ALEX IN WONDERLAND, 1970
Tom’s first unit publicity job. He feared it would be his last. Star Donald Sutherland took issue at something Tom had written in productions notes to the effect that the film was a Disneyland of the Mind. Sutherland lashed out, saying that Disney was a monster who frightened little children and he would not be associated with anything that suggested Disney. I was visiting Tom in Los Angeles for a couple of weeks, and I had driven him to the set that day and witnessed the blowup at an airport location. I ran back to the car and got ready to head off with Tom in case he was fired on the spot. Director Paul Mazursky managed to quiet everybody down, and no firing ensued. (Tom dropped the reference.)
Sutherland truly frightened Tom. After all, this was Tom's first picture doing unit work. In later years, he tended to super-critical of Sutherland's performances but would grudgingly admit that he was pretty good most of the time.
I think this was an invaluable experience for Tom. He learned a vital lesson: the star doesn't have to get along with the publicist, the publicist has to get along with the star. And Tom was never again frightened by any actor he worked with.
Tom’s first unit publicity job. He feared it would be his last. Star Donald Sutherland took issue at something Tom had written in productions notes to the effect that the film was a Disneyland of the Mind. Sutherland lashed out, saying that Disney was a monster who frightened little children and he would not be associated with anything that suggested Disney. I was visiting Tom in Los Angeles for a couple of weeks, and I had driven him to the set that day and witnessed the blowup at an airport location. I ran back to the car and got ready to head off with Tom in case he was fired on the spot. Director Paul Mazursky managed to quiet everybody down, and no firing ensued. (Tom dropped the reference.)
Sutherland truly frightened Tom. After all, this was Tom's first picture doing unit work. In later years, he tended to super-critical of Sutherland's performances but would grudgingly admit that he was pretty good most of the time.
I think this was an invaluable experience for Tom. He learned a vital lesson: the star doesn't have to get along with the publicist, the publicist has to get along with the star. And Tom was never again frightened by any actor he worked with.
The photo was taken on the beach at Malibu, where a major scene of a mob of naked African-Americans were chasing the hero in a dream sequence. Paul Mazursky directed the scene in the nude in order to make the actors more comfortable. Or at least to share the embarrassment. Tom liked Mazursky a lot, but he was never convinced that the director had greatness in him. Talent, yes.
Tom was thrilled to be able to work with Jeanne Moreau at this stage in her career, although her role (playing herself) was small and required only a few days work. Frederico Fellini also played himself, but the company didn't fund travel for Tom to Rome with the small crew to film that. Tom was pissed by not surprised.
Tom especially enjoyed working with Ellen Burstyn, who played Sutherland's wife. She had worked a lot, especially in television, but was not yet well-known: that would change the next year with her performance in The Last Picture Show and two years after that The Exorcist. Years later Tom said that he hoped that his work on her behalf during Alex contributed in some small way to her success.
Tom very much enjoyed working on the Battle of Hollywood Boulevard sequence, and in an earlier cut of the film he was seen calmly crossing the boulevard in a white trench coat amidst the battle.
Tom took the job not knowing how to drive. He learned while doing, getting his driver’s license after having done so. How he managed not to kill himself in Los Angeles traffic I will never know. He did later acknowledge, to the great amusement of nieces and nephews, that his rental car was turned in with a number of “creases and indentations.”
In the final production notes that were produced for the film and used during the New York critics’ screenings, Tom had misspelled the name of Lewis Carroll. If memory serves, it was Carrol. Pauline Kael, whom he had known from the days of AIP screenings when he was a staff publicist, was overjoyed to be able to point this out to him with wicked glee.
Tom took the job not knowing how to drive. He learned while doing, getting his driver’s license after having done so. How he managed not to kill himself in Los Angeles traffic I will never know. He did later acknowledge, to the great amusement of nieces and nephews, that his rental car was turned in with a number of “creases and indentations.”
In the final production notes that were produced for the film and used during the New York critics’ screenings, Tom had misspelled the name of Lewis Carroll. If memory serves, it was Carrol. Pauline Kael, whom he had known from the days of AIP screenings when he was a staff publicist, was overjoyed to be able to point this out to him with wicked glee.
Too bad Alex in Wonderland didn't turn out to be a more successful movie. Maybe this 8 1/2 spin-off came too early on after Fellini's quintessential film. A decade later, Woody Allen's Stardust Memories also followed in Fellini's footsteps, this time ultimately with more success.
The lack of critical and financial success for the film did not seem to hurt the careers of director Mazursky, Sutherland, and Burstein.
I wonder if perhaps it is time for a fresh look at this movie and a new assessment. After all, it does have in its favor being an earlier work involving several actors and a director and a cinematographer (Laszlo Kovaks, whom Tom adored) who went on to bigger and better things. Maybe somebody ought to organized a special film festival: 8 1/2, Alex in Wonderland, Stardust Memories, Nine . . .
The lack of critical and financial success for the film did not seem to hurt the careers of director Mazursky, Sutherland, and Burstein.
I wonder if perhaps it is time for a fresh look at this movie and a new assessment. After all, it does have in its favor being an earlier work involving several actors and a director and a cinematographer (Laszlo Kovaks, whom Tom adored) who went on to bigger and better things. Maybe somebody ought to organized a special film festival: 8 1/2, Alex in Wonderland, Stardust Memories, Nine . . .