Going back in time to the Tulsa of more than 40 years is as easy as diving into a new photo book.
Photojournalist Nancy Moran has a résumé that includes stops at major media outlets (New York Times, Washington Post) and in Saigon, where she spent two years photographing the Vietnam War.
Director Francis Ford Coppola is shown with Matt Dillon and C. Thomas Howell on the set of “The Outsiders” in 1982. This photograph and others taken by photojournalist Nancy Moran will appear in a new book of “The Outsiders” photos.
In 1982, she was hired to travel to Tulsa and take photographs while Francis Ford Coppola was filming a movie here. The movie was “The Outsiders,” an adaptation of Tulsa author S.E. Hinton’s classic young adult novel.
Stay gold? The cast was golden. The mostly unknown actors who landed roles as “greasers” were put on a path to stardom. Roll call: Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell and Emilio Estevez.
In a recent phone interview, Moran was asked what struck her the most about the experience of being a photographer during the making of “The Outsiders.”
“Of course the kids,” she said. “I mean, it was obvious that they were wonderful actors, all of them, and that they worked so well together. I mean, Francis had really made them into a team. And they were completely absorbed in their roles and in the story and in bringing this book to life.”
Decades later, that book has led to another.
“The Outsiders On Set: Behind-the-Scenes Photography by Nancy Moran” is available for pre-order and is expected to ship later this month. Presented by the Outsiders House Museum and its executive director, Danny O’Connor, the 254-page hardcover book provides a “home” for the images Moran captured while in Tulsa. Many of the photos — color and black-and-white — are being made available to eyeballs for the first time.
Photojournalist Nancy Moran took this photo of C. Thomas Howell on the porch of the Outsiders House in 1982 when “The Outsiders” was filmed in Tulsa. A new book showcasing Moran’s “The Outsiders” photos is available for pre-ordering.
“It’s an immense book,” O’Connor said. “I’m super excited about it. And to be honest about it, it’s another way to celebrate Tulsa’s rich movie history. It’s a time that was unlike any other in Tulsa, and you get to see the magic that happened here in a way that you have never seen it before.”
O’Connor can’t recall how he found out Moran possessed a treasure trove of “The Outsiders” photos. Maybe it was because a few of them were sprinkled into a 2011 issue of Vanity Fair? Once O’Connor became aware of the photos’ existence, he prioritized tracking Moran down to inquire about them.
O’Connor said Moran “didn’t know me from a hole in the wall,” but she trusted him enough to send negatives and proof sheets, as long as he promised to return them. O’Connor said his jaw dropped when he looked at the images for the first time.
This is the cover of a new book of Nancy Moran’s photos taken during the making of the shot-in-Tulsa film “The Outsiders.”
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “To finally get the ability to make a book with her is like a dream come true.”
Moran’s road to Tulsa led through the Philippines. That’s where Coppola shot the 1979 film “Apocalypse Now.”
The making of “Apocalypse Now” proved to be a little too eventful. For the full story, check out the documentary, “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse.”
Moran had been hired by Rolling Stone to travel to the Philippines to shoot photos for a magazine story about the film. Rolling Stone cancelled the story before Moran made the trip because production was shut down for months by a typhoon that blew film sets away. After the typhoon, United Artists decided to close the set to the press and hire three photographers to take on-set photos (one to exclusively shoot Marlon Brando). Through persistence, Moran talked her way into being one of those photographers.
“Most of us became very friendly out there,” she said. “Francis was friendly with the people who were working for him. Ellie was there. The kids, who were little, were there. And a lot of the crew members were older — you know, people who had been friends of Francis since ‘The Godfather’ and stuff, so it was really kind of like a family in some ways.”
A book of photos Nancy Moran took during the making of “The Outsiders” is available for pre-order.
Moran said people stayed in contact after the long and difficult shoot. She stayed in touch with several actors and crew members. She said Coppola stayed in touch with everyone through Fred Roos, a producer and casting ace.
“And we got invited to screenings,” she said. “I mean, it wasn’t like the filming ended and that was it.”
Moran was invited to Coppola’s 40th birthday party in Napa. She said other invitations to the Coppola home followed and she became friendly with Coppola’s wife, Eleanor.
Moran was entrusted with the responsibility of photographing other Coppola endeavors, including “One From the Heart,” which he directed, and “The Black Stallion Returns,” which he produced. “The Black Stallion Returns” netted Moran trips to Morocco and Algeria.
Moran was hired to shoot photographs for non-Coppola films. Maybe you’ve heard of “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark”? She said the Coppolas passed her name to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.
From left, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell and Francis Ford Coppola were photographed on the lawn of the Outsiders House by Nancy Moran in 1982.
“The Coppola people were very good to the people they liked who did good work for them. They were very generous,” she said. “George Lucas and Francis were very close. I can remember being at the Coppolas' once, and George Lucas dropped in for breakfast. They saw a lot of each other.”
When Coppola trekked to Tulsa to tackle “The Outsiders,” Moran was hired by the production to be a special photographer. The production could use any of her images for posters or PR stills, but the photos were ultimately hers.
Moran had not read “The Outsiders” at the time she got the call, so she did her homework and read the book before setting foot in Tulsa.
Moran, who was in Tulsa for perhaps a week and a half, doesn’t recall all the scenes she was present for, but the roadhouse scene with Tom Waits sticks out “because who can forget Tom Waits?”
“What I do remember is I had pretty much free access to all the young actors,” she said. “I could wander around the set where I wanted to. If you don’t know how to behave on a set, you don’t get on it. You don’t get in front of a camera. You don’t get in anybody’s way. You don’t annoy people. But, given that, I could hang around and pretty much get the pictures I wanted or try to figure out where the opportunities were.”
Ralph Macchio, left, and C. Thomas Howell were photographed by Nancy Moran during the making of "The Outsiders" in Tulsa.
Buddy Joe Hooker and Outsiders
One ripe site for opportunities was a gym where stunt coordinator Buddy Joe Hooker trained the actors. Moran's photographs of Hooker putting cast members through the paces were published alongside a prior Tulsa World bio story about Hooker. Those photos also appear in the new book.
O’Connor said Moran’s photos are very sophisticated in the sense that her black-and-white photos stand out when compared to, for instance, color photos of “The Outsiders” that surfaced in the past from other sources.
Outsiders House Museum Executive Director Danny O'Connor, right, and Holly Standlee attend the "Tulsa Takes the Stage" event in New York City to celebrate The Outsiders musical. O'Connor edited the photo collection of “The Outsiders On Set: Behind-the-Scenes Photography by Nancy Moran.”
O’Connor said some non-Moran color photos “were more like glamour shots to make them look like pretty boys so that a young audience would relate. Nancy’s photos have more of a ‘The Wild One’ and Brando-type look to them, if that makes sense. They look more adult.”
O’Connor is thankful Moran had unfettered access “because she is there with her camera during scenes being filmed. That wasn’t something you saw granted to other photographers. She had access because she was friends with Coppola. It just hits different than the studio portraits or the candids that we have seen before this.”
Said Moran: “What I love about what Danny has done is he really went through my photographs much more than I ever had and pulled out stuff that I’ve never paid any attention to. But I think it really tells the story of what this movie was all about. I think he has done a wonderful job as a photo editor.”
Moran said she hopes people pay attention to the new book. “Not only for my sake, but for Danny’s sake and for the Outsiders House’s sake. I really think what he’s done (in creating the museum) is a wonderful thing. I just hope more and more people pay attention to it.”
When the book ships, copies will be available in the museum’s gift shop.
Director Francis Ford Coppola is shown on the set of "The Outsiders" in 1982.
Moran, who lives not too far away from greaser turf in Gainesville, Texas, said she never realized how famous cast members of “The Outsiders” would become when she was photographing them 42 years ago.
“But, you know, looking back on it, it made sense,” she said. “They were all just very, very good at what they were doing. And they were all very nice, and they were all very easy to work with. I was a lot older than they were. I mean, I wasn’t very old, but I was older than they were. But we all got along. And they were very helpful to me, to accommodate me, and vice versa. It was a very pleasant shoot.”