Hal Asby remembered

Mike at B-Scene Films made sure I saw this FNB editorial on director Hal Ashby. Why Ashby? Check this out:

Ashby was an editor (he handled cutting duties on movies like “The Cincinnati Kid,” “In the Heat of the Night” and the first “Thomas Crown Affair”) before making his directing debut with “The Landlord” in 1970. Over the next ten years, he directed six movies. They were, in order, “Harold and Maude,” “The Last Detail,” “Shampoo,” “Bound for Glory,” “Coming Home” and “Being There.” Pretty good run, right?

Pretty good run, indeed. And quite a range of story material including two successful satires (Shampoo and Being There) which, I would argue, is perhaps the most difficult type of comedy to pull off. 

Here’s a quote from screenwriter Robert Towne from the editorial re Ashby:

Robert Towne, the writer of “The Last Detail” and co-writer of “Shampoo” (with Beatty), as well as “Chinatown,” which is in our all-time top five, shares our enthusiasm for “Being There,” calling it “one of my favorites” and going on to say of the main character, Chauncey Gardner, “He likes to watch. What was unspoken was, that was Hal.”

He likes to watch. That is a most important instinct for a creative person, the ability to observe things intimately, deeply, one key to going into a story.

For the rest of the editorial, go here. HT to Mike for the link. And a few video clips from those great Ashby movies noted above:

Which one is your favorite Ashby movie?

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