INTERVIEW WITH - Cassandra Moore

Cassandra Moore, who arrived in Hollywood 30 years ago as Farrah Fawcett's assistant, then moved into post-production before becoming Vice President of Mastering and Archive at NBCUniversal, was the guest at the first of two major interviews organized at the MIFC as part of its 12th edition. On Tuesday October 15, she spoke to Gérald Duchaussoy about Universal's restoration work, focusing on her team's work process and the future of the industry at Universal.

Work begun for Universal's centenary

The NBCUniversal restoration adventure began in 2012, to mark the studio's centenary. In 2015, Universal's heritage department reached a turning point, with funding from the Film Foundation for the restoration of Marlon Brando's One-Eyed Jacks. Since then, NBCUniversal's heritage cinema section grew bigger, with the studio supporting the restoration work of its teams, led by Cassandra Moore. While preservation used to be central, restoration has now found its place, explains Cassandra Moore, with NBCUniversal investing to bring the seven thousand or so films in its catalog back to life.

From discussion to realization

With almost 150 works restored, the process has been refined by Cassandra Moore and her 61-strong team, but is now crystallized in several stages. Starting with a selection of titles to be restored, symbolic of significant stakes for the Vice President of Mastering and Archive at NBCUniversal. “Films don't have to be blockbusters to be restored, they have to bring something to cinema”, she declares on the MIFC stage. This selection is then submitted to a committee, which validates its composition, before the major work is launched.

The “artists” of Universal's restoration teams are then set to work on the original prints, stored on the studios' premises, scanning then cleaning the films and audios, before colorizing them to produce Dolby 4K digital masters. This process takes around three months, but can extend if necessary. Special care is given to sound, a new highlight of restorations according to Cassandra Moore, as demonstrated by the work done on Steven Spielberg's Sugarland Express, with a new 5.1 mix approved by the director.

Once completed, the restored prints are preserved in Pennsylvania's Iron Mountain, while the originals return to NBCUniversal's facilities. The theatrical experience is guaranteed before any physical or streaming release, with premieres organized at festivals such as Lumière.

Cassandra Moore points out that while only feature films in the NBCUniversal catalog are restored under her supervision, television programs are only preserved by her team, who scan and clean the audiovisual content.

Work carried out as closely as possible to the filmmakers' wishes

Universal's craftsmen are always careful to orient their restorations according to what the original filmmakers would have wanted, striving to preserve the integrity of the films without taking creative liberties, unless the authors accompany them. This was the case, for example, with Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, which took a year to restore, but also with The Wiz, which featured the first all black cast of its time: Michael Jackson and Diana Ross were among the credits. The workers at NBCUniversal were able to work with one of the former producers on this film, which is their last project this year.

On the future of Universal's production chain

Strong of the success of past experiences, culminating in Sugarland Express's nomination for Best Achievement in Restoration by the Hollywood Professional Association, Cassandra Moore is positive about the future of the industry at Universal, which is increasingly supported by the studio. She speaks of a “renaissance” taking place in the world of heritage restoration. In her opinion, there is a real diversification in the restoration world, with an increase in the number of players.