Fred Roos '56: The Man Behind the Curtain

Try to imagine “Star Wars” without Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, or James Earl Jones.

Consider completely different ensemble casts in such classic films as “American Graffiti” (which featured such young actors as Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, and Harrison Ford) and “The Outsiders” (Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Rob Lowe, and Patrick Swayze).

And could anyone other than Jack Nicholson have delivered the classic line, "Hold the chicken salad" in “Five Easy Pieces”? Unthinkable!

Fortunately, we have Fred Roos '56 to thank for his amazingly dead-on casting choices in these and many other award-winning, much-loved films of the 1970s “Hollywood Renaissance.”

A successful producer today, whose major films include “The Godfather, Part II,” “Apocalypse Now” and “The Conversation,” Roos enjoys recounting his career trajectory.

The Power of Film

Fred Roos attributes the Academy-Award winning film “The Best Years of Our Live” as the inspiration and catalyst for his long and successful career: "I was just a kid when I saw it, but that made me want to go into the industry. It was about serious stuff. I was amazed that a movie that had no action, no horses, no shoot-'em-up, but had people talking about stuff could hold my interest. Even as a kid I could relate to these men coming home from the war. I was amazed. It introduced me to the power of film."

UCLA Film—The Early Days

With his sights set on film school, Roos noted there were only three in the entire country at that time: New York University (NYU), University of Southern California (USC), and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "I chose UCLA because I loved the campus, the Bruins, and I knew people there. Besides, I didn't want to go away to school."

Back in the 1950s, "the film school at UCLA, known then as the Motion Picture Division of the Theater Arts Department, was in Quonset huts behind Royce Hall," he said with a laugh. "I'm proud to be a graduate from the early days. We had a small, little sound stage, and a theater. And, we just loved it."

The UCLA professor Roos remembers most was Arthur Ripley, who was a director and writer since the days of silent films. "He was inspiring, made you feel you could do something, and want to go out right then and do it!"

Roos advises film students today to "pay attention to the material, the story, the script. And find colleagues you want to work with. These are relationships that last a lifetime. If you don't have a gift for writing, find colleagues who are good writers."

One of the most valuable things Roos learned at UCLA was the study of film history. "Studying great films of the past—silent films, the Russians, D.W. Griffith—gave me a respect for artists and for the art of film. I learned this is not just an entertainment factory; one should aspire to make art."

Roos' golden touch and great reputation as a casting director, and later as producer, did not happen overnight. After UCLA, he was drafted and spent two years in the U.S. Army, in the post-Korean War period. "Because I'd studied film, they assigned me to communications, where I made documentary films," he said, adding, "I had a great time."

Working His Way Up

Once Roos left the Army, however, he struggled to find work. "I had no job, no family or connections in the film industry. Although I'd been to film school, the thinking then was: what could you possibly learn about the industry at college? It wasn't like today, where your film degree is a big plus.”

Roos' story is a classic example of starting at the bottom and working your way up. "I had a friend in the mailroom at MCA, the biggest talent agency at that time. He urged me to get a job there. It was far from what I wanted to do, but I knew you gotta get your foot in the door," he said. He landed a job in the mailroom, "and I was lucky to get it.” After only a few months, he was promoted to "junior talent agent. It was a great education.” From there he was offered a job by a small production company as an assistant story editor. "I wore many hats, but I was finally making movies!"

Of his celebrated talent as a casting director, Roos said simply, "It's a gut thing. You feel something about an actor. I put great stock in the interview process—talking in-depth and at length with actors about who they were, and what they would bring to the screen. 90% of the time, I was right." His impressive credits as casting director include: “The Godfather,” “American Graffiti,” “Five Easy Pieces,” “The King of Marvin Gardens,” “Fat City,” “Petulia” and “Zabriskie Point,” and he was a casting consultant on “Star Wars.”

When Roos cast Jack Nicholson in “Five Easy Pieces,” "Jack wasn't big, but I knew he would be," said Roos. Both men started out in the industry about the same time, and "he was my pal," Roos acknowledged. Nicholson wrote the script and starred in one of the first two films Roos ever produced, “Fight to Fury.” That same year, 1964, Nicholson starred in another WWII film produced by Roos, “Back Door to Hell.”

Roos has served on the jury of many celebrated film festivals around the world, including those in Berlin, Greece, Belgium and Moscow. The one he enjoys most in this country is the Telluride Film Festival. "It's small, only four days, and you run into everybody. You'll see films that you might not see anywhere else. It's devoted to the art of film."

Currently, Roos is working as Executive Producer on a new film by his long-time creative partner, director Francis Ford Coppola. This new film, “Tetro,” is scheduled for release in 2009. "It's an Italian-American family drama," he noted.

What's it like to work with Coppola all these years? "I'm a sounding board… we kick things around, talk, argue… and have a lot of fun," Roos said.

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"fred roos" "francis ford coppola" 

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