Book review - "Heaven and Mel" by Joe Eszterhas (2012) (re-reading)

 Gave this another read. Eszterhas comes out of it even worse than I remembered. Utterly without backbone. Working for Gibson despite his alleged bad behaviour, then ranting, then anger, putting his on in harm's way, only going after him after Gibson didn't like his script. Urgh. Very compulsive reading though.

Movie review - "Spirit of St Louis" (1957) ***

 Very sober and respectful for a Billy Wilder film, this focuses on the least controversial aspect of Lindbergh's life - his Atlantic plane flight. I felt Wilder would make a more memorable movie about the kidnapping, or the America first movement, or his war service, or his German mistresses. I get why he chose this version - presumably there was no "choice" due to Lindbergh being alive - but still...

James Stewart is famously too old to play the lead, though at the same time he was perfect casting (All-American, pilot). Even too old he's better than John Kerr (who turned it down!) would have been.

Wilder wanted to add a fictitious story how the journos around that night chipped in to pay for a hooker to sleep with virginal Lindbergh on the flight. Not a bad idea - some female love interset. He couldn't do it.

Hal Needham did some stunt work on this. Billy Wilder went up on the wings of the plane for one shot.

Two hours and fifteen minutes' running time. Not much happens on the flight - he chats to a fly, falls asleep at one stage (easily the best sequence).

It is of interest. You can't say it's a bad film. Well done and a little dull. Beautiful music. I remember my English teacher putting on a VHS and making us watch it. I guess it was safe material for schools, even though we would've learned more about human nature discussing Lindbergh's politics and kidnapping.

Movie review - "Crossbearer : a memoir of faith" by Joe Eszterhas (2008)

 I got the impression from Devil's Guide to Hollywood that Joe Eszterhas said everything he had to say in his memoir Hollywood Animal and that seems to be the case reading this. He covers old ground - the schizophrenia of his brother in law, his "redemption" via throat cancer, leading an anti smoking crusade, his mother's illness and death, his father's Antisemitism. He refers to the fact that he wrote Showgirls and Basic Instinct a lot - I sense he misses fame/being important.

To be fair there's some new stuff - about his battle to try and be a good Christian despite a lifetime of getting in conflict. He talks about attempts to make films - pitched a show about a tough priest, tried to get up another project - and none really work except Children of Glory. He says Hollywood kept at him to do violent/sexy films but he refused. He also took a $1.5 million cheque from the sequel to Basic Instinct.

He writes about his priests (including a black one from Uganda who he calls "Father Africa"), people who hassle him with scripts, his not particularly interesting domestic life, bullying a teacher who dared let his son study rap music, getting upset at religious connotations given to Le Bron James playing basketball. He mentions his admiration for Passion of the Christ and refers to Mel Gibson's arrest and Antisemitic outbursts while drunk... making his later collaboration with Gibson very ironic.

The most moving section involves his relationship with his daughter who was adopted out in the 1960s who has two girls with a degenerative condition.  I googled them (couldn't resist) and at least one is still alive and doing well, I hope the other is too. When the book was written though he was still estranged from his daughter Suzi.

There's really not enough material in this for a book. It should have been a long article. But it's of interest.

Book review - "Hollywood Animal" by Joe Eszterhas (re-reading)

 Still one of the best ever Hollywood memoirs, even if a lot of the material is over familiar now because Eszterhas keeps rehashing it in interviews and repurposing it for his other books. Epic sweep - Hungarian background, being a refugee, some (thought surprisingly not a lot) tales of journalism, breaking into movies, becoming a scripting superstar, then crashing, fleeing to Cleveland, fighting cancer and finding God... and then getting no more credits.

Eszterhas comes across as completely appalling a person - as does his second wife. Their behaviour on that Hawaiian holiday is particularly obnoxious. But to give him his due he is warts and all - and he has some self awareness here, which is lacking in his later books. Best segments are the ones on FIST, Flashdance, Jagged Edge, the fight with Ovitz, Basic Instinct and the cancer struggle. He can write a good tale for a rampaging narcissist. Colourful cameos by people like Bob Evans, Don Simpson, Sharon Stone, Richard Marquand, etc

Script review - "Jade" by Joe Eszterhas (warning: spoilers)

 The original draft of this script, so far as I know -I haven't seen the film, but I read the synopsis and it does seem some key changes were made by William Friedkin.

It's a perfectly decent thriller, albeit very similar to Basic Instinct and Jagged Edge which is presumably why it sold for so much money. The star part is a prosecutor involved in the investigation of a series of violent murders. He's in love with the chief suspect, a beautiful, sexy woman who loves sex... Katrina who turns out to be a prostitute called Jade, married to the lead's friend, Matt. There's a support red herring, we're never sure if the girl did it or not til the end... when it's revealed it was the husband. Which is fine.

It's got twists, a lot of harsh language, and sex. Friedkin should have shot the script but I think the bigger problem is no one got too excited about the star combo: David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino and Chazz Palmenteri, all very good actors, but were a bit "B" team. (I get why all where cast, they were all cresting).

Book review - "Rumpole of the Bailey" (1978) by John Mortimer

 First collection of stories, which I've always loved.

Rumpole and the Younger Generation - we meet Hilda, Nick, the Timsons, the original chambers (including Gutherie, Albert, Claude Erskine Brown)... plus Hilda's dad who was then alive. Ends with Guthrie becoming head of chambers and school kid Nick deciding to do sociology at uni not law.

Rumpole and the Alternative Society - Rumpole visits some old WW2 mates and defends a woman whom he falls in love (Mortimer always was a bit lechy) who has sold a lot of cannibis. A touching ending where Rumpole sees this woman go away for three years because of her alpha leftie boyfriend (a very real type). They should have brought that character back. 

Rumpole and the Honourable Member - he defends a Labor MP accused of rape. The man has a sort of Hilary Clinton type wife and it results in Rumpole slut shaming the accused on the stand. His prospective daughter in law challenges him on that, Mortimer lets her state her case, but his sympathy is clearly with Rumple and his dogged "we are all the same under the law". Albert the clerk gets fired in this one - he really didn't stick around for long.

Rumpole and the Married Lady -we get Rumpole's take on divorce when he represents a woman wanting to leave her husband. Very funny, clever. We meet Phyllida Trant in this one.

Rumpole and the Learned Friend - Rumpole is, hilariously, junior to Guthrie Featherstone as they defend a safe breaker. We meet his great adversary Judge Bullingham and Rumpole risks his career in the name of justice. I'm struck re-reading (listening rather, this is an audio book) these tales how much was set up in the first series. Mortimer struggled to construct as memorable characters later on. That's a little unfair I know, just observing.

Rumpole and the Heavy Brigade - Rumpole defends a "simple" man accused of murder and gets him off while set up to use. The charming friendship between Marigold Featherstone and Hilda begins here.

Movie review - "One Two Three" (1961) *****

 Superb Billy Wilder comedy with James Cagney as a Coca Cola executive who has to deal with the boss's hot daughter romancing a commie. It's very much in the style of The Front Page with a top level executive having to battle a series of issues - wife who wants to go home, daughter getting married, falling pregnant, parents arriving, MPs complicating, a nosy journalist, having to present the new son in law is a noble as in Lady for a Day, etc.

The characters are broad and big as befits the farce - Pamela Tiffin's spoiled rich girl, Horst Bucholtz's over the top hunk commie, Cagney's smart talking exec, the three comic commissars (right out of Ninotchka), the sexpot secretary, the gum chiewing kids, Germanic sidekicks, impoverished counts. The jokes come thick and fast.

The one aspect I didn't like was Cagney rooting his secretary (and having form on that). It was true to character I guess just felt unpleasant, made me feel sorry for the wife - better if the secretary was a sexpot but he loved his wife.

Red Buttons has a cameo as an MP.

Great fun.