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J Lo and Some Guy Named Harvey
Whatever it is that makes Altman deserving of the filmmaking equivalent of the one-name rock star, the director’s signature style keeps him in demand – a fact that almost prevented him from shooting the film, which would have proved devastating to the Chicago film production community.
“Of course we got here at a time where Canada has ruined film production in America. In fact, I was supposed to be doing a film with Paul Newman and a bear with some guy named Harvey Weinstein and he called up one day and he says ‘you have to do this picture in Canada.’
In the meantime, I’m talking to Barbara Turner and Neve Campbell about ‘The Company’ and I’m turning them down because it’s a dance picture and I don’t know anything about dance.
What’s a cantankerous old filmmaking legend to do?
“So I said I’m not gonna do that. And I quit. I quit the picture. So Harvey was thrilled and he called up Newman and says ‘great, we got rid of Altman, who should we get to direct?’ and Newman says ‘you don’t seem to understand, I’m doing this picture because of Altman. If he’s not doing it, I’m not doing it.’
So they shot the picture last year with Robert Redford and J Lo, who I of course would not have hired. She just wasn’t right. I mean, my god, it was like Sesame Street. The latin girl, the black guy, the white guy, the bear...”
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Instead of venturing forth into the colder, murkier waters of Canada, Altman
came home to the welcoming arms of the Windy City.
“It was great shooting in Chicago -- I’ve shot here before. The crews here were terrific. We didn’t bring anybody in except for two people, one being Andrew Dunn, the cameraman I’ve worked with for many years.”
That the production ended up in here at all is completely a credit to Neve Campbell, who, despite having much of her dialogue reduced to wordless interchanges, stuns in the movie with some powerful dance performances.
Campbell’s fervent pursuit of the project involved spending close to two years with writer Barbara Turner observing the Joffrey and undergoing relentless training to get in physical shape for her performance. As a native Torontoan, why not film there?
“We brought this film to Chicago because of the Joffrey – the type of dancing they do, the range of projects, the attitude of the company and their director Gerald Alpino. I love this city – the lake, the culture…it reminds me a lot of Toronto,” says Campbell.
Sensible Shoes
While Altman’s 74 films have certainly included their fair share of stinkers (“OC and Stiggs, Dr. T and the Women”), what fuels “The Company” and a lifetime of work is
an uncompromising love affair with the medium.
“You know, people will come to me and say ‘Oh god, that film you did -- you just changed my life.’ And they’ll be talking about ‘Nashville’ or ‘Oh Lucky Man’ or something. And I look at who’s saying it and they’re young and the experience is new to them and they’re recognizing something and they’re thrilled by it.
It’s the way I felt when I walked out of ‘Brief Encounter’ in 1946 and I was just like ‘Ah! Who is that ugly girl with the sensible shoes that I am so in love with? Who is she and how does all that happen?’ You never forget those things.”
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Written by Richard Sharp
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001: Robert Altman
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