Film School

How to Watch DVDs

and Learn Everything About FilmmakingRichard D. Pepperman

The March 21, 1994 issue o the

New Yorker

magazine was devoted to lmmaking:

The New Yorker Goes to the Movies

. Throughout, under the heading “Collaborations,”were articles by writers about their working relationships with directors, andespecially about the initiation o story. With

collaboration

in mind, here’s avery good

story

.On July 28, 1979 director Louis Malle (1932-1995) telephoned play-wright/screenwriter John Guare to ask i he had any ideas or a script. Agroup o Canadian producers were eager to invest in a ilm during thatparticular calendar year, as Canadian tax law would allow — until midnighto December 31 — the ull investment to be deductible.Along with the 1979 proviso, the producers insisted that the ilm starSusan Sarandon and a “bankable male star.” John Guare had become captivated by the goings on in Atlantic City,which had only recently legalized gambling, promising that an economicrecovery, initiated by new casinos, would bring about better lives or thecity’s destitute. On July 29 Malle and Guare drove into town.Brainstorming began at Resorts International’s casino: Aspiringblackjack dealers oten began their careers staing oyster bars. Sally (SusanSarandon) would be, and do, just that!Malle and Guare assumed grand ambitions or Sally: Her dream isto become the irst woman dealer in Monaco, requiring tutorials to learnFrench and acquire sophistication. She’ll have a cassette player or lessons inlanguage and culture.Guare remembered reading in “Hints rom Heloise” that rubbingyoursel with lemons was the best way to “clean away” the smell o ish.In a picture book about Atlantic City, Malle and Guare came across aphoto taken during a 1920s gangster convention; they both took note o a“young thug” standing in the back row: He would now — some ty yearslater — be the age o the necessary “bankable male star.” Actor Burt Lancastersuited Lou Pascal.

story

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one

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