Pauline Kael (73 page)
Authors: Brian Kellow
226
“The main problem I had with
Funny Lady
”:
Ibid.
“The main problem I had with
Funny Lady
”:
Ibid.
226
“volatility is gone”:
Ibid.
“volatility is gone”:
Ibid.
226
“Dear Ray”:
Letter from Pauline Kael to Ray Stark, April 15, 1975.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN“Dear Ray”:
Letter from Pauline Kael to Ray Stark, April 15, 1975.
227
“the funniest epic vision of America ever to reach the screen”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
, March 3, 1975.
“the funniest epic vision of America ever to reach the screen”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
, March 3, 1975.
227
“If one can review a film”:
The New York Times
, March 9, 1975.
“If one can review a film”:
The New York Times
, March 9, 1975.
227
“
The Last Tycoon
bombs like a paper bag full of water”:
Ibid.
“
The Last Tycoon
bombs like a paper bag full of water”:
Ibid.
227
“really not very talented”:
Jan Stuart, The Nashville
Chronicles: The Making of Robert Altman’s Masterpiece
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000), 285.
“really not very talented”:
Jan Stuart, The Nashville
Chronicles: The Making of Robert Altman’s Masterpiece
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000), 285.
227
“always foaming at the mouth about something”:
Ibid.
“always foaming at the mouth about something”:
Ibid.
228
“Nobody got rich”:
Author interview with Joan Tewkesbury, February 4, 2009.
“Nobody got rich”:
Author interview with Joan Tewkesbury, February 4, 2009.
228
“In the twilight land of flickering ”:
Doctor of Humane Letters citation to Pauline Kael, Haverford College, May 13, 1975.
“In the twilight land of flickering ”:
Doctor of Humane Letters citation to Pauline Kael, Haverford College, May 13, 1975.
229
“Cary Grant is your dream date”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(July 14, 1975).
“Cary Grant is your dream date”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(July 14, 1975).
229
“He draws women to him”:
Ibid.
“He draws women to him”:
Ibid.
229
“not the modern kind”:
Ibid.
“not the modern kind”:
Ibid.
229
“We could admire him”:
Ibid.
“We could admire him”:
Ibid.
229
“the most cheerfully perverse scare movie ever made”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 8, 1976).
“the most cheerfully perverse scare movie ever made”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 8, 1976).
230
“Michael Ritchie really had the pulse of America”:
Author interview with Barbara Feldon, November 4, 2010.
“Michael Ritchie really had the pulse of America”:
Author interview with Barbara Feldon, November 4, 2010.
230
“There hasn’t been a small-town comedy in so long”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 6, 1975).
“There hasn’t been a small-town comedy in so long”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 6, 1975).
231
“the shocking messiness of love”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 12, 1972).
“the shocking messiness of love”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 12, 1972).
231
“perceptions of what I thought no one else knew—and I wasn’t telling”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 12, 1972).
“perceptions of what I thought no one else knew—and I wasn’t telling”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 12, 1972).
231
“romantic
and
ironic”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 27, 1975).
“romantic
and
ironic”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 27, 1975).
231
“Now it is the bad guys”:
Women’s Wear Daily
, November 17, 1975.
“Now it is the bad guys”:
Women’s Wear Daily
, November 17, 1975.
231
“long literary tradition”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 27, 1975).
“long literary tradition”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 27, 1975).
231
“a powerful, smashingly effective movie”:
Ibid.
“a powerful, smashingly effective movie”:
Ibid.
231
“how crude the poet-paranoid system”:
Ibid.
“how crude the poet-paranoid system”:
Ibid.
232
“half smile”:
Ibid.
“half smile”:
Ibid.
232
“so much of a Nicholson role”:
Ibid.
“so much of a Nicholson role”:
Ibid.
232
“externalized approach”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 29, 1975).
“externalized approach”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 29, 1975).
232
“As it becomes apparent”:
Ibid.
“As it becomes apparent”:
Ibid.
232
“slack-faced and phlegmatic”:
Ibid.
“slack-faced and phlegmatic”:
Ibid.
232
“his face straining with the effort to be what the Master wants”:
Ibid.
“his face straining with the effort to be what the Master wants”:
Ibid.
232
“Kubrick isn’t taking pictures in order to make movies”:
Ibid.
“Kubrick isn’t taking pictures in order to make movies”:
Ibid.
233
“I think it is important to remind everyone”:
New York
Daily News
, January 2, 1976.
“I think it is important to remind everyone”:
New York
Daily News
, January 2, 1976.
233
“intensely, claustrophobically exciting”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 12, 1976).
“intensely, claustrophobically exciting”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 12, 1976).
233
“As the losing battles”:
Ibid.
“As the losing battles”:
Ibid.
233
“Peckinpah has become so nihilistic”:
Ibid.
“Peckinpah has become so nihilistic”:
Ibid.
234
“If God had not meant man to drink”:
Letter from Sam Peckinpah to Pauline Kael, December 14, 1976.
“If God had not meant man to drink”:
Letter from Sam Peckinpah to Pauline Kael, December 14, 1976.
234
“She was done completely”:
Author interview with James Toback, May 21, 2009.
“She was done completely”:
Author interview with James Toback, May 21, 2009.
234
“Miss Wertmuller’s
King Kong
”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 16, 1976).
“Miss Wertmuller’s
King Kong
”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 16, 1976).
234
“If
Seven Beauties
is all these things, what is it?”:
Ibid.
“If
Seven Beauties
is all these things, what is it?”:
Ibid.
234
“beyond annoyance”:
Ibid.
“beyond annoyance”:
Ibid.
234
“the characters never shut up”:
Ibid.
“the characters never shut up”:
Ibid.
235
“the stated ideas”:
Ibid.
“the stated ideas”:
Ibid.
235
“raising the consciousness of the masses”:
Ibid.
“raising the consciousness of the masses”:
Ibid.
235
“its life-denying spirit”:
The Village Voice
, February 16, 1976.
“its life-denying spirit”:
The Village Voice
, February 16, 1976.
235
“may just naturally be an Expressionist”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 9, 1976).
“may just naturally be an Expressionist”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 9, 1976).
235
“used his own emptiness”:
Ibid.
“used his own emptiness”:
Ibid.
236
“No other film”:
Ibid.
“No other film”:
Ibid.
236
“
He’s still out there!
”:
Author interview with Joseph Hurley, February 6, 2009.
“
He’s still out there!
”:
Author interview with Joseph Hurley, February 6, 2009.
236
“animation and charm as a movie reviewer”:
The New York Times Book Review
, April 4, 1976.
“animation and charm as a movie reviewer”:
The New York Times Book Review
, April 4, 1976.
236
“I don’t mean to quarrel with Miss Kael’s opinions”:
Ibid.
“I don’t mean to quarrel with Miss Kael’s opinions”:
Ibid.
237
“It is always an entertaining book”:
Ibid.
“It is always an entertaining book”:
Ibid.
237
“What she so often practices now”:
The Village Voice
, June 11, 1976.
“What she so often practices now”:
The Village Voice
, June 11, 1976.
237
“desire to relieve the lonely detachment”:
Ibid.
“desire to relieve the lonely detachment”:
Ibid.
237
“Everything had to be the greatest”:
Author interview with Greil Marcus, November 12, 2010.
“Everything had to be the greatest”:
Author interview with Greil Marcus, November 12, 2010.
237
“Did you really mean all that stuff that you wrote about me?”:
Ibid.
“Did you really mean all that stuff that you wrote about me?”:
Ibid.
238
“She just sort of expected”:
Ibid.
“She just sort of expected”:
Ibid.
238
“happy to do any radio or TV that comes up”:
Letter from Pauline Kael to William Abrahams, March 16, 1976.
“happy to do any radio or TV that comes up”:
Letter from Pauline Kael to William Abrahams, March 16, 1976.
238
“She is not lacking in exigence as an author”:
Letter from Peter Davison to Perry Knowlton, June 14, 1976.
“She is not lacking in exigence as an author”:
Letter from Peter Davison to Perry Knowlton, June 14, 1976.
238
“too high by far”:
Letter from William Abrahams to Perry Knowlton, undated.
“too high by far”:
Letter from William Abrahams to Perry Knowlton, undated.
239
“as uncomfortable to watch as a backless chair is to sit in”:
John Simon,
New York
(November 15, 1976).
“as uncomfortable to watch as a backless chair is to sit in”:
John Simon,
New York
(November 15, 1976).
239
“a marvelous toy”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 18, 1976).
“a marvelous toy”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 18, 1976).
239
“shameless, and that’s why—on a certain level—it works”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 29, 1976).
“shameless, and that’s why—on a certain level—it works”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 29, 1976).
239 “
Stallone has the gift of direct communication with the audience”:
Ibid.
Stallone has the gift of direct communication with the audience”:
Ibid.
239
“She screamed at me for doing that”:
Author interview with Carrie Rickey, May 9, 2009.
“She screamed at me for doing that”:
Author interview with Carrie Rickey, May 9, 2009.
239
“I had proposed back then that the women who directed movies”:
Ibid.
“I had proposed back then that the women who directed movies”:
Ibid.
239
“Stay away from that feministic stuff ”:
Ibid.
“Stay away from that feministic stuff ”:
Ibid.
240
“a beautiful plot”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 22, 1976).
“a beautiful plot”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 22, 1976).
240
“the wickedest baroque sensibility at large in American movies”:
Ibid.
“the wickedest baroque sensibility at large in American movies”:
Ibid.
240
“He’s uncommitted to anything except successful manipulation . . . when his camera conveys the motion of dreams”:
Ibid.
“He’s uncommitted to anything except successful manipulation . . . when his camera conveys the motion of dreams”:
Ibid.
240
“I think that Brian was just thrilled”:
Author interview with Nancy Allen, May 30, 2010.
“I think that Brian was just thrilled”:
Author interview with Nancy Allen, May 30, 2010.
240
“She liked Brian a lot and there I was, the girlfriend”:
Ibid.
“She liked Brian a lot and there I was, the girlfriend”:
Ibid.
241
“a fantasy burlesque”:
Women’s Wear Daily
, November 12, 1976.
“a fantasy burlesque”:
Women’s Wear Daily
, November 12, 1976.
241
“incompetent”:
Ibid.
“incompetent”:
Ibid.
241
“like a Village crazy”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 6, 1976).
“like a Village crazy”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 6, 1976).
241
“is turning us into morons and humanoids”:
Ibid.
“is turning us into morons and humanoids”:
Ibid.
241
“TV may have altered family life and social intercourse”:
Ibid.
“TV may have altered family life and social intercourse”:
Ibid.
241
“directly to the audience—he soapboxes”:
Ibid.
“directly to the audience—he soapboxes”:
Ibid.
241
“the soliloquies going at a machine-gun pace”:
Ibid.
“the soliloquies going at a machine-gun pace”:
Ibid.
241
“I’m as mad as hell”
:
Paddy Chayevsky, screenplay of
Network
, 1976
.
“I’m as mad as hell”
:
Paddy Chayevsky, screenplay of
Network
, 1976
.
241
“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse”:
Francis Ford Coppola, screenplay of
The Godfather
, 1972.
“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse”:
Francis Ford Coppola, screenplay of
The Godfather
, 1972.
242
“I’m not going to write about this one, darling”:
Author interview with Lamont Johnson, April 26, 2009.
“I’m not going to write about this one, darling”:
Author interview with Lamont Johnson, April 26, 2009.
242
“she acts a virtuous person”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 10, 1977).
“she acts a virtuous person”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 10, 1977).
242
“a drippy love story about two people who love each other selflessly”:
Ibid.
“a drippy love story about two people who love each other selflessly”:
Ibid.
242
“fake gospel”:
Ibid.
“fake gospel”:
Ibid.
242
“Streisand has more talent than she knows what to do with”:
Ibid.
“Streisand has more talent than she knows what to do with”:
Ibid.
242
“Yours was the only notice I saw”:
Letter from John Gregory Dunne to Pauline Kael, January 24, 1977.
“Yours was the only notice I saw”:
Letter from John Gregory Dunne to Pauline Kael, January 24, 1977.
243
“I will remember all my life”:
Author interview with Marthe Keller, November 8, 2010.
“I will remember all my life”:
Author interview with Marthe Keller, November 8, 2010.
243
“We had, in private”:
Ibid.
“We had, in private”:
Ibid.
243
“Before it started”:
Ibid.
“Before it started”:
Ibid.
243
“a horrible experience”:
Author interview with James Toback, May 21, 2009.
“a horrible experience”:
Author interview with James Toback, May 21, 2009.
243
“She was not comfortable in Europe”:
Author interview with Marthe Keller, November 8, 2010.
“She was not comfortable in Europe”:
Author interview with Marthe Keller, November 8, 2010.
244
“I was at Cannes”:
Author interview with Robert Altman, June 19, 2004.
“I was at Cannes”:
Author interview with Robert Altman, June 19, 2004.
244
“You have one person who loves you forever”:
Author interview with Marthe Keller, November 8, 2010.
CHAPTER NINETEEN“You have one person who loves you forever”:
Author interview with Marthe Keller, November 8, 2010.
245
“She respected me because I didn’t lie”:
Author interview with Marion Billings, October 23, 2008.
“She respected me because I didn’t lie”:
Author interview with Marion Billings, October 23, 2008.
245
“For Marion”:
Inscription to Marion Billings from Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
“For Marion”:
Inscription to Marion Billings from Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
246
“The movie studios aren’t putting up a fight”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(February 28, 1977).
“The movie studios aren’t putting up a fight”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(February 28, 1977).
246
“There’s no breather in the picture, no lyricism”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(September 26, 1977).
“There’s no breather in the picture, no lyricism”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(September 26, 1977).
246
“no emotional grip”:
Ibid.
“no emotional grip”:
Ibid.
247
“I told her from the beginning”:
Author interview with James Toback, May 21, 2009.
“I told her from the beginning”:
Author interview with James Toback, May 21, 2009.
247
“She was quite obsessed with the fact that Hellman was a liar”:
Author interview with Richard Albarino, November 9, 2010.
“She was quite obsessed with the fact that Hellman was a liar”:
Author interview with Richard Albarino, November 9, 2010.
247
“She thought it was ridiculous”:
Author interview with Patricia Bosworth, June 28, 2010.
“She thought it was ridiculous”:
Author interview with Patricia Bosworth, June 28, 2010.
248
“classical humorist”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 10, 1977).
“classical humorist”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 10, 1977).
248
“not neurotic or sexually aberrant”:
The New York Times
, October 31, 1976.
“not neurotic or sexually aberrant”:
The New York Times
, October 31, 1976.
248
“Women in movies have always been defined in terms of men”:
The New York Times
, October 31, 1976.
“Women in movies have always been defined in terms of men”:
The New York Times
, October 31, 1976.
248
“pulpy morbidity”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 24, 1977).
“pulpy morbidity”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 24, 1977).
248
“erotic, modern-Gothic compulsiveness”:
Ibid.
“erotic, modern-Gothic compulsiveness”:
Ibid.
248
“windy jeremiad”:
Ibid.
“windy jeremiad”:
Ibid.
248
“an illustrated lecture on how nice girls go wrong”:
Ibid.
“an illustrated lecture on how nice girls go wrong”:
Ibid.
248
“It’s what nice people do”:
Ibid.
“It’s what nice people do”:
Ibid.
248
“a powerful enough personality”:
Ibid.
“a powerful enough personality”:
Ibid.
249
“a child’s playfulness and love of surprises”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 28, 1977).
“a child’s playfulness and love of surprises”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 28, 1977).
249
“one of the peerless moments in movie history”:
Ibid.
“one of the peerless moments in movie history”:
Ibid.
249
“probably the most gifted American director who’s dedicated to sheer entertainment”:
Ibid.
“probably the most gifted American director who’s dedicated to sheer entertainment”:
Ibid.
249
“how the financially pinched seventies generation ”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 26, 1977).
“how the financially pinched seventies generation ”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 26, 1977).
249
“a TV-commercial version of Art Deco”:
Ibid.
“a TV-commercial version of Art Deco”:
Ibid.
249
“There is a thick, raw sensuality that some adolescents have which seems almost preconscious”:
Ibid.
“There is a thick, raw sensuality that some adolescents have which seems almost preconscious”:
Ibid.
250
“a mixture of undeveloped themes”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 20, 1978).
“a mixture of undeveloped themes”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 20, 1978).
250
“evocative of that messy time”:
Ibid.
“evocative of that messy time”:
Ibid.
251
“trying to act without her usual snap”:
Ibid.
“trying to act without her usual snap”:
Ibid.
251
“There’s a strong enough element of self-admiration”:
Ibid.
“There’s a strong enough element of self-admiration”:
Ibid.
251
“We started before we were ready”:
The New York Times
, February 19, 1978.
“We started before we were ready”:
The New York Times
, February 19, 1978.
251
“
Blue Collar
says the system grinds all workers down”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 27, 1978).
“
Blue Collar
says the system grinds all workers down”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 27, 1978).
252
“It was so much easier in the ‘60s”:
Paul Mazurky’s screenplay of
An Unmarried Woman
, 1978.
“It was so much easier in the ‘60s”:
Paul Mazurky’s screenplay of
An Unmarried Woman
, 1978.
252
“PATTI: I mean, everybody I know is either miserable or divorced”:
Ibid.
“PATTI: I mean, everybody I know is either miserable or divorced”:
Ibid.
252
“We thought that Martin pissing Erica off”:
Author interview with Michael Murphy, October 15, 2009.
“We thought that Martin pissing Erica off”:
Author interview with Michael Murphy, October 15, 2009.
252
“There’s this line, and they’re mostly women”:
Ibid.
“There’s this line, and they’re mostly women”:
Ibid.
253
“funny and buoyant besides”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 6, 1978).
“funny and buoyant besides”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 6, 1978).
253
“floating, not-quite-sure not-quite-here quality is just right”:
Ibid.
“floating, not-quite-sure not-quite-here quality is just right”:
Ibid.
253
“a superb shaggy screenwriter and rarely less than deft”:
Ibid.
“a superb shaggy screenwriter and rarely less than deft”:
Ibid.
253
“whether she’s struggling toward independence”:
Ibid.
“whether she’s struggling toward independence”:
Ibid.
253
“She at that point in her movie criticism was becoming a kineticist”:
Author interview with Richard Albarino, November 23, 2009.
“She at that point in her movie criticism was becoming a kineticist”:
Author interview with Richard Albarino, November 23, 2009.
254
“Jimmy needs to be an exciting, violent, emotional man”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 13, 1978).
“Jimmy needs to be an exciting, violent, emotional man”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 13, 1978).
254
“still locked up in the writer-director’s head”:
Ibid.
“still locked up in the writer-director’s head”:
Ibid.
254
“The shock is in the speed of Dreems’s action”:
Ibid.
“The shock is in the speed of Dreems’s action”:
Ibid.
254
“The only time I ever felt Pauline levitate”:
Author interview with George Malko, April 15, 2009.
“The only time I ever felt Pauline levitate”:
Author interview with George Malko, April 15, 2009.
254
“Normality doesn’t interest Toback”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 20, 1978).
“Normality doesn’t interest Toback”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 20, 1978).
254
“You refer to the literary adolescent’s way”:
Author interview with James Toback, May 21, 2009.
“You refer to the literary adolescent’s way”:
Author interview with James Toback, May 21, 2009.
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