Take One (Oct 1976)

film is a certain kind of film, and they’re going to see that whether they like it or not. Everybody has been told Chinatown is good — they're going to think that film is good, and it ain't. It’s happened to Sam Peckinpah, and the result is Bring Me the Head Of Alfredo Garcia. The distance travelled between Ride The High Country and Alfredo Garcia is the story of what’s happened to a lot of artists in Hollywood in recent years. The terrible thing about it is that Sam has done it to himself. | know Sam and |’ve spent time with him. When he was under control and the studio said: “Stop fucking around and get the picture in on time. You’re not an artist, you just make movies,” Sam Peckinpah made incredible films. At a recent science fiction convention there was a panel of academics, and they sat up there and pontificated like the little lordly gems they are about the wonders that they were doing for us. They ordered a thousand copies of one of our books for their class so obviously we must pay attention to them. | raised the question: “What happens when we start taking notice of the fact that we are great literary figures and we are people to be listened to?” That is the death of innocence. Before W.C. Fields was a comedian he was a juggler and he was the accomplished juggler of all time — he performed before the crowned heads of Europe. He was in London performing and some critic made the stupid error of writing a review which said: “Mr Fields’ performance was a masterpiece of expertise. CP16-R/DS 30 Dorchester Ave. We know our cameras. CP16R/DS: It's the same standard in double system The CP16R/DS is still the same as the field proven lightweight, rugged and reliable CP-16-R reflex camera. What we've done is remove the flywheel and film thread rollers needed for single system sound recording. This makes our new CP16-R/DS model strictly double system. Simpler and much faster to thread. It also makes our new CP16-R/DS almost °/s of a pound lighter than our already lightweight standard CP16-R. If your filming requirements ever change, we can easily convert your CP16-R/DS to single system/double system sound pitt aM you shoot double system you need the For further information call or write: Alex L. CLARK CO. LTD. Toronto e Montreal e Calgary Toronto — Telephone (416) 255-8594 It fulfilled all of the thirteen basic points that are raised in Hazlitt’s great critique on juggling.” Fields never even heard of the thing, so he went to the library and found the god-damned thing and read: “You must have breathing, dexterity, coordination.” He said: “My God, |’ve never done any of those things. I’m going to have to start doing them.” He went on the stage that night and threw up his Indian clubs and cigar boxes in the air and was deluged with a rain of objects that brained him, for Christ’s sake. The audience started booing and hissing and throwing things. The man could not juggle for weeks thereafter because he was aware of his art. One night he forgot to be _aware of it and he began juggling superbly “again. The same thing goes for science fic tion writers and movie directors. Peter Bogdanovich is the encapsulated image of the fucked-up critic, the cinéaste. | despise his films to begin with, and | despise him personally on other grounds. The greatest moment of my life was at a Writers’ Guild Award banquet where | was up for an award. There was Bogdanovich with Cybill Shepherd, and | was feeling really sporty and had gone out and bought a 400 dollar tuxedo. It was fucking beautiful — it was brown velvet and it just glowed. The lady | was with had gone out and just done it right — she was sensational. As we walked past Bogdanovich, with all these twittering people around him, Cybill Shepherd turned and looked at us and said: “Who are they?” | lifted off the ground about five feet. | won the award that night too. All | could think of was: “Thank you Lord for that moment.” Bogdanovich has _intellectualized film for so many people. The terrible thing is the people in college film courses and the American Film Institute go for that mucky-muck. They believe they are not directors or producers or writers — they are filmmakers. That’s such bullshit. They are aware, and aware means they are selfconscious, and self-conscious means they are pompous and contentious and totally soul-less and usually art-less. The obvious question then is why don't you make your own film? | am going to, as soon as | get sufficient clout and “fuck your money.” You can have good looks, nice clothes, fine background, but when you can turn around and say “Fuck you,” then you can do what you want. |’m in the process of amassing my “fuck you money” now, and when | get it I’m going to do it. | don’t much relish the idea of having to direct or produce or package my own film, but | suspect that’s the only way |’m going to get it done. I’ve had my heart broken and my balls kicked in too many times, and as Robert Culp said: “You’ve only got so many miles of viscera to expend.” You see what happened to Peckinpah — he got the power too late and he got the wrong kind of power, and now he looks like a burned-out case. | don’t want that to happen to me. You're in the position of the Pope saying to Michaelangelo: “When are you going to be done with the ceiling?” and I’m in the position of Michaelangelo saying to you: “When I’m done.” | iP “ 1975 Warner Brothers, Inc. @ exclusively. re A TWYMAN FILMS stakes its reputation on getting the ‘bugs’ out of your viewings. We care about print condition, prompt service, and we really like the films we distribute. We have some hard to find Cinemascope prints, exclusively distribute von Sternberg’s Anatahan, and have a new films in series program that offers great titles at significant savings. Twy us! Drop us a line on your letterhead or mention Take One when you call us toll-free at (800) 543-9594. (Ask for Elmer.) Note: TWYMAN distributes in the U.S. TWYMAN FILMS, INC. 329 Salem Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45401 @ ® @ e 8 ® © ® ® ® e @ ® & e @ & ® Good idea, Elmer! e ® e ® @ ® s e ® e 6 ® 8 ® e 2 ® @ 11