Altman Page #2

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producers wouldn't go for it.

In an episode of "Kraft Suspense Theater"

he wanted to cast the black

actor as a convict on the run.

And when the sponsor refused

the idea of a black character

he quit television and

bad-mouthed the sponsor.

I felt I had just done all

I could do in television,

and I felt I'd better leave.

What does Altmanesque mean?

Playing the long shot.

After burning his bridges in television,

Bob wanted to write and

direct his own films.

He thought that would give

him more creative freedom.

Around that time we adopted

Matthew and our family grew.

But we were running out of money.

When you have six children

and can't pay the milkman,

that's pretty bad.

It was our fifth anniversary and

he told me for our anniversary

we're flying to Las Vegas for the weekend,

so get ready.

I'm just going to run out to the racetrack

and I'll meet you at the airport at six.

Later, I found out he had

our last $200 in his pocket

and he'd bet it all on a

twenty-to-one long shot

and he won.

When we landed in Las Vegas he

went directly to the craps table

and won another $6000.

But if it had gone the other way

I might not be here to tell you this story.

My first film I did after

years of television

was a thing called "Countdown"

with Warner Brothers.

They sent it to me and I liked the story.

It was about going to the moon,

but Jack Warner was very

reluctant to hire me.

He thought I was a bit of a smartass.

He told me so.

I went up to his office and

sat there and he said listen,

everybody wants to put you on this picture

so I told them they can do what they want,

but I gotta tell you, you're gonna fail.

He says I don't like your work,

I don't think you get it

and I don't think you'll

do a good job on this.

But I'm going to let you do it and so.

I said well I hope I can prove you wrong.

Five, four, three, two, one, fire.

Lee, this is Chiz, do you read?

What's the story?

You'll be awhile.

Now listen, we believe that...

some arc... at the launch.

Repeat.

At the launch there was some arching

and you're losing electrical power.

There's no way to repair without

a risk of the retros firing

and sending you out of trajectory.

You'd never get back.

What?

Jack Warner was out of town

and the last day of shooting he came back

and the phone rang and it was Bill Conrad.

It was the producer of this

little movie and he said listen,

don't come in Monday because Jack...

They won't let you in the studio.

Jack Warner called for your

dailies and he ran them,

uh...

Sunday and he's barred you from the lot.

And I said what do you mean

he's barred me from the lot?

I have the Directors Guild.

I get my first cut.

He says you can do any of

that legal stuff you want

and they'll let you do it, if

that's what you want to do.

But nobody's going to look at what you do

and it's all going to be changed.

He said, if you want to hear

what he said that fool,

meaning me, has actors

talking at the same time.

Two days more and we could

of had an unbeatable edge.

I know...

Those men should of been brought in...

I couldn't bring them all

in, they don't trust me.

Mr. Nogritty's calling from Washington.

I was just trying to get

the illusion of reality

and so I got fired from that

because of the overlapping dialogue.

Making your own rules.

Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau

speaking with church leaders today

said U.S. Conscientious

Objectors to the war in Vietnam

have his complete sympathy

and that Canada should be

a refuge for militarism.

Somehow Bob found backing

for an independent film

to be shot in Canada, "That

Cold Day in the Park".

Action.

He loved Canada and talked

about moving there.

He was mad at America

because of the Vietnam War.

Cut. Print that.

So I get the documents together

and was trying to sell the house,

but then lngo came into the picture.

Lngo Preminger was a talent agent

that had a script he wanted to produce.

Lngo thought Bob would be perfect for it

after he saw a short film that

Bob had made about smoking pot.

Everyone in town had turned it down,

but Bob saw something in that

script that noone else saw.

I talked to lngo Preminger for two hours

and I said if you want to make

the picture I want to make,

I'll do it.

Here's what I want. Here's what I see.

And he said okay, let's go.

Fox did not want it to be a Vietnam thing.

The war was still going on in Vietnam.

So they did not want to,

the studio did not want to come

out with that kind of picture.

I don't think I would of

gotten away with this,

except Fox at the time had two

other war films going on.

So they were concerned about

those and I was aware of that

and I said I've got to

go on the back lot there

and keep a low profile

and not draw attention.

Let nobody pay attention to me.

Elliott Gould.

How do you do?

This is???? who is the cameraman.

How are you?

You'll be playing what, Hawkeye?

We were a little minor film.

We didn't have any stars in it.

I went up to San Francisco.

There was a theater company up there,

one of those improvisational companies

and I hired most of them

as incidental players.

Radar!

Yes sir.

Why don't you get ahold of Major Burns?

Tell him we're going to have

to hold a couple of surgeons

from the day shift onto the night shift.

To the surgeons,

we're sure gonna need them.

It was taking an ensemble cast

and doing it in a humorous way.

I think you will find these accommodating,

they're quite dry.

Don't you use olives?

Olives? Where the hell do

you think you are, man?

Dear God, protect our Supreme

Commander on the field.

Frank, were you on the

religious kick at home

or did you crack up over here?

I'm married, I'm happy, I love my wife.

If she was here I would be with her,

there is no question.

I wonder how a degenerated person like that

could have reached a

position of responsibility

in the army medical core.

He was drafted.

We had a script which

we used as a blueprint,

and as we would rehearse it would evolve.

If something occurred to

us that seemed to work,

we would do it.

Now when German starts coming

over here like he's hurt...

hey Scotty when he gets over to you,

we'll give you a spot and

you're going to say,

"For god sakes Gorman, this

is... get back in the game".

He says, "I've got the ball".

And then you say, "you've

got the ball, well run".

And then you say, "you've got

the ball, he's got the ball"!

Go, gm.!

What's the matter with you?

Get back in the game!

I've got the ball!

You've got the ball, well run!

Run! Run!

We were working for the laughs

and yet there was a reality to it.

People died.

Scorch, I need some more sponge clamps,

if you have them.

Give me some big hunks

of sponge or something.

We're all out of big sponges.

You'll have to use these for now.

Oh that's bleeding nice, oh,

that can't come out of there.

I can't stop that bleeding.

I can't really see,

It's like the Mississippi River down there.

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