The next feature was Airheads, directed by college friend Michael
Lehmann. Between feature films, Schwartzman continued to work on
commercials, often with Michael Bay. When Bay directed his first feature,
Bad Boys, he asked his friend to shoot it. Schwartzman graciously
declined, opting to stay in Los Angeles to spend time with his father, who
was battling cancer.
The success of Bad Boys earned Bay the opportunity to direct The Rock,
and Schwartzman was hired to shoot it. "For my career, The Rock was like
getting fired out of a cannon. I had done respected films, but nothing that
would be considered flashy, in terms of visibility . . . I am very thankful
that Michael gave me the opportunity to do The Rock, because that sud-
denly put me in a whole new category. Suddenly I had done a movie that
was the number one movie of the summer in terms of box office."
Conspiracy Theory with Richard Donner came next, followed by
Armageddon with Michael Bay, whom he would later work with on the
epic Pearl Harbor. In between the two pictures, he shot Edtv, for director
Ron Howard.
"On Edtv, we shot the film and the video simultaneously. That was the
deal I made with Ron . . . I knew it was going to make my job a lot
harder, but I also thought it was going to give the film a certain amount
of energy. I was excited about working with Ron Howard. He is a very
good director."
Schwartzman's favorite film is also his most recent work: The Rookie.
"I was so happy with the way the movie turned out." In discussing
shots with director John Lee Hancock, Schwartzman pointed out, "If we
shoot baseball late in the afternoon with the sun low and all those long
shadows, it will be beautiful, but it's going to be false. Look at all these
baseball fields . . . the grass is dead, the ground is rock hard, and there
are kids out there playing baseball. This is what it is: it's those bleachy
skies and it's hotter than hell. That's what we need to shoot.
"As a cinematographer, I think right now, The Rookie was the culmina-
tion of my life's experience. I think it's the best work that I've ever done.
It's not the most beautiful--I would say Pearl Harbor may be the most
beautiful, photographically--but I think The Rookie has the most photo-
graphic truth in it of anything I've ever done . . . The director, John Lee
Hancock, to date in my career, is the most talented director I've work
with. He is amazing. He's got a great sense about storytelling and he
brought so much to the table."
At the request of President Bush, arrangements were made for a
special screening of The Rookie at The White House. Schwartzman became
the first cinematographer invited to attend such an event.
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