Welcome to Matthew Kennedy, Our Guest Author April 18-21

Past chats with our guests.
Matthew

Re: Welcome to Matthew Kennedy, Our Guest Author April 18-21

Post by Matthew »

Hi and Happy Easter to you!

Cabaret was definitely a risk, not just because of the decline of musicals, but because Fosse's one foray into film directing had been Sweet Charity, which fizzled at the box-office. The budget for Cabaret was very tightly controlled, and the suits attempted to intervene when they saw rough footage. Fosse had the benefit of filming in Germany, so prying eyes couldn't drop in every day. There's a quote from Michael York in Roadshow! expressing his admiration that Fosse did not cave to corporate demands. He stood his ground, and, well, the stunning results are there on the screen. :)
Lzcutter wrote:Matthew,

Happy Easter!

I was wondering how big a gamble it was, in light of the number of big musicals that had failed up to that point, for Bob Fosse to bring Cabaret to the big screen?

Did he encounter any problems with "the suits" in making the musical or did they leave him alone and let him make the film the way he wanted to?
Matthew

Re: Welcome to Matthew Kennedy, Our Guest Author April 18-21

Post by Matthew »

Hi David,

... George Cukor makes Justine, George Stevens makes The Only Game in Town...

Your study is a really good idea! The quest to be hip reached absurd proportions with these bad fit projects for the old guard, didn't it? It's tempting to say audiences flocked to anything labeled "youth oriented," "relevant," or "timely," but a lot of that material flopped. It didn't flop as loudly as the roadshow musicals, however, because it cost so much less. Some directors made the transition fairly well, as you note, but certainly not all. And even the with-it filmmakers stumbled on their own bongs. Dennis Hopper followed Easy Rider with The Last Movie; Robert Altman followed M*A*S*H with Brewster McCloud.... It feels like everything went topsy-turvy. It's a really interesting phenomenon of the era.
kingrat wrote:Matthew,

I'd love to read a study of how the studio directors tried to come to terms with the new audience we've been talking about. Stanley Kramer tries to be hip with R.E.M., Preminger makes Skidoo and Rosebud, Wyler makes The Liberation of L.B. Jones. Don Siegel adjusts easily to the more violent era. Zinnemann crafts a workmanlike and very successful thriller, The Day of the Jackal. In many ways, this would follow up on some of the themes in Roadshow!

Thanks so much for meeting with us. Please stop by anytime to chat.

David
User avatar
Lzcutter
Administrator
Posts: 3149
Joined: April 12th, 2007, 6:50 pm
Location: Lake Balboa and the City of Angels!
Contact:

Re: Welcome to Matthew Kennedy, Our Guest Author April 18-21

Post by Lzcutter »

Matthew,

Just wanted to thank you for spending the last few days with us! We have really enjoyed having you hear and learning more about Roadshow!.

I do hope you will come back!

Thank you again for sharing your book and your weekend with us!
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

Avatar-Warner Bros Water Tower
Matthew

Re: Welcome to Matthew Kennedy, Our Guest Author April 18-21

Post by Matthew »

Hi Lynn and Everyone at SSO,

It was my pleasure. Many thanks for having me!

Sincerely, Matthew Kennedy
Lzcutter wrote:Matthew,

Just wanted to thank you for spending the last few days with us! We have really enjoyed having you hear and learning more about Roadshow!.

I do hope you will come back!

Thank you again for sharing your book and your weekend with us!
Locked