Executive Decision

Stuart Baird began his long and distinguished career as the personal assistant to director Lindsay Anderson on “If…”, the 1968 drama of a group of boarding school students who may or may not be planning to overtake the educational institution. He segued to jobs as assistant director and assistant editor until he finally got a chance to cut his first feature, Ken Russell’s wildly energetic screen musical “Tommy” (1975), based on Pete Townsend’s rock opera performed by the Who. Baird’s work also greatly enhanced Russell’s “Lisztomania” (also 1975), a kinetic pseudo-biography of the famed composer. Demonstrating an ability to wring tension from fairly mundane situations, he cut “The Omen” (1976), effecting creating a rising tension as the devil child comes into his powers. For his meticulous efforts on “Superman” (1978), Baird earned an Academy Award nomination.

For 1980’s “Altered States”, Russell’s troubled screen version of Paddy Chayefsky’s sci-fi novel, Baird abandoned the editing room for the chores of associate producer. He was soon back cutting celluloid, though, creating the required suspense for “Outland” (1981), the Peter Hyams-directed space Western that bore more than a passing resemblance to the 1952 classic “High Noon”. Baird continued to do fine work, even if the overall project was lacking (i.e., “Revolution” 1985) but he achieved new heights with his cutting of “Lethal Weapon” (1987) and his Oscar-nominated work on “Gorillas in the Mist” (1988). Following a reteaming with the originals on “Lethal Weapon 2” (1989), he accepted a post as full-time staff editor at Warner Bros. in 1989, overseeing work on such studio fare as “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (1991). Reuniting with Richard Donner in the editing room, Baird cut the dramatic “Radio Flyer” (1992) and “Maverick” (1994), the feature version of the popular 1950s TV series.

While some might argue that films are really made in an editing facility, it is rather rare for a cutter to move to the director’s chair. Baird accomplished this on “Executive Decision” (1996), under the aegis of producer Joel Silver (who oversaw the “Lethal Weapon” franchise, among others). The fledgling director wisely surrounded himself with a strong production team (ranging from production designer Terence Marsh to composer Jerry Goldsmith) and cast Kurt Russell in the lead and surrounded him with fine talents like John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt and David Suchet. While critics carped on the script’s plot holes, few quibbled with Baird’s direction which he bolstered by serving as his own editor. As a follow-up, he helmed “U.S. Marshals” (1998), the sequel of sorts to the popular Oscar-nominated “The Fugitive” (1993). While Tommy Lee Jones reprised his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Sam Gerard, this time his quarry was not the charismatic Harrison Ford but the less interesting if more ruthless Wesley Snipes. Reviewers couldn’t help but compare the film to its more assured predecessor and Baird fell victim to the “sophomore slump”. Still, he persevered and in 2000 signed a deal with Warner Bros. to helm two action-adventure flicks, “High Tide”, about a vacationer in Alaska who becomes trapped in quicksand and must be rescued by his girlfriend, and “Nowhere to Hide”, about a thief pretending to be a policeman who is sent to investigate a robbery he committed and discovers two dead bodies. —TCM