In a career spanning 38 years, script supervisor Ana Maria Quintana has worked with some of Hollywood’s top directors, including Steven Spielberg. Quintana was in Malta recently on the initiative of director Rebecca Cremona and under the auspices of the Malta Film Commission to deliver an open session and master class on script supervision.
How did it all start? When Quintana was 17, she went on a date to a movie. That movie was A Man and a Woman starring Anouk Aimée. “In the movie Aimée is a script supervisor,” recalls Quintana. “And of course, her being such a classic beauty, I thought I wanted to look like that and wear those clothes and do what she does!” And the seed was planted.
Born in Chile, Quintana moved to New York aged 12, then later to Los Angeles. A couple of years after the ‘Aha!’ moment inspired by Aimée, Quintana enrolled in Los Angeles City College, taking psychology, painting, the study of Dante’s Inferno… and cinema. That led to her working on a couple of student films; and although her dream was to work on documentaries she had no idea how to get into the business.
Quintana was advised to check out the Friday listings of movies in production in the Variety newspaper and simply say she was a script supervisor. “I used to call and call and everyone would hang up on me,” she remembers with a sigh, “until one day I was asked if I speak Spanish and I said yes... and was promptly hired.”
That film was Devil’s Rain (1975), which was being shot in Mexico with a Mexican crew, so a bilingual script supervisor was necessary. Quintana was terrified, because she actually had no idea about the job in any way, sense or form.
I have to know the script better than anybody
Luckily, the crew were seasoned film people who had worked with such greats as John Ford and John Huston and thanks to the invaluable font of knowledge accessible to her, she made it through.
From then on, “it just evolved”, says Quintana, matter-of-factly, “and as it evolved, I learnt more, and even though I didn’t have the schooling or the proper training, I had the love of it.”
So what is a script supervisor?
Quintana takes a deep breath. “A script supervisor is in charge of the continuity of hair, make up, wardrobe, sets, story, and anything that has to do with the continuity of the story. We are in charge of all daily production reports. We are responsible for all that the camera is doing, what was shot, what lenses were used, length of each take, which were the good takes.
“I have to know the script better than anybody. Was the dialogue said exactly like it was written? If it was changed, what was it changed to? We are present during rehearsals for note-taking. We are responsible for helping the director, and ensuring that everything that is supposed to be done for the day is done. You give actors lines when they don’t know their lines.”
The list goes on, and what makes it all the more extraordinary is that it is a one-person show. And so the pressure is quite high. That person has to rely on their powers of observation, attention to detail, the ability to focus on what is happening all the time and the ability to listen.
The importance of this job cannot be underestimated: “We are representing the editorial department on set, and all our paperwork and notes go to them.”
After Devil’s Rain, Quintana was offered more films in Mexico and slowly built a strong-enough reputation that got her hired on jobs with directors like Karol Reisz, Roger Spottiswoode and John Schlesinger.
Eventually, Quintana was called for an interview with Steven Spielberg. “He had turned down many people, and he said yes to me,” she says. “I did the first one with him, Hook, and I thought I’d probably never work with him again because I didn’t think he liked me,” she confesses with honesty.
Quintana was clearly wrong, because she was then asked to do Jurassic Park, followed by Lost World. “Anyway, 13 movies later...”, she says with a smile. She is clearly honoured and proud to have that on her résumé. “Spielberg is one of the greats. He’s one of the most wonderful people to watch at work and to see him create his movies is amazing. Thanks to him, he opened a doorway to other directors,” she says, citing among others Cameron Crowe, Barry Levinson, Sam Mendes and Warren Beatty (“I love Warren!” she exclaims).
Quintana looks flustered when we ask for her favourite memories on set, saying there are too many to mention. She does cite Saving Private Ryan (1998) as being one that had the most impact on her emotionally.
Quintana has just wrapped The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2, with director Francis Lawrence. She pauses for a moment to sombrely remember actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman, whom she describes as an amazing, bright actor.
So, what’s next?
“I’m unemployed,” she says with a laugh, although she really has nothing immediately lined up. She is unfazed, however. “If nothing comes up I’ll go back to commercials to keep me going.”
Doubtlessly, on the strength of her résumé alone, it won’t be long before a major director comes a-calling.