Local Filmmaker Profile: Dean Goodine!

Today, we got to know another legend in filmmaking. Mr. Dean Goodine. His career spans decades working with some of our industry’s greats. I hope you enjoy getting to know him as much as we did.
QUESTION: Who are you, and what do you do?
DEAN: My name is Dean Goodine and I am a film and television Property Master.
QUESTION: How long have you been in the film industry?
DEAN: Thirty-eight years.
QUESTION: That’s amazing! What was the first film you worked on?
DEAN: “Betrayed” directed by Costa Gavras starring Debra Winger in 1987 in Alberta.
QUESTION: What inspired you to get into film?
DEAN: I had a life-long love of film and music, and wanted to pursue media in either writing, journalism, or sound recording. I fell into film by accident getting a summer job between first- and second-year Cinema, Television, Stage, and Radio courses at SAIT in Calgary.
QUESTION: It sounds like you had a diverse career. Can you tell us a highlight along the way?
DEAN: Oh so many, but day one on the set of the Oscar Winning film “Unforgiven”. To stand on the set and see Clint Eastwood as Will Munny walk into that room is a memory that will never leave.
QUESTION: What project were you working on when you decided this was what you wanted to do with your life?
DEAN: “Unforgiven” was when I knew I would work in Props for the rest of my career.
QUESTION: How would someone get a career like yours?
DEAN: In the Okanagan find out who the prop people are making a living at it. Reach out to them and see if you can meet and ask questions. Volunteer for small indie short films. Get to know your local film crews through the independent film society.
QUESTION: What piece of advice would you give someone looking to get into film in the Okanagan?
DEAN: If you are looking for a job, film is not for you. The days are long, but if it is in your heart and it is something you really want to do, then follow the steps in the answers above.
QUESTION: What advice would you give to someone who wanted to follow in your footsteps?
DEAN: You have to be a calm person. You have to be organized. You always always have to be on time. Find a person who is doing the craft and become one of their assistants and work as an assistant for years. Do not be in a hurry to be called a department head. I spent 10 years assisting before I did my first American Feature film as a Property Master.
QUESTION: Great advice! Words to live by. Now, can you tell me what are the benefits of working/living in the Okanagan? What do you personally like about it?
DEAN: The lifestyle. There is a calm ease of pace as opposed to Vancouver or Calgary. I like the people and the young crews I worked with here are great.
QUESTION: Can you share with us what you are currently working on?
DEAN: I am working for Apple on a series in Vancouver. I did season one of Percy Jackson for Disney and have been asked back to do season 2 in Vancouver so that is probably next for me.
QUESTION: What makes working in the Okanagan different than working in other communities?
DEAN: The variety of landscapes. When I was on “Gunless” in Osoyoos I had worked on a number of westerns in Alberta, but that location may have been the most authentic to a South West US desert environment I have worked in. Hell, there was even a wild rattlesnake on set.
QUESTION: Wow!! Can you share one of your most memorable (funny? tragic?) moments on set?
DEAN: The night before day one of “Unforgiven” I did not sleep well imagining what my first interaction with Clint would be like. When I got to set, my boss Prop Master, Eddie Aiona, sent me back to an area by the road where he saw wild flowers and asked me to pick some for the scene where Clint puts flowers on his wife Claudia’s grave. So a big teamster and I were picking the flowers when a vehicle slowed down to look at us. It was Clint, he smiled as he drove past. I managed a feeble wave with my bouquet in my hand. Out of all of the scenarios I had imagined, none had me waving with a bouquet of flowers. On set when Clint walked in, he recognized me and said, “I have seen a lot of things on the first day of my films, but this is the first time I have ever seen a prop man and a teamster in the ditch picking flowers together.”

QUESTION: Love that story! Any final thoughts/stories that you would like to add?
DEAN: In thirty eight years, I have never had a job. I have spent that time making memories. I was happy to share those memories in my recently released book “They Don’t Pay Me To Say No: My Life in Film and Television Props”. It is in Okanagan Libraries. UBCO’s library. It was also picked up by many other schools and libraries including The Swedish Film Institute in Stockholm. It is a book of funny, heartwarming and chaotic stories of my career. (Writers note, it is a GREAT book and is also available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.ca/They-Dont-Pay-Say-Television/dp/1039144314)