22 - North Shore News — Friday, September 1, 2000

HT:

From Page 13

tle metaphysical thriller that
I had penned 20 or so years
earlier. The script had been
sitting in a box all rhat time.
{ had pulled it out and reluc-
tandy sold it for a mere
$3,080 to Trans World
Entertainment ({ needed the
money) and proceeded to
contribute to the transforma-
tion and deterioration of my
own story to that of a cheap
“slasher.”

Original intent was
undoubtedly to fashion yet
another unwanted film abaut
a Vietnam vet suffering
oodles of angst over his war
guilt. Accompanied by hor-
rendously phony reenact-
ment footage of supposed
war atrocities in a California
forest area, plus poor stock
footage, John Phillip Law is
the sufferer.

Gary Graver, who has sev-
eral different careers as cine-
matographer, director and
adult-filmmaker, is credited
with the principal footage
and it is very dreary.

Perhaps he was aiming at
his late mentor Orson
Welles’ Lady From Shanghai
or unfinished The Deep in the
central motif of a group of
scabrous individuals trapped
on a yacht together, as part
of a wedding gift to Law and

-his bride Britt Ekland.

Technical credits are
poor, and the cast is awful,
particularly hammy Ekland
and in undoubtedly his worst
performance, William Smith.
Graver’s starlet (from his

C3

World Entertainment were
looking for a property for
Graver to direct for them.
He was reluctant to take the
script there but | was urging
him to do something with it,
fast. He presented it, they
liked the gist of it and pro-
ceeded to convince me to
accept much less money than
I had requested; { signed a
writer's flat deal contract
which employed me to
“write a complete and fin-
ished screenplay for a pro-
posed motion picture
presently entitled and desig-
nated Moon In Seorpiv.”

I was to “immediately on
execution hercof diligendy
proceed to render services
hereunder and continue until
such services are completed.”

I was promised “more
substantial monies” (per day)
to turn my script into a more
internationally saleable com-
modity from their marketing
perspective. Also, I would
get to play script supervisor
(for the first time). {1 is rare,
indeed, that producers allow
the writer anywhere near the
set, much less to fill that
important position.

Graver and I got to work
on improving (we hoped)
the original screenplay. Day
after day, the producer, Alan
Amiel would drastically alter
what we had done (all the
while blaming it on “the guy
upstairs,” the executive pro-
ducer, Moshe). The casting
was going well; Gary’s old
friend, John Phillip Law (of,
The Russians Are
Coming...The Russians Are

: ROBERT Alken and director Gary Graver on board

yaent during Moon in Scorpio shoot.

Party Camp pic) April Wayne
is embarrassing.

Gary and [had been
friends for nearly 30 years.
He had previously hired me
to write several screenplays

_ for him (low budget fare).
Some he made, some not.
His association with Orson
Welles had led to my
involvement (as actor) in,
The Osher Side Of The Wind

_ (early 70s). Orson gone, he
- had hoped to be able to
make a very special picture

from my commercially viable
screenplay. He liked the
supernatural elements — he
~ saw the possibilities. It could
ostensibly enhance his career.
- The people at Trans

correction Notice
in our 7 - 4A Weekend Sate Flyer,
on -the fiysheet, Amarige de
Givenchy. 50 mi Eau de Toilette
Spray is $65...
th our 8-1 Back @it flyer “Brioche”
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Carpets on page 30 will not be

. | avatlable for this event.
Sorry for any incomvenience
this may have causad,

Coming and. Barbarella
fame), my acquaintance,
Britt Ekland (whom I had
previously met socially with
her former ausband, Peter
Sellers), Lewis Van Bergen,
William Smith, the delicious-
ly attractive April Wayne.
But, Ameil would repeat-
edly iecture us as to how
there should be a wild sex
act or bloody murder and/or
mayhem every twenty min-
utes (one of his least outra-
geous statements), and,

Photo Trans World Entertainment

MOON In Scorpio star April Wayne with two cast members in a scene shot off the coast of Maiibu.

strangely enough, as
appalling as this was, we,
somehow, couldn’t help lik-
ing him. It was curiously fas-
cinating to experience, far
too close and personal, the
“purveyor of schlock” mind-
set.

Being on the yacht off
the colourful coast of Malibu
(out of Marina Del Rey) was
fun. Some of the actors were
quite impressed with me —
that I had actually sold a
screenplay — even as they
would sabotage the best
lines; “Oh, he wouldn’t say
that, would he? How
about...2” Then, ad lib
something totally inappropri-
ate which would lead to the

Need for further on-the-spot

changes...“madness”! And,
typical.

As script supervisor, I
failed miserably. At one
point, during a crucial scene,
Britt asked me, “Was I carry-
ing the purse over my left or
right shoulder?” (in the last
shat). I was supposed to
know. All eves were on me. I
hadn’t the foggiest idea. If 1
just guessed, the shots might
not match. After a long
embarrassing pause...*Do I
know?” or, “Beyond me...!”
(or something lame like
thar). ,

Basically, I was “out of
it”...couldn’t believe what I
was seeing...day after
day...the systematic degrada-
tion of what might have
been a good, little movie.

One evening, having tol-
erated enough, I took it
upon myself to cail in an

See Writer Page 23

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