James Hockridge James Edward Hockridge was the First Assistant Director on . This was his first feature film credit , and he has since worked on twenty - five films and four made - for - television movies . Television credits . Before " Star Trek III " , Hockridge was a First Assistant Director ( 1st AD ) on the action - adventure television series " Charlie ' s Angels " and " T . J . Hooker " , the latter of which starred William Shatner , James Darren , and Richard Herd . Among the directors Hockridge worked with on both " Charlie ' s Angels " and " T . J . Hooker " were Corey Allen , Cliff Bole , and Kim Manners . Ken Stringer worked under Hockridge as Second Assistant Director ( 2nd AD ) on " T . J . Hooker " and did the same on " Star Trek III " . Hockridge and Stringer then collaborated on the 1984 TV movie " The Jesse Owns Story " , whose cast included LeVar Burton , Ronny Cox , James B . Sikking , Vic Tayback , John Vargas , and Ben Vereen . Babu Subramaniam , a 1st AD on , was Hockridge ' s 2nd AD on the 1987 science fiction TV movie " The Man Who Fell to Earth " , in which Bruce McGill , Robert Picardo , and Wil Wheaton had supporting roles . Hockridge next served as the 1st AD on the fantasy series " Beauty and the Beast " , which starred actor Ron Perlman . At least one of Hockridge ' s episodes was directed by Victor Lobl . Some of the actors to appear in Hockridge ' s episodes include James Avery , Zachary Benjamin , Daniel Benzali , Raye Birk , Katy Boyer , Joseph Campanella , David Clennon , Mimi Craven , Cory Danziger , Tony Epper , Ellen Geer , Stan Ivar , Scott Jaeck , Tony Jay , Kay E . Kuter , Christopher Neame , Nicholas Shaffer , Armin Shimerman , and Philip N . Waller . After nearly a decade of working solely on features , Hockridge returned to television production with the 1999 NBC movie " Mutiny " . He then worked as the 1st AD on the 2000 science fiction - horror TV movie " They Nest " , which co - starred John Savage and Dean Stockwell . Film credits . Since 1989 , Hockridge has worked almost exclusively as a 1st AD on feature films . Including " Star Trek III " , all but one one of his films between 1984 and 1995 were produced by Paramount Pictures . His first film production after " Star Trek III " was the 1990 hit " Ghost " , which featured Whoopi Goldberg and Vincent Schiavelli . Soon thereafter , he worked on the 1991 comedy " Soapdish " , which also co - starred Whoop Goldberg as well as Teri Hatcher . Hockridge then worked on the 1991 Scott Bakula football comedy " Necessary Roughness " , followed by the 1992 comedy " Wayne ' s World " and the 1993 romantic thriller " Sliver " . On the latter , assistant director Christopher T . Gerrity was also a 1st AD . Hockridge ' s only non - Paramount film during the early 1990s was the Warner Bros . release " Dennis the Menace " , for which he was the 1st AD for the film ' s Second Unit . stuntman Freddie Hice was the Second Unit Director , while Richard Oswald was the second assistant director for the film ' s main unit . The cast of " Dennis the Menace " included Christopher Lloyd and Paul Winfield ; the music was composed by Jerry Goldsmith . Hockridge has worked as the 1st AD on nearly all of comedy director ' s films , beginning with the 1994 spoof " Naked Gun 33 1 / 3 : The Final Insult " ( featuring Marc Alaimo , Earl Boen , Raye Birk , Bill Erwin , Matt Roe , and Bill Zuckert ) . Hockridge has since collaborated with Segal on 1995 ' s " Tommy Boy " ( which co - starred Zach Grenier and Julie Warner ) , 1996 ' s " My Fellow Americans " ( featuring Ann Cusack , Jack Kehler , Tom Wright , and Jeff Yagher ) , 2003 ' s " Anger Management " , 2004 ' s " 50 First Dates " , 2005 ' s " The Longest Yard " ( featuring James Cromwell and Ed Lauter ) , and 2008 ' s " Get Smart " ( which starred Dwayne Johnson ) . Matthew D . Smith was an Additional 2nd AD on " Anger Management " , " 50 First Dates " , and " The Longest Yard " . Hockridge ' s other film credits include the 1995 Paramount thriller " Nick of Time " ( featuring Bill Smitrovich ) , the 1996 adventure comedy " Fled " ( featuring Robert Hooks and Ken Jenkins ) , the 1997 crime thriller " Red Corner " ( featuring Tzi Ma ) , the 1998 action thriller " Black Dog " ( featuring Cyril O ' Reilly and Brenda Strong ) , the 1997 action - adventure " The Mod Squad " ( featuring Holmes Osborne and Dey Young ) , and the 2001 comedy " Rat Race " ( starring Lanei Chapman and Whoopi Goldberg ) . The aforementioned Matthew D . Smith also worked on " Rat Race " .