Dirty Dennis was no Easy Rider
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10649757
by Paul Thomas
Jun 5, 2010
In a society which finds it increasingly hard to agree on anything
much at all, there's still broad support for the proposition that we
shouldn't speak ill of the dead.
There are exceptions. Historians could argue that it's their job to
speak ill of the dead. The law actually encourages us to speak ill of
the dead by withholding protection for their reputations.
One of the few unambiguous principles underpinning the law of
defamation is that you can't defame the dead.
Sometimes the urge to accentuate the positive gets out of hand and
eulogy crosses the line into hagiography.
Not content with painting a blemish-free portrait of the departed,
the eulogiser endows them with talents and virtues they didn't possess.
It would be hard to exaggerate the talent of Dennis Hopper who died
this week. He achieved renown as an actor, director, artist and
photographer. Some would add screenwriter to that list, given that he
gained an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay for Easy Rider.
But this is where it gets murky, and why the claim in a Times article
that Hopper had "more integrity in his little finger than many of
today's stars have in their entire bodies" seems like over-egging the pudding.
Hopper shared the screenwriting credit with co-star Peter Fonda and
Terry Southern.
A pioneer of the new journalism, author of highly accomplished comic
novels such as Candy and The Magic Christian, and scriptwriter of the
classic anti-war black comedy Doctor Strangelove, Southern was
described by Gore Vidal as "the most profoundly witty writer of our
generation".
The movie was made on a shoestring so Southern waived his usual fee.
There was talk of profit sharing, but nothing was put in writing.
Easy Rider was made for US$740,000 in 1969 money. It earned US$28
million in its first year of release and US$74 million within a
decade. When it became apparent that it was going to be a huge
critical and commercial hit, Hopper and Fonda downplayed Southern's
involvement, claiming he'd withdrawn from the project early, leaving
them to fend for themselves.
Another version was that there never was a proper script, it was all
improvised.
Either way, Southern wasn't entitled to a share of the profits.
Others involved in the production, such as cinematographer Lazlo
Kovacs, were adamant that they worked from a Southern script. The
only original copies of the script that have ever surfaced are
clearly Southern's work.
By this stage Southern had the Inland Revenue Service on his back and
was enmeshed in the money troubles that would plague him for the rest
of his life. He wrote to Hopper asking for a single percentage point
share of the profits: "Please consider it, Den - I'm in very bad
trouble." His plea was ignored.
Southern died in poverty. Hopper died surrounded by his enormously
valuable collection of modern art, having spent his final months
embroiled in a vicious matrimonial dispute with his fifth wife over
the ownership of some artworks.
Perhaps Southern was sensible not to take the matter any further.
When Hopper broke up with his first wife, Brooke Hayward, with whom
he also became embroiled in a vicious dispute over the ownership of
some artworks, she decided not to pursue a claim for half his Easy
Rider money. "I didn't want him coming after me with a shotgun," she said.
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