Pauline Kael (76 page)
Authors: Brian Kellow
324
“a true gift for informality”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 17, 1986).
“a true gift for informality”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 17, 1986).
325
“We can surmise”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 12, 1987).
“We can surmise”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 12, 1987).
325
“The results are overwrought”:
Ibid.
“The results are overwrought”:
Ibid.
325
“I’ll watch him with my own life”:
Author interview with Warner Friedman, August 12, 2009.
“I’ll watch him with my own life”:
Author interview with Warner Friedman, August 12, 2009.
325
“I can do better than this myself ”:
Author interview with Polly Frost, April 10, 2009.
“I can do better than this myself ”:
Author interview with Polly Frost, April 10, 2009.
325
“Because you look like you’re a mother or a grandmother”:
Author interview with Warner Friedman, August 12, 2009.
“Because you look like you’re a mother or a grandmother”:
Author interview with Warner Friedman, August 12, 2009.
325
“Fuck you, Charlie”:
Ibid.
“Fuck you, Charlie”:
Ibid.
326
“She was about to go back to San Francisco”:
Author interview with Ray Sawhill, March 20, 2009.
“She was about to go back to San Francisco”:
Author interview with Ray Sawhill, March 20, 2009.
326
“She would be let down if I would say”:
Ibid.
“She would be let down if I would say”:
Ibid.
326
“absolutely first rate”:
Letter from Pauline Kael to William Abrahams, February 4, 1982.
“absolutely first rate”:
Letter from Pauline Kael to William Abrahams, February 4, 1982.
327
“Nobody was reading my reviews in
The East Side Express
”:
Author interview with Owen Gleiberman, February 18, 2009.
“Nobody was reading my reviews in
The East Side Express
”:
Author interview with Owen Gleiberman, February 18, 2009.
328
“To be true to what Pauline taught us”:
Ibid.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX“To be true to what Pauline taught us”:
Ibid.
329
“Dozens of people had advanced”:
William Shawn to the staff of
The New Yorker
, fall 1976.
“Dozens of people had advanced”:
William Shawn to the staff of
The New Yorker
, fall 1976.
330
“If Shawn were to give up some of his duties as editor”:
Brendan Gill,
Here at The New Yorker
(New York: Random House, 1975; quoted from DaCapo paperback edition), 381.
“If Shawn were to give up some of his duties as editor”:
Brendan Gill,
Here at The New Yorker
(New York: Random House, 1975; quoted from DaCapo paperback edition), 381.
330
“powerful and apparently unanimous expression of sadness”:
Letter to Robert A. Gottlieb from the staff of
The New Yorker
, January 13, 1987.
“powerful and apparently unanimous expression of sadness”:
Letter to Robert A. Gottlieb from the staff of
The New Yorker
, January 13, 1987.
330
“
The New Yorker
has not achieved its preeminence by following orthodox paths of magazine publishing and editing”:
Ibid.
“
The New Yorker
has not achieved its preeminence by following orthodox paths of magazine publishing and editing”:
Ibid.
331
“He was a great editor”:
Pauline Kael, remarks to audience at
New Yorker
luncheon, Beverly Hills Hotel, May 7, 1987.
“He was a great editor”:
Pauline Kael, remarks to audience at
New Yorker
luncheon, Beverly Hills Hotel, May 7, 1987.
331
“with Bob Gottlieb”:
Ibid.
“with Bob Gottlieb”:
Ibid.
331
“an amazing man—dedicated to what he believes to be the best writing”:
Letter from Pauline Kael to Samuel M. Grupper, MacArthur Fellows Program, December 22, 1987.
“an amazing man—dedicated to what he believes to be the best writing”:
Letter from Pauline Kael to Samuel M. Grupper, MacArthur Fellows Program, December 22, 1987.
331
“constitute a vote of confidence in an eighty-year-old man of letters”:
Ibid.
“constitute a vote of confidence in an eighty-year-old man of letters”:
Ibid.
331
“never before blended his actors so intuitively, so musically,”
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(December 14, 1987).
“never before blended his actors so intuitively, so musically,”
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(December 14, 1987).
331
“funny, warm family scenes that might be thought completely outside his range”:
Ibid.
“funny, warm family scenes that might be thought completely outside his range”:
Ibid.
332
“TOM: I don’t write”:
James L. Brooks’s screenplay of
Broadcast News,
1987
.
“TOM: I don’t write”:
James L. Brooks’s screenplay of
Broadcast News,
1987
.
332
“Basically, what the movie is saying”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 11, 1988).
“Basically, what the movie is saying”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 11, 1988).
332
“There’s not even a try for any style or tension in
Broadcast News
”:
Ibid.
“There’s not even a try for any style or tension in
Broadcast News
”:
Ibid.
333
“The camera is so discreet it always seems about ten feet too far away”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 22, 1988).
“The camera is so discreet it always seems about ten feet too far away”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 22, 1988).
333
“directed so that he never engages us”:
Ibid.
“directed so that he never engages us”:
Ibid.
333
“Yes, it gets to you by the end”:
Ibid.
“Yes, it gets to you by the end”:
Ibid.
334
“too fastidious to do anything dangerous or dirty”:
Jay McInerney,
Brights Lights, Big City
(New York: Vintage Books, 1984), 19.
“too fastidious to do anything dangerous or dirty”:
Jay McInerney,
Brights Lights, Big City
(New York: Vintage Books, 1984), 19.
334 “
Woody Allen’s picture is meant to be about emotion”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 31, 1988).
Woody Allen’s picture is meant to be about emotion”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 31, 1988).
334
“a hallucinogenic Feydeau play”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 14, 1988).
“a hallucinogenic Feydeau play”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 14, 1988).
334
“Godard with a human face—a happy face”:
Ibid.
“Godard with a human face—a happy face”:
Ibid.
335
“nowhere to go”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 16, 1989).
“nowhere to go”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 16, 1989).
335
“mind’s eye he’s always watching the audience watching him”:
Ibid.
“mind’s eye he’s always watching the audience watching him”:
Ibid.
335
“an actor in the same sense that Robert Taylor was an actor”:
Ibid.
“an actor in the same sense that Robert Taylor was an actor”:
Ibid.
335
“wet kitsch”:
Ibid.
“wet kitsch”:
Ibid.
335
“A disquieting note”:
Publishers Weekly
(September 9, 1988).
“A disquieting note”:
Publishers Weekly
(September 9, 1988).
335
“on the whole, Kael’s genuine excitement about film sustains the book”:
Ibid.
“on the whole, Kael’s genuine excitement about film sustains the book”:
Ibid.
335
“macabre sensibility”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(July 10, 1989).
“macabre sensibility”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(July 10, 1989).
335 “
this powerfully glamorous new
Batman
”:
Ibid.
this powerfully glamorous new
Batman
”:
Ibid.
336
“We in the audience are put in the man’s position”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(August 21, 1989).
“We in the audience are put in the man’s position”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(August 21, 1989).
336
“such seductive, virtuosic control of film”:
Ibid.
“such seductive, virtuosic control of film”:
Ibid.
336
“In essence, it’s feminist”:
Ibid.
“In essence, it’s feminist”:
Ibid.
336
“I think that in his earlier movies”:
Ibid.
“I think that in his earlier movies”:
Ibid.
337
“the most emotionally wrenching scene I’ve ever experienced at the movies”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 2, 1989).
“the most emotionally wrenching scene I’ve ever experienced at the movies”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 2, 1989).
337
“The wide eyes still miss nothing”:
Unpublished memoir by Linda Allen.
“The wide eyes still miss nothing”:
Unpublished memoir by Linda Allen.
338
“surprisingly unlike herself ”:
Ibid.
“surprisingly unlike herself ”:
Ibid.
338
“was cool the entire time”:
Author interview with Allen Barra, July 16, 2009.
“was cool the entire time”:
Author interview with Allen Barra, July 16, 2009.
339
“With Pfeiffer in deep-red velvet crawling on the piano like a long-legged Kitty-cat”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 16, 1989).
“With Pfeiffer in deep-red velvet crawling on the piano like a long-legged Kitty-cat”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 16, 1989).
339
“Are we trying to put kids into some moral-aesthetic safe house?”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 11, 1989).
“Are we trying to put kids into some moral-aesthetic safe house?”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 11, 1989).
340
“coziness and slightness”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 25, 1989).
“coziness and slightness”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 25, 1989).
340
“Does Kael orchestrate campaigns inside the film societies?”:
The Village Voice
, February 4, 1988.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN“Does Kael orchestrate campaigns inside the film societies?”:
The Village Voice
, February 4, 1988.
342
“The picture is like the work of a slick ad exec”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(January 8, 1990).
“The picture is like the work of a slick ad exec”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(January 8, 1990).
343
“the moviemaking has such bravura that you respond as if you were at a live performance”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 19, 1990).
“the moviemaking has such bravura that you respond as if you were at a live performance”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 19, 1990).
343
“There’s nothing affected about Costner’s acting or directing”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 17, 1990).
“There’s nothing affected about Costner’s acting or directing”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 17, 1990).
343
“For a brief period in the late sixties and early seventies”:
Ibid.
“For a brief period in the late sixties and early seventies”:
Ibid.
344
“The movies are so shitty now”:
Author interview with Owen Gleibman, February 18, 2009.
“The movies are so shitty now”:
Author interview with Owen Gleibman, February 18, 2009.
344
“For a brief, golden time in the ’70s”:
Newsweek
(March 18, 1991).
“For a brief, golden time in the ’70s”:
Newsweek
(March 18, 1991).
344
“At worst, she wasn’t far from a film-world version of Walter Winchell”:
L. A. Weekly
, March 22, 1991.
“At worst, she wasn’t far from a film-world version of Walter Winchell”:
L. A. Weekly
, March 22, 1991.
344
“enhanced and expanded the filmgoing public’s knowledge and appreciation of world cinema”:
Citation, Mel Novikoff Award, San Francisco Film Society, May 2, 1991.
“enhanced and expanded the filmgoing public’s knowledge and appreciation of world cinema”:
Citation, Mel Novikoff Award, San Francisco Film Society, May 2, 1991.
345
“welcome reading at a time when film criticism”:
The Los Angeles Times Book Review
, September 22, 1991.
“welcome reading at a time when film criticism”:
The Los Angeles Times Book Review
, September 22, 1991.
346
“Oh—you have Annette O’Toole’s hair!”:
Author interview with Charles Taylor, June 15, 2009.
“Oh—you have Annette O’Toole’s hair!”:
Author interview with Charles Taylor, June 15, 2009.
346
“Pauline felt that Molly, once she married Sarris”:
Author interview with James Wolcott, August 3, 2010.
“Pauline felt that Molly, once she married Sarris”:
Author interview with James Wolcott, August 3, 2010.
347
“I once said, in a fit of frustration”:
Author interview with Charles Taylor, June 15, 2009.
“I once said, in a fit of frustration”:
Author interview with Charles Taylor, June 15, 2009.
347
“These people were all housewives”:
Ibid.
“These people were all housewives”:
Ibid.
347
“And what did
your
mother do?”:
Author interview with Polly Frost, April 11, 2009.
“And what did
your
mother do?”:
Author interview with Polly Frost, April 11, 2009.
347 “
I’m frequently asked”:
Pauline Kael, introduction,
For Keeps
(New York: Dutton, 1994).
I’m frequently asked”:
Pauline Kael, introduction,
For Keeps
(New York: Dutton, 1994).
347
“I kept bringing up the idea of her work on an autobiography”:
Letter from Peggy Brooks to William Abrahams, September 29, 1994.
“I kept bringing up the idea of her work on an autobiography”:
Letter from Peggy Brooks to William Abrahams, September 29, 1994.
348
“Oh, just let her grow up”:
Author interview with Allen Barra, July 16, 2009.
“Oh, just let her grow up”:
Author interview with Allen Barra, July 16, 2009.
350
“They write as advocates, both feet on the accelerator”:
James Wolcott, “Waiting for Godard,”
Vanity Fair
(April 1997).
“They write as advocates, both feet on the accelerator”:
James Wolcott, “Waiting for Godard,”
Vanity Fair
(April 1997).
350
“He’s a careerist creep”:
Author interview with Charles Taylor, June 15, 2009.
“He’s a careerist creep”:
Author interview with Charles Taylor, June 15, 2009.
350
“I knew she wasn’t happy about it”:
Author interview with James Wolcott, August 3, 2010.
“I knew she wasn’t happy about it”:
Author interview with James Wolcott, August 3, 2010.
351
“no cartoons, no lyricism—just realism”:
Audio interview between Pauline Kael and Ray Sawhill, 2000.
“no cartoons, no lyricism—just realism”:
Audio interview between Pauline Kael and Ray Sawhill, 2000.
351
“desperate to read and to take in everything”:
Ibid.
“desperate to read and to take in everything”:
Ibid.
351
“I thought, when I read that, this is what’s wrong with Wes Anderson’s movies”:
Author interview with Steve Vineberg, August 26, 2008.
“I thought, when I read that, this is what’s wrong with Wes Anderson’s movies”:
Author interview with Steve Vineberg, August 26, 2008.
352
“Sometimes, Charlie and I would go to little shops on the way out to visit her”:
Author interview with Stephanie Zacharek, September 4, 2009.
“Sometimes, Charlie and I would go to little shops on the way out to visit her”:
Author interview with Stephanie Zacharek, September 4, 2009.
352
“They’re more delicious than food now”:
Author interview with George and Elizabeth Malko, April 15, 2009.
“They’re more delicious than food now”:
Author interview with George and Elizabeth Malko, April 15, 2009.
352
“You look so restive sitting up there next to your mother”:
Author interview with Steve Vineberg, August 26, 2008.
“You look so restive sitting up there next to your mother”:
Author interview with Steve Vineberg, August 26, 2008.
352
“A number of people around any diva”:
Author interview with Polly Frost, March 20, 2009.
“A number of people around any diva”:
Author interview with Polly Frost, March 20, 2009.
353
“He’s never any good”:
Author interview with Ray Sawhill, March 20, 2009.
“He’s never any good”:
Author interview with Ray Sawhill, March 20, 2009.
353
“Well, honey, from the look of things”:
Author interview with Steve Vineberg, August 26, 2008.
“Well, honey, from the look of things”:
Author interview with Steve Vineberg, August 26, 2008.
353
“Presenting Creation, more or less”:
Poem by Roy Blount, Jr., composed for Pauline Kael’s eightieth birthday, June 19, 1999.
“Presenting Creation, more or less”:
Poem by Roy Blount, Jr., composed for Pauline Kael’s eightieth birthday, June 19, 1999.
355
“I don’t know what you know”:
Author interview with Carrie Rickey, May 9, 2009.
“I don’t know what you know”:
Author interview with Carrie Rickey, May 9, 2009.
356
“You tell him, girlie!”:
Author interview with Polly Frost, April 11, 2009.
“You tell him, girlie!”:
Author interview with Polly Frost, April 11, 2009.
356
“Of course. He’s smart”:
Author interview with Dennis Delrogh, April 5, 2011.
“Of course. He’s smart”:
Author interview with Dennis Delrogh, April 5, 2011.
356
“Isn’t he amazing?”:
Author interview with Michael Sragow, October 21, 2008.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT“Isn’t he amazing?”:
Author interview with Michael Sragow, October 21, 2008.
357
“As a mother, Pauline was exactly what you would expect from reading her or knowing her”:
Remarks by Gina James, memorial tribute to Pauline Kael, November 30, 2001.
“As a mother, Pauline was exactly what you would expect from reading her or knowing her”:
Remarks by Gina James, memorial tribute to Pauline Kael, November 30, 2001.
357
“She was funny and lethal right up to the end”:
Remarks by Craig Seligman.
“She was funny and lethal right up to the end”:
Remarks by Craig Seligman.
358
“It’s a piece of crap”:
Remarks by John Bennet.
“It’s a piece of crap”:
Remarks by John Bennet.
358
“Pauline really believed all her life that she was lucky to be able to do what she wanted to do”:
Remarks by George Malko.
“Pauline really believed all her life that she was lucky to be able to do what she wanted to do”:
Remarks by George Malko.
358
“Upon sober reflection”:
Remarks by Arlene Croce.
“Upon sober reflection”:
Remarks by Arlene Croce.
359
“Now people watch movies so they can stay kids”:
New York
(February 23, 2009).
“Now people watch movies so they can stay kids”:
New York
(February 23, 2009).
360
“And to think . . . there’s not even a decent movie to see”:
Remarks by Marcia Nasatir.
“And to think . . . there’s not even a decent movie to see”:
Remarks by Marcia Nasatir.
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