Sept 20th, 2013 Thank you for your “get well” emails. It’s amazing that I’ve felt like Hell all week long and yet been able to fly under the radar apparently producing decent enough work on a daily basis. I tell you from experience, it’s worse when you try to pull this off as an actor in “Live “ theatre. I’ve been there. It’s not a pretty sight. Yesterday was rough. Up at 3:30 A.M. Call time in “Beautiful Downtown Burbank” for a UPS Christmas commercial at 4:30AM and wrap…….16 hours later at 8:30 PM. in downtown L.A. “Sick Days” aren’t an option in show biz. Perhaps perspicacity and a bit of talent is responsible for my Oscar nomination, six Emmy nominations and one win…..maybe. But when I reflect that true movie legends like Cary Grant and Stanley Kubrick were never Academy honored I chalk up these merit badge moments to luck. And then there’s a story like this…..Jessamyn West’s novel The Friendly Persuasion became a screenplay written by Michael Wilson and produced as FRIENDLY PERSUASION (1956). Ostensibly a Civil War film (starring the Harrison Ford of his day, Gary Cooper), it’s really a thoughtful treatise on how a genuinely pacifistic Quaker family of peace finds justification for breaking that faith and marching into the "War Between the States. " Spoiler ALERT. A shocking and gory climactic scene (reminiscent of "The Red Badge of Courage" ), resolves the savage zeal of the Quaker warrior played by PSYCHO (1960) star Tony Perkins. The GOOD news: F.P received an Academy Award nomination for best screenwriter……The BAD news: Today in 1956 the film’s distributor Allied Artists removed Wilson’s name as the screenwriter of FRIENDLY PERSUASION citing a 1952 Screen Writers Guild ruling that made people who were either communist or refused to appear before the House on Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) ineligible for screen credit. It was a “Kafkaesque” problem. In a case of “Un-Friendly Persuasion,” the politically correct Academy could not list Wilson’s name , so rather than bear the embarrassment of a writer with “no name” winning the Holy of Holys Oscar, the High Governor’s at the Academy simply chucked the commie pinko anti-war nomination into the circular file. F.B . Friends, we’re going to continue to make revolting Zombie and crappy Super Hero movies because thoughtful, provocative entertainment can’t be made without writers who are true questioners and dissenters. Here’s to the memory of maverick writer Michael Wilson who was born on July 1, 1914. Epilogue: In 2002, the Academy reversed their childish ruling, and reinstated Wilson’s name and nomination – about 23 years too late. He had shed his mortal coil back in 1978. You have a good night. I’ll take 2 aspirin, go to bed and try this again tomorrow. 09.20 .13 E.E.F.
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 00:27:06 +0000
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