THE BEAUTIFUL WORDS OF MELISSA MATHISON

Screenwriter and author Melissa Mathison passed away on Wednesday, aged 65, at the UCLA Medical Centre, having fought neuroendocrine cancer for several months. Her Hollywood experience was legendary; the political-science graduate from Berkeley befriended Francis Ford Coppola (she would babysit his young children) and became his PA during the production of The Godfather Part II and Apocalypse Now. Over four decades, six of her screenplays would transition to the big-screen (including a co-writing credit with Stephen Zito on Caleb Deschanel’s 1992 drama, The Escape Artist); at the time of her passing, her adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The BFG (the third collaboration with Steven Spielberg; pictured together, below, on the set of ET) was in early post-production. Her work, filled with warmth, humour and honesty, will never be forgotten… 

THE BLACK STALLION (1979; Dir: Carroll Ballard)
Having worked as a TIME correspondent, Mathison was encouraged to tackle her first screenplay by Coppola, playing the mentor role. With fellow feature debutants William D Witliff and Jeanne Rosenberg, Mathison crafted the adaptation of Walter Farley’s novel into the first of her classic family storylines. Under the stewardship of director Carroll Ballard and visionary eye of DOP Caleb Deschanel, Mathison’s lean, spiritual tale of the desert-island friendship between Alec (Kelly Reno) and The Black Stallion has endured; in 2002, it was admitted into the National Film Registry by the US Film Preservation Board.
Classic line: “’Cause this Black, he can outbreak ya, y’know? He can outbreak ya. You’d just be sittin’ in mid air.” – Henry Dailey (Mickey Rooney).
Says Mathison, “We all agreed the movie should be like a children's book, with just pictures. That's when I learned to take out the words, to tell the story visually, which is the best training there is." (LA Times; July 9, 1995).

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982; Dir: Steven Spielberg)
With John Sayles and Ron Cobb, Steven Spielberg had written a 99-page treatment called Night Skies, a sequel-of-sorts to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. While in the midst of the action-movie mayhem that was the Raiders of the Lost Ark shoot, Spielberg met his leading man Harrison Ford’s girlfriend (and future ex-wife) Melissa Mathison. She took the script’s final scene, in which an alien is abandoned on Earth, and crafted a first draft, entitled ‘ET and Me’, in just eight weeks. ““It was a script I was willing to shoot the next day,” Spielberg said on the DVD commentary of the film’s 30^th anniversary re-release. “It was so honest, and Melissa’s voice made a direct connection with my heart.” The writer’s first sole screenwriting credit would become the most successful film of all time and earn her an Oscar nomination.
Classic line: “I'll...be...right...here.” – E.T.
Says Mathison, “In 1982, I was not yet a parent, but I was a stepmother, and had been a consummate babysitter and an older sister. The kids in E.T. can be directly linked to kids I knew. I even stole some of my little friends’ best lines: i.e. ‘penis breath.’ What adult woman could have thought of that?” (The New Yorker; October 3, 2012).

TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, Segment 2: KICK THE CAN (1983; Dir: Steven Spielberg)
Working under the pseudonym ‘Josh Rogan’, Mathison adapted the original teleplay, ‘Kick the Can’ by George Clayton Johnson for the anthology reworking of Rod Serling’s cult TV series. Although it appears mid-film, it was the final segment shot during the troubled production. Following the on-set deaths of Vic Morrow and two child actors while filming John Landis’ opening segment, Joe Dante and George Miller had shot their contribution; Spielberg, back behind the camera for the first time since ET, was tasked with delivering his special brand of magic in the tale of old folk literally rediscovering their youthful selves. Critics weren’t kind (the New York Times said the “rather ugly, sentimental comedy” was “inept in every way”), but retrospectively the narrative clearly captures Spielberg and Mathison at the most whimsical, least cynical juncture in their professional lives.
Classic line: “Fresh…young…minds…” – Mr Bloom (Scatman Crothers).

THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD (1995; Dir: Frank Oz)
Mathison’s first ‘family film’ in over a decade was an adaptation of Lynne Reid Banks beloved fantasy, in which 9 year-old Omri (Hal Scardino) finds a new friend in a tiny plastic Indian (played by native American actor Litefoot, of the Cherokee nation) that comes to life. It achieved middling box office upon its initial release but, like much of Mathison’s timeless work, has become a childhood staple for generations.
Classic line: “You are always a great people, but it is not always so good.” – Omri (Hal Scardino).
Says Mathison, “"If children are given some real content, they can feel powerful with their own understanding of it. I think a movie like 'Indian in the Cupboard' will instruct them how to proceed as people. They can think about whether they would have done something the way a character did, how they would have felt about an event in the story.” (The New Yorker; October 3, 2012)

KUNDUN (1997; Dir: Martin Scorsese)
Director Martin Scorsese’s interest was pique when his then-agent sent him Mathison’s original screenplay, chronicling the early life and ascendancy of His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. “I read the script and liked its simplicity, the childlike nature of it,” Scorsese told Film Comment in 1998. “It wasn't a treatise on Buddhism or a historical epic in the usual sense.” A devout Buddhist, Mathison had spent time with The Dalai Lama at her home in Wyoming and worked through 16 drafts of her screenplay before the narrative became fully formed. Early screenings suggested it was an Oscar front-runner (it would earn 4 tech category nominations), but Disney allegedly stalled its marketing approach when Chinese officialdom attacked the film over their depiction.
Classic line: “I believe I am a reflection, like the moon on water. When you see me, and I try to be a good man, you see yourself.” – Dalai Lama (Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong).
Says Mathison, “I think it's kind of pretentious or presumptuous to think that you could actually affect anything with a movie. Certainly, I hoped that people would be moved by this truth and maybe want to get involved on some level. I think when you set out to make a political statement through a movie, you're in big trouble.” (Hollywood Bitchslap; May 23, 1999).

NEW YORK, NEW YORK: THE FILMS OF GENE SAKS AND NEIL SIMON.

As is fitting for a Broadway legend, all of the seven films directed by the late Gene Saks were adapted from legit theatre triumphs. He gave legendary comedienne Lucille Ball her most famous bigscreen role in Mame, and guided Goldie Hawn to a Supporting Actress Oscar in Cactus Flower. But it was his collaborations with Neil Simon that have created his true legacy. In honour of the 93 year-old, who passed away on March 28, SCREEN-SPACE revisits the four films that Saks and Simon crafted, each one a vivid, loving and funny slice of East Coast mores and memories…

Barefoot in the Park (1967)
After a hit run of 1530 performances under the guidance of director Mike Nichols, Barefoot in the Park served as the film debut for Saks and the second bigscreen outing for Simon (following After the Fox, the previous year). Robert Redford had become the toast of Broadway as newlywed WASP, Paul Bratter, the stuffed-shirt foil to his new wife, the free-spirited Corie (Jane Fonda). The film got lukewarm reviews (The New York Times said, “an old-fashioned romantic farce loaded with incongruities and snappy verbal gags.”) but audiences adored the chemistry of the leads; it grossed US$20million (converted, a whopping US$142million). Mildred Natwick, reprising her stage role as Corie’s mother, earned the film’s sole Oscar nomination. Still a date night favourite, it is nevertheless undervalued as timely commentary on the changing face of mid-60’s New York, when the ‘Greenwich Village boho’ lifestyle was rattling the establishment cage.
Did you know…? – Redford’s stage wife, Elizabeth Ashley, was not considered for the film role, despite coming off a BAFTA-nominated turn in The Carpetbaggers. Actresses considered for the role included Geraldine Chaplin, Sandra Dee, Natalie Wood, Yvette Mimieux and Tuesday Weld.

The Odd Couple (1968)
When Saks and Simon paired up for their second collaboration, few predicted that the The Odd Couple would turn into one of the biggest hits of the decade; the final US box office figure of $44.5million converts to a staggering $300million, making it Paramount’s highest earner of 1968 and topping the likes of Bullitt, The Planet of The Apes and Rosemary’s Baby (and not far behind the top-grosser, 2001: A Space Odyssey). Having played 964 packed-house performances between March 1965 and July 1967 (again, with Mike Nichols directing), it was going to be a challenge to open up the largely single-set staging to the bigscreen. Another hurdle was recasting the pivotal role of Felix Ungar, after Art Carney was not considered for the movie version. With Walter Matthau still on board as the slovenly Oscar Madison and Jack Lemmon now in place (in their second film together), it fell to Gene Saks to recapture the on-stage magic of Neil Simon’s buddy comedy. The script earned Simon an Oscar nomination and won him the Writer’s Guild Screen Writing trophy; Saks understated direction was harshly ignored, earning just a single nomination from his peers at the Director’s Guild.
Did you know…? – The film broke several records during its season at the famous Radio City Music Hall, including longest single run (14 weeks) and highest gross (over US$3million) in the then 42-year history of the venue. 

Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972)
Saks and Simon would wait four years before reteaming on Last of The Red Hot Lovers, a darker-hued comedy that showed the maturation of two storytellers willing to tackle the very contemporary theme of infidelity. The play ran 706 performances at Broadway’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre with the portly character actor James Coco as anti-hero Barney Cashman, a restaurateur in a lifeless marriage and determined to have an affair. Paramount had more faith in Alan Arkin as their leading man (despite his expensive flop Catch-22 only a year prior), his smooth good looks at odds with the hopeless, chubby lothario that Simon originally envisioned. The play’s temptresses (Doris Roberts, the Tony-nominated Linda Lavin) were also upgraded to the screen sirens of the period (Sally Kellerman, Paula Prentiss). Simon’s and Sak’s trademark ageing, middle-class Jewish spin on the sexual revolution didn’t play well with critics or audiences, already feeling dated despite only having premiered on stage a few short years before the film adaptation.
Did you know…? – A union strike all but shut down location shooting in New York City just as Last of The Red Hot Lovers was getting set to begin filming. Despite Simon’s and Sak’s beloved NYC being central to the narrative, the production was largely shot in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.

Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986)
14 years after the lukewarm response to Last of the Red Lovers, Saks and Simon would reunite for a melancholy walk down memory lane in the form of the acclaimed Brighton Beach Memoirs. As middle age began to encroach on the pair (Saks was 65; Simon, 59), they pooled their collective memories into the autobiographical story of Eugene Jerome (Jonathan Silverman, replacing Matthew Broderick from the Broadway run) and the idiosyncratic family life of 1937 Brooklyn, an existence that influenced his passion for baseball, storytelling and pretty girls. Having directed and shared in the acclaim of the Broadway season, Saks’ adds his trademark flavoursome eye for location detail (aided by the wonderful production design of Stuart Wurtzel), crafting the warmest, most cinematic film of the pair’s oeuvre. Both the film and play took some stick for employing a rose-coloured rear view (Roger Ebert said, “Simon and Saks should have taken some chances and cut closer to the bone.”) but neither apologised for the warm sentimentality and loving embrace they showed in recounting those awkward ‘teenage manhood’ years. Blythe Danner is a standout as the extended clan’s matriarch.
Did you know…? – Despite winning a Tony for playing Eugene in the initial stage run of Brighton Beach Memoirs, Matthew Broderick passed on the film version when the shooting schedule clashed with his lead role in John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Broderick would, however, play Eugene in the film version of Simon’s sequel, Biloxi Blues, opposite Christopher Walken.

OBITUARY: VIRNA LISI

Virna Lisi, the Italian actress whose career was both enhanced and hindered by her photogenic assets, has passed away in Rome after a brief, determined battle against an unspecified cancer. She was 78.

Born Virna Pieralisi in the picturesque central Italian seaside city of Ancona, she made her debut at age 17 in Carlo Borghesio’s 1953 melodrama, La corda d’acciao (The Steel Rope), having been discovered in Paris by producers Antonio Ferrigno and Ettore Pesce. Audiences were immediately captivated and Lisi found steady work - as the luminous Maria in Armando Grottini’s musical E Napoli canta (Napoli Sings, 1953); opposite legendary funnyman Toto in the anthology comedy Questa e la vita (Of Life and Love, 1954); and Francesco Maselli’s La donna del giorno (The Woman of the Day, 1956), in which she excels as ambitious model Liliana, who conjures a rape story for publicity only to have the consequences spin out of control.

However, these early career highlights were tempered by works that merely exploited her rare beauty, such as Mario Mattoli’s Le diciottenni (Eighteen Year Olds, 1955), an uncredited turn in Antonio Pietrangelo’s Lo scapolo (The Bachelor, 1955) and Alex Joffe’s broad comedy Les hussards (Cavalrymen, 1955). She turned to the blossoming world of television to further establish her acting credentials, taking on the lead role in the landmark 1957 mini-series ‘Orgoglio e pregiudizio’. The format would serve her well over the course of her career, with roles in such hits as ‘Una tragedia american’ (1962), ‘Philo Vance’ (1974) and ‘Beauty Centre’ (2001) as well as dozens of TV movies helping her maintain a high public profile.

A support role in Sergio Corbucci’s blockbuster historical epic Romolo e Remo (Romulus and Remus, 1961) and her potent presence in Joseph Losey’s 1962 erotic-drama Eve brought Lisi to the attention of Hollywood producers at a time when studios were unveiling a Monroe-like starlet almost weekly. But Lisi’s talent and craft was already well-honed and she was sought to co-star with many of the international industry’s top male stars - Jack Lemmon (How to Murder Your Wife, her 1965 American debut); Marcello Mastroanni (Casanova ’70 and Kiss the Other Sheik, both 1965; The Voyeur, 1970); Alain Delon (The Black Tulip, 1965); Vittorio Gassman (A Maiden for The Prince, 1966); Frank Sinatra (Assault on a Queen, 1966); Tony Curtis (Not With My Wife, You Don’t!, 1966); Anthony Quinn (The 25^th Hour, 1967; The Secret of Santa Vittoria, 1969); Rod Steiger (The Girl and The General, 1967); George Segal (The Girl Who Couldn’t Say No, 1968); William Holden (The Christmas Tree); Charles Aznavour (The Heist, 1970; Love Me Strangely, 1971); David Niven (The Statue, 1971); and, Richard Burton (Bluebeard, 1971, alongside Raquel Welch).

Virna Lisi was aware of the dangers of being typecast in the ‘exotic beauty’ role. She famously turned down Roger Vadim’s Barbarella, the international sensation that would make Jane Fonda a star, and bought out her contract with the United Artists studio, convinced the were withholding strong parts from her in favour of skin-deep support turns. She went to great lengths to challenge herself in often non-commercial fare, such as an early starring role alongside Gastone Moschin and Nora Ricci in Pietro Germi’s Signore & Signori, which would earn the Grand Prix trophy at the Cannes Film Festival. As she matured, accolades were bestowed upon her for Liliana Cavani’s Al di la del bene e del mal (Beyond Good and Evil, 1977), Alberto Lattuada’s drama La cicala (The Cricket, 1980); Carlo Vanzina’s comedy Sapora di mare (Time for Loving, 1983); and, Luigi Comencini’s romp Buon Natale, Buon anno (Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, 1989). Her greatest triumph would come in 1994, when she was cast as ‘Catherine de Medicis’ opposite Isabelle Adjani’s titular monarch in Patrice Chereau’s La reine Margot (Queen Margot); the role would earn Lisi honours at Cannes (Best Actress) and France’s Cesar Awards (Best Supporting Actress). She has been honoured with eight career achievement awards, including acknowledgement from Venice, Lecce and Taormina festival bodies.

She has largely worked in television since completing Christina Comencini’s 2002 Italian ensemble dram, Il piu bel giorno della mia vita (The Best Day of My Life), her dominant matriarch winning acting honours at the Italian Film Journalists Awards and the Flaiano Film Festival. Her final film, Latin Lover, reteams the actress with Comencini and is due for realease in 2015.

Married to architect Franco Pesci for 53 years (he passed away in 2013), Virna Lisi is survived by her son, Corrado, and three grandchildren.