changed since you started second unit work? Do you have a general idea or feeling that a film is going to be a success from the beginning? Would you like to see the second unit receive more recognition? What would be your words of wisdom to aspiring second unit directors? To what do you attribute your professional success? What was the best day ever in your professional life? What is the best time or best part of making a film? How much input does a second unit director have in the overall vision of the project? What is the most unfortunate change in the film industry you have observed? What is the most fortunate industry change you have observed? If you could sum up one reason why you stayed in the film industry for so long what would it be? Writing a memoir is so different than directing a film. What did you learn from that experience? Who were the most influential people in your life?      I would respond to this question in two parts: (1) those close to me and part of my personal life, and (2) those I have been involved with during my years in the film industry.      On the personal side these individuals include: Laurie, my wife; Esther, my first wife; Tricia and Sandy, my daughters; Pat, my brother; my sons-in-law, Larry and Gordon; and my five grandsons Mark, Scott, Brent, Michael and Ty.      On the industry side, the most influential person was Mr. DeMille who gave me my biggest break, was there for me at critical turning points in my career and was both a mentor and a father figure. Others who were influential because I always learned something professionally are identified in My Magic Carpet of Films and include great directors, producers and actors of their times. What was your favorite film project?      That's always a tough question to answer and I hesitate to pick one in particular. I usually say, "Let’s rephrase your question and ask, 'Which presented the greatest challenge?'"      The answer has to be Patton. Franklin Schaffner was the director, Frank McCarthy was producer, Chico Day was unit production manager, and my boss for many years at Paramount, Frank Caffey, was line producer.      The second unit on Patton was a movie of its own. Franklin coordinated what was to be shot by the first and second units. After many weeks of location scouting we had our first big roundtable production meeting with the studio "brass" in attendance. We all had our scripts ready and open to mark what were to be first or second unit shots. It seemed all I heard was Franklin’s voice repeatedly saying, "second unit," "second unit," "second unit." At the close of that meeting we all realized this was going to be a big one! What were other challenging films you worked on?      There are several films that come to mind. They include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, directed by George Roy Hill. George asked us to do things that had never been done before. Also the Indiana Jones trilogy directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas. You may recall the truck chase from Raiders of The Lost Ark, and the tank chase from The Last Crusade. These required lots of planning, coordination and skill to pull off. What do you consider your greatest professional achievement(s)?      To answer this question I would have to say that depends on what time in my life this question covers.      If it pertains to my pre-adulthood years, I’d say working as a successful child actor during the days of silent films, along with my brother, Pat and with some greats on both sides of the camera: great directors like Mr. DeMille, D.W. Griffith, Sam Wood, Arthur Rosson and Robert Leonard; great actresses like Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, Blanche Sweet and Mary Miles Minter; and great actors like Jack Holt, John Gilbert, Harry Carey, Tom Mix, and Buck Jones.       If it pertains to my later years, I would say the fact that I knew my craft, continued to learn (a necessity in the film business) and was still in demand until I retired.       If it pertains to my entire career, I would say that I have been blessed with working with some of the top professionals in the industry and was able to work on and contribute to many films that became film classics. What was your greatest personal achievement(s)?      My greatest personal achievements, I am sure, were in my mid-life. Just making ends meet, having a loving family, and being able to provide for my two wonderful daughters. Those daughters have given me five grandsons and now I have great-grandchildren. In my later years, having a wonderful second marriage to Laurie would be at the top of my list. Do you regret not holding out to direct more features than you did?      This refers to my getting out of directing features and TV episodes to get involved in second unit directing. The answer is, “No, I don’t.” I’ve been very happy and have been kept constantly busy directing second unit. I’m sure that this decision made it possible for me to be associated with some of the best producers and directors in the business and work on some of the biggest films, some that became classics. This decision and the reputation I built as a second unit director also made it possible for me to pick and choose my projects. Perhaps, if I had just directed, the longevity of my career as a director in demand might have been different. You traveled a lot for your work. Do you have any favorite places that are near and dear to you?      Having filmed all over the world, under many different conditions and situations, it is hard to pick out any place in particular. In scouting locations I have had opportunities to see and discover places one would never see as a tourist.       I do love to travel and discover new places, meet new people and experience new cultures as part of my work. When I am not filming, my favorite place is at home with my family in Malibu, California. What is the role of the second unit director?      The role of the second unit director should be to never let the audience know what the second unit shot. To direct a second unit I always felt one must have a complete understanding with the first unit director and the producer of what their vision is for the film and their expectations. This can only be accomplished by having meetings prior to the start of the film and going over the script. Numerous surveys to check out locations that both units will be shooting must be made. Discussions with the director of photography of the first unit as to the overall look he and the director are trying to put on the screen must be made. As second unit director, I also always work very closely with the production designer.      The primary purpose of the second unit should be to shoot sequences using photo doubles or stunt doubles that will enable the first unit director more time to shoot using the principal actors. The second unit director will shoot any action sequences where the principal actors may be in danger.      Usually the second unit works with a scaled down number of technicians and staff. However, this does not always apply. It depends on the type of film and its script requirements. Patton is an example of the second unit crew and staff at times being larger than the first unit’s. This made life very exciting for the second unit director!      Usually the decision to use a second unit is not made until a shooting schedule and scene breakdown has been made to determine the number of days, how many locations there are and what other sequences are necessary for the film. The scope and size of the film usually determines if storyboards are needed.      Storyboards are a series of drawings usually done by a storyboard artist from the art department. They show as close as possible the action described for in the script. Suggestions from the first and second unit directors are taken and enhance the action. Some directors follow the storyboards to the letter, while others, like Steven Spielberg, use them as a guide. The latter directors are willing to allow changes if conditions warrant or the change will make the scene better.      Second units can travel to distant locations to shoot establishing shots using photo doubles, sometimes using stunt doubles to set up action sequences. Sequences with the principal actors may then be completed back at the studio, where close angles are cut into the footage to make the sequences work. This process eliminates many staff and crew from having to travel, thus saving time, transportation and living expenses. How, if any, has the role of second unit director changed since you started second unit work?      From when I started back in the business in the early 1930s to the present day, the second unit has become a lot larger part of the filmmaking process. This is due to the films of today being filled with more action, more special effects, more photography involving distant locations where there is a need for establishment shots, photo doubles and stunt people doubling as the principals.       When I returned to work at the studio from being a child actor to becoming a prop man, I recall that there were second units used on such films as DeMille’s Cleopatra, with Arthur Rosson the second unit director. Some of DeMille’s films required distant locations using doubles. The sequences were completed later in the studio. The “syncing-up” of the second unit’s film with that shot in the studio was pretty good. In the later years most directors shot as much as possible in live action, doing away almost entirely with “transparency filming.” Today, second unit has become a more integral part of filmmaking. In most cases, the second unit helps cut down the shooting time of the first unit making it possible for the director to spend more time with and attention to the principal actors. Do you have a general idea or feeling that a film is going to be a success from the beginning?      Like a good recipe, a film project is made up of a number of ingredients that must come together and be blended just right. First and foremost is a good script. Next in importance is the Director. You know when someone like a Spielberg is involved, the chances of a successful film are increased. Then you have your cast and other support people who add their expertise to the director’s vision. When you read a script you usually get a general feeling that there is potential there. Mostly, you never really know until after the film is released. Would you like to see the second unit receive more recognition?      I think any one likes to be recognized for his or her work and contributions to the final product. I also feel that when the key second unit people agree to shoot second unit they should know that the reason they are there is to do a job and not take away “the glory” from the first unit director and his or her crew.      The reason some first unit directors shy away from using the second unit is that they feel they won’t get all the credit for directing the film. This doesn’t hold true for some top directors. They have no fear of losing any credit for directing a good film. Most are well established and are already recognized for their work. As I have said before, the audience should not know what footage the second unit shot. What would be your words of wisdom to aspiring second unit directors?      Learn all you can from observing what goes on during the period you are working on any film in any job category prior to saying, “I’m now a second unit director.”      There is always much to learn, no matter what you are working on, be it first unit, second unit features, or TV. I’ve worked with the best and always say I hope I learned just a little from them. I’ve also learned from the best what not to do! To what do you attribute your professional success?      My success may have come about due to a combination of fate and timing, an early start in the business and to my attitude. Fate took a hand when my family moved to Santa Barbara and my brother Pat and I found ourselves meeting key individuals — some destined to become legends — in the infancy of the film industry. When we moved to what became Hollywood, I was fortunate to have an incredible run as a child star and actor and later transition smoothly from in front of to behind the camera. I progressed from prop man to several levels of director in both film and the emerging technology of television. My attitude contributed to my success because I always believed in (and still believe in) learning. By observing, I learned what to do and what not to do. I also never worried about “career” and what others thought. I sometimes took what appeared to others to be a step backward to ultimately go forward. I was not competitive, but always collaborative. I just tried to do work that I enjoyed and did it to the best of my abilities given the individual situations on each film project. What was the best day ever in your professional life?      This would have been the day I stood in front of Mr. DeMille, in his office, and asked for a job back in pictures. He said “Yes” and I was able to make the transition from child actor to Prop Man. The rest, as they say, is history. Who knows where I would be today if he had said, “No.” What is the best time or best part of making a film?      This depends on where you are in the process of making a film. It is always a great moment when you finish a film on time and on budget. But it’s also great when you are able, as second unit director, to start a film project at the beginning of the process, giving your input and becoming a truly collaborative team. And, finally, it’s a great feeling to see the final product when it is shown to audiences. How much input does a second unit director have in the overall vision of the project?      This depends entirely on the director. The best and most confident directors bring in the second unit director from the beginning and welcome the input. The less confident directors often bring in the second unit very late in the process and then the role of the second unit director is often that of “fixer,” having to solve problems that have been created because input was not received early on in the process. What is the most unfortunate change in the film industry you have observed?      There have been many unfortunate changes since I began in it, and more specifically, since I became a second unit director. Three changes come to mind: (1) too much emphasis on special effects and not enough on a strong story and well-developed characters you care about; (2) taking the magic and mystique out of the behind-the-scenes activity. Having entertainment shows and magazines tell too much about what goes on in moviemaking and often telling and even showing the work before the film is ever released is unfortunate. Have you ever felt that you had already seen a movie before you actually saw it because you may have seen key scenes in the making or in an advertising trailer? This knowledge on the part of the audience spoils the moviegoing experience. Lastly, (3) too much attention is paid to movie box-office grosses as a rating of quality and success, whereas not enough attention is paid to the quality of the story and acting. What is the most fortunate industry change you have observed?      Technical advancements, when used correctly. If you can dream it, you can find a way to get it on to the screen. There are better film speeds that make the work easier. The cameras are smaller and more agile, going where they could never have gone before. Computers can provide special effects and speedy editing. Technology can even allow a director to be shooting a picture halfway around the world and see and approve the work of his editor, editing film from his last picture, working in another city. Steven Spielberg did this while shooting Schindler’s List and editing Jurassic Park. Technology is a wonderful thing when used for the right reasons. If you could sum up one reason why you stayed in the film industry for so long what would it be?      They kept calling and I kept saying, “Yes!” Writing a memoir is so different than directing a film. What did you learn from that experience?      At first the idea seemed very foreign to me and a bit intimidating. But over time I found the process of writing and publishing a memoir has many similarities to making a film. There was the "story" and finding the right "spine" to hang the story on, and finding the right content in my memories for the "story arcs." And then there were many, many drafts, just as in script development. While I had often read that writing a book was a solitary endeavor, I chose to make my experience more like the motion picture business--a collaborative one. Although I wrote my own story, there were plenty of family, friends and colleagues to contribute their thoughts and feedback along the way. I even had a graphics designer help place my draft pages into a book-like format as I went along so I could visualize each chapter as if it were a series of scenes on a storyboard. This helped to create a director's-like "rough cut" of the yet-to-be edited final book, complete with photos and exhibits placed where they helped propel the written storyline. Just like in the film business I also needed a "studio" to produce it, a "distributor" to take it to market and a "theater" to show it. I found that expertise in the kind folks at the entertainment niche publisher BearManor Media and in the distributor Ingram, a book wholesaler, and in the individual bookstores that carry my book. Like a film, from concept to the finished product took a very long time, in my case almost an entire decade. I am pleased that the finished book looks and reads as I had originally envisioned.      The process of documenting one's life can be an eye opener. There is nothing like looking at the whole of one's life examining: the just-in-time opportunities that appeared, the turning points, the amazing people whose lives intersected with your own, the historical context in which you lived your most memorable days and the role that hard work, luck and destiny played.