Sandy King

As she points out, the script supervisor, is tuned into and recording every decision made during the actual filming of a motion picture, witness to the very thought process that shapes the decisions of director, director of photography, actors and every creator on the set, providing an encyclopedic knowledge of what transpires in the making of a film.

King first entered film production in the field of animation, thanks to an early thorough training in the visual arts. John Cassavettes gave her a first assignment in script supervision for his cult classic, The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie, and she went on to work for and, as she puts it, "study under" such film makers as Frances Ford Coppola, Walter Hill, Michael Mann and John Hughes on films as diverse as Long Riders, Thief and Sixteen Candles.

Her work for these artists was facilitated by her extensive training in the arts. "This knowledge gave me the independent judgment to listen to these filmmakers and truly understand their vision. It is the essential element in actually helping them fulfill it," she reflects.

Many of these creators expanded her work into the areas of associate producer chores and 2nd unit direction, and she ventured into pre-production working as unit manager on the admired industrial films and commercials of Richard Einfeld.

So her training in film was complete when, in 1984, she first went to work for director John Carpenter on his Oscar nominated film, Starman, and then on Big Trouble In Little China. He was so impressed with her knowledge of film and understanding of his vision that he arranged for her to produce his subsequent films, They Live, Prince of Darkness, In The Mouth Of Madness, Village Of The Damned and most recently, Vampires. She also produced the Showtime anthology film, John Carpenter Presents Body Bags. The couple married, and King continues to develop upcoming projects for their production company as well as continuing her own work as a writer.

A native of Los Angeles, King started her studies at the respected Westlake School for Girls, continuing to UCLA as a pictorial arts major, but also earning degrees in theatre arts and English. These various studies melded perfectly into her evolving work in film. She started in animation, working on the Oscar winning Anti-Matter.

Since few people have instant access to the film field, King had to support herself in the pre period. Avoiding the waitering work many others choose, she earned a living painting platform shoes for such megastars as David Bowie and Elton John. Before those star associations, however, she painted pornographic shoes, and this work was the foot fetish sensation of the annual Pimps and Hookers Ball, a credit she admits to with humorous pride.

King is active in support of many of her political, scientific and educational commitments, taking a leadership role in such organizations as the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee, the Muses of the California Museum of Science and Industry and the End Hunger Network.