About
"Don't sell out to the networks."
In his two-hour interview, Robert Halmi, Sr. (1924-2014) speaks about his early years learning the photography trade from his father. He discusses his political difficulties in his native Hungary and his move to the United States in 1950, where he arrived with five dollars, a small suitcase, and a Leica camera. He tells how he came to work as a stringer for Life magazine, where his assignments included working in Africa. He describes his transition from a still photographer to motion picture photography, shooting documentaries for television. Halmi then explains how he came to produce television movies, approaching the financing through advertisers, rather than the networks themselves, starting in 1979 with My Old Man, an adaptation of a Hemingway short story. He discusses his interest in adapting novels (even oft-filmed ones) and his reasons for doing so, speaks of how he visualizes his projects, and explains how he begins each production with concept art (before the screenwriting process). He outlines his association with Hallmark Hall of Fame, a series he had watched in the 1950s and under whose aegis he made several successful projects, starting in the '80s. Halmi talks about running RHI Entertainment LLC, where he serves as chairman, and shares his hands-on, on-location approach to his projects. He provides production stories about several movies and miniseries he made throughout his career, including Terrible Joe Moran, Lonesome Dove, Scarlet, Gulliver's Travels, and Animal Farm. Karen Herman conducted the interview on May 18, 2007 in New York, NY.
Highlights
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Izzy & Moe
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the miniseries Lonesome Dove
Robert Halmi, Sr. on advice to aspiring producers
Robert Halmi, Sr. on adapting books for TV movies
Robert Halmi, Sr. on re-making the classics every 30 years
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his childhood and early influences; on learning photography from his father; on his early life in Budapest; on being a radio broadcaster on Radio Free Europe
On moving to the United States; on becoming a stringer for Life magazine; on his international assignments
On his early memories of television; on watching Hallmark Hall of Fame; on working on documentaries; on producing the 1979 television movie My Old Man and financing it directly through advertisers, rather than the networks
On producing the TV movie Nurse
Chapter 2
On producing several TV movies for CBS; on producing the TV movie Gulliver's Travels; on his casting process as a producer; on hiring writers
On adapting books for TV movies; on the challenges of visualizing interior monologues; on political correctness on television
On historical realism in his projects; on producing the TV movies Izzy & Moe with Art Carney and Jackie Gleason, and Terrible Joe Moran, starring James Cagney
On producing the TV movies Barnum, Choices, and Mayflower Madam
Chapter 3
On his association with Hallmark Hall of Fame; on his commitment to family entertainment; on his company, RHI, and his initial partnership with Hallmark
On his business side and his creative side; on re-making classic books as films every 30 years; on producing the TV movie Moby Dick; on how special effects have advanced
On becoming Chairman when Hallmark bought RHI; on producing the TV movie The Incident and the feature film "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge"
On producing the TV movie The Josephine Baker Story for HBO; on how cable has affected the TV landscape
On producing Lonesome Dove; on what makes a great miniseries; on producing the miniseries In Cold Blood
Chapter 4
On producing The Odyssey; on filming on location; on producing Rear Window and Animal Farm
On producing the miniseries Dinotopia and DC 9/11: Time of Crisis; on producing The Five People You Meet in Heaven
On then-current projects; on reacquiring Hallmark; on the key to his success; on career achievements and regrets; on advice to aspiring producers; on how he'd like to be remembered
B-roll of production drawings
Shows
Animal Farm
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing Animal Farm and using CGI
Barnum
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Barnum, starring Burt Lancaster
DC 9/11: Time of Crisis
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing DC 9/11: Time of Crisis
Dinotopia
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the miniseries Dinotopia
Five People You Meet in Heaven, The
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Gulliver's Travels
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Gulliver's Travels
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Robert Halmi, Sr. on his association with Hallmark Hall of Fame and Hallmark buying RHI
In Cold Blood
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the miniseries In Cold Blood
Incident, The
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing The Incident
Izzy & Moe
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Izzy & Moe
Josephine Baker Story, The
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie The Josephine Baker Story for HBO
Lonesome Dove
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the miniseries Lonesome Dove
Mayflower Madam
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Mayflower Madam, starring Candice Bergen
Moby Dick
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Moby Dick
My Old Man
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the 1979 television movie My Old Man and financing it directly through advertisers, rather than the networks
Noah's Ark
Robert Halmi, Sr. on the challenges of producing the TV movie Noah's Ark
Nurse
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Nurse
Odyssey, The
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing The Odyssey
Rear Window
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing Rear Window, starring Christopher Reeve
Scarlett
Robert Halmi, Sr. on the bidding war over the source material and producing the TV movie Scarlett
Ten Commandments, The
Robert Halmi, Sr. on the challenges of producing the TV movie The Ten Commandments
Terrible Joe Moran
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Terrible Joe Moran, starring James Cagney
Topics
9/11
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing DC 9/11: Time of Crisis
Advertising and Sponsorship
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the 1979 television movie My Old Man and financing it directly through advertisers, rather than the networks
Advice
Robert Halmi, Sr. on advice to aspiring producers
Criticism of TV
Robert Halmi, Sr. on his commitment to family entertainment
Historic Events and Social Change
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie about abortion, Choices
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing DC 9/11: Time of Crisis
Sex & Violence
Robert Halmi, Sr. on his commitment to family entertainment
Television Industry
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the 1979 television movie My Old Man and financing it directly through advertisers, rather than the networks
Robert Halmi, Sr. on his commitment to family entertainment
Robert Halmi, Sr. on how cable has affected the TV landscape
Robert Halmi, Sr. on advice to aspiring producers
Professions
Executives
Robert Halmi, Sr. on becoming Chairman when Hallmark bought RHI
Producers
Robert Halmi, Sr. on being a hands-on producer
Robert Halmi, Sr. on his casting process as a producer and how he creates his own drawings to envision the look of a project he's working on
Robert Halmi, Sr. on hiring writers as producer
Television Executive
Robert Halmi, Sr. on becoming Chairman when Hallmark bought RHI
Genres
TV Movies/Miniseries/Dramatic Specials
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the 1979 television movie My Old Man and financing it directly through advertisers, rather than the networks
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Nurse
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing TV movies
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the miniseries Lonesome Dove
Robert Halmi, Sr. on what makes a great miniseries
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing TV movies and miniseries
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing TV movies and miniseries
People
Candice Bergen
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Mayflower Madam, starring Candice Bergen
James Cagney
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Terrible Joe Moran, starring James Cagney
Art Carney
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Izzy & Moe and reuniting Art Carney and Jackie Gleason after they refused to work together for years
Jackie Gleason
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Izzy & Moe and reuniting Art Carney and Jackie Gleason after they refused to work together for years
Burt Lancaster
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie Barnum, starring Burt Lancaster
Walter Matthau
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing The Incident
Paul Newman
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the feature film "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge"
Christopher Reeve
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing Rear Window, starring Christopher Reeve
George C. Scott
Robert Halmi, Sr. on producing the TV movie about abortion, Choices