Hi Dick-
Thanks for this, and for giving those of us who are sick to
death of the Never-Ending Goodbye debate (which has
approached a "No it isn't!" "Yes it is!" level of discourse)
a voice in this "discussion."
Now could we PLEASE drop it?
All the Best-
Brian
----- Original Message -----
From: Dick Lochte
To:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2007 4:19 PM
Subject: RARA-AVIS: Re: The Chandler followers
and...
This really much too Long Goodbye has moved me to
dig out the cassettes
resulting from a sit-down with Altman back when
the film had just been
released in Los Angeles to less than kind
reviews. His replies to two of my
questions may be of some interest. At what stage
did he get involved in the
project? Altman: It was set up for Peter
Bogdanovich to direct. He wanted
Bob Mitchum or Lee Marvin, somebody like that.
But the producer wanted
Elliot. So Bogdonavich walked and they came to
me, probably because of
Elliot's involvement. I had no interest in doing
it. No interest in
directing a thriller. I don't care whodoneit. So
I started to explain why I
wouldn't direct the film, and the discussion went
on for hours. And while
that was going on, I realized how I could do it
without it being just
another thriller.
Do you feel the film demeans Chandler? God, I
hope not. That was not my
intent at all. On the set our bible was 'Raymond
Chandler Speaking.' Not
'The Long Goodbye.' That was just the story.
Leigh gave me exactly what I
asked for: an outline that would take us from
scene to scene, so we'd know
the bases were all covered regarding story and
budget and who would be
where. But I don't think there's one line of
Leigh's dialogue in the film.
The actors and I roughed that out as we went
along. We were all reading
'Raymond Chandler Speaking.' The letters. Getting
the feel of the man's
words. His attitude. What I actually was trying
to do was to speak for
Chandler, not demean him. I'd be proud to show
the film to Chandler.
I asked him specifically about the ending, if he
thought Chandler would
approve of that. He shrugged and said it was the
only way he felt it could
end in the Seventies. In discussing Brewster
McCloud, he pointed out that
nearly all of his films were about loner
eccentrics who are considered
insane by a social order of people who behave
with real insanity and that
nearly all of the films end with death. That may
explain Gould's
interpretation of Marlowe as well as the
ending.
I personally would have liked to have seen the
Bogdanovich version. I don't
feel that Altman's has much to do with either
Chandler or Marlowe, but I
like it. I'm just tired of it being beaten to
death by by three or four
people who apparently would be happy to argue its
worth until this list
drifts off into the DorothyL zone.
Dick Lochte
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