Arthur immediately called out to the camera operator, “Keep rolling,” and then he gave me my first revelation of what it means to be an “actor’s director.” While the camera was rolling, he said, “Gene, just because I say ‘Action,’ doesn’t mean you have to start acting—it just means that
we’re
ready. I could see you had something cooking inside, but you weren’t ready to act yet. Film is cheap. Keep working on whatever you’re working on and start acting when you’re ready.”
The scene went very well.
When we took a break, the assistant director came up to me and said, “Don’t get used to what just happened—you’re not going to find many directors who work like Arthur.”
In the next scene I’m riding in the back of a car with the Barrow Gang. Near the end of the scene Gene Hackman tells me a joke. Arthur Penn asked us to rehearse the scene, very lightly, before filming it. When we got to the joke I asked Gene not to tell me the punch line until the cameras were rolling, because I didn’t want to feel obligated to fake my laughter when the time came. We startedthe scene, which was going very well, and then Gene told me the joke. Well, the joke was so dumb that when it came to the punch line—“Whatever you do, don’t sell that cow!”—I laughed until there were tears in my eyes, because I couldn’t believe how dumb this silly joke was that I had been waiting to hear. (From an acting point of view, not having heard the joke before had helped me a great deal.) We did the scene several times, and I laughed harder each time—mostly, I think, because Gene Hackman was so enthusiastic each time he told me this stupid joke.
When filming was over, Arthur Penn told me that he had never envisioned the part being played the way I did it. I asked him what he meant, and he said he never imagined its being funny. Then I asked him why he thought of me for the part.
“I saw you on Broadway and thought you’d be right for the part.”
A few months later I asked Warren Beatty the same question. He said, “I saw you on Broadway and thought you’d be right for the part.”
Maybe I’m exaggerating—to the extent that they didn’t use the exact same words—but who cares? They both said that I was in a movie because they had seen me onstage, which was just what I told Gene Saks would happen, in Louisville, Kentucky, when he quit directing
The Millionairess
.
chapter 15
SECOND MOVEMENT
SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER
In May of 1967 I went to my first press luncheon. It was on the afternoon before filming was going to start on
Springtime for Hitler
. Everyone had a place card. Mine was not at the main table, which had place cards for Mel Brooks, Joe Levine (the man who had put up half the budget), Sidney Glazier, Zero Mostel, and Dick Shawn. Zero examined all the place cards; then he picked up Dick Shawn’s card and my card and very deftly, like a ballet dancer, swapped them. I was now sitting next to Zero.
When dessert was being served, I got up and excused myself. Mel asked where I was going, I told him that I had a doctor’s appointment that I couldn’t miss. The truth was that I didn’t want to miss signing up for my last unemployment check. (It was up to fifty-five dollars a week by that time.)
______
Katie had never seen her biological father. He had wined and dined Mary Jo and led her to believe that he was a big shot in the investment business. When Jo became pregnant with Katie, she found out that her husband was not only a liar, but was also broke and a drunkard. She told him that he was not going to be the father to her child. So she walked out after three months of marriage and raised Katie on her own.
I started having dinner with Jo and Katie two or three nights a week. Before dinner was ready, I would perform “circus tricks” with Katie. I would lie down on the floor, with my knees pointed up, and Katie would try to stand on my knees while I held her hands. It
we’re
ready. I could see you had something cooking inside, but you weren’t ready to act yet. Film is cheap. Keep working on whatever you’re working on and start acting when you’re ready.”
The scene went very well.
When we took a break, the assistant director came up to me and said, “Don’t get used to what just happened—you’re not going to find many directors who work like Arthur.”
In the next scene I’m riding in the back of a car with the Barrow Gang. Near the end of the scene Gene Hackman tells me a joke. Arthur Penn asked us to rehearse the scene, very lightly, before filming it. When we got to the joke I asked Gene not to tell me the punch line until the cameras were rolling, because I didn’t want to feel obligated to fake my laughter when the time came. We startedthe scene, which was going very well, and then Gene told me the joke. Well, the joke was so dumb that when it came to the punch line—“Whatever you do, don’t sell that cow!”—I laughed until there were tears in my eyes, because I couldn’t believe how dumb this silly joke was that I had been waiting to hear. (From an acting point of view, not having heard the joke before had helped me a great deal.) We did the scene several times, and I laughed harder each time—mostly, I think, because Gene Hackman was so enthusiastic each time he told me this stupid joke.
When filming was over, Arthur Penn told me that he had never envisioned the part being played the way I did it. I asked him what he meant, and he said he never imagined its being funny. Then I asked him why he thought of me for the part.
“I saw you on Broadway and thought you’d be right for the part.”
A few months later I asked Warren Beatty the same question. He said, “I saw you on Broadway and thought you’d be right for the part.”
Maybe I’m exaggerating—to the extent that they didn’t use the exact same words—but who cares? They both said that I was in a movie because they had seen me onstage, which was just what I told Gene Saks would happen, in Louisville, Kentucky, when he quit directing
The Millionairess
.
chapter 15
SECOND MOVEMENT
SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER
In May of 1967 I went to my first press luncheon. It was on the afternoon before filming was going to start on
Springtime for Hitler
. Everyone had a place card. Mine was not at the main table, which had place cards for Mel Brooks, Joe Levine (the man who had put up half the budget), Sidney Glazier, Zero Mostel, and Dick Shawn. Zero examined all the place cards; then he picked up Dick Shawn’s card and my card and very deftly, like a ballet dancer, swapped them. I was now sitting next to Zero.
When dessert was being served, I got up and excused myself. Mel asked where I was going, I told him that I had a doctor’s appointment that I couldn’t miss. The truth was that I didn’t want to miss signing up for my last unemployment check. (It was up to fifty-five dollars a week by that time.)
______
Katie had never seen her biological father. He had wined and dined Mary Jo and led her to believe that he was a big shot in the investment business. When Jo became pregnant with Katie, she found out that her husband was not only a liar, but was also broke and a drunkard. She told him that he was not going to be the father to her child. So she walked out after three months of marriage and raised Katie on her own.
I started having dinner with Jo and Katie two or three nights a week. Before dinner was ready, I would perform “circus tricks” with Katie. I would lie down on the floor, with my knees pointed up, and Katie would try to stand on my knees while I held her hands. It
Similar Books
