Dan / Tailor of Panama

[GulPlum]

TACtalk at a... wrote:

> >See here: http://plum.cream.org/HP/misc/top.htm
> 
> Thanks for this. I have seen Tailor of P but not on DVD. I may rent
> it for the interview alone.

Apologies in advance for largely OT post.

Don't get over-excited. There is no interview. The snippets I 
recorded come from Boorman's audio commentary during the film 
(despite being a very articulate person, he umms, errs and ahhhs a 
heck of a lot during this one - unlike Excalibur, for instance). 

There is a fun featurette on Geoffrey Rush and Pierce Brosnan, 
though, which makes it clear how much they admire each others' 
talents despite coming from different backgrounds (Rush in theatre, 
Brosnan in TV) and how much they learned from each other. Boorman 
also makes several references to the pair in his commentary [a funny 
one revealing that Pierce Brosnan, who chain smokes throughout the 
film, is a non-smoker, and Rush is exactly the opposite - an addict 
playing a non-smoking character - after each take, a spluttering 
Brosnan would hand his fag to Rush. :-)]

> One of the enduring legends of the casting of DR is that Maggie
> Smith, having worked with him on 'David Copperfield', was 
> instrumental in getting him considered for the role of HP. To have 
> endorsement from two authorities like Boorman and Smith ought to 
> quell the snide comments about DR's performance. I stand by what I 
> said before, DR has it in him; but he does need a good director to 
> help him develop what he has.

I've never heard anything about any "endorsements" from Maggie Smith. 
I have heard Dan saying that having played with her before made work 
on PS/SS easier, though. 

As for the role of the director in shing kids' performances, I agree 
wholheartedly. Despite my reservations on other grounds, this is one 
reason I'd have liked Spielberg to have a crack at the HP whip: one 
thing everyone's agreed on is that he is *terrific* with child 
actors. Even the (now grown up) kid who played the five-year-old in 
Close Encounters admits that his performance in that film wasn't down 
to him, but Spielberg's ability.

I'm also very sorry that shortlisted Rob Reiner wasn't given the job 
instead of Columbus.