Pictures at a Revolution
Page 58
25. Archerd, Army. “Hope, Hal Kanter Deftly Tickle Oscar Risibles.” Variety, April 11, 1968.
26. This and all quotations from the show that follow come from a viewing of The 40th Annual Academy Awards,” courtesy of the Academy Film Archives.
27. AI with Nichols.
28. AI with Pollard.
29. AI with Penn.
30. AI with Henry.
31. AI with Hoffman.
32. AI with Ganis and Parsons.
33. Richards, from Beah: A Black Woman Speaks, op. cit.
34. Ashby Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
35. Bricusse, The Music Man, op. cit.
36. Jewison, This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me, op. cit.
37. AI with Nichols.
38. Letter from Stirling Silliphant to Mrs. Leigh Silliphant, February 27, 1968, Silliphant Collection, UCLA.
39. AI with Benton.
40. “The Big Award.” Los Angeles Times West Magazine, April 7, 1968.
41. AI with Hoffman.
42. Edwards, Anne. A Remarkable Woman: A Biography of Katharine Hepburn (New York: William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1985), pp. 320, 355.
43. AI with Jewison.
44. Silliphant, interviewed in Backstory 3, op. cit.
45. AI with Nichols.
46. AI with Henry.
47. Telegram from Steve Sekely to Stirling Silliphant, April 10, 1968, Silliphant Collection.
48. Letter from Stirling Silliphant Jr. to Stirling Silliphant, undated, Silliphant Collection.
49. Champlin, Charles. “Katharine Hepburn, Steiger, ‘Heat of Night’ Win Oscars.” Los Angeles Times, April 11, 1968.
50. AI with Benton.
51. AI with Newman.
52. Newman, David, and Robert Benton. “The Movies Will Save Themselves,” Esquire, February 1968.
EPILOGUE
1. Interoffice memo from Norman Jewison, July 3, 1968, Jewison Collection.
2. “List of All Time Box Office Champs” and “Big Rental Films of 1968.” Variety, January 8, 1969; and “List of All Time Box Office Champs.” Variety, January 7, 1970.
3. Thomas, Clown Prince of Hollywood, op. cit., p. 300.
4. Author interview with Jewison.
5. Bloom, Leaving a Doll’s House, op. cit.
6. Gorman, Steve. “Oscar-Winning Actor Rod Steiger Dies at Age 77.” Reuters, July 9, 2002.
7. AI with Zanuck.
8. AI with Wilson.
9. Klemesrud, “Dustin Hoffman: From ‘Graduate’ to Ratso Rizzo, Super Slob,” op. cit.
10. Champlin, Charles. “The Graduate’s Girl Friend.” Los Angeles Times, January 22, 1968.
11. AI with Schlom.
12. Columbia Pictures memo, April 17, 1968; Columbia Pictures memo from Phil Leonard to Stanley Kramer, January 6, 1970; and letter from Edwin E, Holly to Sam Zagon, December 17, 1971, all from Kramer Collection, UCLA.
13. AI with Houghton.
14. Crowther, Bosley. Reruns: Fifty Memorable Films (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1978).
15. Sanders, Charles L. “Sidney Poitier: The Man Behind the Superstar.” Ebony, April 1968.
16. Hoffman, Sidney, op. cit.
17. AI with Karen Kramer.
18. Barthel, “He Doesn’t Want to Be Sexless Sidney,” op. cit.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My sincere thanks to the people who agreed to be interviewed for this book, and who, in many cases, shared not only memories but telephone numbers, diaries, journals, private collections, letters, and contracts. They are (billed alphabetically) Mort Abrahams, Ray Aghayan, Angela Allen, Susan Anspach, Warren Beatty, Robert Benton, Alexandra Berlin, Eileen Brennan, David Brown, Warren Cowan, Mart Crowley, Brenda Currin, William Daniels, John C. Dutton, Samantha Eggar, Morgan Fairchild, Joel Freeman, Sid Ganis, Arthur Gelb, Lee Grant, Wynn Handman, William Hanley, Buck Henry, Arthur Hiller, Leonard Hirshan, Dustin Hoffman, Geoffrey Holder, Katharine Houghton, Anthony James, Norman Jewison, Elinor Jones, Robert C. Jones, Karen Kramer, Larry Kramer, John Phillip Law, Richard Lederer, Christopher Lofting, Sidney Lumet, Clifford Mason, Peter Masterson, William Mead, Elaine Michea, Walter Mirisch, Joseph Morgenstern, Terry Morse, Peter J. Nelson, Patricia Newcomb, Leslie Newman, Mike Nichols, Estelle Parsons, Arthur Penn, David Picker, Sydney Pollack, Michael J. Pollard, Stuart A. Reiss, Ronald Ribman, Andrew Sarris, William Schallert, Joel Schiller, Marshall Schlom, Elliot Silverstein, Robert Solo, Lynn Stalmaster, Harrison Starr, Alexandra Stewart, Dean Tavoularis, Michael Tolan, Robert Towne, Natalie Trundy, Lawrence Turman, Theadora Van Runkle, Charles Webb, Elizabeth Wilson, Scott Wilson, Irwin Winkler, Norton Wright, Susannah York, and Richard Zanuck. A number of people agreed to speak to me on the condition that their names not be used, and although I chose not to quote them directly in the book, they have my gratitude for their time, their candor, and the useful background information and context they provided.
Much of the information in Pictures at a Revolution comes directly from archival documents, which were invaluable to my research, all the more since the period this book covers was one in which so much of Hollywood’s business was conducted by memo, cable, letter, and telegram. I thank the following people and institutions for the access they provided and for their ongoing efforts to preserve and catalogue film history: the dedicated and resourceful staff of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center; Ben Brewster and the staff of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theatre Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Ned Comstock, Sandra Lee, and Steve Hanson at the USC Cinema-Television Library and Archives of Performing Arts; J. C. Johnson and Alexander Rankin at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University; Neil Bethke and Cynthia Becht in the Archives & Special Collections Department of the Charles Von Der Ahe Library at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles; Jeff Rankin and the staff of the Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections at UCLA; Caroline Sisneros of the Louis B. Mayer Library at the American Film Institute; Brian Meacham of the Academy Film Archives at the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study; Randy Haberkamp of the Academy Foundation in Los Angeles, and Barbara Hall and the staff of the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study. (And a plea to all contemporary filmmakers: Archive your e-mail!)
For returning calls, answering my questions, offering good counsel, speaking up on my behalf, and/or pointing fingers in the right directions, thanks to Michael Abrams, Doug Aibel, Tino Balio, Bonnie Bartlett, Eyde Belasco, Michael Black, Paul Bloch, Leslee Dart, Claire Dippel, Carlo Eugster, Francesco Foggia, Martin Stephen Frommer, Selina Gomeau, Jeff Gardinier, Raja Gosnell, Lisa Gay Hamilton, John Lahr, Jeffrey Lane, Liz Mahoney, Camryn Manheim, Carri McClure, Wendy Morris, Sacha Newley, William B. Mann, Marion Rosenberg, Will Schwalbe, Chris Sherman, Michael Small, Steven Spielberg, and Bobby Zarem.
When I began this book four years ago, I was an editor at Entertainment Weekly. My work on Pictures from a Revolution spanned a period of multitasking, then a long leave of absence from the magazine, then a return in a different job, then my departure from EW, and finally another return as a columnist. I owe more of my colleagues there than I can possibly name an immense debt of gratitude for bearing with me along the way, and particular thanks to Rick Tetzeli for his remarkable support at every turn.
I’m grateful to Luke Janklow of Janklow & Nesbit for his passion, his perspective, and his willingness to take a chance on this project. Brian Siberell allowed me to interrupt many of his working days in order to draw upon his help and hospitality, and I feel fortunate to have had him in my corner. Michelle Kung provided resourceful and energetic research assistance down to the wire, both in New York and in Wisconsin. Michele Romero found and assembled the pictures for this book; she is a treasure of a photo editor, an original thinker about pop culture, and a great pal.
Without the wisdom, calmness, clarity, focus, and gentle hand on the wheel of my superb
editor, Scott Moyers, I would not have been able to write this book. I will never be able to thank him sufficiently, or to express how meaningful Ann Godoff’s vision and encouragement have been, from the first day we met to the finish line. My heartfelt thanks to the rest of the fantastic Penguin Press team as well, especially Laura Stickney, Tracy Locke, and Maggie Sivon.
The steadfastness and good wishes of Elly Eisenberg, Linda Emond, Oskar and Laurie Eustis, Dan Fierman, Owen Gleiberman, Betsy Gleick, Henry Goldblatt, Michael Mayer, Mary Kaye Schilling, Ben Svetkey, Ken Tucker, Roger Waltzman, and Jay Woodruff throughout this project have meant the world to me. And Lisa Schwarzbaum gets special billing—a title card of her own—for magnificence above and beyond the call of duty.
Finally, I thank my many families—the Harrises and Davises, the Wisniewskis, the Kushners, and the Deutschers—for their unconditional embrace, especially my brother David, one of the best guys I’ve ever known, and my husband, Tony, whose unfailing generosity with his eyes, his ears, his mind, and his heart sustains me every day.
INDEX
Abbott, L.B.
Abrahams, Mort
Academy Awards
1963 overview
1965 overview
1967 complete list of nominees and winners
1967 nominations
1967 presentation
campaigning for nominations and awards
and death of Dr. King
handicapping
Poitier wins Best Actor
tradition of previous winners as presenters
Adler, Renata
The African Queen
After the Fall (play)
Aghayan, Ray
Albee, Edward
Alda, Alan
Aldrich, Robert
Alfie
Alice Adams
All Fall Down
Allen, Dede
Allen, Lewis
Allen, Woody
Allied Artists
Alpert, Hollis
America, America
American International Pictures (AIP)
The Americanization of Emily
An American in Paris
Andersonville
Andrews, Julie
Ann-Margret
Anspach, Susan
Antonioni, Michelangelo
The Apple Tree (play)
Arick, Larry
Arkin, Alan
Arkoff, Samuel
Ashby, Hal
after In the Heat of the Night
background
and death of Dr. King
as detail man
as director of The Landlord
as editor of In the Heat of the Night
Ashley, Elizabeth
Asner, Ed
Attenborough, Richard
Aurthur, Robert Alan
Ball, John
Bancroft, Anne
as 1967 Academy Award nominee
in The Miracle Worker
as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate
presents Sidney Poitier his Best Actor Oscar
and rehearsals for The Graduate
in The Slender Thread
Bardot, Brigitte
Barefoot in the Park (movie)
Barefoot in the Park (play)
Barrow, Buck (Clyde Barrow’s brother)
Barrow, Clyde
Barrow family
Baum, Martin
Beach Red
Beatles
Beatty, Warren
as 1967 first-time Academy Award nominee
and Abe Lastfogel
at Academy Awards
after Bonnie and Clyde
asks Arthur Penn to direct Bonnie and Clyde
background
early screenings of Bonnie and Clyde
and Fahrenheit
and The Graduate
his view of casting
introduction to Bonnie and Clyde
and Jack Warner
at Jane Fonda’s 1985 Fourth of July party
and Kaleidoscope
and Leslie Caron
and Lilith
meets Robert Towne
meets with Godard about Bonnie and Clyde
and Mickey One
at Montreal premiere of Bonnie and Clyde
obtains Benton and Newman’s Bonnie and Clyde script
as producer of Bonnie and Clyde
and Promise Her Anything
promotes Bonnie and Clyde
question of Clyde Barrow’s sexuality
relationship with Penn regarding Bonnie and Clyde
search for director for Bonnie and Clyde
and Splendor in the Grass
and What’s New, Pussycat?
The Bedford Incident
Belafonte, Harry
Benjamin, Robert
Benton, Robert, and David Newman
at 1967 Academy Awards
after Bonnie and Clyde
and…It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman (play)
awarded Best Screenplay by New York Film Critics Circle
background
Benton’s visit from Warren Beatty
and Bosley Crowther
drafted by Beatty to work on ad campaign for
Bonnie and Clyde
efforts to find director and studio for Bonnie and Clyde
at Esquire
gain opportunity to secure production deal for
Bonnie and Clyde
and Godard
initial Bonnie and Clyde screenplay effort
leave Bonnie and Clyde production
and Pauline Kael
question of Clyde Barrow’s sexuality
response to Sarris review of Bonnie and Clyde
sell Bonnie and Clyde script to Beatty
and success of Bonnie and Clyde
and Truffaut
Berbert, Marcel
Bergen, Candice
Bergman, Ingmar
Berman, Pandro
The Bible
Birdman of Alcatraz
black and white vs. color cinematography
The Blackboard Jungle
blacklist
Blake, Robert
Bloom, Claire
Blow-Up
Bogart, Humphrey
Bogdanovich, Peter
Bond (James) movies
Bonnie and Clyde
Beatty obtains Benton and Newman’s script
budget and financing
casting
critical reaction
film critic award considerations
filming final scene
final weeks of filming in Burbank
and François Truffaut
The Graduate as companion piece
initial Benton and Newman treatment
as Oscar contender
popularity
postproduction
premiere
preproduction
promotion
search for director and studio
significance of Time magazine cover
as success
Texas filming
wrap party
The Bonnie Parker Story
Brackman, Jacob
Brando, Marlon
Breathless
Bricusse, Leslie
after Doctor Dolittle
and Anthony Newley
background
and Doctor Dolittle
first approached about writing Doctor Dolittle
previewing Doctor Dolittle
Brinkley, David
Broccoli, Albert R. “Cubby,”
Brook, Peter
Brooks, Mel
Brooks, Richard
Brown, David
Brown, H. Rap
Brown, Jim
Bruce, Lenny
Buñuel, Luis
Burton, Richard
and Cleopatra
plays host to Rex Harrison and his wife
sought after
and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Byrds
Byrne, Anne
Caine, Michael
Camelot
Capote, Truman
Carey, Timothy
Carmichael, Stokely
Caron, Leslie
at 1967 Academy Awards
and Truffaut
and Warren Beatty
Carroll, Diahann
Carroll, Kathleen
Casino Royale
Cat Ballou
The Catcher in the Rye (book)
Catledge, Turner
Champlin, Charles
Changas, Estelle
Channing, Carol
Chaplin, Charlie
The Chase
Chayefsky, Paddy
The Children’s Hour
Chimes at Midnight
Christie, Julie
The Cincinnati Kid
cinematography, black and white vs. color
Cleopatra
Clift, Montgomery
Cohn, Roy
Coles, Robert
The Collector
Collins, Joan
Columbia Pictures. See also Frankovich, Mike
1967 Oscar contenders
and Casino Royale
and The Chase
and In Cold Blood
and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
and In the Heat of the Night
interest in Bonnie and Clyde
and Lilith
and Mickey One
need for more Bond-like movies
new-found interest in musicals
and To Sir, with Love
and Stanley Kramer
studio ownership question
turns down Doctor Dolittle
viewed as risk-taking studio
Comden, Betty
Connery, Sean
Cool Hand Luke
Coppola, Francis
Corliss, Richard
Corman, Roger
Cosby, Bill
A Countess from Hong Kong
Crist, Judith
Crosby, Bing
Crowther, Bosley
1966 ten best list
given new assignment at New York Times
leaves New York Times
movie reviews
and New York Film Critics Circle
view of Bonnie and Clyde
view of Cleopatra
view of Doctor Dolittle
view of The Graduate
view of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
view of In the Heat of the Night
view of Kurosawa films
view of Orson Welles
view of Warren Beatty
Cukor, George
Curtis, Tony
Daniels, William
Darin, Bobby
Darling
Davis, Bette
Davis, Desmond