Sam And Dave, or What Is Art For?

I saw What Just Happened over the weekend, a movie about the problems of a Hollywood producer. It's based on the book by producer Art Linson, with, alas, a screenplay by Art Linson. It's also got a big name director and star, but I'm not going to mention them. Why? Because critics have taught us all that matters is the director, and moviegoers seem to care most about the star. It's nice to see a focus on the producer, even in a not-so-great film.

I'm reminded of an old interview with David Lean at the AFI. Turns out he was unhappy with some edits producer Sam Spiegel made on the final cut of The Bridge On The River Kwai. (A lot of directors turned the film down until Lean, who up till then wasn't noted for "big" films, got the assignment.)

In Lean's version, there's no question Colonel Nicholson wants to blow up the bridge. But in Spiegel's cut, there's ambiguity as to whether or not it's intentional.

These days, we treat directors as gods, and believe their version of a film is the true version, and producers are just suits trying to crush artistic freedom. In this case, I think Spiegel made the right call. Score one for the producer.