Dave
I think Selznik just felt that way because in Hollywood - it's all
about ego in that job (Producer)
if instead of trying to feed his ego, he looked at himself as being
in lifelong a career.. he may have been able to make that better
movie than GWTW.
Look, I keep saying that William Wyler is one of my top directors..
every film he made was a masterpiece on it's own. He made great films
because he was focused on what he was doing now.. not what he hoped
to accomplish in the future, and that by doing his job well is how he
cemented his legacy and he made some of the most highly revered films
of all time
Selznik was always looking past what he was doing and his focus
suffered from it. He wasn't trying to make money - he was trying to
make the blockbuster of all time. that's a hard task.
John Ford was once asked on a 1950s tv show by a British interviewer
"when you made a movie, what were you trying to accomplish?"
Ford thought for a second and then slowly lifted the cigar from his
mouth and said (slowly raising his cigar as he spoke in a slow
deliberate manner) "I was trying to accomplish... a check!" (and he
stabbed the air with his cigar)
it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen with Ford.. If Selznik had
applied that kind of focus to his ideas.. he made yet have done what
he was trying to accomplish
Rich
At 03:22 PM 7/2/2009, David Kusumoto wrote:
** Joe -- Your story about Selznick forever trying to top GWTW
reminds me of Orson Welles, who could never top "Citizen Kane."
** Many years ago, writer-director Peter Bogdanovich was reminiscing
with Welles about Greta Garbo -- lamenting how sad it was that
someone so legendary -- only did 2 films that were great.
** Orson responded with a sage grin, "Well, Peter. You only need one."
** That's a great attitude to have about life's accomplishments. If
more people could look back and say they did at least one thing that
was near perfect -- whether it was raising their kids, finding the
right soulmate, finishing that titanic project, whatever it was --
that's good enough. Then everything after would be a bonus. I
think the root of unhappiness is the constant benchmarking of what
we hope to accomplish -- with our careers, relationships, sex,
money, material things, whatever -- against a manufactured snapshot
in time. Riding with goal-oriented friends shouldn't stop us from
sometimes going our own way. We just have to tune the negative shit
out, otherwise we'll never stop beating ourselves up for not
reaching goal "x" by age "y." I give people -- and myself -- pep
talks about this all the time.
** So while Selznick was sad that he never topped GWTW -- most would
take that in a heartbeat. Thus when people say, "Gee, poor Mark
Hamill, he never did anything important after "Star Wars." I say,
"so what? If his legacy is only about being Luke Skywalker, that's
better than nothing. He'll never be forgotten." I think that's why
Carroll Baker feels the way she does about "Baby Doll." Big things
were expected of Baker after that fabulous picture -- but they
didn't happen. That's OK. Because she'll always be "Baby Doll." -d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 22:46:48 -0700
From: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Subject: Re: Karl Malden, RIP at 97
To: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Thanks right back, David.
It's sadly amusing that Malden himself chuckled that when he passed,
all the obits would say that he would be "most famous for" the
American Express commercials and the "Don't leave home without it" line.
Like David O.Selznick, who always cried that his obits would lead,
"David O. Selznick, the man who made 'Gone With the Wind," Malden
was right. The difference is, Malden had already excelled in many
different roles and types of characters.
Selznick, argueably the greatest of Hollywood producers, strived
(strove?) the rest of his life to top GWTW. He didn't succeed. I
expect Selznick's Revenge will occur when Michael Bay remakes GWTW
--- and the entire 4-hour spectacle is the explosive destruction by
fire and brimstone of the 1864 city of Atlanta. Selznick will smile
upwards and say, "Frankly, my......"
Joe
-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 21:22:59 -0700
From: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Subject: Re: Karl Malden, RIP at 97
To: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
** Thanks Joe! That's a great story about Malden; I never knew
about that tidbit you wrote below, e.g., how he slipped in
references to his birth name in his own pictures. I saw the picture
you mentioned, Baby Doll, again last year and man oh man, that's
still a HOT one. Made zero money because it was "condemned," but
what stands out is its timelessness. That horny Eli Wallach. That
repressed Karl Malden. And geez, that jail bait Carroll Baker; I
like the fact that Baker acknowledges she now LOVES IT when people
call her "Baby Doll." (Apparently she didn't like it when she was younger.)
** And thanks to everyone who wrote me publicly or mostly privately
about crossing paths with that ultra-gentleman, Karl Malden. I
appreciate it very much! It's not often a person like myself can
come even close to matching the stories told by other members at
MoPo who've crossed paths with bigger stars in New York or
Hollywood. The only upside to San Diego is its climate (it's better
than L.A.'s because we're on a harbor, not a basin) -- and the fact
that many glitterati choose to retire here because its quiet. But
we still have to drive three hours to L.A. to see stars in person --
that is, when they're still, as they say, "ambulatory" and in their prime.
** I was obviously impressed with Malden. Oh, I know he'll never be
considered a "legend," but he was so total class off-screen -- and
made many movies better -- by just being on-screen. As I wrote to a
fellow MoPoer, he had a stature about him, almost regal in his old
age -- that one would never think of when you saw him playing the
"everyman" in his pictures. He was just a consistently great
character actor. That he lived large -- and lived to be 97 -- I'm
sure his family is satisifed with that. He outlived them all. Best, -d.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 19:52:44 -0700
From: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Karl Malden, RIP at 97
To: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
CC: MOPO ListServ
(<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected])
Wonderful story, David! I'm totally envious. The great Karl Malden
is one of the actors I would have loved to meet.
Just yesterday I remarked to a friend that there was only one film
of a Tennessee Williams play (first filming) that still was
represented by the three surviving leads--- "Baby Doll." Now that
statistic is gone forever!
Caroll Baker is still with us at about 78 and the indestructable Eli
Wallach-- 95-- is still giving readings with his wife of about 60
years, Anne Jackson. He also still does films and tv
occasionally. The last two things I remember were a cameo in
"Mystic River" at the request of director Clint Eastwood and a
wonderful turn on that excellent but short-lived tv series that was
a backstage view of a "SNL"-type show a couple of seasons back.
When the term, "They don't make 'em like that anymore," is heard,
the reference is to actors like these.
Jeremy Piven--- eat your heart out!!!!!
Joe B in NOLA
PS-- Malden always regreted having to change his real name (Mladen
Sekulovich) for a sho-biz career. As he became more known he
enjoyed inserting his name into scripts. The next time you watch
"Patton," note when "General Bradley" turns to an officer and
orders, "Sekulovich, take this ......" But my favorite one
is: Malden is the prison warden in "Birdman of Alkatraz." He takes
a reporter on to see Stroud (Lancaster) and, passing each cell,
indicates the prisoner within...."Jones....Smith...Sekulovich."
Joe
-----Original Message-----
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 16:43:48 -0700
From: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Subject: Re: Karl Malden, RIP at 97
To: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
[]
** In April 1998, when Karl Malden was 86, my wife and I got a
chance to meet him and his daughter Carla at a screening of "On the
Waterfront" at a theater in La Jolla, north of San Diego. He was
also there to promote his fabulous and somewhat dishy memoir,
<http://www.amazon.com/When-Do-I-Start-Memoir/dp/0879102721>"When Do
I Start?" -- which had been released the year before in hardcover --
(and as of this writing, is still gloriously in print in paperback
because it's that fantastic, esp. his impressions of the stars he
worked with -- which he felt OK writing about -- given the fact that
even in 1998, he had already outlived most of 'em).
** In conjunction with his appearance, I loaned my LB one-sheet to
"On the Waterfront" to the film society group hosting his visit. It
was displayed on stage after the screening -- and also at an
adjacent bookstore where he signed copies of his books with his
daughter, who wrote the text. He answered a ton of questions from
the huge audience that turned out -- esp. what it was like working
with Brando, Elia Kazan and Vivien Leigh. He said Kazan was a
genius, that Leigh was closer to Blanche DuBois in real life than
Blanche herself, and that Brando was the greatest actor he'd ever
worked with. He spoke of Brando with great sadness, calling him a
man who had everything -- drop-dead looks, talent and money -- but
who became a corpulent, tragic figure who lost it all, squandering
his money and becoming increasingly eccentric, working in bad
projects after the Godfather, desperate to make money just to pay his bills.
** The entire night, Malden was sharp as a tack -- and had the
command and respect you'd expect as a president of AMPAS -- but who
also had that self-deprecating persona that made him endearing, esp.
jokes about his lack of matinee idol looks, his Broadway stage
experience vs. his work on film -- and his conviction that his years
as a spokesman for American Express ("don't leave home without it")
made him more famous than all of his other work combined. In fact,
he joked that his obituaries would all mention his Oscar -- and
predicted ALL would also mention his work for American Express --
saying it would be the "signature role for which he was better known
to most of the public."
** The man we met that evening was gracious and accommodating to
every fan present. He represented the "old Hollywood," the type
like the late Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston -- and the
still-with-us Tony Curtis out here in California -- who have good
manners and love to mix with fans. Malden loved the attention --
and I got the impression he was ultra-surprised and ecstatic that a
"supporting actor" could generate such a large turnout. He and his
daughter signed our book thus: "To Koose and Yoe, best always from
Carla Malden and Karl Malden." I took my "On the Waterfront" poster
off its easel and asked him to sign it. He did, just above his name
credit. I've mentioned this poster several times to the MoPo group
-- in the context of certain signatures which add sentimental value
-- but don't add $$ value to vintage movie memorabilia. That poster
is no longer in my collection -- but I recall it fetched an OK
price. But I kept his book, personalized as it is. I view it
similarly as my "Psycho" poster, whereby Janet Leigh, during a visit
in 2000, personalized her signature, "To David -- Psycho-tically
yours, Janet Leigh." -d.
[]
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