Hans Pfleiderer is a filmmaker and engineer. He studied architecture at the Technical University Berlin with a diploma. He worked as a stage and lighting designer with Eric Veenstra from ArtLab Studios Berlin. He completed a Master program in Production Design at the American Film Institute and assisted legendary production designer Robert Boyle. As a visual consultant, he worked for the documentary The Man on Lincoln’s Nose, which was nominated for an Oscar in the category Documentary Shorts in 2001. He designed the Broadcast Studio for James Cameron's Earthship.TV, the feature films L.A. Twister, A House on a Hill, and many more. He was Visual Effects Designer and creator of digital storyboards on Minority Report, Panic Room and Supervisor on commercials and music videos. He worked as a project manager and in various other functions for ARRI designing broadcast lighting systems. In 2018 he founded his German production company Hans Pfleiderer Engineering. As a director, he recently completed the feature documentary Moonwatcher: A Personal Odyssey about Dan Richter, best known for his work with Stanley Kubrick as choreographer and star in the legendary opening scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey released in 1968. Sir Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001 said about him: «Dan is the most famous unknown actor in the world».

 leggi in italiano

You are an eclectic artist: 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry. You have worked in American cinema as a visual consultant, visual effects designer, production designer. Back in Germany, you founded your own company. Your philosophy is: “It always seems impossible until it's done” (Nelson Mandela). Does your vision of work and life match Mandela's thinking perfectly?

After 12 years in America, I moved back to Berlin and first lived in a Buddhist Centre, which was almost like a monastery. My spiritual teacher insisted after a year of retreat, that I go back out and look for a job in the ordinary world. I got lucky and started working for ARRI as a project manager in building broadcast systems. The contrast was intense. I naturally made a bunch of bloody mistakes as a reenacted engineer coming from the arts. Nobody is perfect. Though "nature works perfectly". I took that phrase out of my movie, words by my hero Dan Richter at the ultimate climax or resolution of the film. Life is incredibly challenging, but without doing there is no progress. In truth, it requires courage. Being in the third phase of my life I am still a big fan of Nelson Mandela and adopted another one of his sayings: “I am the captain of my soul”.

Robert Boyle was a famous art director and production designer, known for North by Northwest (1959), Cape Fear (1962), The Birds (1963), Marnie (1964), Fiddler on the Roof (1971). You collaborated on the documentary The Man on Lincoln’s Nose, which was nominated for an Oscar in 2001, directed by Daniel Raim. What can you tell me about this experience? You were also Boyle’s assistant, right?

Bob was another one of my unsung heroes. Look at his work, he art-directed more than 100 pictures, many of them unforgettable documents of film history. An unbelievable human being. And so unique. When he received his honorary Oscar in 2008, it was not too late. He passed away in 2010 just ten weeks short of reaching the age of 100 years. When I humbly started the production design program at the American Film Institute all students sat in the main screening room witnessing introductory speeches of the faculty members. I had no idea, which one of these guys sitting up on stage would be my teacher. There was this very old guy with a white beard and hair almost sitting in the wings. He was the last to address us fellows and I thought, “Oh my God, who is this guy?“ After three sentences I was blown away and my heart was racing. It was Bob Boyle. I found my mentor, who was 88 at the time and yes, I became his assistant in my second year leading up to the thesis and a close friend. And I had the great privilege to support my fellow student Daniel Raim as a brother in arms, technical and artistic consultant heavy involved in his project from the very start. I in fact asked Bob, if he would allow Daniel to make a movie about his work and life. It was Daniel‘s idea, of course. Well, I should have been a producer due to my various contributions and share credit. No regrets. I happily supported and coached my young friend. I adopted Bob‘s attitude of gratitude and humility. Still do.

A curiosity. The main focus of our website and publishing house is Cinematography. You also collaborated for ARRI- a global company within the motion picture industry- established in Munich, Germany. Have you had contact with Italian cinematographers over the years?

I met Vittorio Storaro once at a seminar, had to deal with some English masters and the Chilenian Manuel Alberto Claro, who has been living in Copenhagen being the eyes of Lars von Trier, co-hosting master classes at my years at ARRI, then mostly American DPs form my days at film school and my work in Hollywood. Because I was never ashamed to experiment I shot most of my documentary work myself including Moonwatcher: A Personal Odyssey. As a visual effects supervisor and previsualization designer, I was intensely involved in camera work, too. That experience called for my identification with ARRI later on. As a premium-brand entertainment equipment provider, ARRI has the luxury to run a system group, a power-house outfit of designers, broadcast engineers and a support team. And I was their leader.

As a director, therefore, you have recently finished the documentary Moonwatcher: A Personal Odyssey about Dan Richter: how did you meet?

I met Dan for the first time in the spring of 2001. We had lunch somewhere in Hollywood. That was shortly after the 73rd Academy Awards ceremony, where we celebrated the nomination of The Man on Lincoln‘s Nose. My agent at the time, John Dunnicliff, knew Dan from rock climbing. He encourages me to consider producing my own film. It was not uncommon in Hollywood to jump ship. We had big dreams and proofed versatility. Daniel Raim was a production design fellow himself and his tenacity and talent made him a director overnight. After I graduated from AFI I responsibly stuck to my guns making a living as a film designer. Working in a visual effects company like Pixel Liberation Front was my bread-and-butter job. At the initial date, Dan solely talked about his job with Stanley Kubrick on 2001: A Space Odyssey. I was mesmerized because he was incredibly charming and sophisticated. I went home being sceptical if that anecdote would make a movie, but the next morning I called Dan and asked him: "Would you agree on permitting me to make a documentary about your life?". Dan said: "Yes". I said: "Okay, let’s shoot a movie!".

I guess you were an admirer of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey?

I would consider 2001: A Space Odyssey still my all-time favourite movie. It was very instrumental to becoming a filmmaker. Even long before going to film school I read everything about Stanley Kubrick’s work and knew all his films by heart, all 16 of them. I watched them many times. At AFI we would sit around for hours dissecting every shot and crumbs up to Eyes Wide Shut. But 2001 remains the ultimate masterpiece.

How did the idea of ​​telling Dan's extraordinary life in a documentary come about?

As I said already, it was John Dunnicliff’s initiative. Frankly, it was a long haul from Moonwatcher becoming the man, I am talking about. Dan has so many facets and things to say about life. Fascinating man.

Dan Richter in the 1960s

Your documentary had a long process, do you remember the first shot?

Yes, well, the first shot was done at his house in Sierra Madre, an hour east of LA in the San Gabriel Valley. It was a couple of weeks after our first meeting. I asked him short questions, basically prompting him to ramble like: art, freedom, society, creation, destruction, etc. He responded freely. I had no agenda, no plan, no contract, nothing. We basically exchanged business cards. I needed footage to get a visual, a feeling, almost like a screen test, an audition, but there was no script. Also I just bought a new camera and a couple of mics and needed to get my hands wet. Dan was very generous with his time, unforgiven. He should have stopped me right there (laughing).

How did you plan the filming work?

Focussing on 2001 I started with research, reading everything under the sun. I came up with a metaphor capturing the Moonwatcher character “creation and destruction”. I generated a list of names intended to be interviewed. I asked Dan’s permission to go through his archive, which opened up Pandora’s box. I had no idea, that he was friends with so many crazy people. I mean crazy in a good way. But the real work started with my collaboration with the editor Angelo Corrao, whom I signed on in 2005 living in New York at the time. We worked on a rough cut and put the focus on Dan’s life. Before that it was loose ends, endless reels with unrelated people, and a bunch of esoteric bullshit. Angelo forced me to write the story.

Who was your crew composed of?

Initially, it was just me. The attempt to find a producer or collaborators failed. John and I became roommates. So I could cut back on my rent and put it towards my production. I hired Angelo Corrao for one month in 2005, which was an essential investment, because I benefitted immensely from his insights, experience, and instructions, which I utilized in the following years until the completion of the editing. I mostly realized what and who was missing. For the Yoko Ono interview at the San Francisco MOMA, I hired the Chinese DP Max Wang, whom I knew from my days at AFI. Also, Dan’s friend Doug Ibold, an acclaimed editor, who gave an interview in the film, became my creative consultant toward the end of editing. I couldn’t have done it without him. Then in 2010 after my return to Germany, I worked with the incredibly gifted German composer and Kubrick fan Christian Jost to adapt two of his orchestral works to become the score of the film. Jost’s contribution of expressionistic magnitude and the use of leitmotif has been giving the film an extra edge. That’s it.

What were the main difficulties in making the documentary?

Finding my voice, too much time and money, losing my hard drive at one time needing very costly data recovery, music licensing, still working on that particular issue, and finding a co-producer. Recently a school friend of mine got involved to underwrite as a patron to finish recent post-production. As I started the film exactly 20 years ago I shot with an affordable digital camera, the legendary SONY PD-150 in PAL Standard-definition and 4:3 aspect ratio. ARRI Media has been assigned to blow up everything to HD and apply a professional colour correction and a sound mix. You may call it film restoration integrating other formats like Super-8, VHS, and NTSC source materials. I touched up all the photographic images in Photoshop. Many more months I voluntarily spent with my protagonists.

Among the interviews featured in the documentary, among others, are those with Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Yoko Ono, Stuart Freeborn, Jeffrey Perkins, Doug Ibold. Which character impressed you the most?

Are you kidding? All of them are or were exceptional human beings: Sir Arthur C. Clarke †, Jed Curtis †, Stuart Freeborn †, Stanley Bard †, Yoko Ono, Jeffrey Perkins, Doug Ibold,  all of the  Dawn-of-Man performers, and the entire Richter family. Everyone in this film is truly remarkable.

You traveled to Sri Lanka to interview Clarke: a rather adventurous interview? You were one of the last to interview him. How did it go?

Oh my God, that was in 2002, I believe, at the beginning. Dan gave me his number and I called Colombo. Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s assistant told me, that his boss was very ill and nobody knew, when and if he would recover. I prayed to God, I didn’t believe in, to make him well again. One day weeks later I received an email from this person, that Sir Arthur was feeling better. I read this as an invitation and booked a flight the very next day to fly to Sri Lanka. When I got there I called his office to announce my arrival. His assistant flew off the handle catching his breath, but his boss must have been in the room and insisted to speak to me. He said with authority, I couldn’t do that, that I have to negotiate with his agent first and prepare to pay him money. I apologized for my naiveté and admitted that I spent all my money on the airfare. Sir Arthur was silent for a very long time but suddenly agreed to see me the next day for a video interview. He turned out to be very welcoming, generous and exhilarated to talk about his memory of Dan and Stanley. Despite his age, illness and handicap he took me to an official function the same evening in the city and invited me for lunch the day before my departure at the Country Club. I claim to have been the last person to interview him on that subject matter of 2001.

Yoko Ono is a great friend of Dan’s: Dan collaborated with her and John Lennon from 1969 to 1973. How did the interview with Yoko go?

The interview with Yoko was a trip and took over a year of begging. Her people offered me several expensive options to set up a TV studio in New York City, which I declined. Who was I to call the shots? I requested to have her surrounded by her art. I am a big fan of her art and pictured her sitting in her studio. A few more months later her people surprisingly invited me to interview her in San Francisco at the SFMOMA, free of charge. These 20 minutes were one of the highlights of my life. Yoko was totally cool and tuned in. Beautiful. That very night Dan Richter did fly up to San Francisco to see Yoko privately in her hotel for a reunion. I gave them their privacy. They hadn’t seen each other for 25 years after a great falling out over some dickishness. Our project brought them back together.

In the documentary, you brought together also David Charkham, Tony Jackson and Richard Woods, performers of the Dawn-of-Man opening sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey, right?

I accompanied Dan on several trips including one to England for the reunion of the Dawn-of-Man-sequence performers at the London Zoo. I was Dan’s light and shadow. He just overcame a treacherous lung cancer treatment and was recuperating. This man started to blossom, as soon as he was surrounded by his peers. He loves people. The entire remaining cast was just terrific. I had a great time at the Zoo, where Dan was going in the infamous days in the mid-60s to conduct parts of his research to develop the ape movements. And on my free day away from him I went to Childwickbury Manor to hang out with the Kubricks.

In the documentary, you also interviewed Dan's children and his two wifes. What came out of Dan as a husband and father?

The involvement of Dan’s family was very instrumental to this film. All his four children and two wives are in it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have worked. Angelo’s insistence forced me to investigate all possibilities to uncover the drama. And boy, this family has a great share of it. It is the human condition. Jill was first to give testimony. But the whole game changed after I spoke to his second wife, Liz. She revealed and confirmed another side of Dan, the dark side. I went back and confronted him with my new intel. That’s how my Chelsea Hotel-sequence took shape and Dan’s drug addiction came to light. It was cathartic. I shot essential scenes trenched with honesty, which is unheard of, at his apartment in Pasadena. The interviews with his two younger children were the last ones. His son Will went through the shadows of death himself and finally was able to sit down with me for his revelation. He and his siblings render a view of a father, who may be considered scary. Retribution and atonement. That’s my contribution to humanity.

What struck you most about Dan's personality?

Chapeau. You have to watch the movie, it’s all in there, every bit of it.

When do you think the documentary can be released?

The negotiations with the biggies are still killing me. Soon to end holding my breath and shouting out the bloody truth. I expect to release the picture this summer.

Discover our books
Discover on our blog the interviews with directors and cinematographers
Subscribe to our newsletter!