Rick Schmidlin

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Rick Schmidlin (b. 1954, Paterson, New Jersey) is a U.S. producer/director/silent film scholar, whose work has focused on restorations, reconstructions and documentaries.

Rick Schmidlin produced a Special Theatrical Edition of _Elvis, That's The Way It Is for Turner Entertainment and Turner Classic Movies. This film was completely re-cut and remixed. Included in this new version are nine additional new musical performances and many personal moments of Elvis working with his band that have been never been seen before. It premièred before 2,500 screaming fans in Memphis on August 12, at The Orpheum Theater as the main theme of "Elvis Week 2000". During 1979 through 1980 Rick was the assistant light director at The Whiskey A Go Go on the Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood. Later as a lighting director Rick toured the U.S. and Europe numerous times with the bands X, The Blasters and The Cramps. In 1982 Rick produced music videos for the celebrated punk band X ‘Hungry Wolf’ & ‘Motel Room’ and later ‘True Love Part 2’. Rick then developed a career in film full time and he became assistant to the producer on David Cronenberg's Fly, Theand location manager on the feature film Hoosiers.

After working on those films Rick produced the long form home video _The Doors Live At The Hollywood Bowl which was voted #1 non-theatrical of 1987 by Video magazine. He also later produced four other major projects for The Doors and MCA Home Video including Doors Collection, The (1999) a special edition Laserdisc/ DVD. During 1987 Rick was personal assistant to Frank Zappa, helping him develop his video enterprise. From 1987-1992 Rick created ‘Easyriders Video Magazine the first subscription based video publication and produced, directed and wrote 13 hour-long Harley Davidson videos.

One project Rick is very proud of is that he produced and directed two documentaries on the breaking of the motorcycle land speed record (322 mph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, narrated by Peter Fonda.

In 1996 Rick produced The Third Mind narrated by Peter Coyote, which was the first original documentary ever commissioned for The Sundance Channel.

In 1998 Rick produced the re-edit of ‘Orson Welles’Touch Of Evilwhich premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and Toronto Film Festivals. He received special awards from The National Society of Film Critics, The New York Film Critics Circle, The Boston Society of Film Critics and The Los Angeles Film Critics Association for "scholarship and integrity".

In 1999 Rick produced the reconstruction of the ‘Erich von Stroheim’1924 classic _Greed for Turner Entertainment and Turner Classic Movies. The American premier was at the Telluride Film Festival and the European premiere Venice Film Festival. Special presentation where at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival, Italy, The Berlin Film Festival and the Moscow International Film Festival. Rick received from The National Society of Film Critics their ‘Film Heritage Award’ and from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association a special award for a "meticulous reconstruction".

Rick is the only filmmaker to ever receive awards for two consecutive years from The National Society of Film Critics and The Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

In recent years Rick Schmidlin has worked as an exbition curator on the following projects:

2006- 2007

CURATOR for an expanded German exhibition ERICH VON STROHEIM: A LIFE DISCOVERED for the Filmmueum Potsdam, Potsdam Germany. This project is done with the partnership of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2005

CURATOR: ERICH VON STROHEIM: A LIFE DISCOVERED for the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, Germany.This project was done with the partnership of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

GUEST CURATOR: ERICH VON STROHEIM: A LIFE DISCOVERED for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

2001

CURATOR of the special exhibition LO SPIRITO DI ERICH VON STROHEIM: FRAMMENTI DAI SUOI ARCHIVI PRIVATI (“Erich von Stroheim: A Life Revealed Through His Private Archives”) for LE GIORNATE DEL CINEMA MUTO, 19th PORDENONE SILENT FILM FESTIVAL in Sacile, Italy

1995

CURATOR: CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF CINEMA for the Everhart Museum, Scranton, PA.

From 1979 to 1985 Rick Schmidlin was a lighting director and designed lights for the following bands: X, The Blasters, The Cramps, The Gun Club, Los Lobos, The Go Gos, The Dead Kennedys, PIL, The Germs, Romeo Void, The Mutants, The Circle Jerks, DOA, The Subhumans, The Plugz, The Cruzados, The Untouchables, Ultravox, Top Jimmy and The Rhythm Pigs, Chuck Berry, Big Joe Turner and Jennifer Holiday.

1 Author
2 Producer / Director
3 Awards
4 External links

[edit] Author

Schmidlin's only film writing credit was for a short story on which, Love Her Madly (a 2000 independent film) was based.

2006 Rick Schmidlin, “My True Saga Of The Newly Found Collections Belonging To Erich von Stroheim,” The Journal Of The Association Of Moving Archivists: The Moving Image (Fall 2006)

2005

Rick Schmidlin, “Producing Lost Cinema,” in Isabella Orefice, ed. The Memory of Cinema. Proceedings of the Associazione Nazionale Archivistica Italiana-ANAI International Conference on Cinema Archives, Turin, Italy, May 28-31, 2003 (Modena, Italy: Mucchi, 2005): 165-169

2002

Rick Schmidlin, “As If Orson Was Sending Us Notes,” in Michael Ondaatje, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002): 182-183

2000

Rick Schmidlin, “Lo Spirito di Erich von Stroheim/Erich von Stroheim: A Life Revealed,” in 19th Pordenone Silent Film Festival Catalogue (Pordenone and Sacile, Italy: Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, 2000): 147-149

1999

Rick Schmidlin, “GREED - A Reconstruction,” in 18th Pordenone Silent Film Festival Catalogue (Pordenone and Sacile, Italy: Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, 1999): 25-27

1994-1995

EDITOR: THE CALENDAR, an arts and entertainment weekly serving N.E., PA. (NEWS EAGLE PUBLICATIONS)

FILM CRITIC: THE WEEKENDER (Capital Cities/ABC Publications, N.E. PA.)

[edit] Producer / Director

Producer of four The Doors video concert documentaries between 1985 and 1999. The 1999 The Doors C ollection he also directed.
Producer of the 1996 documentary, The Third Mind
Producer of the 1998 restoration of Orson Welles's 1958 film, Touch of Evil
Producer of the 1999 reconstruction of the 1925 Erich von Stroheim film, Greed
Producer of the 2000 restoration of the first sound film from 1894, which is now called the Dickson Experimental Sound Film for an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tribute to Walter Murch
Producer of the 2000 special edition of the 1970 film, Elvis, That's the Way It Is
Producer and director of the 2002 reconstruction of a previously lost Tod Browning/Lon Chaney film from 1927, London After Midnight
Producer, Love Her Madly (2000) Ray Manzarek, director

ALSO PRODUCER: THE BEST OF THE DOORS (Universal Home Video) PRODUCER: BREAK ON THROUGH-The Doors (Music video, Elektra Records) PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: THE DOORS BOX SET EPK (Elektra Records) PRODUCER: THE THIRD MIND (The Sundance Channel) PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: THE DOORS COLLECTION Special Edition DVD/Laserdisc (Universal Home Video) PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: EASYRIDERS VIDEO MAGAZINE (Paisano Publications) PRODUCER/DIRECTOR of two half-hour documentaries on the breaking of the motorcycle land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. Narrated by Peter Fonda (Paisano Publications) PRODUCER: EASYRIDERS GRAND NATIONAL TELEVISION SPECIAL (USA Network/Paisano Publications) PRODUCER: THE DOORS SOFT PARADE, A RETROSPECTIVE (MCA/Universal Home Video) PRODUCER: L.A. WOMAN-The Doors (Music Video, MCA/Universal Home Video) PRODUCER: WILD CHILD-The Doors (Music Video, Elektra Records) PRODUCER: WE GOT LOVE-Jamie James (Music Video, Vanity Records) PRODUCER: GLORIA and LOVE ME TWO TIMES-The Doors (Music Video, Elektra Records) PRODUCER: TRUE LOVE PART TWO-X (Music Video, Elektra Records) ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: HUNGRY WOLF AND MOTEL ROOM-X (Music Video, Elektra Records)

[edit] Awards

In 1999, Schmidlin, Roger Mayer and Turner Classic Movies were given a "Special Award" by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for "their meticulous reconstruction and promotion of Eric von Stroheim's Greed."
In 1998, Schmidlin received awards for Touch Of Evil from the New York Film Critic's Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association and The National Society Of Film Critics.