“He was no businessman but he was an incredible artist–and not just as a director. Try putting a pencil or a paintbrush in his hand, sit back and wait for something remarkable,” said Paul Babb of director Victor Haboush, who passed away peacefully last month at his home in Santa Monica. He was 85.
Babb, who’s executive producer of Rhythm+Hues Commercial Studios, Los Angeles, enjoyed a rich history with Haboush, filling the alluded to business acumen void for the director for many years.
Back when Babb was at Foote, Cone & Belding, Los Angeles, as executive producer, he had several producers working on jobs directed by Haboush. Later Babb would serve as exec producer running production house The Haboush Company when it was part of the EUE Screen Gems family of companies. And when Babb went on to Paramount Studios to launch its commercialmaking division, Paramount Images, Haboush was the first director that Babb brought into the Paramount fold. Babb and Haboush had over eight years together on the production company side of the business and remained good friends until the director’s passing.
“I consider it a gift to have worked with Vic,” related Babb, who noted that Haboush served his country with distinction, having been a helmsman on one of the landing crafts at Normandy on D-Day.
Haboush came out of a pioneering class at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He first established himself in animation, starting as a layout artist for Disney, painting backgrounds for such classics as the 1954 Oscar-winning best short film Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, and features Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians.
Haboush then broadened into live-action, becoming an accomplished commercials director with a mix of straight live action as well as combo jobs meshing live and animation. Haboush had more than 1,500 spots to his credit, including work for Schlitz malt liquor (with the famous bull), Hefty (featuring Jonathan Winters), the Levi’s spot in which jeans are herded like cattle, the early Keebler Cookies fare, a series of State Farm ads featuring insurance agents but with a unique directorial perspective, live-action/animation combo work introducing Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and the long-running, frenetic “jumping dogs” spots for Kibbles ‘n Bits.
“Vic was one of the go-to guys in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s for commercials,” said Babb. “His range–from packaged goods to cars to comedy to kids to animals–made him something very rare today, a generalist doing 30-plus days a year.”
Freelance producer Jon Derovan, who maintains Crusty Pup Pictures in the Bay Area, served as Haboush’s producer for the last eight years of the director’s career. “Victor allowed me to be a creative producer,” said Derovan. “He brought me into the creative process beyond the nuts and bolts of the business….He was generous. He was open to good ideas no matter where they came from–and he was quick to credit the person who came up with the idea. He would never take credit for an idea that wasn’t his.”
Haboush is survived by his wife Monica, three children–Auguste, Cedric and Laila–and six grandchildren.
“Se7en” Turns 30, Gets A Special Restoration From David Fincher For Its Re-Release
For David Fincher, seeing “Se7en” in 4K was an experience he can only describe as harrowing. That or a high school reunion.
“There are definitely moments that you go, ‘What was I thinking?’ Or ‘Why did I let this person have that hairdo’?” Fincher said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
He’s OK with the film being a product of its time in most respects. But some things just could not stand in high-definition resolution.
“It was a little decrepit, to be honest,” said Fincher. “We needed to resuscitate it. There are things you can see in 4K HDR that you cannot see on a film print.”
Ever the perfectionist, he and a team got to work on a new restoration of the film for its 30th anniversary re-release. This weekend the restored “Se7en” will play on IMAX screens for the first time in the U.S. and Canada, and on Jan. 7, the 4K UHD home video version will be available as well.
The dark crime thriller written by Andrew Kevin Walker and starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as a pair of detectives looking for a serial killer was somewhat of a career-reviver for Fincher, whose directorial debut “Alien 3” had not gone well. “Se7en” was not a sure thing: It was made for only $34 million (and only got that when Fincher managed to persuade studio execs to give up $3 million more). But it went on to earn more than $327 million, not accounting for inflation, and continues to influence the genre.
Fincher has over the years overseen several restorations of the film (including one for laser disc) but decided this needed to be the last. It’s why he insisted on an 8K scan that they could derive the 4K from. He wanted to ensure that it wouldn’t have to be repeated when screens get more... Read More