Show The Herald JournalCache Sunday July 20 1986—7 Pity the poor screenwriter Authors gamble when they write for movies By Vernon Scott UPI Hollywood reporter HOLLYWOOD (UPI) — You can’t make a movie without a script but the unfortunate screenwriter is the traditional poor relation of the industry Screenwriters are paid less than producers directors and stars Their work is ruthlessly excised added to changed and distorted If a movie is a hit everyone else takes the bows If a picture bombs “it didn’t have a good script’’ d Steve Shagan knows all about that g which is one reason he has become a novelist Shagan’s latest screenwriting misadventure involves another novelist Mario (The Godfather) Puzo and controversial director Michael Cimino who made the biggest disaster in film history “Heaven’s Gate” a film so atrocious that a book “Final Cut” was written about it Author Shagan had just completed his new novel “Vendetta" a fascinating tale about sex and cocaine in Hollywood and was contemplating a long vacation when Puzo called for help “Mario wanted me to write the screenplay for ‘The Sicilian’” Shagan said with a wry grin “I told them I’d read the book four years ago They told me they wanted the script in six weeks Battle-scarre- best-sellin- “Because I’d just finished ‘Vendetta’ I said I was tired and would have to work seven days a week to pump out a screenplay on ‘The Sicilian’ To go through that I would want a great deal of money “They said fine they’d pay my price I began work immediately and soon thereafter I got another call saying they hired Cimino as director Oh oh And would I mind hearing Cimino’s vision of the material By that time I’d completed about 20 pages” Shagan a novelist himself wanted to write a script that would be as close to Puzo’s book as possible “Then I talked to Cimino who likes to spout ideas He said 'Give me the pages and I’ll come in right behind you’ “'I don’t give away pages’ I told him I never heard from Cimino again I just worked like hell to finish the screenplay on time I buried myself at my Palm Springs place and wrote what I thought was a really good script and sent it to Puzo “Then I got word they hired Gore Vidal for $250000 to do a 'dialogue polish’ with Cimino in Italy where I the two of them are still working on it Who if it will resemble my script or how true it will - ar good-nature- and deceit hysterical Sam Stone wants to murder his obnoxious wife but finds she’s been kidnapped The abductors promise to murder the babbling woman if Stone calls the police The plot is as transparent as the characters but some of the warped wrongdoings are delightful The superb cast — especially Shelley ht AND PSO PRKS8NTWT1QN ATROTARREMASt PKJTURGS A Sir C WNTh-gAS UTAH Wssuosi he Rtus Reserved 7:00-9:1- Ill-M- i 1 UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS The - Tom “Top Gun” (PG) Cruise Kelly McGillis Anthony & (isinesrta Isaan’i Luxury Triplex SO VVusI 100 North 7x3-10- 0 CLUB PARADISE 5 15 and AMERICAN FOOD BREAKFAST Served Daily CHINESE I Onlw 3 75 Served with soup salad garlic bread and baked potato ’ Only Served 51 f fir - — RESTAURANT 4 iji I DINING BANQUET FACILITIES FOR UP TO ISO iutriir H7-H2- I RUTHLESS PEOPLE (l) 7:00 let tumoMie-certiit- y cowboy RowfandW Rider fake you back to the cn of Zinc Grey Butch Cxmldjr xnd the Rotten Rooxt gang Ridcrt c of humor md for initialed r xnd bdimfak picture of the (nyixndl 198 (1)9:00 f99Vpxpcr 549 All Day 1079 N Main FAMILY 3 South Main (Qau(Cj VAMP Cowboy Talcs of the Arizona Strip By RowfandW Rider mold to Dcirdre Murray Pautaen 7:00-9:1- 0 CHOICE TOP SIRLOIN STEAK and SEAFOOD PLATTER ITHMItlfi 7:20-9:2- 0 7:10-9:2- 0 HOUSE SPECIAL n: J) LEGAL EAGLES(pc) 2 Meats 2 Chinese Dishes Plus Many Salads to choose from Served 11 a m to 2pm Thompson (P8-1- ABOUT LAST NIGHT (i) SPECIAL LUNCHEON BUFFET Every child's nightmare is to be swooped up by demons this terrific film is a variation on that terror Sarah resents caring for her brother and wishes goblins would take him away They do Jim Henson’s creatures populate this nifty film — and they’re not Bert and Ernie Henson (with help from executive producer George Lucas) advances puppetry to an awesome level The creatures — not Eowie and c ertainly not Ccnnellv — are the ed us - (Fantasy) ALL SEATS!00 We s a t e s and dewy Slater who understand the cheery chores of making a farce — make this lots of fun Grade: doe-ey- beginning self-assur- ed manic wild-eye- d Midler David “Labyrinth" (PG) Bowie Jennifer Connelly Toby Froud one-nig- REVIEWS “Short Circuit” (PG) Steve Guttenberg Ally Sheedy Fisher Stevens (Comedy) What sounds like absurdist comedy — a robot built as the ultimate nuclear weapon is on the lam — is actually an uplifting anti-wfilm that is one of this year's best Guttenberg is Dr Newton tireless creator of Crosby Number Five a mechanical soldier that looks like a walking car crash but has a heart bigger than GM Sheedy fills the Mm d with bounce and realism as Five’s first friend Even when the message is relentless the film never loses appeal “Short Circuit” is everything “ET” should have been Grade: A “I’ll tell you how crazy this business is They are trying to put a movie together based on the play ‘Nuts’ It is to star Barbra Streisand Marty Ritt is going to direct it So far they have 13 writers on the title page of the script “What happens to the original vision of the writer in a case like that? How are they going to pare down the screen credits for a gang of 13 writers? “The best a writer can hope for is a collaborative relationship with the director Even then it’s not going to be what the writer had in mind at the “About Last Night”(R) Rob Edwards Val Kilmer (Action) Lowe Demi Moore James Imagine a cross between “Iron Belushi Elizabeth Perkins Eagle” and “An Officer and an (Drama) What seems like a Gentleman" and you have a stand — two Yuppies good notion what “Top Gun” is meet m a bar then race home all about “Top Gun” is to display their ample sexual technically more proficient than gymnastics — is actually a the other two flicks but doesn’t poignant tale This couple wants pack their emotional punch to be in love despite interfer- The aerial dog fights are the script is ence by friends who insist spectacular commitment is a '80s faux pas reasonably intelligent and the Ed Zwick has made a acting is uniformly good But feature film debut but it’s not easy to get worked up an “enemy” (presumably what makes the film real is the overSoviet the Union) that is never acting Lowe sheds his Brat mentioned by name Grade: B Packer image and turns in an unabashed performance but Demi Moore steals the film Baring her soul (when not 1 baring her breasts) Moore she that the talents proves exhibited in “St Elmo’s Fire” were no fluke Grade: B ps GRADE: C The screenwriter whom Shagan most admires is because Allen is “the only guy who He writes the scripts really has it whipped produces directs and stars His is a singular vision of a story He does it all Woody Allen be to Mario’s book?” Shagan said that such chaos makes him appreciate his ability to write novels “It gives me a chance to stand back and look with amusement on the funhouse of movies It’s a high wire act with no safety net “Ruthless People" (R) -ligatory Key West sequence) But wait! — they ain’t down Danny DeVito Bette Midler yet The audience is bombarded Judge Reinhold Helen Slater with blaring (Comedy) Call it revenge if you music sex- like but we call this tale of hate “Miami Vice”-styl- e ual escapades and endless car chases One mistake was to pilfer from “Beverly Hills Cop" and “48 HRS" but the major problem is lack of chemistry between Crystal and Hines shoot-em-u- “For all I know Vidal and Cimino will have Sonja Henie skating in Palermo Personally I don’t care what they do to my script I’ve been paid But as a novelist I hope they don’t distort Mario's book” Shagan believes that “no one is kicked around in this business like screenwriters It is only the script that can be expounded about or that can be ‘contributed to' because once they start shooting a picture the game is over” 752-855- 6 OPEN PM Mon-ThuI 1 PM Fri AM-1 A Sat I AM-- i PM Sunday AM-1- 0 i TfSNmhMiix 'CsleUuiM 712-51- Utah state N y ALIENS (i) 7:00-9:3- i V E R S : i T I T c AH 0 rv 4r I i-- - 'rC Jt2 Y |