# Wearing the Most Hats in Movies
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 4, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918 "2008-04-04T13:31:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/1 "2008-04-04T13:31:23Z")
Sure, there are plenty of director/producer/writer/stars out there, and occasionally they do things like their own music (John Carpenter). But who gets into the real nitty-gritty?
**Luke Halpin** (who played the son, Sandy, in the original movie and TV **Flipper** )
```
actor
stage manager
marine coordinator
electrician
grip
stunts
boat driver (for **The SpongeBob Squarepants** movie!)
special effects
```
I suspect he was doing all this because he needed the workm, but, still, I’m amazed at the range.
**Dan O’Bannon**
```
writer
director
story consultant
visual design consultant
editor
special effects supervisor
computer animation and displays (for **Star Wars** -- he did the Death Star graphics when they were targeting the Rebel Base, for instance)
actor (Pinback in **Dark Star** , and a bit part in his own **Return of the Living Dead**
```
**Orson Welles**
```
Writer
Producer
Director
Actor
Editor
Music Arranger (!)
Production Designer
Costume Designer (!!)
Art Director
Set Designer
Cinematographer (!!!)
Consultant
```
---
### Author:  [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/2 "2008-04-04T13:42:37Z")
Well, don’t know how much of this is ego driven, but for **The Brown Bunny** , Vincent Gallo is listed as:
Written by
Vincent Gallo
Directed by
Vincent Gallo
Starring
Vincent Gallo
Produced by
Vincent Gallo
Cinematography by
Vincent Gallo
Film Editing by
Vincent Gallo
Production Design by
Vincent Gallo
Art Direction by
Vincent Gallo
Set Decoration by
Vincent Gallo
Costume Design by
Vincent Gallo
Makeup Department
Vincent Gallo
Art Department
Vincent Gallo
He’s also been credited as a musician in a movie or two.
Again, with him, it’s likely as much ego as anything, but still pretty unusual to do that much in a mainstream film.
---
### Author:  [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/3 "2008-04-04T13:49:33Z")
IMDb has credits for Chaplin as composer, arranger, and choreographer, as well as actor/director/writer/editor.
I thought John Sayles had done crew work, but they only list him as a/w/d/e and an occasional songwriting credit.
---
### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/4 "2008-04-04T13:50:28Z")
And, of course, we can’t forget **Marv Newland** , who did damned near everything in **Bambi Meets Godzilla**. But I suspect that was tongue in cheek.
The guys listed in the above two posts have more things listed as accomplishments than
\*\*Buster Keaton
Charlie Chaplin
Kirk Douglas
Mel Gibson
\*\*
or even the low-budget, have-to-do-it-all-themselves specialists
**Bruce Kimmel
Ed Wood
Bert I. Gordon
Roger Corman**
---
### Author:  [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/5 "2008-04-04T19:26:58Z")
But beside Gallo, how many do it _all in the same film_? I would imagine that **Clint Eastwood** has probably produced, acted in, directed and wrote music for the same film (or films).
Let me look…
Yep- _Million Dollar Baby_- produced, directed, starred and wrote music.
ETA- _Space Cowboys_ too- produced, directed, acted and wrote music.
ETA again- Clint’s IMDB credits include Actor, Director, Producer, Composer, Soundtrack, Miscellaneous Crew, Camera and Electrical Department and Writer. Whew! 😉
---
### Author:  [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/6 "2008-04-04T19:32:00Z")
Robert Rodriguez’s listing on IMDB lists him as
Director
Editor
Producer
Writer
Cinematographer
Composer & Music Dept.
Sound Dept.
Camera & Electrical Dept.
Actor
Visual & Special Effect
Production Designer
Second Unit/Assistant Director
Animation Dept.
and Miscellaneous Crew (“chef”)
---
### Author:  [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/7 "2008-04-04T19:33:02Z")
Holy crap!
😃
Busy guy.
---
### Author:  [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/8 "2008-04-04T19:51:20Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham]
And, of course, we can’t forget **Marv Newland** , who did damned near everything in **Bambi Meets Godzilla**. But I suspect that was tongue in cheek.
[/QUOTE]
Marv Newland was conceived by Mr. and Mrs. Newland.
---
### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/9 "2008-04-04T20:45:05Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham]
**Dan O’Bannon**
```
writer
director
story consultant
visual design consultant
editor
special effects supervisor
computer animation and displays (for **Star Wars** -- he did the Death Star graphics when they were targeting the Rebel Base, for instance)
actor (Pinback in **Dark Star** , and a bit part in his own **Return of the Living Dead**
```
[/QUOTE]
You missed “Misogynistic Psycho,” although that may not have been the official name of his position during _Alien_.
---
### Author:  [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/10 "2008-04-04T21:52:09Z")
More of a nickname or term of endearment, perhaps?
---
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wearing-the-most-hats-in-movies/443918/11 "2008-04-05T03:34:14Z")
Kevin Smith, in various films:
Writer
Director
Producer
Actor
Editor
Casting Director
Production Manager
Consultant
“Phase One Instigator”
Executive album producer
Executive advisor
Puppeteer