Mark Edward Heuck
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2000
- Messages
- 1,187
Dear Mr. Blythe,
I'm sure you are not familiar with many of the films that your company owns the rights to, and I'm also sure this would be one of them. But LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE FABULOUS STIANS, is one that deserves your attention. This overlooked '81 satire on rock music, the only other directorial outing by Lou Adler, and an early starring vehicle for Diane Lane, Laura Dern, and Ray Winstone, has picked up a devoted cult of fans over the last 20 years. I was largely responsible for its recent revival at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles, where we played it for four weeks worth of midnights, and also great reviews from the local critics.
I would direct you to a very well-written article on the film by director Sarah Jacobsen in the Beastie Boys-published magazine GRAND ROYAL, issue #6, or to episode 29 of John Pierson's SPLIT SCREEN program on IFC, for a more eloquent explanation of its significance. Or I could just use the quote from Courtney Love proclaiming it the best movie ever made, which we used to advertise the film during our engagement.
Since this film has never received even a VHS release, I think this could be a demonstration of the revivalist powers of DVD, much like Anchor Bay's issue of Universal's TWO-LANE BLACKTOP helped it find a new audience. By enlisting the services of director Adler, who has already done a great commentary on your UP IN SMOKE disc, and Ms. Jacobsen, who was able to get interviews with disgruntled screenwriter Nancy Dowd, you could have a great disc. By including missing scenes from it's prerelease incarnations as ALL WASHED UP and THE PROFESSIONALS, you could show the dramatic differences in its initial incarnation and how Adler was able to "save" the film in editing. A commentary track where Adler could face off against Dowd, debating the merits of each's vision would be most entertaining, like the contentious discussion between Steven Soderbergh and Lem Dobbs on the dvd of THE LIMEY. Perhaps also an isolated music score, since there has never been a commercial release of the excellent soundtrack that features members of The Tubes, The Clash, and Sex Pistols.
I'm sure at this time, this is a quixotic pursuit. But my conversations with Jacobsen have revealed that this is something Paramount has considered before. I would like to see them consider it again.
Thank you for all your serious and thoughtful replies to this forum.
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I'm sure you are not familiar with many of the films that your company owns the rights to, and I'm also sure this would be one of them. But LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE FABULOUS STIANS, is one that deserves your attention. This overlooked '81 satire on rock music, the only other directorial outing by Lou Adler, and an early starring vehicle for Diane Lane, Laura Dern, and Ray Winstone, has picked up a devoted cult of fans over the last 20 years. I was largely responsible for its recent revival at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles, where we played it for four weeks worth of midnights, and also great reviews from the local critics.
I would direct you to a very well-written article on the film by director Sarah Jacobsen in the Beastie Boys-published magazine GRAND ROYAL, issue #6, or to episode 29 of John Pierson's SPLIT SCREEN program on IFC, for a more eloquent explanation of its significance. Or I could just use the quote from Courtney Love proclaiming it the best movie ever made, which we used to advertise the film during our engagement.
Since this film has never received even a VHS release, I think this could be a demonstration of the revivalist powers of DVD, much like Anchor Bay's issue of Universal's TWO-LANE BLACKTOP helped it find a new audience. By enlisting the services of director Adler, who has already done a great commentary on your UP IN SMOKE disc, and Ms. Jacobsen, who was able to get interviews with disgruntled screenwriter Nancy Dowd, you could have a great disc. By including missing scenes from it's prerelease incarnations as ALL WASHED UP and THE PROFESSIONALS, you could show the dramatic differences in its initial incarnation and how Adler was able to "save" the film in editing. A commentary track where Adler could face off against Dowd, debating the merits of each's vision would be most entertaining, like the contentious discussion between Steven Soderbergh and Lem Dobbs on the dvd of THE LIMEY. Perhaps also an isolated music score, since there has never been a commercial release of the excellent soundtrack that features members of The Tubes, The Clash, and Sex Pistols.
I'm sure at this time, this is a quixotic pursuit. But my conversations with Jacobsen have revealed that this is something Paramount has considered before. I would like to see them consider it again.
Thank you for all your serious and thoughtful replies to this forum.
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