Altman NYC Tribute
To hear it from The Reeler's Stu VanAirsdale, the highlight of the Robert Altman tribute was Julianne Moore's recollection about beiong cast in Short Cuts, and being told that the role required lower-level nudity and Moore telling Altman that "I really was a redhead."
I prefer the Paul Thomas Anderson anecdote passed along in David Carr's N.Y. Times story, to wit: "On the set of A Prairie Home Companion, Altman would listen carefully to the suggestions of others and then say, 'Let's not do that.'"
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 21, 2007 at 12:31 PM
comment #1
Rich S.
says ...
Shouldn't that be "David Carr a/k/a 'The Bagger?'" I thought you couldn't say one without the other.
Posted by Rich S.
at February 21, 2007 1:06 PM
comment #2
Craig Kennedy
says ...
I watched Short Cuts over the weekend and it knocked me out all over again. It blows a certain other Oscar nominated, multi-threaded ensemble about the failure of communication out of the water.
Posted by Craig Kennedy
at February 21, 2007 1:11 PM
comment #3
Larry
says ...
I watched M*A*S*H last night, and was struck by how this major hit in 1970 was almost shot like an experimental film.
It's a good thing it was a huge hit, because it allowed Altman to do a whole decade of major work that didn't make money.
Posted by Larry
at February 21, 2007 1:18 PM
comment #4
alynch
says ...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but are MASH, Nashville, and The Player the only hits Altman ever made? I can't think of a single filmmaker who was ever able to make so many movies at a consistent rate with so few successes. It's remarkable.
Posted by alynch
at February 21, 2007 1:22 PM
comment #5
Craig Kennedy
says ...
alynch are you talking critically or commercially? Commercially I don't think even Nashville or The Player were really hits. Critically he had many more hits than the three you mention.
Posted by Craig Kennedy
at February 21, 2007 1:29 PM
comment #6
Cadavra
says ...
GOSFORD PARK was his biggest hit since MASH, and PRAIRIE also did extremely well.
Posted by Cadavra
at February 21, 2007 1:39 PM
comment #7
Noel Murray
says ...
Altman insists that POPEYE made big money, and he had quite a few "art house hits," like SHORT CUTS, COOKIE'S FORTUNE and GOSFORD PARK, that did well relative to cost.
A lot of his classic '70s movies were mishandled, distribution-wise, often due to Altman's own lousy business sense. The stories about early screenings and subsequent distribution plans for McCABE, LONG GOODBYE and BREWSTER McCLOUD are just horrific. (For example, BREWSTER McCLOUD premiered in the Astrodome, where the cavernous space swallowed up the soundtrack, rendering it more unintelligible than usual for Altman. The result: Savage reviews, and a token release.)
BTW, it's worth noting that Julianne Moore's speech is all about debunking that Altman anecdote, not perpetuating it, as the Wells' item just did.
Posted by Noel Murray
at February 21, 2007 1:39 PM
comment #8
Craig Kennedy
says ...
According to Box Office Mojo, Popeye was his second highest grossing film, though it's considered a failure. Gosford park is 3rd. Neither approaches the huge success of MASH.
Posted by Craig Kennedy
at February 21, 2007 1:44 PM