comment #1

JR says ...

I saw a screening last year, and Bogdanovich was on hand to answer questions. He was quite open about how he felt the film was perfectly cast except for Bottoms, wishes he had gone with John Ritter. Any awkwardness between them last night?

comment #2

twicks says ...

Timothy Bottoms and Johnson are the soul of that movie. Bogdanovich is insane.

comment #3

Scylax says ...

Wells looks like Ben Johnson.

comment #4

raygo says ...

Great great film. I think everyone is perfectly cast. Maybe John Ritter would have worked, that's not to take anything away from Bottoms. Hell, even Richard Thomas might have worked. Shepherd was perfect, and it's a shame their romance got in the way. Daisy Miller, while flawed, is not the disaster people paint it as. The one sheet was terrible, though.

comment #5

George Prager says ...

Without Timothy Bottoms you don't get Sam Bottoms! What a douche.

comment #6

Chase Kahn says ...

"I'm not sure what The Last Picture Show would've finally been or amounted to without the "old times" swimming-hole scene with Ben Johnson. It won Johnson his Best Supporting Actor Oscar, that's for sure."

Really? I think pretty much every frame of "The Last Picture Show" is really brilliant, and the one scene I always remember is the titular moment where Bottoms and Bridges see "Red River".

Johnson's performance really is one of those perfect late-career moments. Didn't Bogdanovich guarantee him the Oscar beforehand, which prompted a hesitant Johnson to come aboard?

comment #7

kingofnails says ...

Tim Bottoms is great in the movie, I don't know what Bogdonovich is talking about. The only actor that maybe doesn't work is Jeff Bridges. He's too movie star handsome to be fully believable as small town good ol' boy headin' off to war.

comment #8

Caligarigal says ...

Bogdanovich did tell Ben Johnson he'd win an Oscar or at least get a nomination, but that is not why Johnson took the role. In fact, he was adamant about not taking it, because he objected to the story and more specifically, the four-letter words in the original version of Sam the Lion's dialogue. Bogdanovich kept asking, Johnson kept saying no, and Bogdanovich finally called up John Ford and asked him to ask Johnson to do it. Ford did call, told him to take the role and said did he want to be John Wayne's sidekick forever? Johnson finally caved because he "couldn't refuse the Old Man." Actually he still tried to get out of it, by insisting he be allowed rewrite the dialogue to remove the bad language, which Bogdanovich agreed to. Johnson tried one more time to wriggle out it by demanding twice his normal salary -- and Bogdanovich agreed to that too. Actually he was offered a cut of the profits but turned that down, thinking the movie would fail. He admitted later that was a very expensive mistake. Once Johnson realized he was stuck with the role, he began to work on the character and based his portrayal of Sam on ranchers he had known who had sold their ranches and (like Sam) had moved into town. One of the funniest stories Bogdanovich tells about working with Johnson is how it took him (Bogdanovich) forever to persuade him to say the word "clap" when Sam is warning the boys about what to watch out for when they go to Mexico. Johnson wanted to say "the runs" or something bland like that but this time Bogdanovich wouldn't give in. Here is a link to a very nice interview with Bogdanovich about The Last Picture Show: http://www.newstatesman.com/film/2011/03/quirke-bogdanovich-picture

comment #9

Gaydos says ...

"The Last Picture Show...was a crashing bore... artsy-craftsy, jacksy-offsy and a real pain in the ass. I was supposed to have dinner one night with Ben Johnson, who was superb in it, but I knew Peter would be there and I'd have to hit him right in the fucking mouth so I didnt' go.I really hated that film." - Sam Peckinpah Interviews, University of Mississippi Press

comment #10

BobbyLupo says ...

I think Altman, after grabbing Polly Platt for 'Thieves Like Us', said something like "Peter Bogdanovich never shot a frame of film I was interested in."

I think they're both wrong, at least as far as 'Last Picture Show' goes.