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Robert Redford and Paul Newman in a publicity shot promoting their episode of Iconoclasts in 2005.
I first met Paul Newman in 1968, when George Roy Hill, the director of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, introduced us in New York City. When the studio didn’t want me for the film — it wanted somebody as well known as Paul — he stood up for me. I don’t know how many people would have done that; they would have listened to their agents or the studio powers. —Robert Redford Remembers Paul Newman
This is essential viewing, Iconoclasts: Robert Redford on Paul Newman (2005):
Previously on Cinephilia and Beyond:
John Huston, Peter Bogdanovich and Oja Kodar in Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind
(Source: chainedandperfumed.com)
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![When Robert Altman made his final film A Prairie Home Companion, a standby director was required as no insurance company would cover the film without one. Paul Thomas Anderson acted as Altman’s backup on the set, saying, “Any hesitation? None. None at all, because I knew he wasn’t going to die.” Here he describes Altman’s last moments as a director.
The last day we shot the last scene, the one with Kevin with the garbage falling and him playing piano. That was the last thing we shot. And Bob definitely had a melancholy feeling about him, in his face. Because of the way the shot was, we were shooting the whole stage, so Bob was tucked over in Guy Noir’s office. Sometimes you get in these horrible places where you just have to be for the shot. And he had a Starbucks coffee in his hand and his coat was zipped up because it was kind of cold in there and he had his glasses on. He was staring at the monitor and he just looked really sad that it was ending. I think we only did the shot twice. I remember sitting there thinking, “Fuck, do it again, do it… do more, do more.” I wanted to do more — not cause it wasn’t good, but I wanted to keep shooting. Oh, I didn’t figure on this making me sad. I thought, “Oh great, I get to talk about Bob.” But it’s making me feel like I’m sure everybody feels — they really wish they could call him up. Yeah, fuck! Horrible, sad. He was so indestructible for so long.” —Paul Thomas Anderson on Robert Altman
That would explain the requirement that you have a stand-by director, who turned out to be Paul Thomas Anderson. Paul was very, very generous to do this. It’s amazing, I was really surprised. I never would have asked him to do it. He was at my side every moment I was shooting and he was a fantastic help. He never intruded, he never overrode me. I couldn’t even say goodbye to him, I would have broken down in tears. Certainly you aware of the homage he’s paid to you with films such as “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia.” He told me he was a big fan of mine. I saw him after “Boogie Nights” and he said, “I just ripped you off.” [chuckles]. —Robert Altman on Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson dedicated his 2007 film There Will Be Blood to Altman.
PTA on filmmaking:
First part of a series of informative selections from PTA and Philip Baker Hall together. PTA is a known cinephile who comes from the same camp as Quentin Tarantino. A man who had immersed himself in studying cinema by watching a plethora of films and utilized the knowledge gathered from laserdisc commentaries in the late 80′s and early 90′s to learn filmmaking on his own. Of course not many people know he had a leg up in the industry as much as he likes to milk the “non-film school” card, but one can still admire the dedication of learning the craft by being a sponge, soaking up all kinds of filmmaking information. —filmschoolthrucommentaries
Previously on Cinephilia and Beyond:
Hard Eight (also known as Sydney) screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson
Hard Eight Audio Commentary (1996) with director PT Anderson and actor Phillip Baker Hall
Paul Thomas Anderson claims that everything he knows about directing he learned from John Sturges’ commentary on the Bad Day at Black Rock LaserDisc
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When Robert Altman made his final film A Prairie Home Companion, a standby director was required as no insurance company would cover the film without one. Paul Thomas Anderson acted as Altman’s backup on the set, saying, “Any hesitation? None. None at all, because I knew he wasn’t going to die.” Here he describes Altman’s last moments as a director.
The last day we shot the last scene, the one with Kevin with the garbage falling and him playing piano. That was the last thing we shot. And Bob definitely had a melancholy feeling about him, in his face. Because of the way the shot was, we were shooting the whole stage, so Bob was tucked over in Guy Noir’s office. Sometimes you get in these horrible places where you just have to be for the shot. And he had a Starbucks coffee in his hand and his coat was zipped up because it was kind of cold in there and he had his glasses on. He was staring at the monitor and he just looked really sad that it was ending. I think we only did the shot twice. I remember sitting there thinking, “Fuck, do it again, do it… do more, do more.” I wanted to do more — not cause it wasn’t good, but I wanted to keep shooting. Oh, I didn’t figure on this making me sad. I thought, “Oh great, I get to talk about Bob.” But it’s making me feel like I’m sure everybody feels — they really wish they could call him up. Yeah, fuck! Horrible, sad. He was so indestructible for so long.” —Paul Thomas Anderson on Robert Altman
That would explain the requirement that you have a stand-by director, who turned out to be Paul Thomas Anderson.
Paul was very, very generous to do this. It’s amazing, I was really surprised. I never would have asked him to do it. He was at my side every moment I was shooting and he was a fantastic help. He never intruded, he never overrode me. I couldn’t even say goodbye to him, I would have broken down in tears.
Certainly you aware of the homage he’s paid to you with films such as “Boogie Nights” and “Magnolia.”
He told me he was a big fan of mine. I saw him after “Boogie Nights” and he said, “I just ripped you off.” [chuckles]. —Robert Altman on Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson dedicated his 2007 film There Will Be Blood to Altman.
PTA on filmmaking:
First part of a series of informative selections from PTA and Philip Baker Hall together. PTA is a known cinephile who comes from the same camp as Quentin Tarantino. A man who had immersed himself in studying cinema by watching a plethora of films and utilized the knowledge gathered from laserdisc commentaries in the late 80′s and early 90′s to learn filmmaking on his own. Of course not many people know he had a leg up in the industry as much as he likes to milk the “non-film school” card, but one can still admire the dedication of learning the craft by being a sponge, soaking up all kinds of filmmaking information. —filmschoolthrucommentaries
Previously on Cinephilia and Beyond:
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![Blue Velvet screenplay by David Lynch [pdf]. (NOTE: For educational purposes only)
Lynch wrote two treatments of Blue Velvet at Warner’s request, but they hated both versions. The film was dead until Lynch finished filming Dune, and was asked by producer Dino De Laurentiis if he had any projects he’d like to do next. Lynch pitched Blue Velvet, with one condition — he had to have final cut. De Laurentiis agreed in exchange for Lynch cutting his salary and the film’s budget in half. Some questioned if it was wise for De Laurentiis to fund Lynch’s new project given the poor box office of Dune. According to Paul Sammon, former DEG vice-president of special promotions, “Dino appreciated David’s rather bizarre gifts, and besides, Dino’s system was to always presell everything through his European and international contacts, so he never lost money.”
With the project a go again, Lynch completed two more drafts of the screenplay to Blue Velvet. The catalyst to set the story in motion was Jeffrey’s discovery of the ear. “The ear is like a canal, it’s like an opening, little egress into another place… It’s like a ticket to another world that he finds. If he hadn’t found it, you know, he would have kept on going home and that would have been the end of it. But the fascination with this, once found, drew him into something he needed to discover and work through.” It was on the fourth and final draft that Lynch finally came up with the ending to the film. “I was sitting on a bench and I suddenly remembered this dream that I’d had the night before. And the dream was the ending to Blue Velvet. The dream gave me the police radio; the dream gave me Frank’s disguise; the dream gave me the gun in the yellow man’s jacket; the dream gave me the scene where Jeffrey was in the back of Dorothy’s apartment, sending the wrong message, knowing Frank would hear it. I don’t know how it happened, but I just had to plug and change a few things to bring it all together.” —lynchnet
Photographs from the 25th Anniversary Blue Velvet Exhibit held in the Dennis Hopper Building, 20 Princess Street, Wilmington, North Carolina, November 9th through the 13th 2011.
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Blue Velvet screenplay by David Lynch [pdf]. (NOTE: For educational purposes only)
Lynch wrote two treatments of Blue Velvet at Warner’s request, but they hated both versions. The film was dead until Lynch finished filming Dune, and was asked by producer Dino De Laurentiis if he had any projects he’d like to do next. Lynch pitched Blue Velvet, with one condition — he had to have final cut. De Laurentiis agreed in exchange for Lynch cutting his salary and the film’s budget in half. Some questioned if it was wise for De Laurentiis to fund Lynch’s new project given the poor box office of Dune. According to Paul Sammon, former DEG vice-president of special promotions, “Dino appreciated David’s rather bizarre gifts, and besides, Dino’s system was to always presell everything through his European and international contacts, so he never lost money.”
With the project a go again, Lynch completed two more drafts of the screenplay to Blue Velvet. The catalyst to set the story in motion was Jeffrey’s discovery of the ear. “The ear is like a canal, it’s like an opening, little egress into another place… It’s like a ticket to another world that he finds. If he hadn’t found it, you know, he would have kept on going home and that would have been the end of it. But the fascination with this, once found, drew him into something he needed to discover and work through.” It was on the fourth and final draft that Lynch finally came up with the ending to the film. “I was sitting on a bench and I suddenly remembered this dream that I’d had the night before. And the dream was the ending to Blue Velvet. The dream gave me the police radio; the dream gave me Frank’s disguise; the dream gave me the gun in the yellow man’s jacket; the dream gave me the scene where Jeffrey was in the back of Dorothy’s apartment, sending the wrong message, knowing Frank would hear it. I don’t know how it happened, but I just had to plug and change a few things to bring it all together.” —lynchnet
Photographs from the 25th Anniversary Blue Velvet Exhibit held in the Dennis Hopper Building, 20 Princess Street, Wilmington, North Carolina, November 9th through the 13th 2011.
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