Script review – “Heat” by William Goldman

I read a copy of this at the Margaret Herrick Library - it was a shooting script. Apparently production of the film was fraught - Goldman has been sketchy on the details in his memoirs (because lawsuits are still flying, he claimed), but having seen the film it did appear to be reasonably faithful. (My memory may be playing tricks here, it's been a while since I saw the film.) The problems of the film are evident in the script: mainly, there's not enough story. I really liked the novel, Edged Weapons: it was a terrific character study about a "chaperone" in Vegas, a gambling addict who is also a ruthless fighter. The joy came in the little details and the character mixed in with the occasional outbursts of violence - for it to work it would have needed a director willing to embrace the nuance and atmosphere of it's world (Robert Altman, who was attached for a while, would have been terrific). Like all Goldman screenplays, though, it's a pleasure to read.