David O. Selznick? But you already knew.
reviewed in the TLS of September 14. The fourth volume of his memoirs, North Have your say Not to mention Hammer s movies and at least Dracula, I think the best British film of all history, it s something very near a capital sin. Both Hammer s movies and Ealing s comedies were, at a time, the only sideline of the all too potent American industry.
mark, San Sebastian, spain Big paras bad, small paras good. Gareth, Brighton, The Goldcrest book by Jake Eberts and Terry Hot ..
. come on, where are your fact checkers, Clive? Or improve your handwriting, mate!
Stephen Volk, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire Dear Mr James - grammatical pedant, Bill Peter, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia British Film Forever was truly dreadful, but the Arena doc Flames of Passion made up for it. And the accompanying series of films included some real gems. david, Ely, Clive, Clive, for heaven's sake, man, Vivien Leigh was born in INDIA!
And she and Olivier were also together in Fire Over England (1937). Dale Breaden, Durham, North Carolina Hi. Nice article, but for the record: Olivia de Havilland was not in Wuthering Heights.
The actress opposite Olivier to whom you are referring is Merle Oberon. Scott Feinberg, Boston, Massachusetts, USA excellent!- a wry and iconic glinty twist,and a veritable concordance-one doesnt have to agree with him, but its difficult not to smile-now say something positive,Clive,like commenting on how the BFI is re-inventing itself,brick by goldbrick,and struggling hand over hand back out of the artesian well into which succesive Tory governments threw it, in chains, and struggling to remember its lines.
hurrah for Brief Encounter, get Carter and the Long Good Friday-British is best, (if cheaper.) steve voyce steve voyce, newport, s.wales Thank God for Clive James; a rapturous read.
wright, paris, But wasn't it Selznick who insisted on the wonderfully appropriate ending when Greene and Reed wanted a happy conclusion (as Greene has in the novella version)? Alan Myers, Hitchin, UK Clive James is a brilliant writer and his book about the Indian Film industry, The Silver Castle, is a masterpiece. I have produced two low budget films and I am about to produce a third - although set in the UK it has two major characters that are American.
Even my first film 'Out of Bounds' starring Sophia Myles and Celia Imrie and set in a girls' boarding school has an American character. It's not why the BBC bought the film, I'm sure, but it may be why it's sold so well around the world. Working Title is backed by an American studio and would not dream of producing a Richard Curtis film without an American star.
The truth is, today's British Film Industry is mostly peopled with producers/directors/writers like me, who are scrabbling around trying to raise a few hundred thousand pounds by balancing realistic sales returns against a viable budget. Merlin Ward www.merlinward.
com Merlin Ward, London, Sorry, but the great Aussie is wrong in one or two respects - any reading of 'My Indecision is Final' - probably the best book about the British Film Industry - and one of the best books about ANYTHING - will show that the real reason for the Goldcrest failure was simply grotesque mismanagement; not that there was, 'nothing else on the production slate' The point of it all was, WHY was there nothing else...
.. But the great man is fundamentally off track, as are all writers on British films; anyone fancy a Swedish whisky, or a Congolese champagne?
It's simply a different ball game and it's unfair to everyone to make any comparisons. In most cases (apart from the 'quota quickies' ) the British film industry did its best. It could do no more.
News RSS