1
00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:37,794
My name is Tom Mount.
2
00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:40,671
The producer of Tequila Sunrise.
3
00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,435
Tequila was a picture
of curious origins.
4
00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,431
Robert Towne had written
and directed for Warner Bros...
5
00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:51,999
...a picture called
Personal Best.
6
00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,317
Warners had removed Bob...
7
00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,475
...from the post-production
process on that picture.
8
00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:02,631
As a result of a lawsuit...
9
00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:06,392
...Warners had agreed...
10
00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,074
...to pay Robert
a million dollars...
11
00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:11,237
...for a screenplay.
12
00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,236
An original,
which would be his next...
13
00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,956
...and
to let him direct that original.
14
00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:21,396
Our paths crossed in Paris...
15
00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:26,032
...where I was producing a Roman Polanski
movie called Frantic...
16
00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:27,873
...starring Harrison Ford...
17
00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,597
...and Roman's soon-to-be wife,
Emmanuelle Seigner.
18
00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,070
We needed a rewrite on Frantic...
19
00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:38,913
...and hired Bob...
20
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:40,829
...and he moved to Paris...
21
00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:43,192
...in early...
22
00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:46,269
...'86.
23
00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:49,750
We did that work together.
24
00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:53,990
He explained the dilemma
on Tequila Sunrise.
25
00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:55,599
Bob at that time had about...
26
00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,915
...10 or 15 pages of outline
for the story...
27
00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,915
...and a deadline looming, by
which he had to deliver...
28
00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:04,388
...a finished script
to Warner Bros.
29
00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:06,273
So while in Paris...
30
00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,120
...he went to work
in earnest on Tequila...
31
00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:12,469
...and we started shooting Frantic.
32
00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:17,632
Before very long, there was very, very
good first draft of Tequila Sunrise.
33
00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,838
Bob Towne's a remarkable screenwriter.
34
00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,911
From a producer's perspective
you run into very few people...
35
00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:30,272
...who are able to write scenes
that feel completely real...
36
00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:32,591
...compelling dialogue and character...
37
00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,270
...whose first drafts are so close
to being shootable.
38
00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,319
We submitted Tequila Sunrise
to Warner Bros.
39
00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,068
They were thrilled with the script...
40
00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,598
...and agreed to go forward
with Bob directing...
41
00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:54,192
...on the condition
that we attached a major star.
42
00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:57,597
As a result of our experience
in Paris together on Frantic,
43
00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,035
Bob and I approached Harrison Ford.
44
00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,350
Harrison read the script
and loved it...
45
00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:07,631
...and agreed to star in it.
46
00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:09,913
Things then proceeded to pace.
47
00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:11,957
We began to budget the picture...
48
00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:12,957
...and get ready...
49
00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:18,194
...and as we got...
50
00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:19,834
...closer to a...
51
00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:22,869
...pre-production date...
52
00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:25,193
...Harrison got cold feet.
53
00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:28,591
One morning he called me and said...
54
00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:30,831
..."Tom, I simply can't do this thing.
55
00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,232
I'm not sure about this character.
I'm not sure about this movie."
56
00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:37,317
And so we were left...
57
00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:39,478
...a couple a months ahead of...
58
00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:43,438
...a start date, without a star
and we needed one very, very, badly.
59
00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:48,674
We at that point approached Mel Gibson,
who was in Australia.
60
00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,712
I talked to Mel on the phone;
we sent him the script overnight.
61
00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:55,598
He read it and loved it.
62
00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,793
Robert Towne and his wife Luisa and
myself, we jumped on a plane...
63
00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,674
...and flew to Sydney
and had lunch with Mel...
64
00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,559
...which was a successful meeting.
65
00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:09,792
And agreed to do the picture together.
66
00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:14,188
At that point...
67
00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:18,991
...we started pulling
together the rest of the cast.
68
00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:20,994
Bonnie Timmermann, who was...
69
00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,755
...has been
my long time casting director...
70
00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:28,196
...suggested a number of
actors for the parts.
71
00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:31,639
We were all thrilled
with Michelle Pfeiffer.
72
00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:33,757
I had worked with her before...
73
00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,597
...in a picture I'd supervised
at Universal called Scarface.
74
00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:41,718
Bob was thrilled with...
75
00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,436
...her demeanor
and look and acting ability.
76
00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:49,550
Kurt Russell's part was originally...
77
00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:52,278
...aimed for Alec Baldwin.
78
00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,070
But after reading Alec...
79
00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:58,836
...we began to look around again.
80
00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,395
Bob had kind of an inspired notion,
which was to...
81
00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:06,116
...take Kurt Russell...
82
00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,632
...and introduce him to the Los Angeles
Lakers' coach, Pat Riley.
83
00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,191
And Kurt and Pat hit if off...
84
00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,116
...and Kurt began
to construct a character...
85
00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,390
...that borrowed a lot of the
stylistic trademarks of Pat Riley.
86
00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:25,315
The suits and hair
and attention to personal detail.
87
00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:30,195
Kurt hit a gym and lost 20 Ibs.
And pulled himself together.
88
00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:33,556
And I think it's one of his best roles.
89
00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:41,431
Of course, as one starts to make a movie,
inevitably budget comes into play.
90
00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:44,594
There is a moment...
91
00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,874
...when the studio actually realizes
that they are about to make the film.
92
00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,873
In the case of Tequila Sunrise,
we had two such moments.
93
00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,709
The first month or so
away from production...
94
00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,716
...the studio began to get
very nervous about the cost of the movie.
95
00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:03,353
Their internal estimates...
96
00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,915
...for making the
film at Warner Bros. In Burbank...
97
00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:10,513
...were running
between 30 and 33 million dollars.
98
00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,593
My budgeting work inside our company...
99
00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,557
...led us to believe that, if we could
separate ourselves from Warner Bros...
100
00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,791
...and act as
a completely independent film...
101
00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:23,670
...the so-called
negative pick-up project...
102
00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:25,389
...we could save a lot of money.
103
00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:28,993
Maybe 8 million dollars.
And we agreed to make the picture...
104
00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:31,117
...for between 22 and 23 million...
105
00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:33,873
...on that basis.
106
00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,034
Warners liked that number
and we worked out...
107
00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:40,995
...a business arrangement
which allowed us...
108
00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:43,716
...to separate the film
from Warner Bros...
109
00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,316
...and produce it independently, even
though we shot entirely in Los Angeles.
110
00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,720
This had a lot
of very salutary consequences later.
111
00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:00,312
The second little dilemma...
112
00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:02,508
...we had in this...
113
00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:05,711
...preparatory process was that...
114
00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:08,756
...one week before rehearsal started...
115
00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:13,677
...a very senior executive at Warners who
at this moment will remain nameless...
116
00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,438
...called me and said, "You know,
we just can't make this picture."
117
00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,235
And I said,
"Great, fine, why?"
118
00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:25,309
And he said, "Well, you know,
the hero of this movie is a drug dealer."
119
00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:28,550
And I said, "Yes."
And he said...
120
00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:30,791
..."And then the villain
in this movie is a cop."
121
00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:33,712
And I said,
"Yes. That's true."
122
00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:35,996
And he said,
"Well, worse than that."
123
00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,949
I said, "Well, what's worse than that?"
He said, "Well, worse than that...
124
00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:43,590
...this girl, the female lead,
she sleeps with both guys."
125
00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:46,875
Well...
126
00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,112
...we talked for some time
and I assured him that...
127
00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,113
...in real life it was possible.
128
00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,712
That there had been
drug dealers who reformed...
129
00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,157
...that it was likely that
there'd been cops who were...
130
00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:05,389
...corrupt, and that it did occasionally
happen that a girl slept with two guys.
131
00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:09,595
While at the same time,
while trying to make up her mind.
132
00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,753
Once we'd gotten past
the moral dilemma...
133
00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:16,271
...we started rehearsal for the picture.
134
00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:21,719
Things moved into
a very different gear.
135
00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:25,668
We had because of our independent...
136
00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:28,717
...relationship to Warner Bros...
137
00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,754
...constructed out of an old warehouse
in Santa Monica three sound stages.
138
00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:36,914
The production designer
Richard Sylbert had created...
139
00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:39,390
...a truly gorgeous restaurant set...
140
00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,712
...which was the centerpiece
of the picture's interiors.
141
00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,238
One of the things I wanted to do
with this film...
142
00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:50,071
...was to make a picture that was...
143
00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,154
...fundamentally film noir,
but looked very, very glamorous.
144
00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,035
I wanted people to look good.
145
00:08:58,000 --> 00:08:59,399
I wanted them to be sexy.
146
00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:01,039
I wanted them to be...
147
00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:05,954
...people that felt like characters...
148
00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:08,879
...from a Hollywood movie
of another time.
149
00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,997
Bob Towne was very supportive of that
idea and we pursued it with...
150
00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:15,032
...a vengeance in the picture.
151
00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,599
We started photography...
152
00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,714
...with a German cinematographer...
153
00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:24,836
...who had done
a wonderful job on an...
154
00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,393
...epic but small submarine movie
called Das Boot.
155
00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,275
He did about a week's work on the show...
156
00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,034
...and we decided
it simply didn't look right.
157
00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,437
So we went in search of a new
cinematographer on the weekend.
158
00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:45,315
One week to production.
159
00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:49,872
This is, you can imagine, a somewhat
pressurized operation.
160
00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,080
The guy we wanted most
was Conrad Hall.
161
00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:57,513
A legendary cinematographer,
multiple Academy Award winner...
162
00:09:58,600 --> 00:09:59,715
...and a man whose...
163
00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,516
...sense of the elegant...
164
00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,590
...and the spare combined
unusually in the work.
165
00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,077
But we couldn't find Conrad Hall.
Conrad Hall is the son of...
166
00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,394
...one of the
co-authors of Mutiny on the Bounty.
167
00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:23,118
Nordoff Hall wrote the book and so,
Cony grew up in Tahiti...
168
00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:25,596
...where he still lived at this time.
169
00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:28,312
Ultimately, we found...
170
00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:31,910
...a cousin of Cony
Hall's in Tahiti on the telephone...
171
00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,118
...and got the cousin to jump on
a dugout canoe and go to Cony's house...
172
00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:36,759
...which had no phone...
173
00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:40,069
...and get him on the next plane
to Los Angeles.
174
00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:42,752
Without Conrad Hall...
175
00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,673
... Tequila Sunrise would not exist.
176
00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,914
He came in and did a spectacular job, not
only in photography but in organizing...
177
00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:57,392
...the shoot and in making sure that
we all paid attention to detail.
178
00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:03,238
If you look at the scene
Mel and Russell in the restaurant...
179
00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:05,873
...in this booth...
180
00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,237
...confronting each other for the first
time about their personal histories...
181
00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:10,993
...and about their intent...
182
00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,110
...you notice that in addition to the...
183
00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:18,159
...traditional two shots and cutaways...
184
00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,995
...there will be
a little sequence when...
185
00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:25,035
...Michelle Pfeiffer
walks into the scene...
186
00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,590
...that is designed to keep things as...
187
00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,992
...interesting and sexy and vital
and rich as possible.
188
00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,556
This is, I think, gorgeous work.
189
00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:39,678
And I love the idea of playing
the hard drama of...
190
00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:43,270
...a story that is a...
191
00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:44,915
...thriller against...
192
00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:49,430
...the luxury of this kind
of scene and this kind of shooting.
193
00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,957
It's also true that this scene is a very,
very good example of Bob Towne's writing.
194
00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,749
You know, one guy insists
that the other guy try the fish.
195
00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:02,432
What the hell
are these guys talking about?
196
00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:06,514
They're not talking about fish; they're
talking about a lifetime of competition.
197
00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:08,990
Look at that shot.
198
00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:16,039
Now we need to understand...
199
00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:18,679
...visually that...
200
00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:21,910
Mel Gibson, having confronted...
201
00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:25,311
...the Jo Ann Vallenari character
for the first time in his life...
202
00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:27,193
...is going to be a goner.
203
00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,150
And if you watch the scene carefully
and if you watch the way...
204
00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:31,150
...Mel plays it...
205
00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:34,795
...the shooting and the choices...
206
00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,034
...we see that the lifelong competition
between these two characters...
207
00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:39,599
...is about to take a new...
208
00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:40,875
...turn.
209
00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:44,478
Michelle of course...
210
00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:47,234
...patterned...
211
00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:52,268
...a lot of her character
after Bob Towne's wife, Luisa.
212
00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,351
Because in fact...
213
00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:56,909
...Luisa had...
214
00:12:57,840 --> 00:12:59,398
...been married to the very...
215
00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:00,834
...very successful owner of...
216
00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:03,431
...a luxurious Italian restaurant
in Los Angeles.
217
00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:06,793
Bob had met her in this restaurant...
218
00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:08,668
...and courted her as...
219
00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:12,470
...a patron
and ultimately won her.
220
00:13:14,560 --> 00:13:15,675
Michelle...
221
00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:17,834
...observed...
222
00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,956
...I think,
Luisa's unique combination of...
223
00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:23,913
...cordial and engaging...
224
00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:26,233
...and distant...
225
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,117
...and brought a lot
of that specificity to the part.
226
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:40,558
By this scene, we were...
227
00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:44,435
...trying to knock off
the major interiors in the picture.
228
00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,596
The daily work of the film, in terms of
moving it forward was done by...
229
00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,356
...the executive producer, Tom Shaw.
230
00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:57,832
He's a unique personality
in the movie business.
231
00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:00,958
He was a line producer
for Richard Brooks...
232
00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:03,953
...on most of Mr. Brooks'
wonderful movies...
233
00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:05,952
...from In Cold Blood
to The Professionals...
234
00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:07,269
...and also...
235
00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:10,908
...was the line producer
and first assistant director...
236
00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,674
...for John Huston
for many, many years.
237
00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:18,150
So Mr. Shaw provided
a kind of unusual...
238
00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,393
...glue in holding the picture together,
pushing things forward...
239
00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:27,555
...and making the film
move along everyday.
240
00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:31,516
In this scene, you see...
241
00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:34,918
...a much younger J.T. Walsh...
242
00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:36,789
...getting his...
243
00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:38,274
...comeuppance...
244
00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:40,228
...from his boss.
245
00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,274
I'm particularly fond of
the kind of underplayed humor...
246
00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:48,192
...in Tequila Sunrise.
There's a lot of it.
247
00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:50,795
It's somewhat sardonic,
it's always cruel...
248
00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:54,599
...it's frequently articulate.
249
00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,952
Maybe this doesn't happen
everyday in the movies anymore.
250
00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:11,196
The next problem we faced in the making
of Tequila had to do frankly with...
251
00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:13,229
...maintaining schedule.
252
00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:16,074
A lot of actors in the movie.
A lot of sets.
253
00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:20,199
A tremendous amount of
night work outdoors, boats...
254
00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:22,793
...and by the water.
255
00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,310
It was not a physically easy shoot.
256
00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:32,070
Bob Towne who,
for whom this was a second film...
257
00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:38,158
...didn't understand exactly
what the demands would be.
258
00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:41,470
And it was a very tough...
259
00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:45,633
...tough, physical endeavor for him.
260
00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:01,954
The punitive new career...
261
00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,760
...for the ex-drug dealer,
Mel Gibson...
262
00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:09,633
...is the hydro-hose business,
which is the business...
263
00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,118
...of pen point
hose irrigation systems.
264
00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:18,399
It's kind of a...
265
00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:22,031
...perfect idea for the great
South Bay Curve in Southern California.
266
00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:25,272
A place where you can make a living...
267
00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:28,313
...by selling...
268
00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:32,117
...something that's
directly related to citrus...
269
00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,277
...and farming in desert conditions.
270
00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:41,558
As you probably know,
Robert Towne is a native of Los Angeles.
271
00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:44,796
A guy who, in Chinatown...
272
00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:49,589
...and Shampoo and in a number of his
best films, has really and brilliantly...
273
00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:52,479
...captured the tone
and texture of Southern California.
274
00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:53,994
In this case...
275
00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:57,556
...virtually everything
in Tequila Sunrise speaks...
276
00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:02,876
...to the transitory nature of life in
the South Bay Curve from Santa Monica...
277
00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:05,637
...to Huntington Beach.
278
00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,189
It also speaks to carelessness of life
and the carelessness of characters...
279
00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:15,353
...when you see Mel's...
280
00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,678
...ex-wife complain
that her Mercedes burned up...
281
00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:21,757
...because somebody forgot
to put oil in it...
282
00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:24,915
...you see...
283
00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:28,948
...kind of a hilarious metaphor
for the disposable...
284
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,715
...and materialistic nature of life
in this part of the world.
285
00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,749
The fun in this scene
with Kurt Russell and J.T. Walsh...
286
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,353
...is that Kurt...
287
00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:50,070
...went out of his way
to throw coffee on this guy...
288
00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,390
...and insult and beat him up...
289
00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,393
...so that he would force him
to come to him and apologize...
290
00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:58,591
...and that indeed has happened.
291
00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:09,115
Now the J.T. Walsh character, who knows
he has been humiliated in the context...
292
00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:11,518
...of his work...
293
00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,916
...has figured out
enough background information...
294
00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:18,359
...to turn the heat up.
295
00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:20,914
Also...
296
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,035
...the dialogue in this scene
begins to establish...
297
00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:28,232
...high moral ground for Mel Gibson,
which is a difficult thing to do...
298
00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:30,988
...about a guy
who's been dealing drugs all his life.
299
00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,233
But it's, I think, very important
to the story that we get a sense...
300
00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:39,998
...that even though
he was a drug dealer...
301
00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:41,838
...the Gibson character...
302
00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:46,519
...had a different kind...
303
00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:51,311
...of personal moral code. And that code
had overwhelmed his professional work.
304
00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,116
And as Mel says later in the movie:
305
00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,280
"When you are a successful drug dealer,
it's very hard to quit.
306
00:18:57,520 --> 00:18:59,192
Nobody wants you to quit.
Not your accountants...
307
00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:01,630
...not your lawyers,
not your girlfriend."
308
00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:10,269
So it's fun over the course of the movie
to play out...
309
00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,274
...the complicated
and very compromised...
310
00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,308
...moral playing field
that the cops operate on...
311
00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:22,032
...against the fairly singular
and straightforward...
312
00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,591
...moral playing field
that the drug dealers operate on.
313
00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,197
The nature of the film of course...
314
00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,711
...like most movies,
is that one tries to conquer...
315
00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:43,319
...from a production point of view...
316
00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:44,953
...the hardest parts
of the film first...
317
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:46,679
...meaning...
318
00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,071
...the big night exteriors
and save the so-called easy work.
319
00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:52,995
The interiors...
320
00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:54,593
...and shots like this...
321
00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:56,638
...beach perspective...
322
00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:58,677
...for a little later.
323
00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:01,390
Of course...
324
00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:02,550
...Bob Towne...
325
00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,349
...a wonderful screenwriter, tends to
write screenplays that are much too long.
326
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:08,919
No exception here.
327
00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:12,788
The screenplay... we started shooting...
328
00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:16,918
...the film with a script
that was 135 pages.
329
00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:20,670
In this scene in particular...
330
00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:26,754
...Mel Gibson speaking to Carlos,
the drug dealer, about his son...
331
00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:30,519
...was the beginning...
332
00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,190
...of an entire sequence which is no
longer in the film, but which we shot.
333
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,194
A sequence in which Mel had to go to
San Francisco...
334
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,596
...to rescue the son
of his friend Carlos...
335
00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:45,711
...from a drug deal gone wrong.
336
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:48,189
It simply...
337
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,917
...was irrelevant
and became too long.
338
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,992
It's one of several sequences
that were cut from the film...
339
00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:57,992
...by the time it was released.
340
00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,077
We gave Jo Ann Vallenari,
the female lead...
341
00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:12,316
...an Alfa sedan to drive...
342
00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,193
...partially because she's
Italian and partially because...
343
00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:20,393
...Bob wanted to tip his hat very gently
to Mike Nicholson in The Graduate.
344
00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:27,599
In this scene...
345
00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,677
...we begin to hear the dispassionate,
rational, and somewhat...
346
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:38,072
...angry dynamic that
characterizes the female character.
347
00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:07,198
Now the respect Kurt Russell has for
this character...
348
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:09,989
...increases dramatically,
but of course...
349
00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:12,959
...her willingness to trust...
350
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,158
...this guy or the cops
is also diminishing...
351
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:17,833
...in equal proportion.
352
00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:20,517
Setting up, shall we say...
353
00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:22,553
...a complicated...
354
00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:26,033
...relationship.
355
00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:31,958
The sets in this film...
356
00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:36,993
...are kind of
intentionally full of contrast.
357
00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:39,795
The restaurant's a very rich...
358
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,790
...embracing emotional environment.
359
00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:45,714
All of the officers
are intentionally...
360
00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:49,476
...pedestrian, ordinary.
361
00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:52,277
Richard Sylbert, of course...
362
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,835
...has an illustrious history
as a production designer...
363
00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:56,718
...from Day of the Locust...
364
00:22:58,200 --> 00:22:59,679
...to Chinatown.
365
00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:04,874
Richard's work
is always, enormously...
366
00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:14,109
...useful in a storytelling sense.
367
00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:17,875
Very rarely do you get art directors
who are going to be able...
368
00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:22,074
...to come up with set design
and an approach to a film...
369
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:23,719
...that helps you...
370
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,638
...support the narrative.
371
00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:28,677
In the case of Richard Sylbert...
372
00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:31,514
...he is as important a storyteller
as the cameraman...
373
00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:33,796
...or the director or the screenwriter.
374
00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:46,677
This is the kind of scene where...
375
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,190
...David Grusin's music...
376
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:52,472
...is extraordinarily useful.
377
00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,191
Now the picture takes
a tonal shift that...
378
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,878
...is kind of critical to the whole
construct of Tequila Sunrise.
379
00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:08,238
Just when we have lulled everyone into
thinking that everything's normal...
380
00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:11,952
...we gently...
381
00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:17,312
...describe abnormality...
382
00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,036
...and put the Gibson character...
383
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,791
...in a kind of ill-at-ease context.
384
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:31,232
Arliss Howard, of course...
385
00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:35,359
...does a wonderful job of playing
his extremely unreliable cousin.
386
00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:48,838
The two girls who play the...
387
00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:54,234
...Sin Sisters downstairs with
Arliss Howard are appropriately named...
388
00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:55,959
...Dawn and Lala.
389
00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,279
Names I think you can only get in
Southern California.
390
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:27,835
One of...
391
00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,110
...the motifs in Tequila Sunrise that
was the most fun for us from a pure...
392
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,712
...acting point of view is that
every single person in this film...
393
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:39,757
...has a contrary opinion...
394
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:44,388
...relative to everyone else's
point of view about what's happening.
395
00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:48,635
There is no one who simply nods nicely
and goes along in Tequila Sunrise.
396
00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:50,632
Everybody is potentially...
397
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,713
...a source of
trouble and everybody's got a mouth.
398
00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:57,759
As a film maker...
399
00:26:58,120 --> 00:27:02,352
...for Bob Towne and myself and for the
rest of us involved in this picture...
400
00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:05,717
...you know, it is so rare that
we get an opportunity to work with...
401
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,190
...material in which
people actually talk.
402
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,876
Where the language is rich, where the
things they say have to be listened to.
403
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:14,508
Where things...
404
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:16,997
...are emotionally revealing.
405
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:36,839
The problems with the drug dealers...
406
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:38,433
...you can't...
407
00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,515
...pay with anything but cash...
408
00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,071
...and they can't pay
in front of anyone in cash...
409
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:46,719
...because people think
you're a drug dealer.
410
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:52,750
So Mel Gibson's,
having a very hard time...
411
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:56,636
...changing his life...
412
00:28:58,840 --> 00:28:59,909
...and his...
413
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:03,428
...reputation.
414
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,113
This restaurant set
created by Richard Sylbert...
415
00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:55,628
...was so detailed
and so lush that during the course of...
416
00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:58,671
...making the picture,
we had several...
417
00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,238
...Los Angeles area restaurants
come to us and make bids...
418
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,438
...for the set after we wrapped.
419
00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:10,718
Ultimately we did sell big pieces of
the set and the plants for the set to...
420
00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,155
...a restaurant company
that recreated it...
421
00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:15,630
...in a new restaurant
on Hollywood Blvd.
422
00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:04,395
So always...
423
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:06,228
...Bob Towne is...
424
00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:08,471
...salting this picture with...
425
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:11,757
...references to
the great Sot Baker, Redondo Union High.
426
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:15,475
A sense of history,
of growing up together.
427
00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:18,678
A sense of evolution,
life at the beach.
428
00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:26,229
It, I think, helps enormously to evoke...
429
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:29,388
...the sort of...
430
00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:34,239
...texture of this...
431
00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:37,915
...of the culture
that surrounds this picture.
432
00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:42,637
These people and this dilemma
couldn't happen anywhere else in America.
433
00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:45,950
It's very specific
in the same way that...
434
00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,392
... Coal Miner's Daughter describes...
435
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,791
...Loretta Lynn's life in Butcher Hollow
with great specificity.
436
00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:53,599
This kind of film...
437
00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:56,479
...really gets at the...
438
00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:00,400
...defensive, the game playing...
439
00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:05,196
...the superficial...
440
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:09,356
...and the deeper needs and desires...
441
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,594
...of the people
who inhabit this world.
442
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:36,790
You may notice that Mel Gibson...
443
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:38,632
...is pouring Herradura tequila...
444
00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:40,677
...throughout this entire film...
445
00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:42,788
...thanks to...
446
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:46,275
...a generous contribution
from Seagrams...
447
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:50,354
...the distributor of Herradura tequila
in the United States.
448
00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:56,116
It's one of the few movies in which...
449
00:33:57,320 --> 00:33:59,914
...we could actually
do product placement without...
450
00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:02,756
...looking like product placement.
451
00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:53,352
A kind of busman's holiday
for Jo Ann Vallenari.
452
00:34:56,480 --> 00:34:59,392
While Dale McKussic,
the Mel Gibson character...
453
00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:02,159
...eats his heart out...
454
00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:03,799
...in the distance.
455
00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:07,512
While the party is...
456
00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:08,995
...set up...
457
00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:14,273
...for McKussic's son...
458
00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:21,760
...and Jo Ann Vallenari thinks
she's falling in love with the cop.
459
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:23,672
The cop is of course...
460
00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:26,031
...playing both sides of the fence...
461
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:28,038
...gathering information.
462
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,158
And this party sequence is a hilarious,
I think...
463
00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:34,998
...send up of...
464
00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:38,348
...a cop surveillance...
465
00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:41,233
...and all of their...
466
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:45,398
...technological excess.
467
00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:49,317
Certainly it's not what the police
thought they were going to find...
468
00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:51,757
...in this house on this afternoon.
469
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:56,197
These exteriors were shot in
Manhattan Beach, California...
470
00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:01,718
...on a series of hillsides and yards...
471
00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:03,919
...for houses that...
472
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:10,637
...were immediately adjacent
to the strand and to the ocean.
473
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:44,512
Ann Magnuson plays...
474
00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:49,439
...Mel Gibson's ex-wife
and I think quite wonderfully.
475
00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:51,432
Ann is a very gifted actress...
476
00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:57,478
...and part of the secret...
477
00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:02,870
...was to surround Mel in this...
478
00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,354
Surround Mel in this situation...
479
00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:10,951
...with actors...
480
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:12,919
...who really were...
481
00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:16,510
...overcast in a certain sense. Much
better actors than their small parts...
482
00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:20,760
...would let you know.
483
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:24,151
Jason Randal who plays the magician in
that scene, is really a magician...
484
00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:28,276
...in Southern California. Works
frequently at Magic Castle in Hollywood.
485
00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:32,837
These house interiors...
486
00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:36,632
...McKussic's house
of course, are constructed on a stage...
487
00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:39,394
...at the makeshift stage
in Santa Monica.
488
00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:45,478
And this kind of creation is enormously
helpful to us in the production process.
489
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,560
We can locate the restaurant
and the house interior...
490
00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:53,872
...a piece of the house exterior including
the hot tub and a part of the yard...
491
00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:02,198
...and the various bits and pieces of the
office for the police department...
492
00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:05,598
...all in the same sound stage,
all within a few feet of each other.
493
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:08,718
So as we work we are...
494
00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:13,235
...in a position to move efficiently
and get from one piece to the other.
495
00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:16,752
In this scene, of course...
496
00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:21,436
...Michelle Pfeiffer begins
to understand for the first time...
497
00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:24,990
...the depth of the betrayal
that's going on here.
498
00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:31,192
She's already begun to fall...
499
00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:36,789
...for the Kurt
Russell character, Frescia.
500
00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:42,718
Now she's beginning to have
to reconsider...
501
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:45,628
...her judgment...
502
00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:49,190
...about his honesty
and about the situation she's in.
503
00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:54,519
Moral ambiguity
is of the essence in this movie.
504
00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:57,791
Probably as it is in life.
505
00:39:11,600 --> 00:39:12,953
Once more we have...
506
00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:17,398
...a moment when the cops in their...
507
00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:22,551
...extreme eagerness to capture
the dreaded drug dealer McKussic...
508
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:24,558
...have screwed things up...
509
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:27,154
...and managed...
510
00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:30,431
...to spend a lot of money
and use a lot of people...
511
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:32,272
...and figure out nothing.
512
00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:06,518
The fun thing about this next shot
is the reveal of the snitch.
513
00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:11,628
We begin to see
who inside Mel Gibson's world...
514
00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:13,279
...is betraying him.
515
00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:21,198
And there we are.
516
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:25,070
Mel's cousin, the guy he...
517
00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:29,596
...lives with and has hanging
around the house at all times...
518
00:40:29,720 --> 00:40:31,312
...he is indeed his betrayer.
519
00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:35,998
This sequence is one of my favorites in
the movie. It's a scene that we shot...
520
00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:40,390
...purely at the last minute.
It wasn't scheduled to be shot...
521
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:42,229
...in a swing set...
522
00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:44,630
...nor was it scheduled
to be shot at sunset.
523
00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:49,074
But we had wrapped the day's work in
Manhattan Beach, we were driving back...
524
00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:51,470
...to our homes in Los Angeles
in a convoy...
525
00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:53,918
...through Venice, California...
526
00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:56,515
...and we saw a swing set on a beach...
527
00:40:57,600 --> 00:40:59,272
...and it was almost sunset.
528
00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:01,990
We literally,
no permit, no nothing...
529
00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:04,795
...stopped all the equipment,
grabbed the DP...
530
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:07,073
...a handful of crew...
531
00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:09,356
...no lights, ran out...
532
00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:12,114
...stuck the sticks in the sand,
popped a camera on it...
533
00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:14,555
...and as the sun begins to set...
534
00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:17,872
...with three different cameras
simultaneously running...
535
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:20,630
...we shot this sequence.
536
00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:23,508
Which I think...
537
00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:27,919
...is one of the most
emotionally important in the movie.
538
00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:30,993
And if we hadn't had the happy accident
of finding the swing set...
539
00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:32,832
...on a beach in Venice...
540
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:34,269
...near Sunset.
541
00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:37,592
If you know Southern California, you can
see that that sun is setting...
542
00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:40,270
...on the far north end of...
543
00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:44,549
...the Santa Monica Bay,
setting over the mountains of Malibu.
544
00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:51,074
We end up with a very evocative scene...
545
00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:52,993
...mostly by chance.
546
00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:56,119
It is terrifying how many good things
happen in movies...
547
00:41:56,400 --> 00:41:58,595
...and bad things, by chance.
548
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:39,634
The plot thickens,
sort of the understatement here.
549
00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:44,875
A lot of people complain that Tequila
Sunrise has too much going on in it...
550
00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:49,472
...and is too confusing.
551
00:42:49,720 --> 00:42:51,915
My own feeling is that it's always...
552
00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:55,675
...fun to see a movie where
you have to actually listen and think...
553
00:42:56,720 --> 00:42:58,119
...to keep up with it.
554
00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:02,916
We're made a number of films that are...
555
00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:05,271
...reliant on dialogue...
556
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:08,671
...and complex layering of character,
whether they are comedies or drama.
557
00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:12,474
For us, it's always more fun than...
558
00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:18,710
...a kind of straight ahead
paint-by-numbers sort of film making.
559
00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:22,874
This is a song by Crowded House.
560
00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:26,317
The Grusin score and the
contemporary songs...
561
00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:29,711
...were put together
and produced by Danny Bramson...
562
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:34,477
...who is probably the finest film
soundtrack producer in our industry.
563
00:43:35,440 --> 00:43:38,318
He's currently
head of motion picture music...
564
00:43:38,560 --> 00:43:40,232
...for Warner Bros.
565
00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:48,310
At this time,
this song hadn't been released...
566
00:43:49,200 --> 00:43:51,919
...went on to being
a big hit single for that band.
567
00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:51,673
The McKussic character's
inadvertent switch of envelopes...
568
00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:56,037
...creates a crisis
with Jo Ann Vallenari.
569
00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:06,073
Again, the dangers of life
in an all cash economy.
570
00:45:12,080 --> 00:45:15,117
There's a very interesting
turn in this movie.
571
00:45:15,680 --> 00:45:17,636
Of the things I'm particularly...
572
00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:21,432
...pleased with about the film
is Bob's use of...
573
00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:24,475
...Mel's relationship with his son.
574
00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:51,437
At the time this movie was made...
575
00:45:51,680 --> 00:45:55,514
...of course Southern California was a
world capital of single parenting...
576
00:45:56,240 --> 00:45:58,993
...and there were lots and lots
of guys with kids...
577
00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:01,158
...without wives.
578
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:05,149
I guess by this moment in history...
579
00:46:05,880 --> 00:46:08,872
...single parenting
is a nationwide phenomena.
580
00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:12,878
But I think, it was used...
581
00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:15,398
...cleverly in this picture.
582
00:46:16,240 --> 00:46:17,832
Of course, Bob Towne...
583
00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:20,589
...had for some years
raised a daughter...
584
00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:22,554
...by himself...
585
00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:24,313
...so he had some sense of...
586
00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:26,318
...how to approach that issue.
587
00:46:27,880 --> 00:46:31,509
I think we should stop and watch this
scene because this scene is actually...
588
00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:37,192
...important and I think perhaps
Michelle's best scene in the movie.
589
00:49:37,120 --> 00:49:38,189
And so...
590
00:49:39,440 --> 00:49:41,795
...life among the compromised goes on.
591
00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:50,270
It's particularly fun in this film
to watch the shift of emphasis...
592
00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:53,034
...as characters gain awareness...
593
00:49:54,760 --> 00:49:57,991
...and turn on each other,
one after the other, after the other...
594
00:49:58,360 --> 00:50:00,555
...sometimes correctly,
sometimes mistakenly.
595
00:50:01,160 --> 00:50:04,357
Like an endless the House of Mirrors,
emotional House of Mirrors.
596
00:50:26,520 --> 00:50:28,397
We introduce in this scene...
597
00:50:39,680 --> 00:50:42,114
...the Raul Julia character.
598
00:50:45,960 --> 00:50:49,316
And like everything else in Tequila
Sunrise, this man is not what he seems.
599
00:50:50,720 --> 00:50:53,757
He is the head of the
Mexican Drug Enforcement Task Force...
600
00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:56,150
...come to Los Angeles
to look for Carlos...
601
00:50:56,800 --> 00:50:59,872
...legendary drug dealer and ex-partner
of McKussic's. But of course...
602
00:51:00,120 --> 00:51:02,350
...he also happens to be Carlos.
603
00:51:06,080 --> 00:51:08,833
So everyone perpetually
working across purposes.
604
00:51:39,240 --> 00:51:41,629
Budd Boetticher,
legendary film director...
605
00:51:41,880 --> 00:51:43,438
...all sorts...
606
00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:48,796
...of blood and sand bullfight type
movies and westerns: Lonesome Kid...
607
00:51:49,040 --> 00:51:50,712
...and many others.
608
00:51:51,040 --> 00:51:53,873
We asked Bud to come up from
San Diego out of retirement...
609
00:51:54,120 --> 00:51:55,997
...and play the judge in this movie.
610
00:51:56,880 --> 00:52:00,236
In the back corner, the gentleman that
you met at the beginning of the film...
611
00:52:00,480 --> 00:52:01,469
...the drug deal...
612
00:52:01,720 --> 00:52:03,870
...Arliss Howard, who plays...
613
00:52:05,120 --> 00:52:06,872
...Jo Ann Vallenari's lawyer...
614
00:52:08,240 --> 00:52:11,277
...and the lawyer that Mel
tried to teach to sell cocaine...
615
00:52:11,920 --> 00:52:13,672
...at the beginning of the film.
616
00:52:54,200 --> 00:52:56,236
Now Jo Ann Vallenari discovers that...
617
00:52:59,360 --> 00:53:00,759
...from her lawyer...
618
00:53:01,920 --> 00:53:05,833
...that a lot of what she's been told
by Frescia, the policeman who she's...
619
00:53:06,160 --> 00:53:07,388
...crazy about...
620
00:53:07,640 --> 00:53:09,039
...simply isn't true...
621
00:53:10,200 --> 00:53:16,435
...or was designed to elicit information
to help him track and or apprehend...
622
00:53:17,600 --> 00:53:18,828
...McKussic.
623
00:54:13,480 --> 00:54:14,674
Now we find...
624
00:54:16,800 --> 00:54:20,395
...Frescia's firm ground
shifting once more.
625
00:57:50,720 --> 00:57:53,234
The essence of this
confrontation of course is that...
626
00:57:53,720 --> 00:57:54,835
...Frescia...
627
00:57:55,080 --> 00:57:56,957
...contrary to his better judgment...
628
00:57:57,920 --> 00:57:59,399
...or his intent...
629
00:58:00,080 --> 00:58:01,877
...is actually falling in love.
630
01:01:43,120 --> 01:01:46,192
So the essence of this picture
in a funny way is that kind of...
631
01:01:46,520 --> 01:01:48,078
...abiding melodrama...
632
01:01:48,400 --> 01:01:51,517
...that was a staple and a
main stay of Hollywood for...
633
01:01:53,000 --> 01:01:55,150
...since the beginning
of sound, certainly.
634
01:01:57,880 --> 01:02:00,519
It's a bit of a romance, certainly.
635
01:02:00,760 --> 01:02:03,069
It's a bit of a thriller, certainly.
636
01:02:03,800 --> 01:02:05,199
But really this is...
637
01:02:06,680 --> 01:02:08,193
...drama and melodrama.
638
01:02:09,040 --> 01:02:10,075
I hope...
639
01:02:11,000 --> 01:02:14,197
...sort of its best form
for my Hollywood terms.
640
01:02:19,880 --> 01:02:22,269
It's not very different
in many ways than...
641
01:02:23,520 --> 01:02:25,511
...good pictures with...
642
01:02:26,040 --> 01:02:29,476
...Alan Ladd, Jr.
Or with Fred McMurray or with...
643
01:02:34,360 --> 01:02:36,396
...Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda.
644
01:02:40,480 --> 01:02:42,516
The complexity
of the emotional relationships...
645
01:02:42,760 --> 01:02:44,557
...gradually overtake the plot...
646
01:02:45,440 --> 01:02:47,476
...and push it into the background...
647
01:02:48,040 --> 01:02:51,032
...and what the audience really
is interested in this:
648
01:02:51,280 --> 01:02:53,589
"Who's going to
end up with whom and why?"
649
01:02:54,920 --> 01:02:56,239
As opposed to:
650
01:02:57,040 --> 01:02:58,996
"Will the cops
get our hero or not?"
651
01:03:00,800 --> 01:03:03,234
So it's an interesting balance
to try to strike.
652
01:03:23,520 --> 01:03:27,672
This particular location
in the little boat towing sequence...
653
01:03:27,920 --> 01:03:29,478
...was Dockweiler Beach...
654
01:03:29,800 --> 01:03:32,394
...near the Los Angeles
International Airport.
655
01:03:33,760 --> 01:03:36,513
Now we see
the beginnings of the setup of...
656
01:03:38,200 --> 01:03:42,398
...the Mexican police cooperative action
to bust Carlos, the drug dealer.
657
01:03:49,760 --> 01:03:52,672
The theme of surveillance
is lots of fun in this movie...
658
01:03:52,920 --> 01:03:56,230
...because people
listen and see things all the time.
659
01:03:56,480 --> 01:03:59,074
What does any of it mean?
660
01:04:00,120 --> 01:04:01,678
Becomes the question.
661
01:04:03,720 --> 01:04:08,396
If the woman takes her clothes out of the
car, is she staying at the house?
662
01:05:01,360 --> 01:05:03,999
Heavy shot,
maybe just a bit of an overreaction.
663
01:05:11,520 --> 01:05:12,714
Part of the...
664
01:05:14,400 --> 01:05:18,791
...essence of this kind of film is
trying to find that balance between...
665
01:05:19,280 --> 01:05:21,077
...continuing action and plot...
666
01:05:21,840 --> 01:05:23,512
...and emotional evolution.
667
01:05:23,760 --> 01:05:26,832
I'm not sure Tequila is entirely
successful in doing it, actually.
668
01:05:27,600 --> 01:05:30,239
I like this film very much.
In fact, it happens personally to be...
669
01:05:31,040 --> 01:05:33,554
...my favorite film
of all the films I've done...
670
01:05:34,360 --> 01:05:38,353
...or worked on and that includes,
God knows, lots and lots of good films...
671
01:05:38,800 --> 01:05:40,552
...and some not so good films.
672
01:05:44,760 --> 01:05:47,399
By the way,
this shot took us the entire night...
673
01:05:47,640 --> 01:05:50,438
...because the damn cat
wouldn't do what he was supposed to do.
674
01:05:50,960 --> 01:05:53,190
That shot you just saw
was the one time...
675
01:05:53,480 --> 01:05:56,517
...that the cat stopped and played with
Mel on the way into the house.
676
01:05:58,000 --> 01:06:00,389
It was a very expensive cat shot.
677
01:06:00,920 --> 01:06:03,832
One night on this movie,
night shooting exterior...
678
01:06:04,120 --> 01:06:06,714
...cost about 140,000 dollars.
679
01:06:08,360 --> 01:06:10,316
My best advice to you is:
680
01:06:10,720 --> 01:06:12,278
No animals!
681
01:08:02,920 --> 01:08:04,273
Now we begin to...
682
01:08:05,400 --> 01:08:09,075
...put the information about who the
inside snitch is in the hands of...
683
01:08:10,160 --> 01:08:11,479
...Frescia...
684
01:08:12,400 --> 01:08:15,631
...whose rivalry with McKussic
is at its maximum...
685
01:08:15,880 --> 01:08:17,393
...and whose loyalty is...
686
01:08:18,240 --> 01:08:19,309
...still...
687
01:08:21,920 --> 01:08:23,478
...a factor in the plot.
688
01:08:41,560 --> 01:08:43,949
Now we are about to get into...
689
01:08:44,560 --> 01:08:46,118
...a sequence in which Mel...
690
01:08:47,280 --> 01:08:48,429
...and Michelle...
691
01:08:48,880 --> 01:08:51,952
...their characters,
make love in a hot tub.
692
01:08:53,720 --> 01:08:55,039
This of course...
693
01:08:55,520 --> 01:08:57,317
...makes life complicated.
694
01:08:59,080 --> 01:09:01,355
On a movie set when you have...
695
01:09:02,440 --> 01:09:04,556
...important stars who are supposed to...
696
01:09:04,840 --> 01:09:07,070
...be nude or seminude and make love.
697
01:09:08,040 --> 01:09:09,598
...life gets...
698
01:09:09,880 --> 01:09:11,757
...very, very complex.
699
01:09:12,440 --> 01:09:14,271
Michelle had read the script.
700
01:09:14,520 --> 01:09:17,990
She understood that this scene was
in the script but closer to the day of...
701
01:09:18,920 --> 01:09:20,239
...achieving this...
702
01:09:22,000 --> 01:09:23,069
...stuff...
703
01:09:23,760 --> 01:09:26,228
...she got more and more nervous,
understandably.
704
01:09:27,000 --> 01:09:28,228
Finally...
705
01:09:28,480 --> 01:09:30,948
...a couple of days before we were to
shoot this scene, I got a call from...
706
01:09:31,200 --> 01:09:34,192
...her attorney,
who also happened to be my attorney...
707
01:09:34,640 --> 01:09:35,959
...Barry Hersch.
708
01:09:37,400 --> 01:09:40,597
He said, "You know, Michelle is
fundamentally uncomfortable being...
709
01:09:40,960 --> 01:09:42,678
...seminude in this shot...
710
01:09:45,280 --> 01:09:47,157
...and perhaps we shouldn't do it."
711
01:09:47,400 --> 01:09:48,469
I said:
712
01:09:48,720 --> 01:09:51,439
"Well, it was in the script and I
think we ought to shoot it."
713
01:09:51,760 --> 01:09:53,273
I went to see Michelle...
714
01:09:54,480 --> 01:09:57,199
...and she was indeed nervous,
trying to figure out...
715
01:09:57,440 --> 01:09:59,431
...what she
could wear in the shot...
716
01:10:00,120 --> 01:10:04,875
...that would be as close to invisible as
possible, but still resembling clothing.
717
01:10:06,640 --> 01:10:08,790
So we called in an expert...
718
01:10:10,080 --> 01:10:14,232
...on clothing for dancers in Las Vegas
who came up with some very...
719
01:10:18,520 --> 01:10:19,873
...invisible...
720
01:10:20,880 --> 01:10:23,678
...and micro designed monofilament...
721
01:10:24,280 --> 01:10:25,759
...G- string kind of thing.
722
01:10:27,000 --> 01:10:30,072
After a lot of hemming and hawing
and back and forth...
723
01:10:30,680 --> 01:10:33,752
...Michelle finally decided that was
something she was comfortable wearing...
724
01:10:34,000 --> 01:10:35,558
...and felt dressed in.
725
01:10:37,320 --> 01:10:40,437
Mel of course had a very different
reaction to the issue of nudity.
726
01:10:43,000 --> 01:10:44,149
Mel is a lovely guy...
727
01:10:45,720 --> 01:10:48,314
...and in his heart,
fundamentally a surfer from Australia.
728
01:10:48,560 --> 01:10:49,993
So when the question...
729
01:10:50,160 --> 01:10:52,879
...about taking his clothes off came up,
he simply said:
730
01:10:53,360 --> 01:10:55,874
"Let's shuck the bathing suit
and get on with it."
731
01:10:58,200 --> 01:10:59,758
This wasn't exactly...
732
01:11:00,480 --> 01:11:02,277
...designed to reassure...
733
01:11:02,720 --> 01:11:04,039
...Michelle that...
734
01:11:04,880 --> 01:11:07,110
...he was as concerned as she was.
735
01:11:07,640 --> 01:11:11,394
So we kept them apart
until the start of the scene...
736
01:11:14,480 --> 01:11:18,712
...and then of course, you cut the crew
on the set to an absolute minimum.
737
01:11:18,960 --> 01:11:20,518
Something like this:
738
01:11:20,760 --> 01:11:22,910
A cameraman, one assistant...
739
01:11:24,440 --> 01:11:25,953
...a handful of others.
740
01:11:27,600 --> 01:11:29,079
But you know...
741
01:11:29,360 --> 01:11:30,588
...it's a movie...
742
01:11:32,280 --> 01:11:36,512
...and actors and actresses understand
fundamentally what they...
743
01:11:37,280 --> 01:11:38,918
...are going to be doing.
744
01:11:42,320 --> 01:11:45,790
We also obviously shot this scene
in an somewhat abstract way...
745
01:11:48,160 --> 01:11:49,912
...because we weren't trying to...
746
01:11:54,560 --> 01:11:55,879
...create...
747
01:11:57,760 --> 01:12:00,752
...the most explicit scene in the world.
We were trying to do something...
748
01:12:02,440 --> 01:12:04,271
...erotic and romantic...
749
01:12:06,360 --> 01:12:09,318
...and something that
would establish the notion that...
750
01:12:10,160 --> 01:12:12,435
...when these two characters make love...
751
01:12:12,680 --> 01:12:14,796
...it is different than...
752
01:12:15,200 --> 01:12:17,350
...her liaison with...
753
01:12:18,480 --> 01:12:20,277
...the Kurt Russell character.
754
01:12:20,920 --> 01:12:23,718
So that separation is utterly important.
755
01:12:56,680 --> 01:12:59,638
Kurt, in this slide projector scene...
756
01:12:59,880 --> 01:13:01,871
...sees the worst clue he'd possibly see.
757
01:13:02,680 --> 01:13:05,148
It's the look in her eye when she's
looking at Mel.
758
01:13:08,640 --> 01:13:11,757
If you look at Robert Towne's work,
you see that most of it...
759
01:13:12,160 --> 01:13:16,278
...operates on at least two levels,
sometimes three or four, all the time.
760
01:13:17,320 --> 01:13:19,197
Shampoo, Chinatown...
761
01:13:19,800 --> 01:13:21,199
... The Last Detail.
762
01:13:23,600 --> 01:13:24,953
Pictures where...
763
01:13:27,400 --> 01:13:30,392
...people's behavior, the
details of their language...
764
01:13:33,520 --> 01:13:34,839
...their movements...
765
01:13:35,080 --> 01:13:36,798
...and even the gestures...
766
01:13:37,160 --> 01:13:38,912
...all add up to...
767
01:13:41,040 --> 01:13:44,032
...a multi-layered
sense of what they want.
768
01:13:44,280 --> 01:13:46,874
The first thing they want,
the second thing they want...
769
01:13:47,120 --> 01:13:49,315
...the third thing they want,
like all of us.
770
01:13:57,400 --> 01:13:58,515
Now we see...
771
01:14:00,360 --> 01:14:01,554
...Frescia's...
772
01:14:04,560 --> 01:14:08,075
...police partner, J.T. Walsh,
making the exchange...
773
01:14:10,760 --> 01:14:13,593
...with Mel Gibson's cousin.
Now we know where the rat is.
774
01:15:17,080 --> 01:15:19,435
Raul Julia,
we've worked with on several films...
775
01:15:21,120 --> 01:15:23,953
...and one of the things of course
that was wonderful about Raul...
776
01:15:24,200 --> 01:15:26,555
...as a human as well as an actor,
is that he brings...
777
01:15:26,800 --> 01:15:30,236
...a tremendous kind of excitement,
enthusiasm, to the set...
778
01:15:31,880 --> 01:15:33,711
...and his performances
are always...
779
01:15:33,960 --> 01:15:36,235
...flamboyant, smart, funny.
780
01:15:39,200 --> 01:15:41,998
Raul loved to drink
and he loved to sing.
781
01:15:43,000 --> 01:15:45,355
After a few nights
in restaurants in which...
782
01:15:45,600 --> 01:15:51,755
Bob Towne and I heard Raul's amateur but
enthusiastic versions of operas...
783
01:15:52,000 --> 01:15:53,319
...we decided to insert...
784
01:15:53,600 --> 01:15:56,194
...some of that drinking
and singing into this picture.
785
01:15:56,480 --> 01:15:58,152
Which we'll see later on.
786
01:16:42,080 --> 01:16:46,278
Again those night scenes by the hot tub,
which are interiors...
787
01:16:47,160 --> 01:16:48,991
...beautifully lit by Cony Hall.
788
01:17:37,160 --> 01:17:38,798
So my question is:
789
01:17:39,200 --> 01:17:42,795
"Can the Carlos character prevent himself
from singing in the rest of this movie?"
790
01:17:43,040 --> 01:17:46,157
I think it's probably
an impossible notion.
791
01:18:06,960 --> 01:18:09,952
For the restaurant exterior
that you just saw, we used Mateo's...
792
01:18:10,200 --> 01:18:12,714
...a well-known
Italian restaurant on Westwood Blvd...
793
01:18:13,160 --> 01:18:14,275
...in Los Angeles.
794
01:18:14,520 --> 01:18:15,714
Mateo's was...
795
01:18:16,440 --> 01:18:20,035
...the long time haunt of people
like Sinatra, Dean Martin.
796
01:18:21,120 --> 01:18:23,475
And is still very much
of a Hollywood nightspot.
797
01:19:04,200 --> 01:19:08,034
This little shot you've just seen in the
parking lot behind the restaurant...
798
01:19:08,280 --> 01:19:08,996
...was done...
799
01:19:09,160 --> 01:19:10,798
...entirely in a corner
of the sound stage...
800
01:19:11,040 --> 01:19:14,157
...in a space about 12 feet by 20 feet,
with a little smoke...
801
01:19:14,560 --> 01:19:16,596
...and some paint and light.
802
01:19:17,920 --> 01:19:19,797
In the course of making a picture...
803
01:19:20,040 --> 01:19:21,996
...many times we shoot...
804
01:19:22,240 --> 01:19:24,435
...location specific masters...
805
01:19:24,760 --> 01:19:25,954
...and cutaways...
806
01:19:26,480 --> 01:19:29,790
...or big interior pieces
and later in editing, we discover that...
807
01:19:30,240 --> 01:19:31,514
...we need...
808
01:19:33,160 --> 01:19:34,479
...pieces that are...
809
01:19:36,040 --> 01:19:39,953
...connective tissue,
utterly critical to the movie...
810
01:19:40,400 --> 01:19:41,833
...but we just
don't have them.
811
01:19:42,080 --> 01:19:45,152
And that was one of them.
We go back in after the fact...
812
01:19:45,440 --> 01:19:48,830
...and pick up little bits and pieces
of shots that make the story...
813
01:19:50,440 --> 01:19:52,635
...supportable and understandable.
814
01:19:58,720 --> 01:20:01,075
You see lots of people wandering
towards the beach in the dark.
815
01:20:01,320 --> 01:20:03,709
This is because
the grunion are running...
816
01:20:03,960 --> 01:20:07,396
...a small shellfish which is,
a small fish which is...
817
01:20:09,560 --> 01:20:13,519
...a favorite in Southern California and
they run periodically during the year...
818
01:20:13,760 --> 01:20:16,672
...and people come down to the beach
and catch them in buckets...
819
01:20:17,120 --> 01:20:18,269
...boil them.
820
01:21:53,640 --> 01:21:55,392
This sequence takes place on...
821
01:21:58,000 --> 01:21:59,911
...the bridge leading into...
822
01:22:01,040 --> 01:22:02,234
...Long Beach, California.
823
01:22:02,480 --> 01:22:04,869
One of the tallest bridges
in Southern California.
824
01:22:05,120 --> 01:22:06,633
A bridge from which you can see the...
825
01:22:06,880 --> 01:22:08,711
...cityscape in all directions.
826
01:22:12,560 --> 01:22:15,074
And it appears
that Lindroff, the snitch...
827
01:22:15,640 --> 01:22:17,392
...has had his ticket canceled.
828
01:22:22,720 --> 01:22:24,153
This we shot in...
829
01:22:24,600 --> 01:22:27,273
...a shipyard in Long Beach,
near the old...
830
01:22:27,560 --> 01:22:29,516
Naval Air piers.
831
01:22:32,800 --> 01:22:35,473
We stayed down
in Long Beach for the dock sequence...
832
01:22:37,880 --> 01:22:39,233
...the boat chase...
833
01:22:39,960 --> 01:22:42,554
...and other pieces
of the night exteriors...
834
01:22:43,440 --> 01:22:46,079
...using the Navy pier...
835
01:22:46,760 --> 01:22:48,990
...warehouse as
makeshift sound stages.
836
01:24:26,680 --> 01:24:28,591
Now we enter a sequence in which...
837
01:24:29,280 --> 01:24:31,430
...the Dale
McKussic character...
838
01:24:32,800 --> 01:24:35,758
...has to make a series
of very hard decisions...
839
01:24:36,000 --> 01:24:37,353
...which involve...
840
01:24:38,880 --> 01:24:43,078
...in dramatic terms, separating himself
from his past, for real.
841
01:24:44,320 --> 01:24:47,153
He has made all the external
signs of separation...
842
01:24:47,400 --> 01:24:49,197
...he's no longer a drug dealer.
843
01:24:49,840 --> 01:24:52,354
But he's indebted to Carlos.
844
01:24:52,600 --> 01:24:55,478
And he's indebted to his past
as a drug dealer.
845
01:24:56,360 --> 01:24:57,873
And Jo Ann Vallenari...
846
01:24:58,120 --> 01:25:00,634
...who now
means everything to him is the...
847
01:25:01,360 --> 01:25:02,918
...access...
848
01:25:03,640 --> 01:25:05,392
...around which...
849
01:25:05,840 --> 01:25:07,239
...his release...
850
01:25:07,480 --> 01:25:10,040
...from his own past will be constructed.
851
01:25:12,840 --> 01:25:15,638
This sequence we shot
over two nights...
852
01:25:16,440 --> 01:25:19,955
...on a rented yacht
in Long Beach Harbor.
853
01:25:21,920 --> 01:25:25,230
Raul insisted on being
genuinely drunk for the scene.
854
01:25:28,960 --> 01:25:30,154
So did Mel.
855
01:25:31,520 --> 01:25:34,159
It's a very interesting sequence...
856
01:25:35,200 --> 01:25:37,395
...from the director's point of view,
because...
857
01:25:37,640 --> 01:25:40,712
...working with them was, to say
the least, an imprecise science...
858
01:25:43,200 --> 01:25:44,997
...during this part of the film.
859
01:25:56,480 --> 01:26:00,189
And you see in the background
everywhere, oil derricks pumping away.
860
01:26:50,040 --> 01:26:52,759
The lifeguard is played by Ken Moore...
861
01:26:53,720 --> 01:26:56,518
...who was in real life
a lifeguard and a surfer.
862
01:26:59,320 --> 01:27:02,517
A kind of unofficial Mayor
of the beaches of...
863
01:27:02,960 --> 01:27:04,313
...the South Bay.
864
01:27:08,320 --> 01:27:12,029
Shooting movies is always complicated
when it comes to practical locations...
865
01:27:12,760 --> 01:27:15,194
...and Manhattan Beach was
one of our primary locations.
866
01:27:15,440 --> 01:27:17,954
The location
of McKussic's house exterior...
867
01:27:18,800 --> 01:27:21,109
...of the place where
the surveillance took place...
868
01:27:21,360 --> 01:27:24,238
...the place where the birthday party
for the children occurred.
869
01:27:25,400 --> 01:27:28,836
The Mayor of Manhattan Beach was
running for re-election.
870
01:27:29,920 --> 01:27:32,639
I made a deal with him
for a permit...
871
01:27:33,040 --> 01:27:34,314
...to shoot in the area.
872
01:27:34,840 --> 01:27:37,035
The minute we moved
the trucks and equipment in...
873
01:27:37,280 --> 01:27:39,555
...all the neighbors
started complaining like mad...
874
01:27:39,800 --> 01:27:41,711
...and holding out their hands for...
875
01:27:42,360 --> 01:27:43,918
...cash to be quiet...
876
01:27:44,400 --> 01:27:46,755
...or turn their televisions down
or go away...
877
01:27:47,520 --> 01:27:49,988
...or let us park cars
in their driveways.
878
01:27:51,640 --> 01:27:53,790
And we were happy to pay them.
879
01:27:54,040 --> 01:27:55,951
What we hadn't counted...
880
01:27:56,200 --> 01:28:00,398
...was the then Mayor of Manhattan Beach
would turn our production unit...
881
01:28:01,040 --> 01:28:04,749
...into his
closet election campaign headquarters.
882
01:28:07,160 --> 01:28:10,709
So rapidly I found that our printshop
was turning out posters for the Mayor...
883
01:28:11,240 --> 01:28:14,391
...and many of our
production assistants and drivers...
884
01:28:14,640 --> 01:28:16,790
...were stapling posters all over...
885
01:28:17,040 --> 01:28:20,828
...phone poles and buildings, up and down
the streets of Manhattan Beach.
886
01:28:22,560 --> 01:28:24,596
By the time the election came around...
887
01:28:25,000 --> 01:28:28,037
...and this guy won,
we all felt jubilant.
888
01:28:28,280 --> 01:28:30,430
We felt like we were his campaign staff.
889
01:28:30,800 --> 01:28:34,588
I would've been very, very disappointed
given the amount of money we spent...
890
01:28:35,400 --> 01:28:38,995
...and the focused time if
we hadn't been able to re-elect this guy.
891
01:28:39,320 --> 01:28:40,719
It would have been...
892
01:28:41,040 --> 01:28:43,998
...a terrible commentary
of the inefficiency of a movie company.
893
01:29:32,480 --> 01:29:34,948
Cruising along Long Beach Harbor
in the fog...
894
01:29:40,480 --> 01:29:42,755
...this Fittipaldi racing boat...
895
01:29:43,000 --> 01:29:46,709
...is capable of
doing over 100 miles an hour on water.
896
01:29:48,120 --> 01:29:50,270
We had two of them for the show...
897
01:29:51,520 --> 01:29:53,431
...cruising along there at about 60.
898
01:29:56,840 --> 01:29:59,877
It's a remarkable boat and a very,
very high maintenance item.
899
01:30:01,280 --> 01:30:04,272
It's also true, of course, that once
you start shooting in fog...
900
01:30:05,640 --> 01:30:07,790
...you are perpetually trapped in fog...
901
01:30:08,400 --> 01:30:11,153
...and you have to create it
when it doesn't show up for you.
902
01:30:11,400 --> 01:30:14,472
That's why this sequence
is shot on a sound stage...
903
01:30:15,160 --> 01:30:16,718
...with the boat on gimbals.
904
01:30:17,640 --> 01:30:19,392
A lot of fog in the background...
905
01:30:19,640 --> 01:30:21,676
...trying to solve the engine problems...
906
01:30:22,600 --> 01:30:25,114
...because while there are
a few foggy nights...
907
01:30:25,360 --> 01:30:30,150
...it's absolutely unpredictable, the fog
moves easily when blown by the wind.
908
01:30:33,800 --> 01:30:35,438
It's really impossible...
909
01:30:36,200 --> 01:30:37,952
...to control the situation.
910
01:30:57,080 --> 01:30:59,036
I entered the movie business...
911
01:30:59,560 --> 01:31:01,596
...like most people I know, backwards.
912
01:31:02,400 --> 01:31:03,879
I started out to be a painter...
913
01:31:04,120 --> 01:31:06,918
...went to graduate school
at CalArts in California...
914
01:31:07,160 --> 01:31:09,549
...an arts conservatory.
915
01:31:11,920 --> 01:31:14,195
In search of an ability
to pay the rent...
916
01:31:14,440 --> 01:31:16,271
...went to work for Roger Coreman...
917
01:31:17,040 --> 01:31:19,031
...the legendary producer of...
918
01:31:20,280 --> 01:31:22,032
...many of your favorite biker...
919
01:31:23,680 --> 01:31:25,079
...and monster movies.
920
01:31:25,680 --> 01:31:27,079
Working for Roger...
921
01:31:27,720 --> 01:31:29,915
...was always an education
and an adventure.
922
01:31:30,560 --> 01:31:33,711
In an eight month period,
we made ten motion pictures...
923
01:31:34,720 --> 01:31:37,109
...which meant that no film...
924
01:31:38,680 --> 01:31:40,989
...was shot for more than...
925
01:31:41,400 --> 01:31:43,311
...ten or twelve days at a time.
926
01:31:44,280 --> 01:31:47,511
Those films probably averaged to
50 or 60 thousand dollars each...
927
01:31:48,680 --> 01:31:49,749
...in cost.
928
01:31:50,440 --> 01:31:52,590
The great advantage of
working for Roger was that...
929
01:31:52,840 --> 01:31:55,274
...on Monday you were
loading cable in a pick-up truck...
930
01:31:55,520 --> 01:31:58,751
...and on Tuesday you were a second AD.
On Wednesday you were a speaking extra.
931
01:31:59,000 --> 01:32:01,833
On Thursday you were rewriting
a scene of the script...
932
01:32:02,080 --> 01:32:03,911
...and
on Friday you took his wife shopping.
933
01:32:04,160 --> 01:32:06,913
It was always a well-rounded education.
934
01:32:07,560 --> 01:32:08,913
From Roger...
935
01:32:11,400 --> 01:32:12,958
...I got a job at Universal...
936
01:32:13,240 --> 01:32:17,028
...purely by accident.
One of the low level executives there...
937
01:32:18,320 --> 01:32:19,639
...had seen...
938
01:32:21,520 --> 01:32:24,478
...a film, a 16 mm black and white film
I had made at CalArts...
939
01:32:25,400 --> 01:32:27,470
...and in a local festival
in Los Angeles...
940
01:32:27,720 --> 01:32:29,073
...and I was asked...
941
01:32:30,320 --> 01:32:31,878
...to show up in his office...
942
01:32:34,080 --> 01:32:35,433
...to interview for a job.
943
01:32:35,680 --> 01:32:39,070
In that interview, it became clear that
this guy was actually going to hire me...
944
01:32:39,480 --> 01:32:41,038
...much to my amazement.
945
01:32:42,200 --> 01:32:44,634
He asked me
what I've been making weekly.
946
01:32:44,880 --> 01:32:47,633
I had been terminally
unemployed for some months.
947
01:32:48,520 --> 01:32:50,795
I thought,
"Well, what's the biggest number...
948
01:32:51,040 --> 01:32:53,190
...the biggest lie
I could tell this guy?"
949
01:32:53,440 --> 01:32:56,000
So I said, "Well, I've been making
250 dollars a week."
950
01:32:56,400 --> 01:32:58,709
He said,
"Fine, you start Monday. 300 a week."
951
01:32:59,680 --> 01:33:02,399
I thought frankly that
I had died and gone to heaven.
952
01:33:02,640 --> 01:33:04,392
Three hundred dollars a week...
953
01:33:04,960 --> 01:33:06,279
...at that moment...
954
01:33:06,520 --> 01:33:09,830
...I think I was 22, 23 years old...
955
01:33:10,640 --> 01:33:12,039
...was a lot of cash.
956
01:33:13,120 --> 01:33:14,997
What Ned did not tell me...
957
01:33:15,320 --> 01:33:17,834
...as I showed up for work
on my first day at Universal...
958
01:33:18,680 --> 01:33:20,671
...was that my first job
on my first day...
959
01:33:20,960 --> 01:33:23,190
...was to go down
to the 8th floor of the tower...
960
01:33:23,800 --> 01:33:27,873
...and find the young man
who had had my job as of Friday...
961
01:33:28,560 --> 01:33:29,788
...and fire him.
962
01:33:30,360 --> 01:33:32,794
Ned had neglected
to tell his old assistant.
963
01:33:34,200 --> 01:33:38,113
As I delivered this charming news
to this hapless guy...
964
01:33:39,200 --> 01:33:41,873
...he explained to me that Ned had had...
965
01:33:42,120 --> 01:33:44,076
...nine assistants...
966
01:33:44,680 --> 01:33:46,272
...in a four year period.
967
01:33:47,200 --> 01:33:49,760
Nobody had ever lasted
as much as six months.
968
01:33:50,160 --> 01:33:52,628
This meant that we were destined
to work together and I spent...
969
01:33:52,880 --> 01:33:55,474
...the next decade working happily
with him.
970
01:34:43,040 --> 01:34:46,874
This pier by the Long Beach Naval Station
we constructed especially for...
971
01:34:47,120 --> 01:34:48,473
...the final shot.
972
01:34:50,000 --> 01:34:53,675
Pieces of the pier are already pre-rigged
with explosives, fire.
973
01:36:34,920 --> 01:36:37,115
So the final moments of
Tequila Sunrise...
974
01:36:52,640 --> 01:36:54,153
The final moments of Tequila Sunrise...
975
01:36:54,320 --> 01:36:55,639
...revolve entirely around...
976
01:36:56,360 --> 01:36:59,238
...people's emotional needs,
not the needs of the plot.
977
01:37:01,240 --> 01:37:05,153
We tried to keep the plot alive enough...
978
01:37:05,400 --> 01:37:08,790
...to be able to remember
what the hell's going on in this movie.
979
01:37:09,040 --> 01:37:10,951
But not so alive that it dominates...
980
01:37:11,640 --> 01:37:14,518
...the personal vendettas
and emotional tension.
981
01:37:26,520 --> 01:37:28,954
Among the other problems
we had with Warner Bros...
982
01:37:29,960 --> 01:37:32,679
...was the constant pressure
to subtitle...
983
01:37:33,840 --> 01:37:36,559
...the pieces of the film that
are in Spanish...
984
01:37:36,840 --> 01:37:38,512
...which is pointless.
985
01:37:40,320 --> 01:37:42,072
Because even if you don't understand...
986
01:37:42,320 --> 01:37:45,153
...them word-for-word, you understand
the intent of the scene.
987
01:38:46,160 --> 01:38:48,355
The moral implications of the picture...
988
01:38:51,800 --> 01:38:53,472
...were critical to all of us.
989
01:38:55,200 --> 01:38:56,918
In this final sequence...
990
01:38:57,600 --> 01:38:58,874
...after Carlos...
991
01:38:59,400 --> 01:39:01,630
...is wounded and is dying...
992
01:39:01,880 --> 01:39:03,359
...his continued...
993
01:39:04,800 --> 01:39:06,153
...fidelity to the...
994
01:39:07,280 --> 01:39:09,714
...greatness of drug dealing
is very important to us.
995
01:39:09,960 --> 01:39:12,030
The studio thought this was insane...
996
01:39:13,000 --> 01:39:15,195
...and we had
an enormous amount of pressure...
997
01:39:16,400 --> 01:39:20,029
...to change the scene or
cut the scene or re-shoot the scene.
998
01:39:20,960 --> 01:39:23,349
But ultimately, in previews, audiences...
999
01:39:23,920 --> 01:39:26,639
...loved it that Carlos
never wavered from his...
1000
01:39:26,880 --> 01:39:28,836
...enthusiastic embrace of crime.
1001
01:39:30,400 --> 01:39:33,073
One of the great problems
with the studios always...
1002
01:39:33,320 --> 01:39:35,629
...is that they want
every single character...
1003
01:39:36,680 --> 01:39:37,795
...to end up...
1004
01:39:38,040 --> 01:39:39,268
...being...
1005
01:39:42,240 --> 01:39:43,719
...a soldier for...
1006
01:39:44,720 --> 01:39:48,030
...the good, the right, for mom,
apple-pie and the American way.
1007
01:39:48,880 --> 01:39:50,598
There's very little room for...
1008
01:39:50,840 --> 01:39:53,752
...unrepentant behavior or ambiguity.
1009
01:39:54,560 --> 01:39:57,313
This film is nothing but ambiguity...
1010
01:39:59,280 --> 01:40:01,316
...and lots of unrepentant behavior.
1011
01:40:35,480 --> 01:40:37,755
In the background
the Star-Spangled Banner...
1012
01:40:38,480 --> 01:40:40,914
...playing in the radio sign off.
1013
01:40:44,720 --> 01:40:46,278
It kind of underscores...
1014
01:40:46,880 --> 01:40:49,075
...the finale of this movie,
which is a merger...
1015
01:40:50,680 --> 01:40:52,955
...of drugs and money and power...
1016
01:40:53,920 --> 01:40:55,353
...and betrayal.
1017
01:40:56,360 --> 01:40:57,588
Which seems...
1018
01:40:57,920 --> 01:40:59,956
...the appropriate fuel for...
1019
01:41:01,000 --> 01:41:02,877
...the lives of these characters.
1020
01:41:30,800 --> 01:41:32,870
Now as usual in a Bob Towne movie...
1021
01:41:33,560 --> 01:41:35,312
...people discuss with each other...
1022
01:41:35,560 --> 01:41:38,028
...the diabolical things they're
going to do before they do them.
1023
01:42:24,840 --> 01:42:28,594
The perfect Bob Towne ending
to which two wounded guys...
1024
01:42:29,360 --> 01:42:32,511
...on the edge of death
continue their philosophical argument.
1025
01:43:10,840 --> 01:43:13,479
You can imagine how much
Warner Bros. loved this advice...
1026
01:43:13,880 --> 01:43:14,835
...from...
1027
01:43:15,080 --> 01:43:16,149
...Carlos:
1028
01:43:17,160 --> 01:43:19,037
"The future is grass, buddy."
1029
01:43:48,800 --> 01:43:50,677
The J.T. Walsh character having...
1030
01:43:51,520 --> 01:43:54,159
...sunken to morass of compromise...
1031
01:43:55,040 --> 01:43:56,996
...and foolish decisions and stupid...
1032
01:43:58,160 --> 01:43:59,912
...bureaucratic bungling
has no choice...
1033
01:44:00,160 --> 01:44:03,596
...but to kill everybody in sight,
if he's going to look like a hero...
1034
01:44:08,320 --> 01:44:11,790
...and he's about to start a little
bigger fire than he anticipated.
1035
01:44:35,000 --> 01:44:36,115
That is...
1036
01:44:37,400 --> 01:44:39,391
...about as complete an expression of...
1037
01:44:40,120 --> 01:44:42,953
...continuing friendship
as one can find...
1038
01:44:43,760 --> 01:44:46,638
...when a cop shoots his
partner on behalf of his buddy...
1039
01:44:47,320 --> 01:44:48,514
...the criminal.
You may notice a lot of...
1040
01:44:48,760 --> 01:44:50,751
...dollar bills
falling through the air in this shot.
1041
01:44:51,680 --> 01:44:54,956
These series of explosions took us
two nights in Long Beach.
1042
01:44:56,840 --> 01:44:58,034
And this beach...
1043
01:44:58,400 --> 01:44:59,879
...and this sunset.
1044
01:45:04,320 --> 01:45:08,518
This ending is a new ending. This is an
ending that we shot after the fact...
1045
01:45:09,600 --> 01:45:11,670
...in an effort to perfect...
1046
01:45:11,960 --> 01:45:13,951
...the emotional connection...
1047
01:45:14,680 --> 01:45:16,636
...between the characters using...
1048
01:45:17,800 --> 01:45:20,633
...the lifeguard station,
which you've seen before in the film...
1049
01:45:21,520 --> 01:45:23,875
...and this shot
which is at a different location.
1050
01:45:24,120 --> 01:45:26,395
That's the beach at Zuma Beach...
1051
01:45:27,160 --> 01:45:29,151
...California.
Sunset.
1052
01:45:32,120 --> 01:45:33,678
Tying in the...
1053
01:45:35,040 --> 01:45:37,349
...ubiquitous lifeguard truck...
1054
01:45:40,360 --> 01:45:41,873
...and the not so subtle conspiracy...
1055
01:45:42,120 --> 01:45:43,678
...as among...
1056
01:45:43,920 --> 01:45:45,319
...the cops...
1057
01:45:48,040 --> 01:45:50,156
...and Frescia.
Woody...
1058
01:45:51,280 --> 01:45:53,919
...the lifeguard
and Harbor patrol officer...
1059
01:45:59,040 --> 01:46:00,314
...and McKussic...
1060
01:46:02,560 --> 01:46:05,757
...a guy who has
only one goal at this point in life...
1061
01:46:08,880 --> 01:46:10,711
...and it appears that he's got it.
1062
01:46:15,480 --> 01:46:17,710
So what can I say?
This is Bob Towne's vision...
1063
01:46:18,520 --> 01:46:20,715
...of another day in the South Bay.
1064
01:46:36,240 --> 01:46:39,118
The original ending for the movie
involved tying up...
1065
01:46:39,520 --> 01:46:43,274
...a tremendous number of loose ends
in a much more linear dramatic way...
1066
01:46:43,520 --> 01:46:45,397
...and was completely unacceptable...
1067
01:46:45,720 --> 01:46:47,438
...to audiences in the preview process.
1068
01:46:52,480 --> 01:46:54,198
In fact, in previews...
1069
01:46:54,440 --> 01:46:58,558
...this movie got shorter by almost
20 minutes, 25 minutes.
1070
01:46:59,520 --> 01:47:02,478
The entire subplot
having to do with Carlos' son...
1071
01:47:02,720 --> 01:47:05,757
...and his failed drug deal
in San Francisco, which we shot...
1072
01:47:06,000 --> 01:47:08,468
...was all excised from the movie.
1073
01:47:09,240 --> 01:47:10,389
Further...
1074
01:47:12,080 --> 01:47:13,911
...a number of smaller sequences...
1075
01:47:14,760 --> 01:47:15,988
...were pulled out...
1076
01:47:17,720 --> 01:47:19,392
...to try to clarify plot.
1077
01:47:19,880 --> 01:47:24,271
Many people still say the movie is
incomprehensible on a pure plot basis.
1078
01:47:25,880 --> 01:47:27,836
Personally, I like that.
1079
01:47:31,320 --> 01:47:33,151
That intense...
1080
01:47:35,840 --> 01:47:39,071
...melodramatic layering
that causes you to have to...
1081
01:47:39,320 --> 01:47:40,548
...think and work...
1082
01:47:43,320 --> 01:47:44,912
...and struggle to keep up with the film.
1083
01:47:45,160 --> 01:47:47,515
The film was edited, by the way,
edited by Claire Simpson...
1084
01:47:48,160 --> 01:47:50,151
...a wonderful English editor...
1085
01:47:51,200 --> 01:47:54,351
...who studied with Dee Dee Allen;
perhaps...
1086
01:47:54,680 --> 01:47:56,830
...one of our 2 or 3 best...
1087
01:47:57,400 --> 01:47:58,833
...editors.
1088
01:48:08,760 --> 01:48:11,638
The stunt coordinator for this movie,
Bobby Bass...
1089
01:48:13,520 --> 01:48:16,034
...is a legendary character who'd done...
1090
01:48:19,440 --> 01:48:22,113
...many films and many stunts
throughout the business...
1091
01:48:22,560 --> 01:48:24,073
...and Bobby...
1092
01:48:28,720 --> 01:48:30,676
...continues to stay, to do...
1093
01:48:31,840 --> 01:48:33,068
...many of...
1094
01:48:33,800 --> 01:48:36,234
...the most
important action pictures you'll see.
1095
01:48:38,560 --> 01:48:40,630
Of course, not long after this film...
1096
01:48:43,480 --> 01:48:46,392
...Raul Julia died, very unfortunately.
1097
01:48:48,840 --> 01:48:50,159
Left a big hole...
1098
01:48:50,800 --> 01:48:53,951
...in the world of entertainment,
where that kind of character is rare.
1099
01:48:54,440 --> 01:48:56,635
A character that rich and expansive.
1100
01:49:19,520 --> 01:49:23,069
The soundtrack for Tequila Sunrise
as it happened, turned out to be...
1101
01:49:25,040 --> 01:49:26,359
...a big hit...
1102
01:49:29,120 --> 01:49:31,076
...and did very well for Warner Bros.
1103
01:49:32,560 --> 01:49:36,917
The picture was a modest hit in the U.S.
And a giant hit outside the U.S.
1104
01:49:39,000 --> 01:49:40,479
In America, it got...
1105
01:49:40,840 --> 01:49:43,115
...good reviews,
sometimes great reviews...
1106
01:49:43,600 --> 01:49:44,749
...but it got...
1107
01:49:47,680 --> 01:49:48,874
...tremendous...
1108
01:49:50,040 --> 01:49:53,669
...acclaim in the international market
where people seemed frankly...
1109
01:49:53,920 --> 01:49:56,798
...not to be at all put off
by the dense language...
1110
01:49:59,920 --> 01:50:02,878
...and the intensely layered
melodramatic nature of the picture.
1111
01:50:25,840 --> 01:50:27,831
Subtitled byd th
GELULA & CO., INC.