Simian Empathy

• email this story
• read comments (5)
• post a comment
• 
  
  

In this stammering Tony Kaye video about his regard for the films of Stanley Kubrick, he talks (at the very end) about an encounter with a friendly payroll consultant. As a way of stirring empathy between kindred souls, the guy told Kaye "he played the ape in 2001...the one who picked up the bone and threw it into the air." As Kaye puts it, "The friendliest person I ever met when I was going bust was the ape in 2001."

I knew in a flash upon watching this morning that Kaye had spoken to Dan Richter, whom I interviewed 15 years ago for an L.A. Times Calendar piece. Here are three scans of the original -- #1, #2 and #3.

My second favorite Kaye line in this video is his repeating what New Line Cinema's Bob Shaye said in an argument over American History X, to wit: "'Look..who do you think you are, Stanley Kubrick or something? You don't have a track record, you haven't done anything, you can't tell me what you want." In response to this, Kaye says, " I was stood up, very reactive, and stormed out and proceeded on a direct road to hell. "