Diller versus Evans

Am reading Barry Diller’s excellent memoirs which discuss his time running Paramount in the 1970s which made me decide to compare his regime with the fabled Robert Evans regime that proceeded it. (These lists below attribute films to various regimes as well as I can... it's entirely possible some started development under other regimes)

So films from the Evans regime which film bros (deservedly) always bang on about...  Love Story, The Godfather Part 1 and 2, Harold and Maude, A New Leaf, Willy Wonka, Play It Again Sam, Lady Sings the Blues, Paper Moon, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Serpico, The Conversation, Daisy Miller, The Parallax View, Chinatown, Death Wish, The Longest Yard, Three Days of the Condor, Hustle, Italian Job, Medium Cool, True Grit, Goodbye Columbus, Rosemary’s Baby, The Odd Couple, Romeo and Juliet, Barbrella, if..., Oh what a Lovely War, Downhill Racer. 

Great stuff. 

But films from Evans regime which film bros forget he made (or blame on Charlie Bludhorn)... The Molly Maguires, The Adventurers, Darling Lili, Friends, Little Fauss and Big Haley, Norwood, a weirdly large number of flop Neil Simon adaptations (Plaza Suite, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Star Spangled Bannered Girl), Murphy’s Law, TR Baskin, Such Good Friends, Bad Company, The N***** Charley Films, Save the Children, Sterile Cuckoo, Hello Down There, My Side of the Mountain, Where’s Jack, Blue, No Way to Treat a Lady, 5 Card Stud, Skidoo, The Brotherhood, A Talent for Loving, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Scalawag, The White Dawn, Paint Your Wagon.

Not so great stuff. You just don't hear Peter Bart go one about these as much. 

Films from the Diller regime which film bros go on about: Saturday Night Fever, Bad News Bears, Marthon Man, King Kong, Mikey and Nicky (in its own way), Looking for Mr Goodbar, Saturday Night Fever, Pretty Baby, Grease 1 and 2, Heaven Can Wait, Foul Play, Days of Heaven, Up in Smoke, The Warriors, Escape from Alcatraz, Meatballs, North Dallas Forty, Star Trek 1 and 2, American Gigolo, Friday the 13th series, Urban Cowboy, Flying High 1 and 2, Ordinary People, Popeye, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Temple of Doom, Mommie Dearest, An Officer and.a Gentleman, 48 Hours, White Dog, Flashdance, Trading Places, Terms of Endearment, Uncommon Valor, The Keep, Footloose,  Top Secret, Beverly Hills Cop, Witness.

Again, a great line up of films. 

But there are films from the Diller regime which seem to be forgotten: Won Ton Ton the Dog That Saved Hollywood, Lifeguard, Handle with Care, First Love, The One and Only, Going South, Oliver's Story, An Almost Perfect Affair, Prophecy, Bloodline, Sunburn, French Postcards, Nijinsky, Rough Cut, The Hunter, Coast to Coast, Going Ape, Dragonslayer, First Monday in October, Paternity, Ragtime, I’m Dancing as Far as I Can, Some Kind of Hero, Partners, Jekyll and Hyde Together Again, It Came from Hollywood, Ladies and Gentlemen the Fabulous Stains, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Racing with the Moon, Best Defence, River Rat, Thief of Hearts, Falling in Love, King David, Rustlers Rhapsody, Compromising Positions. 

Don't forget the flops, that's all I'm saying. 

Movie review - "Happy Gilmore 2" (2025) ***

 Pure uncut Adam Sandler, with all his heart, indulgences and humour, plus his daughters. Some of it is funny.

Movie review - "Fly Me to the Moon" (2024) ***

 Sweet romantic comedy with a strong idea - background to the Moon landing - and theme - about selling, and the truth - is an enjoyable watch. It didn't have to close $100 million, this should've been a $40 million film. Maybe too much plot in the last act.

Ken Annakin Top Ten

 1) Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

2) Those Daring Young Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)

3) Holiday Camp (1947)

4) Miranda (1948)

 5) Hotel Sahara (1951)

6) Here Come the Huggets (1948)

7) The Longest Day (1962)

8) The Seekers (1954)

9) Battle of the Bulge (1965)

10) Third Man on the Mountain (1959) 

Script editing Bryan Forbes' films at EMI

 I'm too obsessed with these. But anyway, here are my suggested fixes of the "Forbes' twelve"

- And Soon the Darkness - needed three girls so there were at least two kills (preferrably three kills), not enough story

- The Breaking of Bumbo - too late for it to have been made, missed its window

- Dulcima - never should've been made, too television, not enough story

- Eyewitness - pick a lead and make it about that one person, not four

- A Fine and Private Place - never should've made it with those stars, they weren't names

- The Go Between - no notes 

- Hoffman - either make it Beauty and the Beast and turn the Beast sympathetic or make it a horror story, again not enough story

- The Man Who Haunted Himself - better fashion, lean into concept more... but I would've green lit this 

- Mr Frobush and the Penguins - experienced director, and a human love story that happens in Antarctica not via bloody phone - make Hayley Mills the star, have a handsome man visit her, personify the penguins

- The Raging Moon - younger stars (Jenny Agutter say) and a subplot involving parents, not enough story otherwise

- The Railway Children - no notes

- The Tales of Beatrix Potter - I would've asked for more of a narrative; the film did fine but with more of a conventional story it could've done gangbusters

Movie review - "Season of the Witch" aka "Hungry Wives" (1972) ***

 Entertaining low budget Romero effort, one of his lesser known movies. A bored housewife with an abusive husband gets interested in witchcraft. I've become fond of these Romero Pittsburgh actors.

Well directed. I like the early 70s of it all. Simple story, logically developed. I'm sympathetic to the distributors wanting to add more sex and nudity but it holds on its own terms.

Movie review - "Solaris" (1972) **

 A great story made really confusing. Took forever to get going, lots of chat, I had trouble following it, 167 minutes. I'm a philistine, sure. But this is an emotionally powerful tale rendered without emotion.

Movie review - "The Crazies" (1973) ***1/2

 Romero's zombie film without zombies - it's a transmittable virus that makes people crazy and sends the world into meltdown. This is fast paced, cynical, chaotic, with some characters we care about - the bombastic doctor, the decent officer, the pregnant nurse and her boyfriend, and his mate who has bad PTSD. Downbeat ending. Very Vietnam era.

Can't believe this flopped. Maybe having no zombies was too much. 

Book review - "Funny Girl" by Nick Hornby

 Not amazing but fun. Better on the men, like the writers and the hopeless sex addicted lead. They're more interesting than Sophie who seems mostly to be hot and keen. She becomes famous very quickly - more of a struggle wouldn't have hurt. Actually making it in England seems to be quite easy. Fun throwbacks to culture. Love the mentions of things like Anthony Newley. I like the big time leaps.

Movie review - "Excalibur" (1981) ****

 Silly but fun. Great integrity. Tremendous cast of future stars but it's Helen Mirren who steals the show. Great spookiness. They could've made Arthur and Percy look more different.

Movie review - "Knightriders" (1981) **

 I love how George Romero blew his success of Dawn of the Dead on this. Bikers as knights. No one dies. So many subplots. No drama. Nothing at stake. No one dies. I kept expecting the Guinnevere triangle, or the Nazi bikers to come back or a big bunch of cops to attack... something. But no.

The actors give their all. 

Movie review - "Dragonslayer" (1981) **

 Classic Ron Miller era of Disney - great idea, technically accomplished, good story, lousy execution. Perfectly simple story - village under threat by dragon, king sacrifices women to dragon... but it's confusing to watch. I wasn't sure where it was set, or who we were following or the rules. Ralph Richardson disappeared then came back, they were following the travelling group then not. The film just needed to say things straight up - open with the sacrificial woman being killed, establish the girl dressed as a boy is a girl and say why, have them meet... 

The princess is so nice and her death is a downer. What's at stake? The dragon attacks the village anyway yes? Why does Peter Macnicol need to go on his own once the princess is threatened?

Just a mess. This needed a script exec riding shotgun. 

Book review - "Harry Dean Stanton Hollywood’s Zen Rebel" by Joseph B. Atkins

 Loving, well researched book about Stanton, beloved character actor and occasional lead who like many character actors was bitter about not being a lead. Managed to be cool, adored by Brat Packers, scored Rebecca de Morney - I think because he was a musician. Kind of like Billy Bob Thornton if Thornton didn't write and direct. Main problem is Stanton's film appearances were so many and brief Atkins out of necessity can't dive that deep - when he does, eg Repo Man , Paris Texas  - the book is great. Also the actor was a bit of a floss. It's hard to get a grip on him. But this is a fine book.

Movie review - "The Shrouds" (2025) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)

 I went with this. Modern day version of an Edgar Allan Poe story - man going mad after wife dies, doing stuff with the crypt, catnip to the ladies. The nudity suits the story because it has body horror elements. Ending unsatisfying - felt life a cliff hanger. Needed another beat at least. Still watchable.