1982 film by Blake Edwards
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4 episodes with victor victoria
3 episodes with victor victoria
3 episodes with victor victoria
3 episodes with victor victoria
3 episodes with victor victoria
2 episodes with victor victoria
2 episodes with victor victoria
3 episodes with victor victoria
4 episodes with victor victoria
Este mes vamos a hablar de "VICTOR VICTORIA". Una película de Blake Edwards en la que combinó un estupendo guion, con una banda sonora de Henry Mancini exquisita, puestos al servicio de un reparto excelente, en el que todos están perfectos en su papel. Esta película es mucho más que una comedia o un musical. Es un canto a vivir la vida buscando tu felicidad, respetando a los demás, pero sin que te afecten sus opiniones. Fue todo un cambio en la forma en que se mostraba la homosexualidad en el cine, camuflada y maquillada desde el férreo código Hays. La película por si alguien no la ha visto es España está disponible en Amazon Prime y Apple TV, aparte de haberse editado en formato doméstico, DVD y Blu ray de la película y de la versión teatral. Hablaremos de la adaptación que se hizo a musical teatral, así como de la carrera de Blake Edwards y de su músico favorito Henry Mancini. Para ello nos juntamos Ángel de Quinta y Javier Jiménez de Sevilla, con Paco Dolz de Valencia y como siempre con Unai Aizpurua en la retaguardia organizándolo todo en directo para que todo fluya de la mejor manera posible. Esperamos os guste.
Kathleen MarshallKathleen began her Broadway career as an assistant to her brother Rob, the choreographer of Kiss of the Spider Woman, in 1993. The two also collaborated on She Loves Me, Damn Yankees , Victor/Victoria and Seussical. She was the artistic director for the Encores! series of staged musical revivals from 1996 through 2000. During that time, she choreographed The Boys from Syracuse, Li'l Abner and Call Me Madam and she directed and choreographed Babes in Arms and Wonderful Town.She also directed and choreographed the Broadway revival of Grease. I was fortunate enough to catch the Encores! production of Wonderful Town when it transferred to Broadway.Kathleen was also the director and choreographer of the Broadway revival of Pajama Game which opened in February 2006 and which was the Broadway acting debut of Harry Connick Jr. I'm happy to report I was there too!More pertinent, Kathleen directed and choreographed a Broadway revival of Cole Porter's Anything Goes in 2011, with Sutton Foster as Reno Sweeney. The show ran at London's Barbican Centre in 2021 and was recorded for television (BBC) by Ross MacGibbon, later picked up by PBS in America. Kathleen's production is as close to perfect as can be. In fact, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer. Stephen RidleyIn 2021 Steve joined Kathleen as music supervisor and music director of Anything Goes at the Barbican. He was also music supervisor of Oklahoma! at Wyndham's Theatre. Steve conducted the highly-acclaimed Broadway transfers of The King and I at The London Palladium and the Dominion Theatre and An American in Paris at the Dominion Theatre, and he was the music director of the Olivier Award winning revival of Ken Ludwig's Crazy for You at the Novello Theatre. He later was music supervisor of Kiss me, Kate at the Barbican, now being shown on PBS throughout the U.S.Steve is a music director, conductor and pianist based in London. He was born in Middlesbrough and is a graduate of the Royal College of Music. I'm thrilled that he joined us for this exciting episode!
Roland is back to go back in time to 1930s Germany where he and Jon examine the origin of the 1982 classic Victor/Victoria. Jon makes some bold statements, while the two can't get over how important this film is to film history.Roland's Instagram: @rolandrusinekHelluva Boss: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-uopgYBi65HwiiDR9Y23lomAkGr9mm-SPodcast Socials -Email: butasongpod@gmail.comFacebook: @butasongpodInstagram: @butasongpodThreads: @butasongpodNext episode: Bonnie & Clyde!
Hankering for another scrumptious bite of conversations on gender bending and the odd world of film casting? Join Campbell and Raven as we devour these delectable outtakes. You can support us by donating to: Education Through Music at https://www.classy.org/give/442371/#!/donation/checkout The D'Addario Foundation: http://www.daddariofoundation.org/about/donate Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation: https://www.mhopus.org/donate/ Email us at boozicals@gmail.com or comment your musical requests or cocktail recommendations! Also be sure to follow us on our Instagram @boozicals for updates on your now favorite podcast.
I think it's as simple as you're one kind of man, I'm another. And what kind are you? One that doesn't have to prove it - To myself, or anyone. This week Raven and Campbell discuss queerness, gender, and slapstick comedy in the 1982 musical film, Victor/Victoria. Where to watch: YouTube, Prime Video, Fandango, Apple TV, Google Play Classic Absinthe Drip recipe: - 1 oz absinthe - 3 oz cold water - 1 sugar cube Ya got options. 1) Pour 1 oz of absinthe into a glass and cover with an absinthe (slotted) spoon. Place the sugar cube and poor cold water over and let drip. 2) Place a sugar cube onto an absinthe spoon over an empty glass. Pour over the absinthe and light on fire. After a little caramelization/melting action, put it out with cold water. You can support us by donating to: Education Through Music at https://www.classy.org/give/442371/#!/donation/checkout The D'Addario Foundation: http://www.daddariofoundation.org/about/donate Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation: https://www.mhopus.org/donate/ Email us at boozicals@gmail.com or comment your musical requests or cocktail recommendations! Also be sure to follow us on our Instagram @boozicals for updates on your now favorite podcast.
On this episode of Read, Watch, Listen, host Chris Barnes chats with teen library associate Sarah Zyto, whose love of books in many genres is undeniable!Check out the items recommended using your EBPL or STELLA library Card: https://ilove.ebpl.org/adults-teens/news/read-watch-listen-sarah-zyto READ Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingslover Pachinko by Jin Min Lee Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C FordWATCH Fences (2016) Victor/Victoria (1982)LISTENFinding Me by Viola DavisAlligator Bites Never Heal by DoechiiJapanese Breakfast
Meg tours Tudor City and investigates the deaths of Hungarian émigrés George Senty and Piroska Lantos. Jessica marvels at Diana Ross making the show go on in Central park during a hurricane.Please check out our website, follow us on Instagram, on Facebook, and...WRITE US A REVIEW HEREWe'd LOVE to hear from you! Let us know if you have any ideas for stories HEREThank you for listening!Love,Meg and Jessica
The Casuals discuss AFI #69 Tootsie.
Sophie Thatcher is a multifaceted star on the rise. You may have seen her last year in Heretic, opposite Hugh Grant and Chloe East, or in the Disney+ miniseries The Book of Boba Fett. Sophie also plays “Natalie” in the delicious TV series Yellowjackets on SHOWTIME. Its third season premieres on Valentine's Day.Most recently, Sophie stars in Companion alongside Jack Quaid. It's a science fiction, robot thriller that you can see in theaters right now. Sophie joins Feeling Seen to discuss Companion, her love for karaoke, and the 1972 musical Cabaret! Sophie talks about the time she auditioned for the role of Sally Bowles and the time she performed Cabaret for a school talent show. Plus, we get into Sophie's 2024 EP, Pivot & Scrape and the 90s gem that is My So-Called Life.Then Jordan has one quick thing about Prime Video's upcoming political action film G20, starring EGOT title holder Viola Davis as an ass-kicking President of the United States. We can dream! Feeling Seen is hosted by Jordan Crucchiola and is a production Maximum Fun. Need more Feeling Seen? Keep up with the show on Instagram and Bluesky.
The Birdcage (1996) & Victor Victoria (1982). This week, Janet, John (and Pen) explore two go-to movies for when you need a good laugh. With inspired performances from Robin Williams, James Garner, Diane Weist, and Julie Andrews, this episode proves that great comedy takes great writing and brilliant performances. To learn more about this episode and others, visit the official Cinema Sounds & Secrets website!
This is an encore of our episode with the great director, Rob Marshall. He has made numerous films that have been honored with a total of 30 Academy Award nominations — winning 9 in all, including Best Picture for “Chicago,” which alone won a total of 6 of those Oscars. Also, for “Chicago,” Rob received the Directors Guild Award, and nominations for Best Director for the Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA awards. Additionally, he won Best Directorial Debut from the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Online, as well as the American Choreography Award.Most recently, Rob directed and produced the live-action feature, “The Little Mermaid” for Disney, starring Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy and Javier Bardem.Rob's other directorial achievements include multiple nominations for award-winning features like: “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Nine,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” which went on to gross over 1 billion dollars worldwide, “Into the Woods,” and “Mary Poppins Returns.”Rob executive produced, directed, and choreographed the NBC TV event “Tony Bennett: An American Classic,” for which he won his second Directors Guild Award. He's also won 3 Emmys for Direction, Choreography, and Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special. He directed and choreographed the Disney/ABC movie musical “Annie,” which received 12 Emmy nominations and won the prestigious Peabody Award. For choreographing Annie, Rob also received an Emmy and an American Choreography Award.He's received the Humanitas Prize for co-writing Mary Poppins Returns, and other awards from the Art Directors Guild, the Cinema Audio Society, the Costume Designers Guild, as well as the Annie Award, the Hamilton Award, and the Chita Rivera Award.Rob's extensive stage work includes the Broadway productions of “Cabaret,” “Little Me,” “Victor/Victoria,” “Damn Yankees,” “She Loves Me,” “Company,” and “Kiss of the Spiderwoman.” He's been nominated six times for the Tony Award, and he's a George Abbott Award winner.For the record, Rob and I are both graduates of Taylor Allderdice High School here in Pittsburgh. Rob is also an alumni of Carnegie Mellon University's top-rated School of Drama.
This week, Mackenzie and Scott are exploring 'King's Dilemma' as they discussion the troublesome musical comedy Victor/Victoria. Together these two unpack why some of the songs from the Oscar nominated film didn't make it into the stage show. They explore why the keys to the songs didn't quite sit right with either Julie Andrews or audiences. Plus hear how these two find correlations between this musical comedy and the Tony winning musical La Cage Aux Folles! All this and Paris by Night in this all new episode! Don't forget to leave us a review and share your thoughts on this episode on our social media pages. Follow the links below to reach our pages. Facebook Instagram Twitter
Next week Mackenzie and Scott are jetting off to the night clubs of Paris, France as they discuss the musical comedy Victor/Victoria. Hear Scott and Mackenzie explore the score as they decipher the differences between Mancini and Wildhorn's compositions. They give their lists of who they think would work in leading this musical in a revival. Plus, discover the Tony Award drama that surrounds this show. All of this and Paris makes us horny on next Friday's all new episode! Don't forget to leave us a review and share your thoughts on this episode on our social media pages. Follow the links below to reach our pages. Facebook Instagram
Cáel deals with wounds, lies and the clash of cultures.In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand.Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected..“The words 'I love you' inspires joy, relief and terror.”I missed my entry to the infirmary. I was returned to clarity by the two female attendants. The younger went straight to cutting my left pants leg off while the oldest Amazon I'd seen to date began an excellent rendition of 'beef' inspector while pretending to be a physician. It was almost hilarious when she looked to Sydney, addressing her in Old Kingdom Hittite."Was he being disciplined, or did he do something stupid?""I did something stupid," I griped. "I showed up to work today." Since it was their native tongue, both of the medical attendants' eyes bugged out."He volunteered to help Aya of Epona with her archery lessons by letting her shoot at a fruit out of his hand," Sydney related."This; this isn't a wound caused by a practice arrow," the physician observed."No, that was from Leona of Marda. She attempted to kill him. When Leona threatened his controller, he presented himself for slaughter," Sydney clarified. "Hayden stopped Leona, Leona disobeyed and we need to plan Leona's funerary arrangements now.""How did you come to speak our language?" the junior attendant asked. The tone of her voice and the look in her eyes was chilling and sensual at the same time. It was chilling because of the transformation she went through as I went from a piece of equipment to a close approximation of a human being in her eyes. I was getting tired."Erotic poetry," I humored her. "I had a lover some time ago; a scholar; who wanted to share Old Kingdom Hittite; Amazon love poetry and songs in the voices of their creators. I know multiple languages no longer spoken."#Your eyes are stolen from the waterfalls descending from the highest mountains##Your hair robbed from the threads of the night sky##Your body is shaped by the Mother Rivers##Your beauty is the gift of the Goddess who knows both tears and love#I recited it in the original Chaldean Babylonian. They were all staring at me, so I translated it into Hittite. It didn't flow as smoothly."What language was that in?" the security guard inquired."Chaldean Babylonian. It is a love poem from a prince to his dead wife," I answered."It was nice, even eloquent," Sydney remarked."Wow," I sighed. "It is tragic to think not a single woman in this room has ever been romanced.""I am pretty sure every woman in this room has been with a man before," the security guard countered."After sex, what did the two of you talk about?" I regarded her."That's not what we use men for," the doctor spoke up while she began examining my wound. Pain. "We use artificial insemination and surrogates for procreation. Beyond directing them in our physical stimulation, there is no need to talk to men.""Oh," I mused sadly. "That makes sense and is richly rewarding to know. If I was more like the rest of you, I'd be laughing. Unfortunately, I have a heart and compassion, so I'll pity you all instead." The doctor didn't take my honestly well. "Ow! Good bedside; Ow!; manner there, Doc.""We don't need your pity," the security guard threatened."Sure, but then I've not bred myself into extinction out of fear of cuddling either," I grinned. "Treating men like livestock makes sense; if you are evil. You refused to allow yourselves to get attached to any male so it would be easier to kill us when our time came.""Tread carefully," Sydney cautioned me."Okay Sydney. Since you are the only female present capable of having offspring, I'll be good," I got in my parting shot. By the silence in the room, I had hit the nail on the head. "I apologize for disturbing you ladies. I'll be a good male and keep my mouth shut."That declaration didn't last long. Apparently pain-killers were not part of their medical credo. When I asked, the doctor implied I wasn't hurt nearly enough; in other words, not being amputated or decapitated. I asked if being castrated would earn me a hammer to the head. They smiled. They thought I was a funny guy once more. It was the whole 'laugh at death' mystique again.This tender, motherly moment was punctuated by the doctor's application of the staple gun (instead of stitches) to both entry and exit wounds. Sydney offered to give me something to bite down on. I insisted on sharing my pain as I screamed my lungs out during the torturous procedure."I thought you were a tough guy," the security guard sneered."And not screaming would have made me tough? Bitch, those are some fucked-up priorities. Screaming meant I didn't jolt when she was stapling my wounds shut. I've been stabbed and stitched enough to know that much," I glared.The assistant had been walking her hands over my body during the process."You have been stabbed fourteen times," she muttered."You missed the one on the right foot," I corrected."You've been stabbed fifteen times? What do you do?" Sydney wondered."I date women. You are a surprisingly dangerous breed, even without the extreme training you ladies possess," I confessed. "To be concise, I have the bad habit of dating women and their friends, acquaintances, and even family members; usually without their knowledge. It always ends badly; thus the wounds.""You betray the women you sleep with?" the doctor stared."We could banter terms and expectations about, but essentially 'yes', I do," I sighed."You seemed like such a well-behaved male," the security guard looked confused."Huh? What does my love of sex have to do with my demeanor?" I mused."I've never beat a lover, or forced myself on a woman. If you want to hold my lack of forthrightness against me, please remember you are part of a secret society that embraces kidnapping, rape and slaughter as daily practices," I smiled. "Comparatively, me not telling one woman that I'm dating her neighbor is small potatoes.""We do what we do out of necessity," the doctor insisted."That flimsy excuse is about as useful as 'you wouldn't understand; you aren't a woman/amazon/nutty-nut bar," I shook my head. "I give up. Your society has equaled, if not exceeded, every inhuman deed men have ever committed.""Congratulations; you have become crueler and more depraved than your enemies," I lauded them."Because of your ignorance, I will let that outburst go unpunished," Sydney stated. I wised up and shut up.My shirt was returned and they had to synch a large towel around my waist because my jeans were ruined and they didn't have scrubs in my size. They gave me my bloody dockers too. Sydney walked me to the front entrance. By the looks of the women we passed they knew something had happened, if not the precise nature.Security's opportunity to 'get me' on the way out was stymied by Caitlyn and family, Desiree, Tigger, and Buffy hanging around. The moment Aya saw me, she called out my name and came running. The only thing worse than the pain of her impacting me would have been the look on her face if I warded her off. I caught her in my arms and lifted her up."Cáel," she exclaimed. "Does it hurt?" I kept lifting her until I blew loudly on her belly."Does that hurt?" I teased her."No," she giggled."Then I'm fine. Really now, I've been hurt worse by a splinter from a toothpick," I exaggerated for her."You are lying to me," Aya shook her finger in my face."The lesson being 'don't lie to winners'," I sighed."Yep," Aya mimicked me. "Is our date for tonight still going to happen?""Oh; Aya, I can't," I groaned. "I've got three smoking hot babes coming over tonight.""Don't make me punch you," Europa play-threatened. She and Loraine had sneaked up on me while I was entertaining Aya."I don't know," Loraine gave a cautious laugh. "I like being called a smoking hot babe.""Aya, I really like you, but do you always have to drag those two around with you?" I wiggled Aya up in the air. "It's kind of creepy." She giggled."Those are my sisters, Silly," she snickered. "They will be your daughters one day too.""Time for us to go," Caitlyn intervened. As she ushered her children away, she shot me a look over my shoulder that strongly suggested she wanted to play house. Desiree moved to within a meter of me and looked me up and down."You are an idiot," she remarked, turned and left. I looked to Buffy."I'm your ride," Buffy snorted. I hobbled to her."I'm glad you are okay," Tigger waved then followed Desiree out."Thanks for a great time," I looked over my shoulder at the Amazons. "As soon as my blood supply has replenished, I'll be sure to come back and play some more."We were in the car, exiting Doebridge when Buffy finally spoke."Why do you keep thinking you can keep getting away with talking like;” she was glaring at me. "Oh Goddess; you really are laughing at death. You really believe you are going to die, don't you?""Absolutely. The moment they started chanting I realized it was unlikely I'd get out of this experience alive," I admitted."Why are you holding us to the 78 day rule?" she asked."Recall what I said about backbone, Buffy?" I reminded her."I am attached to the lifestyle I've created and I'm not going to change it to scrape out a few more days of existence," I grinned. "I hold Havenstone to that countdown because I would do it if I thought I was going to be okay." A few more minutes passed. I tried to cut the radio on. Buffy kept cutting it off. I was getting sick of it and my annoyance was showing."Did you really tell the whole dome that you would sleep with me first?" she whispered."Of course," I replied. "I said that was my intention at work and I mean to keep to it.""What about Hayden?" she asked."Well, unless you agree to a three-way, I think this is going to be an issue we'll have to work around," I shrugged."I'm not even sure I like you," Buffy mumbled. "I want you. I am not sure I like you, though.""Buffy, that's fine," I murmured. I unbuckled my seatbelt and began twisting around in my seat. My thigh was killing me, but I was a man on a mission. I put my head in Buffy's lap, gazing up at her."What are you doing?" she grinned."Annoying you; taking advantage of you; take your pick," I smiled. We drove for a while.
This episode of Target Audience welcomes writer and film critic Nathaniel Rogers. Nathaniel is targeted by Blake Edwards' 1982 musical comedy Victor/Victoria. Join us as we talk Julie Andrews, category fraud, and awesomely unnecessary set pieces. Nathaniel on Twitter Nathaniel's Website (The Film Experience) Ben on Twitter Ben on Letterboxd Ben on Instagram Ben's Website (IceCream4Freaks) Opening/Closing Song - "Can't Slow Down" by Almost Monday
In this meeting, we discuss Victor/Victoria (1982). Next time, we will be discussing Un Rincón Cerca del Cielo (1952).
When it comes to performing, whether in musical theater or in the pop world, a singer's voice can be their identity, their money maker, the one instrument that often defines their careers. And so losing their voice can be life-changing and demoralizing. On my other podcast Closing Night I did an episode on the Broadway production of Victor/Victoria and chronicled the surgery that ended Julie Andrews vocal career. There's also a new documentary out about Celine Dion and her battle with Stiff Persons Syndrome that has left her unable to sing. I've even had my own struggles with vocal paresis, which for me means that one of my vocal cords moves weakly and has a hard time fully closing compared to the other. And today's guest has had her own vocal struggles and knows what that loss feels like. Sarah Hester Ross has become a one-of-a-kind entertainer and social media star, amassing 2.4M followers on TikTok and over 260K on Instagram. She has also been touted as the “Best Of Las Vegas” for her comedy and one-woman show. And she's achieved all this with a vocal injury that still affects her to this day. We talk about that as well as her struggles with a lack of motivation and even interest in her comedy work. Nonetheless, her good-natured, comedic exuberance has earned her the moniker of "The Hilarious Redhead!" And I think you'll hear why in this witty and thoughtful conversation. ---------- Subscribe to get early and ad-free access to the full conversation with each guest, which includes the auditions stories that are only available to subscribers. You can also donate to WINMI and help further podcast production with a one-time or ongoing contribution. If you'd like to support WINMI but have limited funds to do so, then contact me directly for reduced-price or even free access to the bonus content. Follow WINMI: Website | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Why I'll Never Make It is an award-winning, Top Theater Podcast with actor and singer Patrick Oliver Jones and is a production of WINMI Media. Background music is by John Bartmann and Blue Dot Sessions and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ever wondered what it's like to juggle Hollywood, Broadway, and a spiritual journey? Join us as we celebrate our 200th episode with the incredible Michael Nouri! From his iconic role in "Flashdance" to his Broadway stints with legends like Julie Andrews, Michael shares captivating stories from his illustrious career. Discover his philanthropic heart, his meditation practice since 1970, and his dreams of playing Zorba in "Zorba the Greek." Plus, get a peek into his personal life and the adorable tale of his rescue dog, Charlie. Tune in for an episode brimming with inspiration and Hollywood magic! Michael Nouri's Bio:After starring in an off-Broadway production of The Crucible, Nouri landed his first Broadway role in Forty Carats, which ran for two years. He made his film debut in 1969 with an uncredited role in Goodbye, Columbus. He appeared on several television soap operas and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for his role as Steve Kaslo on Search for Tomorrow. Nouri portrayed Lucky Luciano in the miniseries The Gangster Chronicles and its theatrically released feature film Gangster Wars. In 1979, he appeared in the episode "The Curse of Dracula" of the series Cliffhangers.[citation needed]In 1983, he had a starring role as Nick Hurley in the romantic drama Flashdance. Despite mixed reviews, the film was one of the highest-grossing films of 1983 and was nominated for several top awards, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song.[3]Nouri has appeared in numerous television series and television films. He starred opposite Kyle MacLachlan in the horror film The Hidden. He starred on the short-lived series Bay City Blues and Downtown, and on the sitcom Love & War. Nouri also starred in the Broadway production of the musical Victor/Victoria as King Marchan opposite Julie Andrews. He appeared in three separate entries of Law & Order, each time in different roles. He had recurring roles on the series The O.C., Damages, NCIS, and Army Wives. Nouri returned to soap operas with a year-long stint on All My Children. More recently, he had a recurring role on the series Yellowstone for three seasons. Connect with Michael:Website: www.michaelnouri.comThank you for listening. Please check out @lateboomers on Instagram and our website lateboomers.biz. If you enjoyed this podcast and would like to watch it or listen to more of our episodes, you will find Late Boomers on your favorite podcast platform and on our new YouTube Late Boomers Podcast Channel. We hope we have inspired you and we look forward to your becoming a member of our Late Boomers family of subscribe
237 - Victor/Victoria Movie Discussion and Interview w/ Herb Boomhower Steven is once again joined by Herb Boomhower! We talk mostly about working on Victor/Victoria. We also talk about him being on The Julie Andrews Hour and his other projects. To learn more about Herb, please check out his interview episode #203. Please send feedback to DieCastMoviePodcast@gmail.com or leave us a message on our Facebook page. Thanks for listening!
In this meeting, we discuss Modern Times (1936). Next time, we will be discussing Victor/Victoria (1982).
The great director, Rob Marshall, has made numerous films that have been honored with a total of 30 Academy Award nominations — winning 9 in all, including Best Picture for “Chicago,” which alone won a total of 6 of those Oscars. Also, for “Chicago,” Rob received the Directors Guild Award, and nominations for Best Director for the Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA awards. Additionally, he won Best Directorial Debut from the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Online, as well as the American Choreography Award. Most recently, Rob directed and produced the live-action feature, “The Little Mermaid” for Disney, starring Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy and Javier Bardem. Rob's other directorial achievements include multiple nominations for award-winning features like: “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Nine,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” which went on to gross over 1 billion dollars worldwide, “Into the Woods,” and “Mary Poppins Returns.”Rob executive produced, directed, and choreographed the NBC TV event “Tony Bennett: An American Classic,” for which he won his second Directors Guild Award. He's also won 3 Emmys for Direction, Choreography, and Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special. He directed and choreographed the Disney/ABC movie musical “Annie,” which received 12 Emmy nominations and won the prestigious Peabody Award. For choreographing Annie, Rob also received an Emmy and an American Choreography Award. He's received the Humanitas Prize for co-writing Mary Poppins Returns, and other awards from the Art Directors Guild, the Cinema Audio Society, the Costume Designers Guild, as well as the Annie Award, the Hamilton Award, and the Chita Rivera Award.Rob's extensive stage work includes the Broadway productions of “Cabaret,” “Little Me,” “Victor/Victoria,” “Damn Yankees,” “She Loves Me,” “Company,” and “Kiss of the Spiderwoman.” He's been nominated six times for the Tony Award, and he's a George Abbott Award winner.For the record, Rob and I are both graduates of Taylor Allderdice High School here in Pittsburgh. Rob is also an alumni of Carnegie Mellon University's top-rated School of Drama.
Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years is a memoir of Mary Poppins herself: Dame Julie Andrews. The memoir covers a broad range of years from Mary Poppins up until Victor/Victoria and details not only her rise to fame with movies like The Sound of Music but also focuses on her marriages to Tony Walton and Blake Edwards. In the memoir she also focuses on her relationships with her children, friends, and family, while adjusting to Hollywood and the demands of success. Ian is a big musical theater fan so he really enjoys chatting about the Queen of Genovia herself. Next month's pick is Ronnie's and she choose, "The Poisons We Drink" by Bethany Baptiste. If you enjoyed the podcast be sure to leave us a rating or send us a message on Twitter! We like to hear from you!!
Meg goes to court with Carolee Koster and her dad, neither of whom will take no for an answer. Jessica trawls personal ads from 1686 - 1986 and finds that nothing's new in the dating game.Please check out our website, follow us on Instagram, on Facebook, and...WRITE US A REVIEW HEREWe'd LOVE to hear from you! Let us know if you have any ideas for stories HEREThank you for listening!Love,Meg and Jessica
After trading our virtues for a meatball in our spaghetti, finding a cockroach in our salad, and smearing éclair cream into our nose hair; we discuss Victor/Victoria. In this crazy gay Parisian world, the accents may be all wrong, but we agree that the messages of acceptance and feminism are perfect until the second half where King's arc outshines Victoria's friendship with Toddy. It's a great example of comedy filmmaking in the 1980s that even the shady dame from Seville would enjoy.
This week Austin and Tim travel back to the iconic summer of 1982 to watch 6 movies! BLADE RUNNER, GREASE 2, THE BORDER, AUTHOR AUTHOR, CAT PEOPLE and VICTOR/VICTORIA.
We continue Romance Month with a bonus episode that came into being due to our previous episode on Victor/Victoria that also just happens to work for this month's theme: The Americanization of Emily. Rankin' on Bond's Richard Hatem programs the episode to talk more Julie Andrews, James Garner, and alot of anti-war sentiment.Reuniting James Garner and Julie Andrews, the film follows Garner's Charlie Madson as he attempts to do everything he can to stay out of WWII along with falling in love with Andrew's titular Emily. Along the way, he gets involved in a plot to win a PR battle between the Army and Navy during Operation D-Day that changes his life and outlook forever. For more Kulturecast episodes and podcasts guaranteed to be your new favorite audio obsession, check out Weirding Way Media at weirdingwaymedia.com.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-kulturecast--2883470/support.
“So, come on in and play me Le Jazz Hot, baby, ‘cause I love my jazz HOT!” In this fourth episode of the QUEER SERIES, showbiz siblings Kristen and Sarah Goodman chat about one of their favorite shows: VICTOR/VICTORIA. Find out why Julie Andrews declined her Tony nomination that year, discover just “How Queer Is It?” and hear who would star in Sarah's fantasy dream cast revival production! GOOD SHOW! Instagram @goodshowpodcast GOOD SHOW! TikTok @goodshowpodcast broadwaycares.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We continue Musical Month Deux with a Julie Andrews-helmed performance musical that has some rather progressive ideas about gender and sexual politics: Victor/Victoria. 80's TV Ladies' Susan Lambert Hatem programs the episode and stops by to talk all about James Garner, 80's sexual politics, and if this could be remade in 2024.Based on the 1933 German film, the musical follows the titular Victoria as she attempts to make a name for herself in 1930's Paris by posing as Count Victor, the world's foremost female impersonator. She's aided in her attempt by Robert Preston's Toddy, a gay performer down on his luck, who does everything he can to make her the biggest star in the music scene.For more Kulturecast episodes and podcasts guaranteed to be your new favorite audio obsession, check out Weirding Way Media at weirdingwaymedia.com.
Julie Andrews visits Google with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton to share reflections on her astonishing career, including such classics as Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and Victor/Victoria. In her first memoir “Home,” Julie Andrews recounted her difficult childhood and her emergence as an acclaimed singer and performer on the stage. With this second memoir, “Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years”, Andrews picks up the story with her arrival in Hollywood and her phenomenal rise to fame in her earliest films--Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. Andrews describes her years in the film industry, from the incredible highs to the challenging lows. Not only does she discuss her work in now-classic films and her collaborations with giants of cinema and television, she also unveils her personal story of adjusting to a new and often daunting world, dealing with the demands of unimaginable success, the end of her first marriage, and falling in love with the brilliant and mercurial Blake Edwards. Cowritten with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, and told with Andrews's trademark charm and candor, “Home Work” takes us on a rare and intimate journey into an extraordinary life that is funny, heartrending, and inspiring. Originally published in October of 2019 and moderated by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to watch the video.
EPISODE 16 - “Beginner's Luck” - 01/01/2024 To win an Oscar sometimes takes decades of hard work and dedication to your craft — just ask PAUL NEWMAN, GERALDINE PAGE, and JESSICA TANDY. In fact, when Newman finally won the Oscar in 1987 for “The Color of Money,” after being nominated six times previously, he didn't even bother to show up to the ceremony. “It's like chasing a beautiful woman for 80 years,” he told the Associated Press. “Finally, she relents and you say, ‘I'm terribly sorry. I'm tired.'” However, there is a small group of actors who didn't have to chase that beautiful Oscar for 80 years. They won for their very first film. This week we take a look at this rarified group. SHOW NOTES: Sources: Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards (1986), by Mason Wiley and Damien Bona The Real Oscar: The Story Behind The Academy Awards (1981), by Peter H. Brown Seventy-Five Years of the Oscars: The Official History of The Academy Awards (2003), by Robert Osborne Oscar Dearest (1987), by Peter H. Brown and Jim Pinkston The Film Encyclopedia (1994), By Ephraim Katz Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia (1994), by Leonard Maltin IMDBPro.com Wikipedia.com Stars/Movies Mentioned: GALE SONDERGAARD — The Wizard of Oz (1939), Anthony Adverse (1936), The Mark Of Zorro (1940), The Letter (1940), Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman (1943), The King of Siam (1946); KATINA PAXINOU — For Whom The Bell Tolls (1943), Mourning Becomes Electra (1947); HAROLD RUSSELL — The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Inside Moves (1980); MERCEDES McCAMBRIDGE — All The King's Men (1949), Lightning Strikes Twice (1951), Johnny Guitar (1954), Giant (1956), Touch Of Evil (1958), The Exorcist (1973); SHIRLEY BOOTH — Come Back Little Sheet (1952), About Mrs. Leslie (1954); EVA MARIE SAINT — On The Waterfront (1955), A Hatful of Rain (1957), Raintree County (1957), North By Northwest (1959); JO VAN FLEET — East of Eden (1955), The Rose Tattoo (1955), I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), Four Queens and a King (1956), Gunfight At The Okay Corral (1957), Wild River (1960), Cool Hand Luke (1967); JULIE ANDREWS — Mary Poppins (1964), The Sound Of Music (1965), Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), Darling Lil (1970), The Pink Panther (1967), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), 10 (1979), Victor/Victoria (1982); BARBRA STREISAND — Funny Girl (1968), Hello Dolly (1969), On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970), The Owl and the Pussycat (1970); --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
WELCOME TO CARRIED AWAY... THE SATC REWATCH PODCAST - where two twenty something women rewatch the iconic 90s series... twenty something years later. In this weeks episode we see Charlotte pose as a drag king, Samantha deals with a new assistant, Carrie dates Sean and Miranda struggles with Steve moving into her apartment. We get Carried Away… discussing gender roles, Steve's audacity to invite himself to be Miranda's new roomie, Victor/Victoria, Alanis Morissette, "The Collusion of Illusion & Reality", spin the bottle, Carrie's ignorance (shock) and abso-fucking-lutely everything in between. Find out which characters we relate to most and our hilarious quotes of the episode!
Welcome to the final episode of Closing Night's first season! We've covered eight different Broadway musicals at the Marquis Theatre that closed too soon, with our final show being Victor/Victoria, written and directed by Blake Edwards and starring his wife Julie Andrews. And in this interview episode we're featuring two members of that Broadway cast. Darren Lee - We talk about his experiences working with legendary leading ladies like Julie Andrews, Liza Minnelli, and Raquel Welch, including the rehearsal process, behind-the-scenes dynamics, and the impact of star power on the overall show experience. He also discusses the challenges of being an Asian actor, yet the thrills he's had being a part of various Broadway productions. Mark Hoebee - Our conversation revolves around the experiences and challenges of producing a theatrical show, including the intricacies of staging and directing, the impact of key personalities, and the dedication and resilience of the cast and crew. The conversation covers the creative process, the influence of notable individuals such as Julie Andrews, the dynamic nature of live performances, and the unwavering commitment of those involved in the production. Follow Closing Night on Instagram and listen on your favorite podcast app. Closing Night is a production of WINMI Media with Patrick Oliver Jones as host and executive producer. Dan Delgado is the editor and co-producer, not only for this podcast but also for his own movie podcast called The Industry. Blake Stadnik composed the theme music, and Maria Clara Ribeiro is co-producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Thirteen years after starring in Victor/Victoria across cinemas nationwide, Julie Andrews made a triumphant return to Broadway in this highly anticipated stage adaptation, directed by her husband Blake Edwards. Playing a female singer masquerading as a man pretending to be a woman, Andrews ended a 33-year hiatus with the show's opening at the Marquis Theatre. In this emotional episode, experience Andrews' heartfelt opening night of joy as she was joined by a stellar cast of 32 performers. They included Broadway veterans like Tony Roberts, Rachel York, and Gregory Jbara The show featured both original film tunes and new compositions by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse, with some help by Frank Wildhorn. Despite setbacks, including changes to the creative team, the untimely death of a composer, critical reviews, and internal squabbles, Victor/Victoria signified a remarkable comeback for Julie Andrews. Join us as we delve into the journey from movie musical to Broadway spectacle, exploring the highs and lows that made Victor/Victoria a memorable chapter in Broadway history. Follow on Instagram and listen to Closing Night on your favorite podcast app. --- Closing Night is a production of WINMI Media with Patrick Oliver Jones as host and executive producer. Dan Delgado is the editor and co-producer, not only for this podcast but also for his own movie podcast called The Industry. Maria Clara Ribeiro is co-producer, and a big thank you goes to E. Clay Cornelious for sharing his experiences with the short-lived Jekyll & Hyde revival and its cast and creatives. Click here to find the transcript for this episode and a full list of links and resources used. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the thirty-third episode of Season 9 (Keep It Musical!) Kyle is joined by musician Ben Childs and filmmaker Alejandro Etcheagaray to discuss the openly progressive deconstruction of gender, identity, and sexuality of Blake Edwards' warm and tender ode to the cabaret burlesque outsiders of 1930s Paris in the grand gender bending musical Victor/Victoria (1982).
durée : 00:58:50 - Vincent Dedienne programme " 42e rue " - par : Laurent Valière - Vincent Dedienne tournera en janvier dans sa première comédie musicale avec des chansons de Alex Beaupain et Diastème. C'est ce qu'il révèle notamment aujourd'hui dans « 42e rue » à Laurent Valière en programmant les comédies musicales qu'il aime : de Mamma Mia à Victor Victoria. - réalisé par : Céline Parfenoff
Ever since he burst onto the Broadway scene in the 1990s, Frank Wildhorn has remained an intriguing figure in American Musical Theatre. But Wildhorn's journey is far from a conventional success story, nor was it a typical path to the Broadway stage. But among his seven Broadway musicals, three of them have appeared at the Marquis Theater: Victor/Victoria, Wonderland, and a 2013 revival production of Jekyll & Hyde. (In fact, the title of this episode comes from a New York Times review of that revival by Charles Isherwood.) Now, Victor/Victoria will actually get its own episode to close out the first season of this podcast, so this one is actually going to be a combo episode, covering the other two shows together. That's because they both share a lot in common: Wonderland and Jekyll & Hyde were both written by Wildhorn, both were based on famous literary stories, both were universally panned, and both of them ran for less than a month. Here are the stories of how and why that happened. Follow on Instagram and listen to Closing Night on your favorite podcast app. --- Closing Night is a production of WINMI Media with Patrick Oliver Jones as host and executive producer. Dan Delgado is the editor and co-producer, not only for this podcast but also for his own movie podcast called The Industry. Maria Clara Ribeiro is co-producer, and a big thank you goes to E. Clay Cornelious for sharing his experiences with the short-lived Jekyll & Hyde revival and its cast and creatives. Click here to find the transcript for this episode and a full list of links and resources used. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on And the Runner-Up Is, Kevin welcomes writer and podcaster Ema Sasic to discuss the 1982 Oscar race for Best Actress, where Meryl Streep won for her performance in "Sophie's Choice," beating Julie Andrews in "Victor/Victoria," Jessica Lange in "Frances," Sissy Spacek in "Missing," and Debra Winger in "An Officer and a Gentleman." We discuss all of these nominated performances and determine who we think was the runner-up to Streep. 0:00 - 10:59 - Introduction 11:00 - 31:41 - Julie Andrews 31:42 - 55:39 - Jessica Lange 55:40 - 1:12:30 - Sissy Spacek 1:12:31 - 1:32:27 - Debra Winger 1:32:28 - 1:53:07 - Meryl Streep 1:53:08 - 2:33:23 - Why Meryl Streep won / Twitter questions 2:33:24- 2:39:59 - Who was the runner-up? Buy And the Runner-Up Is merch at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/and-the-runner-up-is?ref_id=24261! Support And the Runner-Up Is on Patreon at patreon.com/andtherunnerupis! Follow Kevin Jacobsen on Twitter Follow Ema Sasic on Twitter Follow And the Runner-Up Is on Twitter and Instagram Theme/End Music: "Diamonds" by Iouri Sazonov Additional Music: "Storming Cinema Ident" by Edward Blakeley Artwork: Brian O'Meara
Happy National Coming Out Day, from GOOD SHOW! We're here. We're queer. Get used to listening to your new favorite musical theater podcast because we're getting ready to launch six new episodes! Showbiz siblings Kristen and Sarah Goodman are proud to announce the second series of the pod: THE QUEER SERIES featuring LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, FALSETTOS, RENT, VICTOR/VICTORIA, FUN HOME, and THE PROM! This isn't just a phase, folx. We're hella gay, and we love Broadway! Follow us on Instagram @goodshowpodcast and TIkTok @goodshowpodcast for announcements about our celebrity special guests and when these new episodes will be coming out of the closet and onto your playlist. Cheers for Queers! Posted on October 11th, 2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Blake Edwards' 1980s remake of a Weimar-era German film about a gender-bending cabaret singer and the mobster who falls in love with her/him in 1930s Paris, starring Julie Andrews, James Garner, and Robert Preston, is a delightful creampuff of a movie that should have absolutely no relevance to the incredibly stupid political and cultural climate of the United States in 2023, and yet here we are. What a time to be alive.
The ESO Rainbow Room celebrates Pride Month with some farcical fun in Gay Paree. Mike, Mike, and Mary take a look at the Oscar-winning disguise surprise comedy of 1982. All this, along with Angela's A Geek Girl's Take and Shout Outs. We want to hear from you! Feedback is always welcome. Please write to us at feedback@earthstationone.com and subscribe and rate the show on Apple Podcast, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, wherever fine podcasts are found, and now we can be found on our own YouTube Channel. Links The Earth Station One Website Earth Station One on Apple Podcasts The Earth Station One YouTube Channel Earth Station One on Stitcher Radio Earth Station One on Spotify Past Episodes of The Earth Station One Podcast Angela's A Geek Girl's Take Ashley's Box Office Buzz Michelle's Iconic Rock Talk Show Lost-n-Found Youth Promos Tifosi Optics Monkeeing Around The ESO Network Patreon Unique Crafts by Jenn's ESO Network Tee-Public If you would like to leave feedback or a comment on the show please feel free to email us at feedback@earthstationone.com Special Guest: Mary Ogle.
The ESO Rainbow Room celebrates Pride Month with some farcical fun in Gay Paree. Mike, Mike, and Mary take a look at the Oscar-winning disguise surprise comedy of 1982. All this, along with Angela’s A Geek Girl’s Take and Shout Outs. We want to hear from you! Feedback is always welcome. Please write to us … An LGBT Look At Victor / Victoria Read More » The post An LGBT Look At Victor / Victoria appeared first on The ESO Network.
EPISODE #387-- We carry on with Pride Month, this time tackling the classic gender-bending musical comedy, VICTOR/VICTORIA (1982), written and directed by Blake Edwards. It's a good one. A good movie and a good episode. We also talk about MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (1996) from Brian Di Palma and CONFLAGRATION (1957), which is available on the Criterion Channel. Donate to the cause at Patreon.com/Quality. Follow the show on Twitter @AQualityInterruption, and James on Twitter @kislingtwits, on Instagram @kislingwhatsit and @kislingkino on Tiktok. You can watch Cruz and show favorite Alexis Simpson on You Tube in "They Live Together." Thanks to our artists Julius Tanag (http://www.juliustanag.com) and Sef Joosten (http://spexdoodles.tumblr.com). The theme music is "Eine Kleine Sheissemusik" by Drew Alexander. Listen to DRACULA: A RADIO PLAY on Apple Podcasts, at dracularadio.podbean.com, and at the Long Beach Playhouse at https://lbplayhouse.org/show/dracula And, as always, please leave us a review on iTunes or whatever podcatcher you listened to us on!
We're kicking off our Pride episodes with Dame Julie Andrews conning the people of 1930s Paris to believe that she is playing a man who is (in modern terms) a drag queen. Jon and friend of the pod Roland break down this movie by discussing gender, their relationships with this movie/stage version, and the importance of this movie.Roland's Instagram: @rolandrusinekPodcast Socials -Email: butasongpod@gmail.comFacebook: @butasongpodInstagram: @butasongpodTikTok: @butasongpodTwitter: @butasongpodNext episode: Were the World Mine!
Jon brings on a new guest (Kevin Sluder) to accidentally torture him with this sequel that no one asked for. The two drag this movie through the mud while asking, "Why were you made?" On the up side: the music is fire (as the kids say).Kevin's Link: https://linktr.ee/kevinwatchesmoviesPodcast Socials -Email: butasongpod@gmail.comFacebook: @butasongpodInstagram: @butasongpodTikTok: @butasongpodTwitter: @butasongpodNext episode: Victor/Victoria!
With special -- and returning! -- guest Howard Casner, Anna and Derek discuss the scene-stealing amazingness of Robert Preston, the glaring ick factor in King and Victoria's relationship, and so much more during their chat of Blake Edwards' Victor/Victoria (1982).Connect with '80s Movie Montage on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram! It's the same handle for all three... @80smontagepod.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/80sMontagePodTwitter: https://twitter.com/80sMontagePodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/80smontagepod/Anna Keizer and Derek Dehanke are the co-hosts of ‘80s Movie Montage. The idea for the podcast came when they realized just how much they talk – a lot – when watching films from their favorite cinematic era. Their wedding theme was “a light nod to the ‘80s,” so there's that, too. Both hail from the Midwest but have called Los Angeles home for several years now. Anna is a writer who received her B.A. in Film/Video from Columbia College Chicago and M.A. in Film Studies from Chapman University. Her dark comedy short She Had It Coming was an Official Selection of 25 film festivals with several awards won for it among them. Derek is an attorney who also likes movies. It is a point of pride that most of their podcast episodes are longer than the movies they cover.Howard Casner is a screenwriter and script consultant who has lived in Los Angeles since 2001. He has published two books of short stories, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion (these are sci-fi, fantasy and horror short stories). He has also published the second edition of his screenwriting book, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader. All are available on Amazon. His podcast Pop Art, in which a guest chooses a movie from popular culture and he will then choose a movie from the art/indie/foreign/classic side of cinema with a connection to it, can be found on Apple, Anchor, Spotify and other streaming platforms.
Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast encore edition, we are speaking with Gigi Garner, daughter of actor James Garner. Gigi was a fun interview to do because she spent so much time with her father both on camera and off. Yes she was on the set of The Rockford Files, yes we talk about her dad's breakout role in Maverick which led to a very public and very personal lawsuit that Jim ultimately won, but also how they shared the camera in a Polaroid commercial, that was omnipresent in the 1980s. We talk about Jim's upbringing, his fantastic film career in movies like The Americanization of Emily, The Great Escape and Victor/Victoria as well as Gigi's own career as a singer in the 70's and 80s in the UK. And believe us, we've found some of those vinyl 7”'s on Discogs and Ebay and have been meaning to pull the trigger and having them shipped international for our personal collection. If that's not all, Gigi tells us about her years as a skip tracer, tracking down criminals, something we did NOT expect to hear. Oh and we also talk about Gigi's animal charities, something her father would fully support as well as her own artwork that is in galleries now. It's all right here, on this encore edition of the Rarified Heir Podcast. Take a listen.
On this episode, we talk about the great American filmmaker Robert Altman, and what is arguably the worst movie of his six decade, thirty-five film career: his 1987 atrocity O.C. and Stiggs. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT From Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Capital of the World, it's The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. On this episode, we're going to talk about one of the strangest movies to come out of the decade, not only for its material, but for who directed it. Robert Altman's O.C. and Stiggs. As always, before we get to the O.C. and Stiggs, we will be going a little further back in time. Although he is not every cineaste's cup of tea, it is generally acknowledged that Robert Altman was one of the best filmmakers to ever work in cinema. But he wasn't an immediate success when he broke into the industry. Born in Kansas City in February 1925, Robert Altman would join the US Army Air Force after graduating high school, as many a young man would do in the days of World War II. He would train to be a pilot, and he would fly more than 50 missions during the war as part of the 307th Bomb Group, operating in the Pacific Theatre. They would help liberate prisoners of war held in Japanese POW Camps from Okinawa to Manila after the victory over Japan lead to the end of World War II in that part of the world. After the war, Altman would move to Los Angeles to break into the movies, and he would even succeed in selling a screenplay to RKO Pictures called Bodyguard, a film noir story shot in 1948 starring Lawrence Tierney and Priscilla Lane, but on the final film, he would only share a “Story by” credit with his then-writing partner, George W. George. But by 1950, he'd be back in Kansas City, where he would direct more than 65 industrial films over the course of three years, before heading back to Los Angeles with the experience he would need to take another shot. Altman would spend a few years directing episodes of a drama series called Pulse of the City on the DuMont television network and a syndicated police drama called The Sheriff of Cochise, but he wouldn't get his first feature directing gig until 1957, when a businessman in Kansas City would hire the thirty-two year old to write and direct a movie locally. That film, The Delinquents, cost only $60k to make, and would be purchased for release by United Artists for $150k. The first film to star future Billy Jack writer/director/star Tom Laughlin, The Delinquents would gross more than a million dollars in theatres, a very good sum back in those days, but despite the success of the film, the only work Altman could get outside of television was co-directing The James Dean Story, a documentary set up at Warner Brothers to capitalize on the interest in the actor after dying in a car accident two years earlier. Throughout the 1960s, Altman would continue to work in television, until he was finally given another chance to direct a feature film. 1967's Countdown was a lower budgeted feature at Warner Brothers featuring James Caan in an early leading role, about the space race between the Americans and Soviets, a good two years before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. The shoot itself was easy, but Altman would be fired from the film shortly after filming was completed, as Jack Warner, the 75 year old head of the studio, was not very happy about the overlapping dialogue, a motif that would become a part of Altman's way of making movies. Although his name appears in the credits as the director of the film, he had no input in its assembly. His ambiguous ending was changed, and the film would be edited to be more family friendly than the director intended. Altman would follow Countdown with 1969's That Cold Day in the Park, a psychological drama that would be both a critical and financial disappointment. But his next film would change everything. Before Altman was hired by Twentieth-Century Fox to direct MASH, more than a dozen major filmmakers would pass on the project. An adaptation of a little known novel by a Korean War veteran who worked as a surgeon at one of the Mobile Auxiliary Surgical Hospitals that give the story its acronymic title, MASH would literally fly under the radar from the executives at the studio, as most of the $3m film would be shot at the studio's ranch lot in Malibu, while the executives were more concerned about their bigger movies of the year in production, like their $12.5m biographical film on World War II general George S. Patton and their $25m World War II drama Tora! Tora! Tora!, one of the first movies to be a Japanese and American co-production since the end of the war. Altman was going to make MASH his way, no matter what. When the studio refused to allow him to hire a fair amount of extras to populate the MASH camp, Altman would steal individual lines from other characters to give to background actors, in order to get the bustling atmosphere he wanted. In order to give the camp a properly dirty look, he would shoot most of the outdoor scenes with a zoom lens and a fog filter with the camera a reasonably far distance from the actors, so they could act to one another instead of the camera, giving the film a sort of documentary feel. And he would find flexibility when the moment called for it. Sally Kellerman, who was hired to play Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, would work with Altman to expand and improve her character to be more than just eye candy, in large part because Altman liked what she was doing in her scenes. This kind of flexibility infuriated the two major stars of the film, Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland, who at one point during the shoot tried to get Altman fired for treating everyone in the cast and crew with the same level of respect and decorum regardless of their position. But unlike at Warners a couple years earlier, the success of movies like Bonnie and Clyde and Easy Rider bamboozled Hollywood studio executives, who did not understand exactly what the new generation of filmgoers wanted, and would often give filmmakers more leeway than before, in the hopes that lightning could be captured once again. And Altman would give them exactly that. MASH, which would also be the first major studio film to be released with The F Word spoken on screen, would not only become a critical hit, but become the third highest grossing movie released in 1970, grossing more than $80m. The movie would win the Palme D'Or at that year's Cannes Film Festival, and it would be nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for Ms. Kellerman, winning only for Best Adapted Screenplay. An ironic win, since most of the dialogue was improvised on set, but the victory for screenwriter Ring Lardner Jr. would effectively destroy the once powerful Hollywood Blacklist that had been in place since the Red Scare of the 1950s. After MASH, Altman went on one of the greatest runs any filmmaker would ever enjoy. MASH would be released in January 1970, and Altman's follow up, Brewster McCloud, would be released in December 1970. Bud Cort, the future star of Harold and Maude, plays a recluse who lives in the fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome, who is building a pair of wings in order to achieve his dream of flying. The film would feature a number of actors who already were featured in MASH and would continue to be featured in a number of future Altman movies, including Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, John Schuck and Bert Remson, but another reason to watch Brewster McCloud if you've never seen it is because it is the film debut of Shelley Duvall, one of our greatest and least appreciated actresses, who would go on to appear in six other Altman movies over the ensuing decade. 1971's McCabe and Mrs. Miller, for me, is his second best film. A Western starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, was a minor hit when it was first released but has seen a reevaluation over the years that found it to be named the 8th Best Western of all time by the American Film Institute, which frankly is too low for me. The film would also bring a little-known Canadian poet and musician to the world, Leonard Cohen, who wrote and performed three songs for the soundtrack. Yeah, you have Robert Altman to thank for Leonard Cohen. 1972's Images was another psychological horror film, this time co-written with English actress Susannah York, who also stars in the film as an author of children's books who starts to have wild hallucinations at her remote vacation home, after learning her husband might be cheating on her. The $800k film was one of the first to be produced by Hemdale Films, a British production company co-founded by Blow Up actor David Hemmings, but the film would be a critical and financial disappointment when it was released Christmas week. But it would get nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score. It would be one of two nominations in the category for John Williams, the other being The Poseidon Adventure. Whatever resentment Elliott Gould may have had with Altman during the shooting of MASH was gone by late 1972, when the actor agreed to star in the director's new movie, a modern adaptation of Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel The Long Goodbye. Gould would be the eighth actor to play the lead character, Phillip Marlowe, in a movie. The screenplay would be written by Leigh Brackett, who Star Wars nerds know as the first writer on The Empire Strikes Back but had also adapted Chandler's novel The Big Sleep, another Phillip Marlowe story, to the big screen back in 1946. Howard Hawks and Peter Bogdanovich had both been approached to make the film, and it would be Bogdanovich who would recommend Altman to the President of United Artists. The final film would anger Chandler fans, who did not like Altman's approach to the material, and the $1.7m film would gross less than $1m when it was released in March 1973. But like many of Altman's movies, it was a big hit with critics, and would find favor with film fans in the years to come. 1974 would be another year where Altman would make and release two movies in the same calendar year. The first, Thieves Like Us, was a crime drama most noted as one of the few movies to not have any kind of traditional musical score. What music there is in the film is usually heard off radios seen in individual scenes. Once again, we have a number of Altman regulars in the film, including Shelley Duvall, Bert Remsen, John Schuck and Tom Skerritt, and would feature Keith Carradine, who had a small co-starring role in McCabe and Mrs. Miller, in his first major leading role. And, once again, the film would be a hit with critics but a dud with audiences. Unlike most of Altman's movies of the 1970s, Thieves Like Us has not enjoyed the same kind of reappraisal. The second film, California Split, was released in August, just six months after Thieves Like Us. Elliott Gould once again stars in a Robert Altman movie, this time alongside George Segal. They play a pair of gamblers who ride what they think is a lucky streak from Los Angeles to Reno, Nevada, would be the only time Gould and Segal would work closely together in a movie, and watching California Split, one wishes there could have been more. The movie would be an innovator seemingly purpose-build for a Robert Altman movie, for it would be the first non-Cinerama movie to be recorded using an eight track stereo sound system. More than any movie before, Altman could control how his overlapping dialogue was placed in a theatre. But while most theatres that played the movie would only play it in mono sound, the film would still be a minor success, bringing in more than $5m in ticket sales. 1975 would bring what many consider to be the quintessential Robert Altman movie to screens. The two hour and forty minute Nashville would feature no less than 24 different major characters, as a group of people come to Music City to be involved in a gala concert for a political outsider who is running for President on the Replacement Party ticket. The cast is one of the best ever assembled for a movie ever, including Ned Beatty, Karen Black, Ronee Blakely, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert DoQui, Shelley Duvall, Allen Garfield, Henry Gibson, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Barbara Harris, Cristina Raines, Lily Tomlin and Keenan Wynn. Altman would be nominated for two Academy Awards for the film, Best Picture, as its producer, and Best Director, while both Ronee Blakely and Lily Tomlin would be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Keith Carradine would also be nominated for an Oscar, but not as an actor. He would, at the urging of Altman during the production of the film, write and perform a song called I'm Easy, which would win for Best Original Song. The $2.2m film would earn $10m in ticket sales, and would eventually become part of the fourth class of movies to be selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 1991, the first of four Robert Altman films to be given that honor. MASH, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and The Long Goodbye would also be selected for preservation over the years. And we're going to stop here for a second and take a look at that list of films again. MASH Brewster McCloud McCabe and Mrs. Miller Images The Long Goodbye Thieves Like Us California Split Nashville Eight movies, made over a five year period, that between them earned twelve Academy Award nominations, four of which would be deemed so culturally important that they should be preserved for future generations. And we're still only in the middle of the 1970s. But the problem with a director like Robert Altman, like many of our greatest directors, their next film after one of their greatest successes feels like a major disappointment. And his 1976 film Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson, and that is the complete title of the film by the way, did not meet the lofty expectations of film fans not only its director, but of its main stars. Altman would cast two legendary actors he had not yet worked with, Paul Newman and Burt Lancaster, and the combination of those two actors with this director should have been fantastic, but the results were merely okay. In fact, Altman would, for the first time in his career, re-edit a film after its theatrical release, removing some of the Wild West show acts that he felt were maybe redundant. His 1977 film 3 Women would bring Altman back to the limelight. The film was based on a dream he had one night while his wife was in the hospital. In the dream, he was directing his regular co-star Shelley Duvall alongside Sissy Spacek, who he had never worked with before, in a story about identity theft that took place in the deserts outside Los Angeles. He woke up in the middle of the dream, jotted down what he could remember, and went back to sleep. In the morning, he didn't have a full movie planned out, but enough of one to get Alan Ladd, Jr., the President of Twentieth-Century Fox, to put up $1.7m for a not fully formed idea. That's how much Robert Altman was trusted at the time. That, and Altman was known for never going over budget. As long as he stayed within his budget, Ladd would let Altman make whatever movie he wanted to make. That, plus Ladd was more concerned about a $10m movie he approved that was going over budget over in England, a science fiction movie directed by the guy who did American Graffiti that had no stars outside of Sir Alec Guinness. That movie, of course, was Star Wars, which would be released four weeks after 3 Women had its premiere in New York City. While the film didn't make 1/100th the money Star Wars made, it was one of the best reviewed movies of the year. But, strangely, the film would not be seen again outside of sporadic screenings on cable until it was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection 27 years later. I'm not going to try and explain the movie to you. Just trust me that 3 Women is from a master craftsman at the top of his game. While on the press tour to publicize 3 Women, a reporter asked Altman what was going to be next for him. He jokingly said he was going to shoot a wedding. But then he went home, thought about it some more, and in a few weeks, had a basic idea sketched out for a movie titled A Wedding that would take place over the course of one day, as the daughter of a Southern nouveau riche family marries the son of a wealthy Chicago businessman who may or may not a major figure in The Outfit. And while the film is quite entertaining, what's most interesting about watching this 1978 movie in 2023 is not only how many great established actors Altman got for the film, including Carol Burnett, Paul Dooley, Howard Duff, Mia Farrow, Vittorio Gassman, Lauren Hutton, and, in her 100th movie, Lillian Gish, but the number of notable actors he was able to get because he shot the film just outside Chicago. Not only will you see Dennis Christopher just before his breakthrough in Breaking Away, and not only will you see Pam Dawber just before she was cast alongside Robin Williams in Mark and Mindy, but you'll also see Dennis Franz, Laurie Metcalfe, Gary Sinese, Tim Thomerson, and George Wendt. And because Altman was able to keep the budget at a reasonable level, less than $1.75m, the film would be slightly profitable for Twentieth Century-Fox after grossing $3.6m at the box office. Altman's next film for Fox, 1979's Quintet, would not be as fortunate. Altman had come up with the story for this post-apocalyptic drama as a vehicle for Walter Hill to write and direct. But Hill would instead make The Warriors, and Altman decided to make the film himself. While developing the screenplay with his co-writers Frank Barhydt and Patricia Resnick, Altman would create a board game, complete with token pieces and a full set of rules, to flesh out the storyline. Altman would once again work with Paul Newman, who stars as a seal hunter in the early days of a new ice age who finds himself in elaborate game with a group of gamblers where losing in the game means losing your life in the process. Altman would deliberately hire an international cast to star alongside Newman, not only to help improve the film's ability to do well in foreign territories but to not have the storyline tied to any specific country. So we would have Italian actor Vittorio Gassman, Spaniard Fernando Rey, Swedish actress Bibi Andersson, French actress Brigitte Fossey, and Danish actress Nina van Pallandt. In order to maintain the mystery of the movie, Altman would ask Fox to withhold all pre-release publicity for the film, in order to avoid any conditioning of the audience. Imagine trying to put together a compelling trailer for a movie featuring one of the most beloved actors of all time, but you're not allowed to show potential audiences what they're getting themselves into? Altman would let the studio use five shots from the film, totaling about seven seconds, for the trailer, which mostly comprised of slo-mo shots of a pair of dice bouncing around, while the names of the stars pop up from moment to moment and a narrator tries to create some sense of mystery on the soundtrack. But audiences would not be intrigued by the mystery, and critics would tear the $6.4m budget film apart. To be fair, the shoot for the film, in the winter of 1977 outside Montreal was a tough time for all, and Altman would lose final cut on the film for going severely over-budget during production, although there seems to be very little documentation about how much the final film might have differed from what Altman would have been working on had he been able to complete the film his way. But despite all the problems with Quintet, Fox would still back Altman's next movie, A Perfect Couple, which would be shot after Fox pulled Altman off Quintet. Can you imagine that happening today? A director working with the studio that just pulled them off their project. But that's how little ego Altman had. He just wanted to make movies. Tell stories. This simple romantic comedy starred his regular collaborator Paul Dooley as Alex, a man who follows a band of traveling bohemian musicians because he's falling for one of the singers in the band. Altman kept the film on its $1.9m budget, but the response from critics was mostly concern that Altman had lost his touch. Maybe it was because this was his 13th film of the decade, but there was a serious concern about the director's ability to tell a story had evaporated. That worry would continue with his next film, Health. A satire of the political scene in the United States at the end of the 1970s, Health would follow a health food organization holding a convention at a luxury hotel in St. Petersburg FL. As one would expect from a Robert Altman movie, there's one hell of a cast. Along with Henry Gibson, and Paul Dooley, who co-write the script with Altman and Frank Barhydt, the cast would include Lauren Bacall, Carol Burnett, James Garner and, in one of her earliest screen appearances, Alfre Woodard, as well as Dick Cavett and Dinah Shore as themselves. But between the shooting of the film in the late winter and early spring of 1979 and the planned Christmas 1979 release, there was a change of management at Fox. Alan Ladd Jr. was out, and after Altman turned in his final cut, new studio head Norman Levy decided to pull the film off the 1979 release calendar. Altman fought to get the film released sometime during the 1980 Presidential Campaign, and was able to get Levy to give the film a platform release starting in Los Angeles and New York City in March 1980, but that date would get cancelled as well. Levy then suggested an April 1980 test run in St. Louis, which Altman was not happy with. Altman countered with test runs in Boston, Houston, Sacramento and San Francisco. The best Altman, who was in Malta shooting his next movie, could get were sneak previews of the film in those four markets, and the response cards from the audience were so bad, the studio decided to effectively put the film on the proverbial shelf. Back from the Mediterranean Sea, Altman would get permission to take the film to the Montreal World Film Festival in August, and the Telluride and Venice Film Festivals in September. After good responses from film goers at those festivals, Fox would relent, and give the film a “preview” screening at the United Artists Theatre in Westwood, starting on September 12th, 1980. But the studio would give the film the most boring ad campaign possible, a very crude line drawing of an older woman's pearl bracelet-covered arm thrusted upward while holding a carrot. With no trailers in circulation at any theatre, and no television commercials on air, it would be little surprise the film didn't do a whole lot of business. You really had to know the film had been released. But its $14k opening weekend gross wasn't really all that bad. And it's second week gross of $10,500 with even less ad support was decent if unspectacular. But it would be good enough to get the film a four week playdate at the UA Westwood. And then, nothing, until early March 1981, when a film society at Northwestern University in Evanston IL was able to screen a 16mm print for one show, while a theatre in Baltimore was able to show the film one time at the end of March. But then, nothing again for more than another year, when the film would finally get a belated official release at the Film Forum in New York City on April 7th, 1982. It would only play for a week, and as a non-profit, the Film Forum does not report film grosses, so we have no idea how well the film actually did. Since then, the movie showed once on CBS in August 1983, and has occasionally played on the Fox Movie Channel, but has never been released on VHS or DVD or Blu-Ray. I mentioned a few moments ago that while he was dealing with all this drama concerning Health, Altman was in the Mediterranean filming a movie. I'm not going to go too much into that movie here, since I already have an episode for the future planned for it, suffice to say that a Robert Altman-directed live-action musical version of the Popeye the Sailor Man cartoon featuring songs by the incomparable Harry Nilsson should have been a smash hit, but it wasn't. It was profitable, to be certain, but not the hit everyone was expecting. We'll talk about the film in much more detail soon. After the disappointing results for Popeye, Altman decided to stop working in Hollywood for a while and hit the Broadway stages, to direct a show called Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. While the show's run was not very long and the reviews not very good, Altman would fund a movie version himself, thanks in part to the sale of his production company, Lion's Gate, not to be confused with the current studio called Lionsgate, and would cast Karen Black, Cher and Sandy Dennis alongside newcomers Sudie Bond and Kathy Bates, as five female members of The Disciples of James Dean come together on the 20th anniversary of the actor's death to honor his life and times. As the first film released by a new independent distributor called Cinecom, I'll spend more time talking about this movie on our show about that distributor, also coming soon, suffice it to say that Altman was back. Critics were behind the film, and arthouse audiences loved it. This would be the first time Altman adapted a stage play to the screen, and it would set the tone for a number of his works throughout the rest of the decade. Streamers was Altman's 17th film in thirteen years, and another adaptation of a stage play. One of several works by noted Broadway playwright David Rabe's time in the Army during the Vietnam War, the film followed four young soldiers waiting to be shipped to Vietnam who deal with racial tensions and their own intolerances when one soldier reveals he is gay. The film featured Matthew Modine as the Rabe stand-in, and features a rare dramatic role for comedy legend David Alan Grier. Many critics would note how much more intense the film version was compared to the stage version, as Altman's camera was able to effortlessly breeze around the set, and get up close and personal with the performers in ways that simply cannot happen on the stage. But in 1983, audiences were still not quite ready to deal with the trauma of Vietnam on film, and the film would be fairly ignored by audiences, grossing just $378k. Which, finally, after half an hour, brings us to our featured movie. O.C. and Stiggs. Now, you might be asking yourself why I went into such detail about Robert Altman's career, most of it during the 1970s. Well, I wanted to establish what types of material Altman would chose for his projects, and just how different O.C. and Stiggs was from any other project he had made to date. O.C. and Stiggs began their lives in the July 1981 issue of National Lampoon, as written by two of the editors of the magazine, Ted Mann and Tod Carroll. The characters were fun-loving and occasionally destructive teenage pranksters, and their first appearance in the magazine would prove to be so popular with readers, the pair would appear a few more times until Matty Simmons, the publisher and owner of National Lampoon, gave over the entire October 1982 issue to Mann and Carroll for a story called “The Utterly Monstrous Mind-Roasting Summer of O.C. and Stiggs.” It's easy to find PDFs of the issues online if you look for it. So the issue becomes one of the biggest selling issues in the history of National Lampoon, and Matty Simmons has been building the National Lampoon brand name by sponsoring a series of movies, including Animal House, co-written by Lampoon writers Doug Kenney and Chris Miller, and the soon to be released movies Class Reunion, written by Lampoon writer John Hughes… yes, that John Hughes… and Movie Madness, written by five Lampoon writers including Tod Carroll. But for some reason, Simmons was not behind the idea of turning the utterly monstrous mind-roasting adventures of O.C. and Stiggs into a movie. He would, however, allow Mann and Carroll to shop the idea around Hollywood, and wished them the best of luck. As luck would have it, Mann and Carroll would meet Peter Newman, who had worked as Altman's production executive on Jimmy Dean, and was looking to set up his first film as a producer. And while Newman might not have had the credits, he had the connections. The first person he would take the script to his Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols, whose credits by this time included Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff?, The Graduate, Catch-22, and Carnal Knowledge. Surprisingly, Nichols was not just interested in making the movie, but really wanted to have Eddie Murphy, who was a breakout star on Saturday Night Live but was still a month away from becoming a movie star when 48 Hours was released, play one of the leading characters. But Murphy couldn't get out of his SNL commitments, and Nichols had too many other projects, both on Broadway and in movies, to be able to commit to the film. A few weeks later, Newman and Altman both attended a party where they would catch up after several months. Newman started to tell Altman about this new project he was setting up, and to Newman's surprise, Altman, drawn to the characters' anti-establishment outlook, expressed interest in making it. And because Altman's name still commanded respect in Hollywood, several studios would start to show their interest in making the movie with them. MGM, who was enjoying a number of successes in 1982 thanks to movies like Shoot the Moon, Diner, Victor/Victoria, Rocky III, Poltergeist, Pink Floyd - The Wall, and My Favorite Year, made a preemptive bid on the film, hoping to beat Paramount Pictures to the deal. Unknown to Altman, what interested MGM was that Sylvester Stallone of all people went nuts for the script when he read it, and mentioned to his buddies at the studio that he might be interested in making it himself. Despite hating studio executives for doing stuff like buying a script he's attached to then kicking him off so some Italian Stallion not known for comedy could make it himself, Altman agree to make the movie with MGM once Stallone lost interest, as the studio promised there would be no further notes about the script, that Altman could have final cut on the film, that he could shoot the film in Phoenix without studio interference, and that he could have a budget of $7m. Since this was a Robert Altman film, the cast would be big and eclectic, filled with a number of his regular cast members, known actors who he had never worked with before, and newcomers who would go on to have success a few years down the road. Because, seriously, outside of a Robert Altman movie, where are you going to find a cast that included Jon Cryer, Jane Curtin, Paul Dooley, Dennis Hopper, Tina Louise, Martin Mull, Cynthia Nixon, Bob Uecker, Melvin van Peebles, and King Sunny Adé and His African Beats? And then imagine that movie also featuring Matthew Broderick, Jim Carrey, Robert Downey, Jr. and Laura Dern? The story for the film would both follow the stories that appeared in the pages of National Lampoon fairly closely while also making some major changes. In the film, Oliver Cromwell “O.C.” Oglivie and Mark Stiggs are two ne'er-do-well, middle-class Phoenix, Arizona high school students who are disgusted with what they see as an omnipresent culture of vulgar and vapid suburban consumerism. They spend their days slacking off and committing pranks or outright crimes against their sworn enemies, the Schwab family, especially family head Randall Schwab, a wealthy insurance salesman who was responsible for the involuntary commitment of O.C.'s grandfather into a group home. During the film, O.C. and Stiggs will ruin the wedding of Randall Schwab's daughter Lenore, raft their way down to a Mexican fiesta, ruin a horrible dinner theatre performance directed by their high school's drama teacher being attended by the Schwabs, and turn the Schwab mansion into a homeless shelter while the family is on vacation. The film ends with O.C. and Stiggs getting into a gun fight with Randall Schwab before being rescued by Dennis Hopper and a helicopter, before discovering one of their adventures that summer has made them very wealthy themselves. The film would begin production in Phoenix on August 22nd, 1983, with two newcomers, Daniel H. Jenkins and Neill Barry, as the titular stars of the film. And almost immediately, Altman's chaotic ways of making a movie would become a problem. Altman would make sure the entire cast and crew were all staying at the same hotel in town, across the street from a greyhound racetrack, so Altman could take off to bet on a few of the races during production downtime, and made sure the bar at the hotel was an open bar for his team while they were shooting. When shooting was done every day, the director and his cast would head to a makeshift screening room at the hotel, where they'd watch the previous day's footage, a process called “dailies” in production parlance. On most films, dailies are only attended by the director and his immediate production crew, but in Phoenix, everyone was encouraged to attend. And according to producer Peter Newman and Dan Jenkins, everyone loved the footage, although both would note that it might have been a combination of the alcohol, the pot, the cocaine and the dehydration caused by shooting all day in the excessive Arizona heat during the middle of summer that helped people enjoy the footage. But here's the funny thing about dailies. Unless a film is being shot in sequence, you're only seeing small fragments of scenes, often the same actors doing the same things over and over again, before the camera switches places to catch reactions or have other characters continue the scene. Sometimes, they're long takes of scenes that might be interrupted by an actor flubbing a line or an unexpected camera jitter or some other interruption that requires a restart. But everyone seemed to be having fun, especially when dailies ended and Altman would show one of his other movies like MASH or The Long Goodbye or 3 Women. After two months of shooting, the film would wrap production, and Altman would get to work on his edit of the film. He would have it done before the end of 1983, and he would turn it in to the studio. Shortly after the new year, there would be a private screening of the film in New York City at the offices of the talent agency William Morris, one of the larger private screening rooms in the city. Altman was there, the New York-based executives at MGM were there, Peter Newman was there, several of the actors were there. And within five minutes of the start of the film, Altman realized what he was watching was not his cut of the film. As he was about to lose his stuff and start yelling at the studio executives, the projector broke. The lights would go up, and Altman would dig into the the executives. “This is your effing cut of the film and not mine!” Altman stormed out of the screening and into the cold New York winter night. A few weeks later, that same print from New York would be screened for the big executives at the MGM lot in Los Angeles. Newman was there, and, surprisingly, Altman was there too. The film would screen for the entire running length, and Altman would sit there, watching someone else's version of the footage he had shot, scenes put in different places than they were supposed to be, music cues not of his design or consent. At the end of the screening, the room was silent. Not one person in the room had laughed once during the entire screening. Newman and Altman left after the screening, and hit one of Altman's favorite local watering holes. As they said their goodbyes the next morning, Altman apologized to Newman. “I hope I didn't eff up your movie.” Maybe the movie wasn't completely effed up, but MGM certainly neither knew what to do with the film or how to sell it, so it would just sit there, just like Health a few years earlier, on that proverbial shelf. More than a year later, in an issue of Spin Magazine, a review of the latest album by King Sunny Adé would mention the film he performed in, O.C. and Stiggs, would, quote unquote, “finally” be released into theatres later that year. That didn't happen, in large part because after WarGames in the early summer of 1983, almost every MGM release had been either an outright bomb or an unexpected financial disappointment. The cash flow problem was so bad that the studio effectively had to sell itself to Atlanta cable mogul Ted Turner in order to save itself. Turner didn't actually want all of MGM. He only wanted the valuable MGM film library, but the owner of MGM at the time was either going to sell it all or nothing at all. Barely two months after Ted Turner bought MGM, he had sold the famed studio lot in Culver City to Lorimar, a television production company that was looking to become a producer and distributor of motion pictures, and sold rest of the company he never wanted in the first place to the guy he bought it all from, who had a kind of seller's remorse. But that repurchase would saddle the company with massive bills, and movies like O.C. and Stiggs would have to sit and collect dust while everything was sorted out. How long would O.C. and Stiggs be left in a void? It would be so long that Robert Altman would have time to make not one, not two, but three other movies that would all be released before O.C. and Stiggs ever saw the light of day. The first, Secret Honor, released in 1984, featured the great Philip Baker Hall as former President Richard Nixon. It's probably Hall's single best work as an actor, and the film would be amongst the best reviewed films of Altman's career. In 1985, Altman would film Fool For Love, an adaptation of a play by Sam Shepard. This would be the only time in Shepard's film career where he would star as one of the characters himself had written. The film would also prove once and for all that Kim Basinger was more than just a pretty face but a real actor. And in February 1987, Altman's film version of Beyond Therapy, a play by absurdist playwright Christopher Durant, would open in theatres. The all-star cast would include Tom Conti, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Guest, Julie Hagerty and Glenda Jackson. On March 5th, 1987, an article in Daily Variety would note that the “long shelved” film would have a limited theatrical release in May, despite the fact that Frank Yablans, the vice chairman of MGM, being quoted in the article that the film was unreleasable. It would further be noted that despite the film being available to international distributors for three years, not one company was willing to acquire the film for any market. The plan was to release the movie for one or two weeks in three major US markets, depending on its popularity, and then decide a future course of action from there. But May would come and go, without a hint of the film. Finally, on Friday, July 10th, the film would open on 18 screens, but none in any major market like Chicago, Los Angeles or New York City. I can't find a single theatre the film played in that weekend, but that week's box office figures would show an abysmal $6,273 worth of tickets were sold during that first weekend. There would not be a second weekend of reported grosses. But to MGM's credit, they didn't totally give up on the film. On Thursday, August 27th, O.C. and Stiggs would open in at least one theatre. And, lucky for me, that theatre happened to be the Nickelodeon Theatre in Santa Cruz. But despite the fact that the new Robert Altman was opening in town, I could not get a single friend to see it with me. So on a Tuesday night at 8:40pm, I was the only person in all of the region to watch what I would soon discover was the worst Robert Altman movie of all time. Now, I should note that even a bad Robert Altman movie is better than many filmmakers' best movies, but O.C. and Stiggs would have ignobility of feeling very much like a Robert Altman movie, with its wandering camera and overlapping dialogue that weaves in and out of conversations while in progress and not quite over yet, yet not feeling anything like a Robert Altman movie at the same time. It didn't have that magical whimsy-ness that was the hallmark of his movies. The satire didn't have its normal bite. It had a number of Altman's regular troop of actors, but in smaller roles than they'd usually occupy, and not giving the performances one would expect of them in an Altman movie. I don't know how well the film did at the Nick, suffice it to say the film was gone after a week. But to MGM's credit, they still didn't give up on the film. On October 9th, the film would open at the AMC Century City 14, one of a handful of movies that would open the newest multiplex in Los Angeles. MGM did not report grosses, and the film was gone from the new multiplex after a week. But to MGM's credit, they still didn't give up on the film. The studio would give the film one more chance, opening it at the Film Forum in New York City on March 18th, 1988. MGM did not report grosses, and the film was gone after a week. But whether that was because MGM didn't support the film with any kind of newspaper advertising in the largest market in America, or because the movie had been released on home video back in November, remains to be seen. O.C. and Stiggs would never become anything resembling a cult film. It's been released on DVD, and if one was programming a Robert Altman retrospect at a local arthouse movie theatre, one could actually book a 35mm print of the film from the repertory cinema company Park Circus. But don't feel bad for Altman, as he would return to cinemas with a vengeance in the 1990s, first with the 1990 biographical drama Vincent and Theo, featuring Tim Roth as the tortured genius 19th century painter that would put the actor on the map for good. Then, in 1992, he became a sensation again with his Hollywood satire The Player, featuring Tim Robbins as a murderous studio executive trying to keep the police off his trail while he navigates the pitfalls of the industry. Altman would receive his first Oscar nomination for Best Director since 1975 with The Player, his third overall, a feat he would repeat the following year with Short Cuts, based on a series of short stories by Raymond Carver. In fact, Altman would be nominated for an Academy Award seven times during his career, five times as a director and twice as a producer, although he would never win a competitive Oscar. In March 2006, while editing his 35th film, a screen adaptation of the then-popular NPR series A Prairie Home Companion, the Academy would bestow an Honorary Oscar upon Altman. During his acceptance speech, Altman would wonder if perhaps the Academy acted prematurely in honoring him in this fashion. He revealed he had received a heart transplant in the mid-1990s, and felt that, even though he had turned 81 the month before, he could continue for another forty years. Robert Altman would pass away from leukemia on November 20th, 2006, only eight months after receiving the biggest prize of his career. Robert Altman had a style so unique onto himself, there's an adjective that exists to describe it. Altmanesque. Displaying traits typical of a film made by Robert Altman, typically highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective and often a subversive twist. He truly was a one of a kind filmmaker, and there will likely never be anyone like him, no matter how hard Paul Thomas Anderson tries. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again in two weeks, when Episode 106, Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy, is released. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.
Consider supporting the show on Patreon Watch us on our YouTube ChannelOn our latest episode, Jamie wants to assure all listeners that this is an 80s movie podcast and not the 'offend Julie Andrews podcast', Doug forgets that vanity is a word even after spending so much time with him in the Smurfs' Christmas Special, and we agree that Babs makes a better man that Julie (again, no offense Ms. Andrews). Punch out some ladies and gents at a club, always be kind to wait staff, and join us as we gender-bend through 1930s Paris (with a brief stop in Chicago) by discussing, Victor/Victoria!Full bonus episodes at our Patreon include: • Blame it on Rio • The House on Sorority Row • A He-Man and She-Ra Christmas • The Hollywood Knights • The Great Outdoors • Silver Bullet • One Magic Christmas • The Cabbage Patch Kids First Christmas • Under the Cherry Moon • Haunted Honeymoon • Commando• Beverly Hills Madam • Happy Birthday to Me • A Christmas Dream • A Garfield Christmas • Supergirl• Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers • Who's Harry Crumb • Missing in Action 2: The Beginning • Revenge of the Stepford Wives • Evil Dead II • Dune• A Claymation Christmas Celebration• Howard the Duck• How to Beat the High Cost of Living• They Live• This House Possessed• Monkey Shines• Terror Train• Spice World/Stop or My Mom Will Shoot!• Teen Witch• The Star Wars Holiday Special• The Smurfs' Christmas Special• 80's Handshake 5• 90's Handshake 5• Questions and Answers• Interviews• Covering/ranking all movies in the Friday the 13th Franchise! & more.. Merch on TeePublic Visit our WebsiteVisit our YouTube ChannelFollow us on TwitterAnd on InstagramFind us on Facebook
Consider supporting the show on Patreon Watch us on our YouTube ChannelOn our latest episode, Jamie wants to assure all listeners that this is an 80s movie podcast and not the 'offend Julie Andrews podcast', Doug forgets that vanity is a word even after spending so much time with him in the Smurfs' Christmas Special, and we agree that Babs makes a better man that Julie (again, no offense Ms. Andrews). Punch out some ladies and gents at a club, always be kind to wait staff, and join us as we gender-bend through 1930s Paris (with a brief stop in Chicago) by discussing, Victor/Victoria!Full bonus episodes at our Patreon include: • Blame it on Rio • The House on Sorority Row • A He-Man and She-Ra Christmas • The Hollywood Knights • The Great Outdoors • Silver Bullet • One Magic Christmas • The Cabbage Patch Kids First Christmas • Under the Cherry Moon • Haunted Honeymoon • Commando• Beverly Hills Madam • Happy Birthday to Me • A Christmas Dream • A Garfield Christmas • Supergirl• Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers • Who's Harry Crumb • Missing in Action 2: The Beginning • Revenge of the Stepford Wives • Evil Dead II • Dune• A Claymation Christmas Celebration• Howard the Duck• How to Beat the High Cost of Living• They Live• This House Possessed• Monkey Shines• Terror Train• Spice World/Stop or My Mom Will Shoot!• Teen Witch• The Star Wars Holiday Special• The Smurfs' Christmas Special• 80's Handshake 5• 90's Handshake 5• Questions and Answers• Interviews• Covering/ranking all movies in the Friday the 13th Franchise! & more.. Merch on TeePublic Visit our WebsiteVisit our YouTube ChannelFollow us on TwitterAnd on InstagramFind us on Facebook
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