Wednesday, April 5, 2023

149. Paul Newman and Tom Cruise in Martin Scorcese and Richard Price's 'The Color of Money' (1986)

After a two-week hiatus...and a hilariously unexpected detour in our attempt to do "The Manchurian Candidate" on this episode, my guest Keir Graff and I pivoted to 'The Color of Money' and I'm so glad we did. This episode features a lot of great stories about the making of the film, and also includes plenty of necessary discussion about 'The Hustler', specifically Piper Laurie, Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, and George C. Scott's performances in that original film, the shared origin of the novels by the prolific, alcoholic, (and ultimately recovered) novelist Walter Tevis, who ALSO wrote the books turned into the film 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' and the Netflix series 'The Queen's Gambit'. We talk about the gentle arc of Newman's life and career, viewed a bit through the lens of recent materials (materials it seems he never intended to make public) that shed light on what he was thinking and feeling during various important moments throughout his life. And we talk about the curious reception that 'The Color of Money' continues to have among cineastes...and we play the famous Siskel & Ebert two thumbs down review of the film upon its release in 1986. Hey, nobody's perfect! But it's funny in retrospect how so many of us at the time missed the undercurrents of connection to the Fast Eddie character in 'The Hustler'...connections Newman made sure that Scorsese and screenwriter Richard Price (who also has a great and brief cameo in the film) laced throughout the script and that he also included in his performance. Newman won his first Academy Award for 'The Color of Money'. LINKS Keir Graff's author website. Fast Eddie Felson is back. A funny Marty Scorcese interview from 1986. A great clip of a very Method Newman baiting Jackie Gleason's Minnesota Fats in 'The Hustler' Some clips from 'The Color of Money': Diner Clip/Newman HALLWAY CONFRONTATION Manipulating Vincent at Toy World 500 a Rack DINNER SCENE MOSELLE/DOOM: FOREST WHITAKER: Some of Robbie Robertson and Gil Evans' great incidental music from 'The Color of Money' score. SISKEL AND EBERT: Steve Mizerak Miller Lite commercial: