Witches At 30

This week I got myself invited to a Showcase Superlux "EventCinema" commemorating the 30th anniversary of The Witches of Eastwick featuring a Q&A with screenwriter, Michael Cristofer.

I had seen the movie when it came out and couple times on cable but not for years and I liked it well enough so I figured what the hey. 

Don't know if I am a fan of watching a film in a recliner after heavy appetizers and wine and unlimited popcorn.  Not really all that comfortable if you are still in work clothes (yes I am showing my age in still wearing work clothes).   Anyway, I thought film aged well, was enjoyable and still didn't make a lot of sense plot wise though that didn't seem to matter.   Sure there were the rotary phones and old cars and no screens anywhere, but the film didn't seem too out of date- probably has to do with the bright cut and good sound quality that made it feel like a new release.  The actors all looked like how I remember them- Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer although the younger versions of a few veteran character actors (Richard Jenkins who was confusingly not bald) threw me a little.  Jack's character's line about liking a little pussy after lunch got a very knowing laugh. 

The screenwriter (also an actor currently in Mr. Robot and a director)  gave a short talk at the end and gave some good gossip.  He said "What the hell- nobody's here."   Well nobody except an occasional contributor to the Pajama Guy blog (I left out the really business-y stuff):

- Jack Nicholson saved the film 3 separate times when people walked out and he talked them into coming back.
- People took lots and lots of cocaine back in the 80s. (He kept repeating this). 
- He thought his screenplay held up really well though (SPOILER)  he completely disowned the tacked on horror movie ending which made no sense. He wrote the film to end with Jack's speech in the church and which point the witches' machinations with dolls and spells were supposed to send him away and then the jump to the 3 babies in the future epilogue.  Instead, for some reason, the witches stop their spells,  Jack's character, stays alive, recovers, drives home and does some Poltergeist level special effects battling with the Witches before he disappears.  Michael blamed the decision to include this stuff on cocaine (this was a theme) and addiction to "new toy" of special effects in the 1980s.  This last scene seemed to be a big part of the cost of the movie and his artistic consistency concerns were not a good enough reason to dump such expensive footage.
-As screenwriter, he only very occasionally stopped in to see the filming, as they would always ask him for changes. He found they were better about sticking to his script when he wasn't there.
-Lots of love for Jack Nicholson's acting  who he claimed only ever uttered screenwriter's words and never improvised (even though he clearly gives the impression that he is improvising).
-Although it very much feels like a treatise on feminism , the only sort of culture war complaints they got back in the day was from the religious who objected to a sympathetic portrayal of the devil. (I assume the mocking of the pious probably got to them too).  They filmed in Massachusetts because ministers in Little Compton, Rhode Island objected to filming there.
-The "ladies" only had one problem with the script (Cher actually dug working with the snakes)- They hated the part where they laughed and floated and then later dropped into the pool as the spell was broken.  Not sure I would have remembered that scene had he not brought it up. 
-Originally Diane Wiest and Barbara Hershey were cast but they got replaced so that there would be a better poster per the studio.  Susan Sarandon originally had the part Cher ultimately played.  Bill Murray was also originally cast in the Jack Nicholson role.  I could see that. 
-He said the Updike book (which I have not read) was far more dark in that it showed women turning on each other and doing horrible things whereas the film is more like a yeah yeah sisterhood.
- Due to the economics, "could never make this film except maybe on cable except they prefer soap operas and zombies.{Some golden age...[grumble]}"