3. Ron O’Neal died of pancreatic cancer on January 14, 2004, at the age of sixty-six.
4. In 2012, the year before this particular interview with Cohen took place, the escalating homicide rate and instances of violence in Chicago garnered worldwide press attention as gangs fought wars over turf, drugs and money. It has been claimed that the majority of the resulting murders were gang-related vendettas and revenge attacks. According to the National Gang Intelligence Center, Chicago has one of the largest concentrations of gang members in the US. Seventy-three active street gangs have been identified by the Chicago Police Department, encompassing an estimated total of 68,000 members (although some sources put the figure as high as 150,000).
5. The Chi-Lites were a soul quartet who formed in Chicago in 1959. Their hits include “Have You Seen Her”, “Oh, Girl”, “Homely Girl,” and “Too Good to Be Forgotten.”
6. The film Cohen cites here is The Great White Hype (1996), a boxing comedy directed by Reginald Hudlin and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Damon Wayans, Jeff Goldblum, and Jamie Foxx. It was actually released on May 3, 1996, a week before Original Gangstas.
CHAPTER 25: SCREENPLAYS PART III (1997-2010)
1. Mark L. Lester (b.1946) began his career with such drive-in obscurantia as Just Can’t Reach (1970), Steel Arena (1973), Truck Stop Women (1974), White House Madness (1975), and Bobbie Joe and the Outlaw (1976), before helming the disco movie Roller Boogie (1979) and the cult action-thriller Class of 1984 (1982). His mainstream breakthrough came in the form of Firestarter (1984), a serviceable adaptation of the Stephen King novel, and the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Commando (1985). Lester’s subsequent efforts include the John Candy action-comedy Armed and Dangerous (1986) and the martial arts film Showdown in Little Tokyo (1990).
2. The name of the actress Cohen speaks of here is Suzy Amis (b.1962).
3. Michael Bay (b.1965) is an American director and producer who began his career making music videos and award-winning commercials. He is noted for making loud, brash, mega-budget spectacles littered with fast cuts, ferocious action and fantastic special effects. His movies include Bad Boys (1995), The Rock (1996), Armageddon (1998), Pearl Harbour (2001), Bad Boys II (2003), The Island (2005), Transformers (2007), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), and Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014).
4. Cohen is talking about the supernatural fable Winter’s Tale (2013), which received generally negative reviews. The movie earned just $7.3 million in its first weekend and scraped a total gross of $30 million worldwide, only half of its $60 million budget.
5. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) is a superlative Film Noir directed by Alexander Mackendrick, famed for his nine-year association with Ealing Studios in which he made the classic comedies Whiskey Galore (1949), The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955). Mackendrick’s first American film after departing England for Hollywood in 1955, Sweet Smell of Success concerns a scheming Manhattan press agent (Tony Curtis), who becomes involved with a powerful newspaper columnist (Burt Lancaster) intent on destroying his younger sister’s romance with a jazz musician. Written by Ernest Lehman and Clifford Odets (who based Lancaster’s villainous character, J.J. Hunsecker, on Walter Winchell), this dark and cynical picture was a box office failure upon its release but is now regarded as one of the best American films of its time.
6. The Beltway Sniper Attacks were a series of coordinated shootings that occurred in the Washington Metropolitan Area over a three-week period in October 2002. A blue 1990 Chevy Caprice was used as a rolling sniper’s nest by John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo as they gunned down ten people and seriously wounded a further three using a Bushmaster .223-calibre rifle with a scope and tripod. The backseat of their vehicle had the metal sheet removed between the passenger compartment and the trunk, allowing the shooter to access the trunk from inside the car. Malvo, who was seventeen at the time of the killing spree, was given multiple life sentences and is currently incarcerated at the Red Onion State Prison in Virginia. Muhammad was executed by lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center on November 10, 2009.
7. Directed by Stephen Norrington from a screenplay by James Dale Robinson, the film adaptation of Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) sees seven fictional figures of literature coming together to battle a villain known as the “Fantom” in an alternate Victorian Age world. They include Alan Quatermain of King Solomon’s Mines, Mina Harker from Dracula, and Captain Nemo from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, as well as The Invisible Man, Tom Sawyer, Dorian Gray, and Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde). Impressive special effects and the presence of Sean Connery as Quatermain are not enough to rescue this illogical effort from costly mediocrity.
8. Incredibly, the perpetrator of Captivity is Roland Joffé, whose films The Killing Fields (1984) and The Mission (1986) both earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director.
9. “Torture Porn” is the term coined by critics to describe a horror film that concentrates heavily on graphic violence and sexually suggestive imagery. Examples of this subgenre (which are often promoted with lurid and salacious ad campaigns) include Saw (2004) and its six sequels, Hostel (2005), Wolf Creek (2005), The Devil’s Rejects (2005), Turistas (2006), Hostel Part II (2007), Borderland (2007), WΔZ (2007), and Captivity (2007). In Europe, Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist (2009) and a wave of French horror films, sometimes referred to as the New French Extremity, have also been grouped with their American, Australian and British brethren; these include Switchblade Romance (2003), Inside (2007), Frontiers (2007), and Martyrs (2008).
10. The Gambler, the Girl, and the Gunslinger was directed by Anne Wheeler (b.1946). A Canadian director, writer, and producer, Wheeler’s filmography includes the docudrama A War Story (1981), which told the story of her father’s capture by Japanese soldiers during World War II, and the features Loyalties (1986), Bye Bye Blues (1989), Angel Square (1990), and Knockout (2011). She has also directed episodes of the TV shows The Ray Bradbury Theater, Jake and the Kid, Mysterious Ways, and This is Wonderland.
11. Bob Barbash (1919-1995) wrote the screenplays for the features The Plunderers (1960), Tarzan and the Great River (1967), and How To Make It (1969), and furnished the story for the Disney science fiction epic The Black Hole (1979). He also worked as a television story editor and producer, penning episodes of Playhouse 90, Maverick, The Zane Grey Theatre, The Dick Powell Theatre, Wagon Train, Stoney Burke, The Wild Wild West, Gunsmoke, Starsky and Hutch, and The Adventures of Superboy. He died in Los Angeles of cancer.
CHAPTER 26: MASTERS OF HORROR: PICK ME UP (2005)
1. The 3D film directed by Joe Dante that Cohen mentions here is The Hole (2010).
2. David J. Schow (b.1955) is an American author and screenwriter. His novels include The Kill Riff (1988), The Shaft (1990), Bullets of Rain (2003), Gun Work (2008), the non-fiction book The Outer Limits: The Official Companion (1986) — which he co-authored with Jeffrey Frentzen — and the short story collections Seeing Red (1990), Lost Angels (1990), and Black Leather Required (1994). His screenplays include A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989), Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 (1989), The Crow (1994), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), and The Hills Run Red (2009). Schow also adapted the John Farris story “We All Scream for Ice Cream,” which was directed by Tom Holland in the second season of Masters of Horror.
3. Tales from the Crypt (1989-1996) was an American anthology show based on the William M. Gaines/EC Comics series of the same name. The episodes were also derived from stories originally published in the six other EC titles: The Crypt of Terror, The Vault of Horror, Haunt of Fear, Crime SuspenStories, Shock SuspenStories, and Two-Fisted Tales. Free from the censorship imposed by network standards and practices, Tales from the Crypt was able to attract high-calibre talent behind the camera, including directors Richard Donner, Robert Zemeckis, Walter Hill, William Friedkin, Tobe Hooper, Peter Medak, John Frank
enheimer, Russell Mulcahy, Howard Deutch, and Freddie Francis (who also directed the 1972 Amicus film adaptation).
4. John Carpenter’s Pro-Life was the fifth film to be screened (on March 20, 2007) during the second season of Masters of Horror. Written by Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan, it is the violent and gruesome tale of a teenage girl (Caitlin Wachs), who arrives at a secluded abortion clinic claiming her accelerating pregnancy is the result of being raped by a demon. Meanwhile her Bible-thumping, gun-toting father (Ron Perlman) shows up with her three equally fanatical brothers (all armed-to-the-teeth) to rescue the foetus from destruction. Then, to compound matters, the unborn child’s Daddy shows up…
5. The budget allotted to each Masters of Horror film was $1.5 million.
6. Fairuza Balk (b.1974) had previously appeared in the horror films The Craft (1996) and The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996). Her other credits include Return to Oz (1985), Valmont (1989), Things To Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1996), The Waterboy (1998), American History X (1999), Almost Famous (2000), and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.
7. The stunt co-ordinator on Pick Me Up was Jim Dunn. The stunt driving double for Michael Moriarty was Ian Thompson.
8. Michael Moriarty won the Tony Award in 1974 for Find Your Way Home, a play written by John Hopkins (1931-1998).
9. Burke & Hare are played by Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis respectively.
CHAPTER 27: ON WRITING
1. The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Paul Zindel first performed at The Mercer-O’Casey Theatre, New York City, in 1970. The drama revolves around a dysfunctional family consisting of an abusive mother and her two daughters (one an introverted loner with a passion for science, the other a confused extrovert teetering on madness). A fine film adaptation directed by Paul Newman was released in 1972, starring his wife, Joanne Woodward, who was named Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973 for her performance.
2. Baby Doll (1956) is a controversial melodrama/black comedy directed by Elia Kazan. Adapted for the screen by Tennessee Williams from his own one-act play, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, it concerns a Sicilian businessman (Eli Wallach) in the Deep South who initiates a bizarre love triangle with a boorish rival (Karl Malden) and his flirtatious nymphet wife (Carroll Baker). At the time of its release, the film aroused a scandal due to its risqué sexual themes, earning a “C” for “Condemned” from the Catholic Legion of Decency, who labelled it “grievously offensive to Christian and traditional standards of morality and decency”.
CHAPTER 28: METHODOLOGY, MOVIES & MADNESS
1. Frank Capra (1897-1991) was a hugely influential American director, producer and screenwriter, whose sentimental cinematic “fantasies of goodwill” assisted in defining and aggrandising the myth of ordinary Americana. His laundry list of masterful films includes It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Lost Horizon (1937), You Can’t Take It with You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), and the perennial seasonal classic It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). The winner of five Academy Awards (three for Best Director), Capra even inspired his own adjective, “Capraesque”. This relates to a style of film that promotes the positive social effects of individual acts of courage and determination, and how these qualities enable the underdog to triumph. His autobiography, The Name Above the Title, was published in 1971.
2. The Liveliest Art: A Panoramic History of the Movies was written by the eminent film critic, historian and instructor Arthur Knight (1916-1991). First published by New American Library in 1957, the book offers a pioneering history of American cinema from its technological beginnings with Thomas Edison to the important contributions of such key players as D.W. Griffith, Mack Sennett, Charlie Chaplin, John Ford, Rene Clair, Orson Welles, and others. The Liveliest Art has long been a staple textbook in colleges and universities throughout the world.
Credits
Filmography
BONE (1971)
Production Company: Jack H. Harris Enterprises, Larry Cohen Productions. Directed by Larry Cohen. Produced by Larry Cohen. Written by Larry Cohen. Co-producer: Janelle Cohen. Associate Producer: Peter Vizer. Executive Producer: Peter Sabiston. Cinematography by George Folsey, Sr. Edited by George Folsey, Jr. Music by Gil Melle. Post-Production Supervisor: Michael D. Corey. Special Make-up Effects by Rick Baker. Cast: Yaphet Kotto (Bone), Andrew Duggan (Bill), Joyce Van Patten (Bernadette), Jeannie Berlin (The Girl), Casey King (The Boy), Brett Somers (X-Ray Lady), James Lee (Woody), Rosanna Huffman (Secretary), Ida Berlin (Lady on Bus).
BLACK CAESAR (1972)
Production Company: American International Pictures. Directed by Larry Cohen. Produced by Larry Cohen. Written by Larry Cohen. Associate Producer: James Dixon. Executive Producer: Samuel Z. Arkoff. Executive Producer: Peter Sabiston. Co-producer: Janelle Cohen. Cinematography by Fenton Hamilton, James Signorelli. Edited by George Folsey, Jr. Music by James Brown. Production Designer: Larry Lurin. Special Make-up Effects by Rick Baker. Cast: Fred Williamson (Tommy Gibbs), Gloria Hendry (Helen), Art Lund (McKinney), D’Urville Martin (Reverend Rufus), Julius W. Harris (Mr. Gibbs), Val Avery (Cardoza), Minnie Gentry (Momma Gibbs), Philip Roye (Joe Washington), William Wellman, Jr. (Alfred Coleman), James Dixon (Bryant), Patrick McAllister (Grossfield), Don Pedro Colley (Crawdaddy), Myrna Hansen (Virginia Coleman), Omer Jeffrey (Tommy as a Boy), Michael Jeffrey (Joe as a Boy).
HELL UP IN HARLEM (1973)
Production Company: American International Pictures. Directed by Larry Cohen. Produced by Larry Cohen. Written by Larry Cohen. Associate Producer: James Dixon. Executive Producer: Peter Sabiston. Co-producer: Janelle Cohen. Cinematography by Fenton Hamilton. Edited by Peter Honess. Music by Fonce Mizell and Freddie Perren. Production Designer: Larry Lurin. Special Make-up Effects by Rick Baker. Cast: Fred Williamson (Tommy Gibbs), Julius W. Harris (Papa Gibbs), Gloria Hendry (Helen), Margaret Avery (Sister Jennifer), D’Urville Martin (Reverend Rufus), Tony King (Zach), Gerald Gordon (Mr. DiAngelo), Bobby Ramsen (Joe Frankfurter), James Dixon (Irish), Ester Sutherland (The Cook), Charles MacGuire (Hap).
IT’S ALIVE (1974)
Production Company: Warner Bros. Directed by Larry Cohen. Produced by Larry Cohen. Written by Larry Cohen. Executive Producer: Peter Sabiston. Co-producer: Janelle Cohen. Cinematography by Fenton Hamilton. Edited by Peter Honess. Music by Bernard Hermann. Production Designers: Bob Briggart and Pat Somerset. Special Make-up Effects by Rick Baker. Cast: John P. Ryan (Frank Davis), Sharon Farrell (Lenore Davis), James Dixon (Lt. Perkins), William Wellman Jr. (Charley), Shamus Locke (The Doctor), Andrew Duggan (The Professor), Guy Stockwell (Bob Clayton), Daniel Holzman (Chris Davis), Michael Ansara (The Captain), Robert Emhardt (The Executive), Mary Nancy Burnett (The Nurse), Diana Hale (Secretary), Patrick McAllister, Gerald York, Jerry Taft, Gwil Richards, W. Allen York (Expectant Fathers).
GOD TOLD ME TO (1976)
Production Company: New World Pictures. Directed by Larry Cohen. Produced by Larry Cohen. Written by Larry Cohen. Cinematography by Paul Glickman. Edited by Mike Corey, Arthur Mandelberg and William J. Waters. Music by Frank Cordell. Special Make-up Effects by Steve Neill. Cast: Tony Lo Bianco (Dt. Peter J. Nicholas), Deborah Raffin (Casey Forster), Sandy Dennis (Martha Nicholas), Sylvia Sidney (Elizabeth Mullin), Sam Levene (Everett Lukas), Robert Drivas (David Morten), Mike Kellin (Deputy Commissioner), Richard Lynch (Bernard Phillips), Sammy Williams (Harold Gorman), Jo Flores Chase (Mrs. Gorman), William Roerick (Richards), Lester Rawlins (Board Chairman), Harry Bellaver (Cookie), George Patterson (Zero), Walter Steele (Junkie), John Heffernan (Bramwell), Alan Cauldwell (Bramwell as a Youth), Robert Nichols (Fletcher), Andy Kaufman (Police Assassin).
THE PRIVATE FILES OF J. EDGAR HOOVER (1977)
Production Company: Larco Productions. Directed by Larry Cohen. Produced by Larry Cohen. Written by Larry Cohen. Associate Producer: Arthur Mandelberg. Co-producer: Janelle Cohen. Cinematography by Paul Glickman. Edited by Chris Lebenzon. Music by Miklós R�
�zsa. Production Designer: Cathy Davis. Costume Designers: Lewis Freedman and Carolyn Loewenstein. Make-up by Steve Neill, Ve Neill, Rivka Gold and Josephine Cianelli. Cast: Broderick Crawford (J. Edgar Hoover), Michael Parks (Robert F. Kennedy), Jose Ferrer (Lionel McCoy), Celeste Holm (Florence Hollister), Rip Torn (Dwight Webb, Jr.), Dan Dailey (Clyde Tolson), Ronee Blakely (Carrie DeWitt), Howard Da Silva (Franklin D. Roosevelt), John Marley (Dave Hindley), Michael Sacks (Melvin Purvis), Raymond St. Jacques (Martin Luther King), June Havoc (Hoover’s Mother), James Wainwright (Young Hoover), Lloyd Nolan (Attorney General Harlan Stone), Andrew Duggan (Lyndon B. Johnson), Jack Cassidy (Damon Runyon), George Plimpton (Quentin Reynolds), Lloyd Gough (Walter Winchell), William Jordan (John F. Kennedy), Brad Dexter (Alvin Karpis), George D. Wallace (Senator Joseph McCarthy), Henderson Forsythe (Harry Suydam), Fred J. Scollay (Putnam), William Wellman, Jr. (Dwight Webb, Sr.), Ellen Barber (Janice Harper), Art Lund (Benchley), Mary Alice Moore (Miss Bryant), Jim Antonio (Senator Kenneth McKellar), Gregg Abels (President’s Aide), Dan Resin (President’s Advisor), James Dixon (Reilly), Penny DuPont (Newscaster), Alvin Miles (Valet), John Bay (Heywood Brown), Brooks Morton (Earl Warren), Richard Dixon (The President), James Dukas (Frank).
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